Nicest set of 1:18 TV Crimefighter figures I’ve ever seen for the Hot Wheels car. Posable arms, hands. Brass bat-buckle, decal emblems… The works. Truly deluxe.

I can’t mention who made them right now. And we don’t sell them here. But we can tell you where/how to get them. Just subscribe to our list. (HERE) Our September email-blast that only goes out to registered subscribers will offer details on these figures (and other stuff) in about a week. Don’t blink or you’ll miss them.

Meanwhile, look what’s being done for 1:25 figures for the R2 model kit. Here’s a WIP photo below. This model is the best Batmobile kit ever produced and it’s a crime to not have great looking figures in it. Looks like Robin will get to be holding the Batphone and canopy. Cool! Again, we’re not selling these here. Just showing off some custom work.

More info: These are much more affordably priced than our previous painted figures for a few reasons. First, they are made of a heavy vinyl as opposed to urethane. Second they are stationery – no articulation. Third – Our seated figures came with a very premium paint job (including emblem decals) by one of the top toy design shops in Asia. These standing figures are great, and look sensational next to the car or in a diorama – but their paint job is a bit simpler than the seated figures sported. So – they cost a lot less.

"Holy no more squeezng inside Mattel's heinous interior, Batman!"

Yep, hats off to Mattel again for skipping the extended Batray striping on another otherwise pretty nice model. Thanks to PMB! friend John Lemay for sending us these shots of his freshly-delivered-from-China 1/43 Batmobile. According to John, the bat-radar and antenna were shipped separately bagged from the car. Chances are that won’t be the case with the final packaged production model. Hey maybe check that baggie for the missing bat-ray stripes too! Ah well. Still a very nice looking 1/43 model. Looks just like a shrunk down 1:18 standard which is uh, good I guess. Though I am getting a bit sick of that juvenile-looking undercarriage. Now if we can just shrink Doug from Insane Detailing down, we can offer replacement parts for this scale too.

The bad news is that we have reevaluated what it has taken to make these units and the price is going up. Everybody that already ordered one – good going. Anyone else – sorry but they are just too time intensive to warrant our earlier $49 pricing. I have to crow about these a little, which is okay since I didn’t make them. I may have helped with the design stage but the real work is done by Insane Detailing’s Doug Switz. But if you’re serious about your Batmobile detailing – these are just must have pieces of amazing craftsmanship. I know they’re pricey but they’re absolutely worth it.

ORDER THEM HERE

1. Solid resin economy version
2. 3-piece hollowed resin cage and clear red lens insert version that you assemble and paint silver (shown below, right)
3. Completed ALUMINUM and clear red lens unit (shown below, left)

These are the best, most accurate 1st season 1966 Batmobile sirens I’ve ever seen and having them in metal is a bonus. Easily lit if desired.

L-R: New Aluminum Beacon, Resin Version

Original Mattel/Hot Wheels siren (can you say "Lego"?)

New Beacon on Mattel Hot Wheels Rollbar with Alex's Antlers

Front view sitting on Alex's replacement rollbar.

Side view on replacement rollbar (with I.D. lights)

We’ve said it before but it bears repeating. If you can live with the version that Mattel put out – by all means do so.

For the rest of us, we carry on the insanity.

This is a study for the ALL-ALUMINUM, cnc-milled beacon cage that is soon to be coming to us from our Australian design team. (Mit and Paul)

This piece will be able to be lit from below if you desire and be as precise a reproduction of the original season one car’s beacon as has ever been produced in scale model form. I’ve seen the prototype in hand and it is GORGEOUS.

Stay tuned.

-S

Some of you may have heard me discuss modeler/artist/designer Mike Stutelberg in the past. Mike is a huge bat-fan and has worked for some major model companies behind the scenes on many projects we’ve all come to love over the years including the Polar Lights comic-version Batmobile kits and the re-releases of the Aurora bat-models. Mike designed the masters for the Horizon 1:25 Whirly Bats and did most of the instructions and artwork for the packaging.

Over the years, I’ve talked with Mike extensively about his work with these companies and there’s a single thread that runs through the stories. Every time Mike has gotten in with one of these projects he’s tried to bring us real bat-modeling fans some new thing that would make our hobby more exciting or easier. And always, he gets really close with some small victories – only to have something big and great get yanked at the last minute like Lucy and the football. I’ve got stories and artwork and photos you wouldn’t believe.

One of the great “almost made it” stories is the subject of this week’s photo and feature. I am a die-hard 1:25 scale fanatic. I am very reluctantly forced to embrace this 1:18 world simply because I’ve been outvoted and outgunned but my heart lies in 1:25 scale. It’s one of Mike’s scales of choice as well. There have been great 1:25 Bat-models offered over the years. But you had to dig for them. In the 90′s we had some very nice 1:25 Batmobile kits and conversions by T&T, Magnetic Models, Skyhook etc. as well as the king of them all – The Caped Custom. I have built and sold scores of 1:25 Batmobiles and decided early on that it was the best scale for a Batcave diorama. Then someone (ahem) convinced Polar Lights to reissue their Aurora Batboat in 1:24 scale instead of its original 1:32 size. Hooray! The next obvious vehicle would be the TV Batcycle.

I remember telling Mike how long I’d been looking for parts for a 1:25 Batcycle and he said “Well, I’ve got something to show you I think you’re going to like.” Mike shared photos with me of this beautiful 1:25 TV Batcycle prototype master model complete with parts broken down for sprue-casting. Shown below is the original master:

As with many of Mike’s labor of love projects, the top dogs at the modeling company at the time took a look at it and said. Nahh. We’ve already got the Aurora Batcycle molds. People like bigger models. You can’t sell a 1:25 motorcycle kit. And so on.

As you can see from the photo of the prototype – it would have been a gorgeous model. But it gets worse. I begged Mike to send me the kit, convinced that I would be able to get enough garage interest in it to justify making a short run of the thing in resin for a select group of modelers.

But I received it right before a lot of things in my life hit the fan and it sat for a couple years. And a lot of things changed in the hobby during those years.

Many people got their hands smacked for selling garage bat-kits thanks to at least one malicious, misguided manufacturer. People stopped making and selling resin Batmobiles. I had a fairly nice big Mego-scale1:8 TV Batmobile kit (that will be featured later) that we just plain could not sell to anyone. It never made its molding and casting money back. Two modelers tried making 1:16 Batmobiles and the longest-drawn-out garage kit in history- a 1:18 batmobile kit – was eeked out by the ones and twos and nearly bankrupted the designer. In all – the garage bat-hobby suffered a major economic and interest-level downturn.

I could not get anyone interested in the idea of a 1:25 Batcycle kit. “Boy that’s small.” people would say. “Yes, but it will match your car and boat!” I’d say. And they looked at me like I was crazy. So I came to realize that nobody would be buying this kit if I were to make it and if I wanted the one-off just for myself it would cost upwards of $1000 for all the parts and decals to be done right. Well. I’m a scale stickler but – hey for that money I thought maybe I’d just scrounge one together on my own. Then Hot wheels came out with their beautiful 1:32 Batcycle (NOT 1:50, say it with me loud – NOT 1:50) and I almost cried. here was a diecast, beautifully done (the best of all their efforts in my opinion) TV Batcycle and it was TOO. F*&#ING. SMALL. But – not too small that we can’t put it in front of a 1:25 Batmobile and hope for some forced perspective action! So – here we are. I reluctantly shipped the Batcycle prototype back to Mike the other day. Maybe someone will turn it into a model someday. But for now – I will be breaking the cardinal scale adherence rule and hoping nobody notices.

So that’s the story of the Batcycle model that nobody wanted. Here below is a scale shot that compares the different Batcycle models mentioned above.

Overall – lots of nice upgrades. Sadly – most of them just make the model look more accurate to the #1 car IN ITS CURRENT STATE, in Barris’ garage. Not how the car looked on screen or in 1966. Here are some interesting hard to see new differences from the standard model to watch for:

• Flocked carpeting
• New detectoscope with inner decal (not accurate at all)
• Aluminum painted rocker panels and door-wells (no texture detail)
• Chrome, UN-segmented dash with open Futura radio(?) and other odd guage
• Parachute pull ring (black plastic)
• Resized batphone with cord
• Chromed inner door trim
• Light lenses under front and rear gills
• Compass decal
• Steering wheel chrome inner struts and center decal
• Photo-etched door handles
• Photo-etched bat radar
• Full fire extinguisher
• Clear red antler lenses
• Routed and painted chassis
• Seatbelts and bat buckles