Pimp My Batmobile!

Posts Tagged ‘1966 1:25 batmobile’

Since most of the innards of this kit have been seen on the web already over on Eric’s site etc. I wanted to show some things that haven’t been discussed yet. This is  a great kit and I can’t wait for the third, deluxe version of the kit as well. The metal photo-etched set should make this kit a wonderful thing. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Here’s some thoughts about this kit.

1. The box. It’s been discussed ad nauseum that the Alex Ross artwork is a thing of beauty and a wonderful and appropriate addition to this monumental model kit. One could say that this kit deserves this level of packaging art. Lets look at the difference between this kit and the snap kit. First, we get a bigger, uninterrupted version of the Ross art. That’s great. But one of my favorite things is how well the rest of the package design meshes with the whole feel of the kit. Retro meets modern in a wonderful way. So much better than copying the same tired vintage Aurora style for the umpteenth time. And the fight-words on the  box walls, that you don’t even get to see until you raise the top lid of the box, are excellent.

2. The decals. We get the same decals that came with the snap kit. They make up the top left of the new decal sheet, PLUS we get all new art with pinstriping like the Aurora 1:32 reissue had, door bats, gadget placards, and some extras. There’s even a Penguin symbol for anyone that wants to build the Penguinmobile version. This takes me back to 1970 and drooling at all the other Federation constellation-class starships in the fleet that I could build IF ONLY I HAD 30 MORE ENTERPRISE KITS! There will be more Penguinmobile details in the Deluxe kit, from what I’ve been told. As well as some other fun stuff.

3. The body. Well, here’s where I am feeling lazy. See, the bane of a lot of Batmobile modeler’s existence is perfect pin-striping (color,accuracy and line width etc.) Even if you have perfected the cerise/orangey/red color of the striping, it’s pretty tough to match whatever color comes on the door bat emblems in the kit. Which means you either try your best or you make your own bat decals…it can be a challenge. Not that we’re not looking for challenges! But – I gotta say, eyeing that BEAUTIFUL pre-paint-job on the snap kit gets one’s gears turning. There wasn’t much of a question that it would be the same fit/body, but let me assure you that the parts all fit the same. They’re the same bodies other than the lack of opening hood or trunk on the snap version, and the lack of miles-deep black gloss on the glue version. So you can absolutely use the snap kit body with the rest of the glue kit if you want to forgo the opening sections. Or you can very carefully cut out your own openings.

I’ve stayed away from making suggestions to the folks at PL about this kit. But here’s my one wish – in the Deluxe version of the kit, they should make the body and lids pre-painted like the snap kit. Just my opinion. I’ve got plenty to paint in the interior. I can do without the exterior hardship.

I’ve got some thoughts about ways to go with this body. Stay tuned.

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So by now the new 1:25 Batmobile model from Polar Lights/Round II has been all over eBay and many places are selling them for between $20 and $30. You can also order them at the manufacturer’s website HERE. As I mentioned earlier in the video first look, this is is an exceptionally well-done kit, especially for a snap version. You can conceivably put this kit together, with or without your kid (I recommend WITH), in an evening. If you want to apply a massive amount of detailing, you can stretch it into a weekend.

I’m not going to go crazy on this one, as I’ll hold that back for the promised, upcoming glue-kit because of the opening trunk and hood aspects of that version. But I will do a middle of the road build/paint with my son and report about the assembly.

As far as the parts and accuracy of the details go – everything here is excellent. With two, fairly important (but not insurmountable) exceptions:

1. The Beacon*

1:25 Bat-Mo-Beacons L-R: Original PL, Aluminum upgrade, Resin upgrade (unassembled)

As far as the beacon goes, it’s fairly crudely detailed and even stripping the chrome won’t make it that much less toy-like. Not as bad as we had anticipated, but not as nice as the rest of the parts for sure.  I’ve got access to some amazingly nice and highly detailed beacons in the correct scale designed by our good friend Mit in Australia. I’ve got it in machined aluminum and in resin versions. It’s a 3-piece part that includes the inner red beacon and the top. As you can see, it can totally change the realism level of the model.

2. The Figures*

In an ironic, probably unintentional nod to the original Aurora 1966 Batmobile model kit, The figures are very comic-booky and unrealistic. I think the guys at PL were bummed about how they turned out. But including them will make loads of kid builders ecstatic. They aren’t acceptable for our use and so we’re working on a set of much more realistic figures modified from 2 separate original sculpts by Scott Kapellusch. Here they are in their current state, awaiting some custom arm-poses and fitting to the PL model specs.

1:25 custom figures for the 1966 Batmobile

So we’re going to be putting the snap kit together this weekend and will take shots and hopefully video as we go. Stay tuned for the report here.

(*As we’ve mentioned before, we won’t be selling parts through PMB! anymore. For more information about anything we show or feature here: 1) Subscribe to our mailing list (above in the nav bar) and/or 2) Contact us and we’ll let you know if and when they’ll be available and from who.)

The online hobby world was abuzz this week with sightings of new Polar Lights Batmobile product images showing up at hobby shows and online blogs. We got tips and photos from Tim and Alex so  thanks guys!

Here are a couple teaser shots. Aside from the reissue of the 1:32 scale  Aurora Batmobile it looks like we may also be getting a 1:25 prepainted body snap kit and a 1:25 full glue assembly version. More as we know it.

Time to reissue our 1:25 figures, hmmmm?