Pimp My Batmobile!

Posts Tagged ‘1966 batmobile’

So here’s a look at the current mock-up of the 1/25 snap-kit box art. This is the highly anticipated Alex Ross art, though from what we hear, they’re using elements styled in different formats for the new products. So, maybe we’ll get a more elaborate setting or treatment in the 1:25 glue kit or the slot cars etc. Obviously not the final packaging, since they’re still showing the aurora reissue car body as a placeholder in the background, but  – we’re starting to get excited here.

It struck me as I read those older posts (from TWO years ago, yikes) that I didn’t adequately explain our plan for  creating the “floating” effect of the Batboat. Firstly, the Batboat itself was modified by Jim Apitz from a Polar Lights kit. Those of you that know your Aurora history will remmeber the original 1966 model was issued in 1/32 scale while they wisely (at the urging of Mike Stutelber if I recall) made the reissue 1/25 scale. This was probably the coolest thing that a  model company could do. It was like they said – Hey, we know we can’t issue a 1/25 Batmobile (yet) but in case we or someone else ever does, and for those thousands of you who’ve been building 1:25 bootlegged, garage Batmobiles for 15 years – here’s a Batboat in the correct matching scale.

I’ve modeled the 1/32 older one, both from the Aurora kit and from recasts. I had planned to build one of the PL reissues, but had never gotten around to it when Jim Apitz alerted me that he might be willing to sell one that he had built. Well, being the huge fan of Jim’s work that I am, I purchased it.

Clearly, I didn’t want to do what we did with the less valued Robin’s Seadoo – which was to embed it in the clear resin water effects.BUT – we did want to give the floating effect to the boat. So here’s what we came up with. we took an extra PL Batboat hull, wrapped it in plastic-wrap and vaseline and mounted it via a clear thin tube (that would hopefully disappear)  to the bottom of the lakebed.

The extra Batboat hull, wrapped in plastic and mounted to post

The plan was to then fill the lakebed with the clear water resin, and when it had cured, pop out the hull, leaving a perfect negative space to gently lay the finished Batboat in. Great plan.

Boat hull mounted to lakebed

Unfortunately, we forgot to glue on an exhaust. So after we poured all the resin, let it cure and popped out the hull and cleaned up the release material – we tested the ‘hero’ Batboat in the space only to find that it did not fit due to the exhaust!

This was solved, albeit a little clunkily, by Dremeling out a slot in the rear of the resin so the exhaust could fit. It wasn’t as snug a fit as we were hoping for, but the boat still looks pretty good in the water AND is easily removed from the lake.

More to come.

After resin was poured and cured. Carved out a notch for the exhaust.

Testing the Batboat in "the water"

Editor’s Note: The following post has been migrated over from our now defunct Batcave Blog and dates originally from January, 2008:

We decided to build the diorama in this large 6ft long glass store display case. We found this case fairly affordably from a local used store fixtures supply warehouse in Pittsburgh. It came with existing lighting but we mounted new mini fluorescent lights to the interior ceiling. We are testing out a floor-plan and getting a working base floor out of pink building Styrofoam in there to make markings.

The tricky parts of this (other than, you know – actually creating all the little bits) is working within the space contained by this display case and working front to back until we get ready to turn everything around later. We wanted a platform base to give elevation for a grotto for the batboat, and to hopefully house electrical parts.

We tried to drop in a full-length base platform but I realized it would be better with two smaller ones so we can have flexibility and maneuvering room. Here we are laying out the new floorplan and test-fitting the underflooring. You can see our markings for where the grotto will be.

Marking the Batcave floor.

Laying out some goodies for a test fit.

More gadgets placement.

Editor’s Note: Recently I was talking on another forum about my ongoing 1:25 Batcave diorama project and the person had not seen or heard of it before. I realized that the original blog articles had crashed when I took down the Scooter’s Custom Works website. (That website will be back up soon, by the way.) Even though that website content is gone, I found access in to the original Batcave blog articles and so I’m reposting them here, chronologically at PMB! Hopefully this will kick me into gear and my son Alex and I will get back on finishing the diorama up soon. The following post is from August, 2005.

For years, I had mused about creating a full-on, Batcave diorama in my favorite scale – 1:25. It seemed like  a great idea to house some of the many models I had created and also for a fun, large-scale project all  its own. I had been inspired by my friend Mike Stutelberg, whose own Batcave diorama is nothing short of breathtaking. It always seemed like a huge project and so years later, I still had not started it. Then, in 2004 a few things happened to kick-start my gumption. 1. My (then) 4 year old son had acquired a model railroading video that he watched over and over again, as 4 year olds do. And I watched it with him and soaked up some great fabrication tips. 2. Over the Christmas break, I noticed an eBay auction offering a custom 1:25 Atomic Pile model.

I thought it looked great and was amazed to see the Atomic Pile modeled in 1:25 scale and actually ON eBay for sale! I won the auction and when the model arrived I was amazed by the build-quality: Welded metal struts, cast resin panels, multi-media textures – it was very well done. I then realized that here was my answer. This was how the diorama model could get built – by supplementing our own work with pieces by other craftsmen. It would still be a huge, time-consuming folly, but it just might work!

I decided that I wanted to get an Atomic Pile model that was NOT anchored to a smaller cave setting like this one was, so I contacted the builder, Jim Graham and asked him to make me another one.

The new Atomic Pile would be freestanding and able to be utilized in my larger planned cave diorama. Now, how to house it, and what it would actually entail were the next questions I had to tackle.

Luckily, having a 4-year old telling you that anything, no matter how ambitious, is just what has to happen – is all you need to shame you into taking any project on.

And so, a Batcave – That’s it. It’s an omen. We shall model – a Batcave!

Our secret week-long private, members-only sale is now open to the public! Click on the SALE tab above to view whatever is left. Everything not sold this week goes up on eBay.