Well, R2 is showing some more shots of what we can only hope is only the snap-kit. I know, it’s not even out yet and I’m already picking it apart. The model is still looking fantastic and Jamie has done a wonderful job with it. However, there are some issues that even if they don’t matter to you, you should be watching out for. From what we’ve heard, most of the ‘fixes’ are already ‘in’, so I think this is pretty close to what we’re going to be getting at this point.  Some things to think about as you wait out the long, cold months until February:

Snap kit undercarriage. Holy fake turbine exhausts Batman!

1. First off, the snap-kit is undoubtedly aimed at a younger audience and as such – is apparently and perhaps appropriately going with yet another fictional turbine look undercarriage. Not a big issue if the later glue kit goes forward with the more accurate (emphasis on the word ‘more’) Ford engine and undercarriage we’ve already seen preview looks at. But for those of us who will “believe it when we see it” and have been bitten before by the vast chasm between what PL promises to do and what ends up actually being done – this just makes it that much more work for us to find a suitable replacement undercarriage so we can drop in our own Ford engine. Personally, I loathe the fake turbine engine crap. Save it for the comic book versions of the car. I understand that it was intended to have a turbine in the show, but everyone knows it really didn’t and many of us want to build the real car, not the producers’ fantasy version.

2. Figures. Okay,I will concede that ANY figures are better than NO figures… No sorry I can’t do it. These figures are just like all the other figures PL has done. Just. Freaking. Horrible. On any level. I wouldn’t bother modifying them because their proportions are just pure comic book. With PL’s excellent  track record of realizing that modelers really like to customize their kits, why didn’t they put in some realistic looking NON-superhero base figures that could be turned into whatever crimefighter the modeler wanted? Just some good 1:25 seated figures with no costuming whatsoever would have been a great, helpful thing. You know, like all the extra decals and artwork they’ve been doing with the Aurora recasts reissues. And the bazillion extra Star Trek parts they include on those ships. This can’t have been much of a brainstorm to come up with could it have been? No DC issues, just a couple of guys in there. Sigh. Ah well. Wonder what better TV Bat figures would look like in 1:25 scale? Oh look what we have here! (don’t get your undies in a twat, DC – these are customs from over a decade ago)

Really, Polar Lights? Really?

Just a couple dudes, out for a ride in their modified concept car...

Seriously though, how killer cool is this going to be?

3. The other issue I have at this time is that I’m concerned that the sales of this snap-kit (or lack thereof) may affect the actual release of the promised glue-kit. I’m not even concerned about the pie-in-the-sky “deluxe” kit that has been dangled recently. I’m just looking for a nicer glue kit to work on. Granted – it will be nice to get a pre-painted black + pin-striped body version of the Batmobile. Heck, it will be amazing just seeing them for sale at a hobby store. I know I’m just going to stand there savoring the moment when it comes.

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!"

1.) We migrated our server today (Yay!) so if there are some little glitches with the new site or how it is behaving – let me know. It seems fine but ya never know.

2) The place to subscribe to our email list for sales updates etc. is not the same as the WordPress registration. It is over in the right hand sidebar under “subscribe to our mailing list”  You can just click HERE to get there too.

3) A little trash talk time. A couple people have sent me links to these Bat figures that heroes Club is selling on ebay. And I just have to spout off a bit. Firstly – I would hope that you folks that call yourselves bat-collectors would recognize that they just recast the Polar Lights Batboat figures. Here are the two sets of figures:

1. Polar Lights Batboat:

2. Heroes Club Figures:

Now, it really doesn’t take too much of a detective to realize these are the same figures. That would be fine too.We certainly borrowed some existing figures to make our gen 1 sets. But here’s the deal. Do the math. the Polar Lights Batboat is a 1/25 scale model. So these figures are (as you can see) much too small for the car. And the ones I saw were cast in a static posed hard vinyl and just look very comic booky, not like Adam and Burt at all. Comic Booky, small, poorly painted and crazy bright. And they did a piss-poor job of switching Robin’s bent arm to boot. I think these look ghastly.

So hey – if you want to chalk this up to trash talk – feel free. We’re going to be all out (for good) of our figures by April so it doesn’t really impact us at all. But if you’re buying these because you think $50 is a bargain – just be forewarned: You get what you pay for.  Not only that but our new run of figures is almost as affordable. (shhhh don’t let that out yet – it’s a sale secret!)

It’s the beginning of a new year and I’m cleaning out some old stock (as well as some cobwebs). I’ve got a very few sets of painted figures that came from our supplier a teensy bit off from our specs. Whether it’s a missing paint app. here, or a snapped off hand there, they are just not up to our standards. And so, rather than having us refurb. and resell them, I thought we’d open them up to anyone who may have been eyeing these up and was waiting for a drastic, unprecedented drop in price. SO – here you go, I’m not going to list all the little defects, but these are all only very slightly ‘off’ from the premium sets in quality but at least 50% off the regular price! You may have to reattach an arm or hand, or repaint a belt or something small, but that’s really about it.  If you’re handy with glue or a little paint and want to save some jing, this deal is for you. Contact me via email.

1. Membership has it’s privileges. Well our super secret holiday sale is now over. It went for a week and did very well. Lots of registered PMB! users were able to take advantage of the savings and get some items they were eyeing up all year. If you want to get on the list for the next one, make sure you register here and/or sign up for the newsletter in the sidebar to the right. (form going up soon) Prices have reverted to normal for the time being. If for some reason you were registered and didn’t get the links to the sale – please let me know.

2. Gen 2 Figures. We’ve had a phenomenal response to our Gen 2 figure sets. Like a knucklehead though, I miscounted the unfinished sets I had on hand. This was not entirely my fault as the manufacturer packed those figures with one figure in each box instead of two to a box like the painted ones. So I thought I had twice as many as I actually had. BUT the good news is that there are some more due here any day and we’ll get those orders out as soon as possible.

3. Upgrade Parts Sets. Yes, we know we’re very late on these. Good thing nobody has paid for any preorders yet. Since we’re small, we have to do things as fast as we can manage and that sometimes seems pretty slow to folks anxioulsy awaiting new stuff. The good news is that our team of developers kicks butt. Boy are we glad we waited on a few of these things. All new Detect-A-Scope. All new Ansen T-Handles. And the big 2009 news is almost too good to keep to ourselves. (Almost, heh heh) Anyway, we are moving forward on these things and have been gearing up with new mold-making supplies etc. to do some parts making over the holiday. So stay patient and you will be rewarded.

4. We now have Super Elites! So if you’ve been wanting to get one of these highest-end of all the Hot Wheels Batmobiles  – we’ve got them. And at $225.00 they’re priced to sell. Treat yourself  to a Christmas bonus, whether you’ve been naughty or nice.

We at PimpMyBatmobile hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas this year. We’ll be updating more and sharing some more progress shots over the next few weeks so keep stopping in.

-Scot

Pictured is our prototype set. They’re a little beat up from traveling to Tiki Con and we made a couple little tweaks to the final ones based on a few comments people made at Tiki. I know everyone says this but honestly – pictures don’t do these justice.  They are really, really cool in person. See our upcoming youtube commercial to see them in video.

Info on the figures:

• Produced in Asia by a professional toy design company
• Multiple articulation points at wrists & shoulders (or can be glued)
• Unfinished sets – No clean-up needed, and they are pre-assembled
• Pressure pot cast in clean lightweight urethane
• Sidekick’s hand can be made to hold the PMB! Batphone handset.

How are those for improvements?

So, does he FIT? Yes! With a few disclaimers. The Caped Crusader will not simply slide in behind the wheel, now that he has legs. Sorry. Blame Hot Wheels and their interesting take on the interior space. If you don’t do anything to the wheel – yes, you can squeeze him in there, but it will be a tight fit and he won’t be coming in and out much. But wait – you have options

Here’s the skinny on the fit.  The physics of the thing are such that Hot Wheels simply didn’t give us enough space to achieve natural looking, seated figures that would fit under that steering wheel in its current configuration without a bit of a squeeze. Sorry. Ain’t gonna happen. Believe me we tried. The figures just didn’t end up looking right.

BUT There are a few workarounds to this problem going from the very, very easy to the more involved. There are some easily achievable quick-modifications that will allow much more leeway to the fit. Some involve the wheel, some involve the figures, some involve the seats.

Read about those options HERE (you can also access this page from the main right-hand sidebar under “Pages”)

Hot Wheels Fire Extinguisher on the left.
Pimp My Batmobile custom Fire Extinguisher on the right.
You decide.

(See the message board for recipe)

Sorting, sorting, sorting…

I was aked to do a PRE-review of this kit. Modeler/sculptor Jason Napper is attempting to put out a true 1:18 scale Batmobile kit with many features that the best 1:25 scale modelers would envy. Chrome parts, clean lines and high accuracy levels by two of the leading Batmobile modelers have turned out a formidable model. I was sent an early casting of the body, primed grey, a set of seats, 2 parachute packs and 4 chromed wheel hubs. The rest of the kit is due out any moment now and I will update this review when it does.

The first thing we should examine is scale. Collectors of the popular 1:18 scale die-cast cars have long wanted a Batmobile to go with their other beauties.  The #1 Batmobile was 213.75 inches long. That translates into 11.8″ long for true 1:18 scale. In 2003, Kevin Bessey and Tony Mariano (of T&T models) released a very limited run of a Batmobile kit that many people referred to as 1:18. The model was 13″ long which puts it far over the 1:18 sizing and closer to 1:16.4. A small run of those kits were sold before the makers  stopped making them. There is a model on the market now by Gink which, to my eye and from all reports  is a version of that same model with a handful of tweaked parts. I have no idea if Gink bought the molds or why this model looks so much like the other. Going on the photos available on the internet – it’s essentially the same 1:16 kit.

Seen above is a 1:25 Siderio body, the new JWCM 1:18 body and the Bessey/Mariano 1:16 body for scale comparisons.

Here is the Bessey/Mariano 1:16 body next to an Ertl 1:18 Dodge Charger. Note the obvious scale discrepancy. There are certainly collectors for the 1:16 scale models. But some people seem to toss the 2 scales around as if they were interchangeable where clearly, they are not.

Here is the new JWCM 1:18 body next to the same Ertl Charger. The JWCM model is accurately scaled for 1:18 at 11.87″ Note the clearly similar scaling.

Here is the underside of the JWCM 1:18 car compared to the Bessey/Mariano 1:16. Now we will talk about the pattern’s clean lines and molding. One aspect of the new JWCM kit is that it is very thick-walled. I can guess that this was to ensure straight, non-warped castings because they are VERY straight and level. I sat the body on a desk with absolutely no wobble or air gaps. The seats sat inside on the desk and came flush up to the correct spot. Notice also the attention to clean detail on the unseen underside of the model. This is rare and a breath of fresh air.

Comparing the model to the older 1:16 car, many details of the JWCM body seem much more accurate to the original car. Seen here a comparison of front fender flares. The JWCM is much smoother.

It is never a good idea to cast the top dash area as part of the body. It sinks and is hard to keep straight. The new JWCM has flawless shaped openings for the canopies and dash parts to fit into. Also notice the lip that follows the contour. This is something that will make canopy placement much more precise and true to the real car.

Same thing with the rear lines. The casting of the 1:16 was pretty rough and the surface was riddled with pour lines, and a mottled texture. The JWCM kit is extremely clean right out of the mold. Plus – compare the preciseness of the rear vent lines.

A couple nitpicks: On the body I got – the rear points to the fins were dulled and one was broken. I am fairly sure this was due to it being a Beta model. The scribed lines for the trunk lid seemed a bit rough and crooked. The walls of the car are probably too thick to easily facilitate opening the doors, trunk or hood, and the grilles in front and back are not open as we have come to enjoy from the 1:25 kits that are out there. While many of us can live with non-opening doors etc, most modelers  are going to want to open the grille ports up for placement of the PE grilles so that’s a small disappointment. All these problems are easily fixed. Just more Dremel work on an otherwise labor free kit.

The plusses so far vastly outweigh the minuses. the body-lines are clean, the shape is perfect and the surface is 95% ready to prime and paint as is. It will benefit from a little 400+ sanding after a couple small pits are filled before first paint – but that’s for super sticklers. It COULD be painted as is. The seats look great. Finally we get the full metal bracings! The chutes look fine too.

I have a small concern that the wheels are too big diameter-wise. They are chromed fairly accurate Radirs and deep set as they should be – but they do seem a tiny bit big for the car. Remember – the Batmobile had undersized wheels. I’ll hold this final verdict until I see them with their tires and on the car in person. I could easily be wrong. I am unsure what the undercarriage/pan method is going to be. The way the Batmobile sits on it’s wheels can make or break a scale model.

In discussing the larger scale models with Andy Garringer, Jim Apitz and others, we have often made the assertion that, based on the amazing levels of detail that have been achieved with the smaller 1:25 scale versions, in this easier-to-work-with larger version – there are no excuses not to get every little thing just as right as you’d like. Better base parts in the kit go a long way to help that and Jason has made a great effort so far. The days where we discarded everything but the base body are over.

In addition to Jason’s modeling work, Andy Garringer is designing the Photo Etch detail parts and if history is a lesson – they will be outstanding. Jason is working feverishly to get  all the other parts for this kit ready for the rabid market.