Batmobile custom length

[LonnieFisher]

How long should a custom '66 Batmobile be, to be the correct length for the figures? Would 18 inches be long enough? How about 30 inches? Too long? The Mego one is 13 inches long. Let me know what you think.

[pmwasson]

Google say the batmobile is 225 inches long, so 225/9 = 25 inches.

[LonnieFisher]

Math, what a novel idea. So, a Batmobile at 30 inches would be a little too big. That might be better than being too small.

[LonnieFisher]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282088969690?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[thunderbolt]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282088969690...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

and that one is small for 1/6th scale. Should be 37.5 inches.

[sprytel]

I think that would seem comically large. 25 may be exact scale, but my guess is about 20 inches would still look good... and look better than 30.

[darklord1967]

Google say the batmobile is 225 inches long, so 225/9 = 25 inches.

My venerable colleague Paul Wasson is correct here... but only RELATIVELY speaking. What I mean by that (with all due respect to Paul) is that a 25 inch 1966 Batmobile is only "correct" if you determine MEGO Batman to exist in 1:9 scale. But that is shaky assertion, at best.

When we measure the figure itself and compare that to the official DC Comics stated height of the character (6'2" or 74 inches / 6' 4" or 76" with boots), things get a little complicated:

Assuming that MEGO Batman stands 8 inches in height, that actually translates to a scale of 1:9.5 (relative to the character's actual height), which would necessitate a 1966 Batmobile that is 23.68 inches in length (relative to the actual car's length).
But when we look at MEGO Batman carefully, something interesting is revealed. He only stands 8" in height when dressed and wearing his thick boots! If we remove his cowl and boots, his height actually measures in at 7.75 inches. At that size, his scale actually remains consistent at just about 1:9.5 (relative to the character's actual height).

But what about MEGO Robin? He shares the same body (and therefore) the same height as MEGO Batman. That character's officially stated height (as a BOY) is 4'10" (or 58 inches) . That means that with his (flat sole pixie) shoes on (as an 8 inch tall character) Robin's scale comes in at 1:7.25 scale. A "correctly-sized" Batmobile for him would have to measure 31.03 inches. If the figure's scale is calculated off of the barefoot 7.75 inch tall figure, then the scale becomes 1:7.48. That translates to a correctly-sized 1966 Batmobile that would measure 30.08 inches.
If you choose the 6.75" tall "First Appearance" Robin (by Figures Toys Company) as your scale standard, then the scale (relative to the character's actual height) becomes 1:8.59. At that scale, a 1966 Batmobile of 26.19" would be just about right.

By the time you get to the other superhero characters from MEGO's line of action figures (who do not share the same "type 2" Heroic male body), scale only gets more and more thrown out of whack and confused. The MEGO version of Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot stands virtually eye to eye with MEGO Batman (even though he uses the different MEGO Fat Man body). His precise height is difficult to pinpoint since his Top Hat is not removable. But The Penguin's official character height is listed as 5 feet 3/4 inches or 60.75 inches) That means that (if we regard MEGO penguin to stand at 7.75 inches), then his scale holds at 1:7.83. If the Penguin were going to steal the Batmobile (the way he did a couple of times in the 1966 TV show, once in the 1966 Batman movie, and once in MEGO's famous TV Commercial), then the car would have to be 28.73" in length to look correct with him in it.

The Incredible Hulk was created as one of the shortest MEGO Super Heroes (using the 7.5 inch tall Muscle Man body), even though the character's official height is listed at approx 9 feet. So as a MEGO figure, he exists in the 1:14.4 scale. For the MEGO Hulk to look correct to scale lifting a 1966 Batmobile over his head to smash it (Gasp!! heaven forbid!!) the car would have to be 15.625" in length.

You can see what havoc MEGO's original disregard for these character's relative heights to each other caused in terms of establishing a true overall SCALE for the line.



I actively sought to avoid all these problems when i created my 9Art line of custom figures and toys. The first thing I did was establish a FIXED CONSISTENT SINGLE SCALE for all characters of the line. That way, characters were accurately size scaled to each other, and calculations for vehicles sizes would be simplified.

I established The Batman as the size standard of the line, and scaled EVERYONE else relative to him. Proceeding with a "given" of Bruce Wayne's official height of 74", and The Batman's height (adjusting for thick combat boots) at 76", I set the scale at 1:9 and came up with the following sizes for the custom 9Art LEGENDS OF GOTHAM CITY Collection:

Bruce Wayne figure (barefoot) stands at 8.22 inches (rounded up to 8.25 inches)
The Batman figure (fully dressed) stands at 8.44 inches (rounded up to 8.50 inches)
Robin the BOY Wonder (not Teen) figure stands at 6.44 inches (rounded up to 6.50 inches).
The Penguin (without his top hat) stands 6.75 inches
... and the custom 1966 Batmobile is being developed to be 25 inches long.

[Boywonder0]

^^^Master!^^^

[EMCE Hammer]

Thanks for the explanation Roberto. I knew 30" wouldn't look right, but no way I could explain why.

[darklord1967]

^^^Master!^^^

LOL! Not really. I just know my way around a calculator. LOL!

Thanks for the explanation Roberto. I knew 30" wouldn't look right, but no way I could explain why.

Well the link above is to an eBay auction for the well-known 1966 Batmobile kit commonly referred to as a "Joe Mobile"... So named because it was designed to fit 12 inch scale figures like GI joes or Captain Action and Action Boy (dressed as Batman and Robin).

Truth be told, even figures of that larger scale don't look so good in a 30-inch Joe Mobile

A Batman Figure standing 12 inches in height is sized at 1:6.33 scale. An appropriate 1966 Batmobile for a figure of that size would have to be 35.5 inches in length... not quite as under-scaled as the MEGO Batmobile in relation to 8 inch figures, but noticeable nevertheless.

In the final analysis, the LENGTH measurement of a toy 1966 Batmobile is only ONE factor in its visual compatibility with a given action figure line. The proportions of that car are VERY SPECIFIC. Muck around with any of the car's other dimensions... height... or width... or wheelbase... or bubble canopy size... or wheel/ tire diameter... RELATIVE to its length... then you end up with a toy that looks "off"... even without figures to compare it to.

With all due respect to him, James DeSimone, the mid-1990's sculptor of the 30-inch "Joe Mobile" kit likely did not do careful research on the 1966 Batmobile to create an accurate replica of the car. Or perhaps an accurate Batmobile was not his goal. Perhaps he was simply going for a "toyetic" look to the final car (which tends to feature distorted proportions). In either case, the Joe Mobile featured oversized tall wheels that kind of gave it a distinct monster truck look... definitely not appropriate for 1:9 scale MEGO figures.