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GORDON: “He gave us a SIGNAL!”: A MEGO MEET’18 Sneak Peek

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  • darklord1967
    Persistent Member
    • Mar 27, 2008
    • 1550

    GORDON: “He gave us a SIGNAL!”: A MEGO MEET’18 Sneak Peek

    As many of you know, I considered my presence at last year’s MEGO MEET somewhat… incomplete.

    You see, I intended to display my 9Art Legends of Gotham City custom action figures within FOUR sequential dioramas.

    Unfortunately, I managed to only complete two of the dioramas in time for the MEET.


    One of the dioramas that I was unable to produce last year was a section of the top floor and rooftop of the GOTHAM CITY POLICE HEADQUARTERS building to showcase my Police Commissioner Gordon custom action figure and the fully operational BATSIGNAL that I planned to custom build.

    Last edited by darklord1967; May 10, '18, 8:48 PM.
    I... am an action figure customizer
  • darklord1967
    Persistent Member
    • Mar 27, 2008
    • 1550

    #2
    I managed to display my custom Gordon last year, but I was only able to pose him standing next to (a placeholder) 2001 DC DIRECT Bat Signal prop. And as luck would have it, this Batsignal was stolen at the end of the weekend! Grrrr!!

    The loss of last year’s Batsignal prop forced me to expedite construction of my own custom Batsignal in order to complete the headquarters building diorama in time for this year’s meet.

    Well, I’m happy to report that the FULL diorama (including a custom Batsignal) is nearing completion and will definitely make its debut at the meet next month. The display is in final paint, and weathering stage, and I think it is going to make a pretty nice addition to the other dioramas of my display.


    I built the soffit portion of the GCDP building’s top floor including the three grand support columns. Like my other dioramas, the windows light up to create a dramatic night scene, and the display is created in actual 1:9 scale. The building section I built measures approximately 27” wide by about 21” tall.

    I... am an action figure customizer

    Comment

    • darklord1967
      Persistent Member
      • Mar 27, 2008
      • 1550

      #3
      It was always my plan to build my custom BATSIGNAL on the basis of the same DC Direct prop that was stolen from last year’s meet.





      Truth be told I actually had many, many issues with the DC Direct Batsignal. It was NOT configured in a way that was even remotely accurate to a real carbon arc searchlight. In fact, to my eyes it looked a lot more like an inverted soup mug mounted on a bracket!




      I... am an action figure customizer

      Comment

      • darklord1967
        Persistent Member
        • Mar 27, 2008
        • 1550

        #4
        The DC Direct Batsignal was only capable of projecting (a very dim) Bat insignia, and even then, ONLY when the bat insignia sticker was REMOVED off its face to reveal a small projection lens! Lame.






        The notion of a warning plaque built directly onto the rear of the Batsignal was something I did not agree with. However, I did like the idea of incorporating the warning elsewhere on the diorama. I also really liked the round GCPD medallion. That was something I would want to re-purpose somewhere on the diorama as well.


        I... am an action figure customizer

        Comment

        • darklord1967
          Persistent Member
          • Mar 27, 2008
          • 1550

          #5
          It was my intention to address ALL of these issues and produce a fully working searchlight prop that was far closer in accuracy to an actual 1942 60" General Electric carbon arc searchlight (my preferred style of Batsignal).


          In the end, I built a fully-functional reasonably accurate version of a vintage WW II army surplus Carbon Arc Searchlight to serve as the GCPD’s Batsignal (with some minor creative license applied to the design) I also scratch-built an accompanying electrical power generator trailer AND incorporated the legal warning (about unauthorized Batsignal use) as a weather-beaten sign post. My custom Batsignal features an ultra bright LED light source that is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery pack good for 15 hours between chargings. The activation switich for the custom Batsignal is actually built into the large Carbon Arc Control Box (mounted on the left U bracket arm).

          The custom Batsignal only awaits final paint and weathering, the addition of a yellow tinted face lens, and several “power conduit” hoses linking it to the electrical power generator trailer.

          Last edited by darklord1967; Jun 6, '18, 7:16 PM.
          I... am an action figure customizer

          Comment

          • darklord1967
            Persistent Member
            • Mar 27, 2008
            • 1550

            #6
            The Bat-shaped face plate is actually laser cut out of 1/16" gloss black plexiglass sheet from a digital file I created. It is mounted on three 1/4" thick clear mounting spacers, so it is NOT attached directly onto the face lens, rather it appears to float 1/4" off its surface!

            I detailed the face trim ring with bolt heads cut off of tiny nylon screws and tiny half beads glued into place.




            I used a small plastic 1.75" by 1.75" by .75" jewelry storage box to fabricate the Batsignal's primary Carbon Arc Feeder Control Box Terminal. I performed all detailing with styrene sheet, half moon beads, and military model kit parts. The face plate of this control box terminal is removable, revealing the Batsignal's activation switch. WARNING: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE LED LIGHT SOURCE! This sucker is BRIGHT as all get out!!! I'm sure it will be much safer to look at when I replace the Batsignal's clear lens with the yellow-tinted lens I will be installing.

            The sheer SIZE of the Bat insignia this signal projects above (while sitting on an average table) is awe-inspiring! The circular spotlight-encased Bat projection absolutely FILLS the ceiling of my 18' X 16' bedroom!!





            I scratch built the Batsignal’s hydraulic trunnion bracket rotation motor using a sction of plexiglass tube, two small dome end caps, and some military model kit detailing…




            I imagined that the Batsignal was a very powerful device that generated a tremendous amount of HEAT during operation. It was therefore logical to me that this searchlight would have been equipped with a sophisticated system of cooling and heat extraction. I configured the Batsignal with “heat dispersion fins” evenly spaced all around the circumference of the rear half of the main reflector, and I incorporated a sophisticated heat ventilation duct array at the very top of the unit (as exists on actual carbon arc searchlights).








            I re-built the entire rear half of the DC Direct Batsignal with a much more appropriate dome shape. The usual General Electric circular medallion (typically situated at the center of the rear dome) was replaced by the round GCPD logo medallion that I carefully cut out of the rear plaque of the original DC Direct signal, and repurposed here.




            Custom 9 ART Batsignal stands 10.75" in height and has a footprint diameter of 10.25".



            .
            Last edited by darklord1967; May 9, '18, 3:27 PM.
            I... am an action figure customizer

            Comment

            • darklord1967
              Persistent Member
              • Mar 27, 2008
              • 1550

              #7
              With some obscure shapes out of my parts bin, I cobbled together a reasonable facsimile of the typical inline flathead engine that served as the power source for these carbon arc searchlights. I mounted the whole thing onto a support frame (that I imagined was improvised by GCPD techs).





              The engine assembly was then encased in a military trailer that I built out of an “O” scale train boxcar (that I shortened by 2/3rds) , detailed with military kit parts, painted in olive drab and then weathered.



              In the end, I incorporated the original DC Direct GCPD plaque warning about unauthorized use of the Batsignal (word for word) onto a weather-beaten old sign post that I created.

              Last edited by darklord1967; May 10, '18, 9:28 PM.
              I... am an action figure customizer

              Comment

              • boss
                Talkative Member
                • Jun 18, 2003
                • 7204

                #8
                Looks great!
                Fresh, not from concentrate.

                Comment

                • Mego Milk
                  Custom Mego Maker
                  • Jun 3, 2007
                  • 2842

                  #9
                  My Gosh, Man!

                  beauteous.

                  Comment

                  • darklord1967
                    Persistent Member
                    • Mar 27, 2008
                    • 1550

                    #10
                    I created the custom BATSIGNAL "set" to be packaged in a box (of my own comic book art design)...




                    ... and a Bat Gear File Card (of my own design and text). Special thank you shout out to Brian Bossart for the excellent proofreading assistance,





                    Last edited by darklord1967; May 10, '18, 9:33 PM.
                    I... am an action figure customizer

                    Comment

                    • ScottA
                      Original Member
                      • Jun 25, 2001
                      • 12264

                      #11
                      Holy cow dude. That's amazing.
                      sigpic WANTED: Boxed, Carded and Kresge Carded WGSH

                      Comment

                      • noelani72
                        27inaleon
                        • Jun 25, 2002
                        • 4608

                        #12
                        holy cow! awesome

                        Comment

                        • TrekStar
                          Trek or Treat
                          • Jan 20, 2011
                          • 8354

                          #13
                          That is just simply an amazing piece, thanks for posting.

                          Comment

                          • C.H.O.A.M.
                            learning all the time
                            • Sep 15, 2010
                            • 1081

                            #14
                            amazing as always!!

                            Comment

                            • UnderdogDJLSW
                              To Fear is Not Logical...
                              • Feb 17, 2008
                              • 4883

                              #15
                              Totally Amazing!
                              It's all good!

                              Comment

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