Building a 1966 BATMOBILE for 8 inch MEGO Batman

[noelani72]

I wanted to bump this awesome thread...
After meeting Roberto at MM and seeing this creation in person - wow....no, WOW!
The attention to detail is incredible...and the vision of execution is something I can appreciate deeply as a fellow builder.
I am going to everything I can to help...the Mego world needs this ;-)

[palitoy]

I'm sorry I missed seeing this, those that did were amazed.

[Orlock]

So awesome. My hat's off to you sir.

[ClaudeAtlas]

So sorry. I won't let it happen again.

you know we're itching for some updated photos here! (hint, hint)

[Boy_Wonder_1978]

WOW!!! A real labour of love. I'd like to see more.

[harvestcrusader]

love the 66 batmobile.....

[chalwa]

Anticipation is killing me...

[captact]

Are there any updated pics of this car?????

[darklord1967]

At the moment, I am working with a 3D render artist who is creating the digital tooling to have this car 3D printed professionally. The final parts will look 100 times smoother, cleaner, and straighter than the parts from this first attempt. If all goes well, I am approximately one month away from being able to show final printed parts. The DEFINITE GOAL is to have a completed, finished, fully detailed car to show on display next year at MEGO MEET '16 (along with various 1:9 scale custom figures from my upcoming "Legends OF Gotham City" Collection). It is GOING to happen! No more delays!

[Brue]

Still kicking myself for not checking this out in Chicago.

[megoscott]

Me too! I wish we had known he was coming, we could have set up a whole room for it. Next year, Darklord...

[darklord1967]

As I settled in last night, after a long day at work, I was somewhat melancholy.

I had learned just a few hours before that the world had lost one of my GREATEST heroes, the car Customizer Mr. George Barris.

My fascination with George Barris' '66 Batmobile never faltered over the decades. And as I watched new Batmobile designs come and go for the big screen movies, NONE of them came even close to pleasing my eye or pleasing my heart like George's original '66 Bat did.

When seeing interviews with George Barris, I was always so struck by how cheerful, and affable he always seemed. I was glad about this because it is always so disappointing when you learn that the people who created the works you love so much are not nice.

With yesterday's passing of George Barris, I have not lost a family member, a close relative, or even an acquaintance (I never had the honor nor privilege as so many other fans have had of meeting George in person. I am nevertheless saddened that this kindly little man... who's Batmobile creation has brought me DECADES worth of joy and has set me on a path of fandom that is never-ending... this man who just exuded warmth and humor has left the company of the living here on Earth.

Mr. Barris' passing is particularly poignant for ME personally in the face of my upcoming unveiling of my long-in-development custom '66 Batmobile toy. And I am not nearly as skilled nor resourceful as an artist nor craftsman as George Barris was when he designed and built this most excellent car in a mere 21 days and delivered it, on time, to the studio for the start of production on the BATMAN TV series. As a mere moderately talented toymaker, I will need every moment of available construction time over the next several months until I unveil my custom '66 Batmobile toy for all to FINALLY see up close. Nevertheless, by returning to MEGO MEET in 2016, to share my creation with all of you, my MEGO friends, it will now partially be as my small way to honor and pay tribute to the memory of Mr. Barris, as I deliver MY creation, on time, as promised... just as he did nearly 50 years ago.

It is my sincere hope that the memory of his good cheer offers some measure of comfort to his family again soon, as I am sure they are heartbroken right now. And I hope that George's legacy of artistic excellence is continued by so many of the other people like me that he has inspired.

May the heavenly father spread His inviting arms and welcome George Barris... car customizer extraordinaire... into His warm embrace as he returns home...

Thank you George... for an AWESOME childhood.

-Roberto Williams
November 6th, 2015

[LonnieFisher]

R.I.P.!

[darklord1967]

A SMALL TEASE BEFORE THE UNVEILING OF THE PROTOTYPE AT MEGO MEET!






There were plenty of shapes on this model that I knew I could scratch build from flat sheets, (just as I began to do with the lower rocker panels in this photo).


But when it came to parts with complex curves and bulging surfaces (like the car's front hood clip pictured here) , there was no easy or quick fix for them. They would have to be extensively re-puttied, shaped, sculpted, and sanded smooth as they were prepped for molding and final casting.

[darklord1967]

It was a tedious job...







... of re-sculpting, and re-shaping...



Thank God for Milliput modelling compound, white squadron putty...

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... and steady fingers...




This will soon be ready for final molding and casting. Now THAT's a pretty big difference from the part I started out with! Wouldn't you say?