Building a 1966 BATMOBILE for 8 inch MEGO Batman

[darklord1967]

Another vital part of this car, formed as a (very rough) compound curve, was the master for the bubble canopy windshield.

I would have no choice but to painstakingly sand them smooth by hand for molding and re-casting as final parts.








Since I intend to create the frames of the canopies as separate pieces, I knew I would have to sand away the raised frames molded onto this canopy master.

[supes]

Freaking awesome!!!!! I so can't wait to see the Mego meet reveal !

[darklord1967]

It was a long process...





... taking weeks of work by hand....





It ended up being a virtual re-sculpt job!




Oh my achin' fingers!




But all the hard work paid off...




The final bubble canopy master turned out smooth as glass...




...and ready for molding and casting...

[darklord1967]

A MAJOR area of concern for my custom Batmobile toy was the accuracy of the wheel and tire combination used on the car.

To my mind, the original racing wheel rims and fat balloon tires seen on the car on the TV show were a big part of the Batmobile's sexy look, and I was DETERMINED that my car would have the exact same look!

The Batmobile actually featured some slightly under-sized, deep dish Radir-brand Racing rims (with raised "ribs" on each of the five flat spokes). These rims, mounted on fat, bulging balloon tires (with no visible white lettering on the sidewalls, etc.), gave the Batmobile it's signature "street rod" look.




NO previous toy or model kit of the Batmobile that I have EVER seen over the last 49 years has ever gotten this look of the car's wheel configuration correct.







I spent several YEARS looking for appropriately accurate wheels and tires for my Batmobile toy in the world of Remote Controlled cars. NO luck.

The wheel and tire seen in this photo were the closest I was able to find to simulate what the Batmobile wore in terms of size and style. But I intended these only as placeholders while I planned out the construction of the rest of the car.




While this wheel rim and tire were similar to the intended final wheel and tires for the toy, they were NOT exact.

These rims are a replica of "Dragway" racing rims that were very popular in the 1960's. And these temporary tires featured huge raised lettering on the sidewall that really ruined the look that I intended the Batmobile's wheels to have.

I faced the reality that one way or the other, I would have to fabricate my OWN wheel rim and tire for this toy FROM SCRATCH, if they were going meet the accuracy requirement I held.

[darklord1967]

As luck would have it, I inadvertently stumbled upon the CORRECT (accurate style and size) wheel rims for this project from an old Die Cast metal toy car I spotted on Ebay!

Then, I spun some wood on a lathe and created this master pattern "buck" for the final "balloon" tires. I sculpted these to be perfectly fitted to the found wheel rims.




The wooden master pattern for the tires is perfectly smooth and finished...




... complete with perfectly spaced tread groves...




... and a finished backside to the tire as well...




...ready to be molded and cast as black rubber copies for the final toy!!

[darklord1967]

Here's a look at the VEHICLE FILE CARD that I have created to go along with this custom toy!


As I explained earlier in this thread, artwork-wise, there was virtually no decent, accurate, comic book rendering of the 1966 Batmobile ANYWHERE that I could use for my custom Batmobile's packaging and file cards.

I was therefore forced to take the closest comic book artwork I could find (a wildly INACCURATE splash panel drawn by Dan Jurgens for a Booster Gold comic)...






... and extensively re-draw it in Adobe Photoshop...






In terms of the Batmobile's written history and tech information for the back of the card, I faced a unique problem: Virtually NO FICTIONAL INFORMATION exists on the origins of the 1966 Batmobile at all... fictional, as in within the fictional world of Gotham City.

There are plenty of "real-world" stats available about how George Barris built the car for the TV show in 3 weeks from a Lincoln Futura... blah, blah, blah... but NOTHING about how The Batman and Robin developed this ride!

I was therefore forced to use creative license (and sparse information mentioned in the TV series) to invent the history and tech information about the car and write it from scratch!

[LonnieFisher]

Wow!!!!

[Neutron X]

Amazing!!!!!!!!!

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

That is fantastic! You should get it digitally scanned for posterity! You know who might have done a digital model of this Batmobile? John Byrne. I know he did a bunch of different versions for when he had to draw different versions. You have done an amazing job.

[Brue]

The wood wheels are pieces of art!

[Carmelkettle]

Very impressive! Your dedication to detail is unbelievable!

[noelani72]

Looks phenomenal!

[Boywonder0]

You are an artist!

[darklord1967]

image.jpg

The front hood clip assembly is now completed, with all re sculpting, putty, and smooth sanding work performed!

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

Even the famous nose chain slicer channel has been added to the details through scratch building

[newlyknighted]

I like your backstory you have written for the "futura". I cannot wait to see her first test drive with the dynamic duo!