Building a 1966 BATMOBILE for 8 inch MEGO Batman

[darklord1967]

CLEANING UP / RE-SCULPTING REAR QUARTER PANELS.

The Batmobile's signature rear quarters feature a pair of dramatic, bat-scalloped tailfins, and a continuation of the car's prominent mid-line ledge.

Just like the 3D printed front hood clip, the rear quarter panels were very rough and badly warped.







I performed a considerable amount of smoothing, re-sculpting, and even scratch building in order to get the quarter panels to a suitable state.

The defining lines of the bat tailfins, previously muddy, warped, and virtually non-existant, were re-sculpted to be clean, straight, and razor sharp.




I saw no point in wasting time trying to clean, smooth and straigten the badly warped midline ledge nor the wheel well flare. So it was all carefully cut off the rear quarter panel to make room for scratch building them!




I left behind a continuous straight line indication for the position of the new midline ledge that will be scratch built.




I also sharpened and pointed all the bat scallops which were previously muddy, and I smoothed the top deck of the quarter panel appropriately

[darklord1967]

I was sure you must have thought about it... and the answer did not disappoint.

"Oh, we strive for satisfaction, sir!"

- The Joker to Commodore Schmidlapp in Batman: The Movie (1966)

[sprytel]

I was sure you must have thought about it... and the answer did not disappoint.

[darklord1967]

So are these figures going to sit the toy-styled "legs straight out" way, or are you planning for them to sit the way real people sit in cars? From that image, I am guessing the latter?

Typically, in the world of toy cars designed for action figures, the interior cabin is designed with seats that are flattened against the floor pan. The figures end up literally sitting on the floor of the cockpit interior (with their feet extended straight out as you pointed out). The 1974 MEGO Batmobile, Green Arrow Car, Spider Car, and Captain Americar, are all examples of this.

There are a number of reasons for this design tendency in toy cars, not the least of which is...

A) The rigidity of the plastic seats of a toy car combined with...

B) The rigidity of the plastic of the action figure's body.

You see, in a real life situation, automobile seats are plush and cushiony. They compress anywhere from 4 to 7 inches when sat upon... depending on the density and weight of the person that is seated.

In addition, A person seated in an automobile naturally folds and compresses their torso when settled into their seat. This reduces their vertical height measurement by nearly a third. Action figures made of rigid plastic are incapable of folding and compressing their torsos in this fashion.

Of course the all-important THIRD factor of toy cars typically being manufactured far below the appropriate size scale for the intended figures just compounds this problem.

Without addressing at least one of these three issues, toymakers would find themselves in a position where their action figures would look completely out of place within their own vehicles... sticking up too tall in open convertibles, etc.

Truth be told (if you ask me) most action figures already DO tend to look out of place seated in their own under-sized vehicles, despite these little "cheats" by toymakers. . Barbie and Ken dolls (for example) ALWAYS looked far too big in their own vehicles... and so did MEGO figures.

The 9Art Batmobile and Batman and Robin action figures each feature design elements that will address the "seated in a vehicle" situation in a way that seeks to avoid the "straight out extended leg / sitting on the cockpit floor pan" scenario.

The seats of the Batmobile will NOT be flattened against the floor pan of the car's interior. They will have the standard (scale) height of a vehicle's bucket seat. In addition, they will be made from soft plush cushion foam material known as Rapid Injection Molding material. This is the exact same stuff as the black , foamy, weather seal material found around the edges of a real car's doors. So the seats on this toy will NOT be hard rigid plastic as it is on other toy cars. They will actually compress a bit with the weight of a figure placed upon it.

As for the figures themselves, their bodies have been desgned with articulation points in their torsos and / or waists that (at the very least) will allow for folding / compression of their mid-section for natural-looking seating.

[sprytel]

Man this is looking great! I love watching this come together.

So are these figures going to sit the toy-styled "legs straight out" way, or are you planning for them to sit the way real people sit in cars? From that image, I am guessing the latter?

[Neutron X]

Sooooooooooooo good!I'm enjoying the process and all the hard work your putting into it.

[darklord1967]

Checking the car's wheelbase measurement and stance height to determine rear axle and front suspension positions.

[RCB Mego]

Your attention to detail is outstanding! I am excited to see the finished custom Batmobile.

[darklord1967]

[darklord1967]

April 20th - April 22nd

Preliminary detailing of the Batmobile 's undercarriage has begun.

[Ninersphan1]

This is like a fantastic strip tease...part of me wants to see it all done, and part of me is enjoying the slow build up to the final reveal. Awesome work!!

[darklord1967]

MEANwhile... another part of the Batmobile also takes shape... (said in a William Dozier-esque bat-narrator voice)


I thought it would be a good idea to fabricate more than one aspect of the car simultaneously so that I always have something to work on while something else is being glued or painted, Etc. That keeps the work flowing consistently!

Here, I began putting together the basic pillars for the Batmobile's main control dashboard.










I am building the Batmobile's control dashboard to be accurate to the equipment seen in the actual car 's cockpit... complete with its signature "roll top" compartments!




The Batman will also have PLENTY of legroom to manipulate the accelerator and brake pedals that I will install for him down below.

[darklord1967]

3/1/16 - 3/4/16

Moving along with the Batmobile's foundation and rolling carriage...


The car's lower body panels have all been cut and glued into place.





I used Milliput putty to permanently weld the seams with a rock solid bond.




I then spent two days rounding out the joint seam between lower body panels and undercarriage frame by hand.

[darklord1967]

3/29/16, 10:38 PM, Brooklyn, NY:

The pattern for the Batmobile's undercarriage frame is established and cut from .125" thick Styrene plastic sheet. Very thick, very strong, very rigid!

The car's entire bodyshell, cockpit, rolling chassis and steering system will be built upon this!

[Ninersphan1]

Clearly this is a labor of love for you, amazing work, I'm very excited to continue to see your progress.