Building a 1966 BATMOBILE for 8 inch MEGO Batman

[TrekStar]

That looks pretty neat, I can hear Bruce shouting, “To the Batpoles”

[rykerw1701]

I’ve been building a Wayne Manor study/ BATCAVE for the last five years now, Dougjr. And I can tell you definitely that the condition of being broke is every bit as much of a obstacle to successfully pull off a major playset / diorama as it is for taking on a Batmobile project. LOL!

Bookcase Mid shoot.jpg

The is a shot of the Wayne Manor study from a stopmotion project I've been working on forever. The set was a bear to make. Balsa wood, foamcore, molding clay, modified Barbie furniture and of course parts from the Batman '66 accessory set. It's not 100% accurate, I took some liberties and added in some fun stuff for my own amusement. This shot still shows the animate rig on Dick which is edited out of the actual video. There's also a Batcave set completed I'll finish shooting in this winter.

[darklord1967]

I do want to mock up a Wayne Manor/Batcave on one end of my hobby room though

I’ve been building a Wayne Manor study/ BATCAVE for the last five years now, Dougjr. And I can tell you definitely that the condition of being broke is every bit as much of a obstacle to successfully pull off a major playset / diorama as it is for taking on a Batmobile project. LOL!

[DougJr]

This is fantastic!! I just got the old style mego Batmoblie in and yeah, instead of being based on the Lincoln Futura, they obviously based it on the Mini Cooper or perhaps the MG Midget, lol. I'd do what you're doing except for the fact I'm pretty much broke.......no talent......etc, lol I do want to mock up a Wayne Manor/Batcave on one end of my hobby room though

[darklord1967]

Quite impressive. A true labor of love, and I look forward to seeing that pull out of the Batcave, after you build that, too.

It’s going to be quite the thing, I can tell you that!

But I will admit it is NOT going to be 100% accurate in at least one regard:

The turntable this Batmobile will stage from will be within a COMIC BOOK STYLE BATCAVE. So expect the Atomic Pile and Batpoles Shaft to be REPLACED by a Mechanical T-Rex, Giant Penny, and winding staircase up to Wayne Manor!

[rykerw1701]

Quite impressive. A true labor of love, and I look forward to seeing that pull out of the Batcave, after you build that, too.

[darklord1967]

Custom 1966 Batmobile UPDATE 6/30/22:

Nearly the ENTIRE Interior Cabin Frame Assembly of my custom 1966 Batmobile is now complete and 3D printed. Printed parts Include:

Interior Cabin Floor Pan - Plastic 3D printed
Seat Backing Cradles- Plastic 3D printed and chrome plated
Seat Cushions- Molded and Cast in soft foam Rubber
Foot Pedal Panel-plastic 3D printed
Rear Deck Top Panel -plastic 3D printed
Main Dashboard- plastic 3D printed
Detect-A-Scope -plastic 3D printed
Mobile Bat-Phone Base-plastic 3D printed
Mobile Bat-Phone Receiver -plastic 3D printed
Mobile Bat Phone Cradle- plastic 3D printed
Center Console- plastic 3D printing
Cabin Service Light-clear resin 3D printing
Fire Extinguisher Mount Panel- silver metal cast
Fire Extinguisher- plastic 3D printed
Center Shift Panel
”T”-Shift Lever- silver metal cast
Top Antlers-plastic 3D printed
Antler Warning Light Bezels Red Tinted Clear Resin 3D-printed

[ODBJBG]

So very true. But inadequate 3D print technology, plus one economic recession in 2007, followed by serious illness that forced me to stop customizing for 5 years, plus a global pandemic resulting in more economic difficulties... all put a serious cramp in speedy progress on this! ����

No worries man, I'm sure it will be worth it when it's all finished. Lord knows I've got projects that have stalled for similar reasons through the years. On the plus side, in the long slog through this, as you mentioned, advancements in technology have come along that may end up making this better than you originally imagined! Tally ho!

[sprytel]

So very true. But inadequate 3D print technology, plus one economic recession in 2007, followed by serious illness that forced me to stop customizing for 5 years, plus a global pandemic resulting in more economic difficulties... all put a serious cramp in speedy progress on this! ����

You can't rush genius. The journey is every bit as important as the destination.

[darklord1967]

Your work on this is incredible... That said, we're 12 years in. At this point you probably could have just built a real Batmobile lol.

So very true. But inadequate 3D print technology, plus one economic recession in 2007, followed by serious illness that forced me to stop customizing for 5 years, plus a global pandemic resulting in more economic difficulties... all put a serious cramp in speedy progress on this! 🤣😂

[ODBJBG]

Your work on this is incredible... That said, we're 12 years in. At this point you probably could have just built a real Batmobile lol.

[boss]

The man thinks of everything.

[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 designed 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. Ball jointed necks that allow the figures to tilt their heads forward will avoid the typical appearance of action figures seated in toy cars, while facing the sky.

[darklord1967]

Sorry if this has been asked before but...... are you making extras to sell or just one?

mikej

No need to apologize buddy! At the moment this is only a one-off.

HOWEVER

I’ve rendered the parts comprising the entire car as digital files, so I am able to 3D print them at any time in the future to create this as a kit done in very limited numbers possibly 2-5 kits. But even as a kit, this car will NOT be cheap, I’m afraid.

[megozilla13]

Sorry if this has been asked before but...... are you making extras to sell or just one?

mikej