Batmobile - 1966 Deluxe Edition **Finished Pics on Page 3

[trekriffic]

Got this kit some years ago as a contest prize on another forum. This is the deluxe edition Batmobile from the 1966 TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin:


The Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

The box lid has a beautiful illustration of the Batmobile speeding along:

Batmobile 1966 Deluxe Edition Box Art by trekriffic, on Flickr

The bottom of the box has a lot of nice images of the completed model. For the engine you have two options a big block V8 or a jet turbine. I went with the jet turbine for this build, the car always made that jet turbine sound when it raced around the highways and spouted flames out the back on the TV show:

Batmobile 1966 Deluxe Edition Box Art by trekriffic, on Flickr

Comprehensive instructions showing steps to build either of the two engine options. The kit also includes two chassis depending on which engine you choose to build:

Batmobile Instruction Sheet by trekriffic, on Flickr

All steps in construction are well documented. You can even build this as the Penguin Mobile by installing the optional umbrellas- you get one closed and one opened umbrella:

Batmobile Instruction Sheet by trekriffic, on Flickr

First things first...

All parts and sprue trees are soaked in a solution of warm water and TSP to remove any factory mold release:

Batmobile Parts in Tub by trekriffic, on Flickr

The Dynamic Duo get a bath! Pull yourselves together fellas! These are vinyl parts and will need to be painted with acrylics:

Batmobile - Batman and Robin Get a Bath by trekriffic, on Flickr

Chrome parts tree. I won't be using all of these parts:

Batmobile Chrome parts by trekriffic, on Flickr

Clear parts tree:

Batmobile Clear Parts by trekriffic, on Flickr

The clear parts tree includes two options for the rear canopy - one for over the arch and one for under the arch. I found an old photo of George Barris, the builder of the original 1966 Batmobile, standing beside the car which showed the arch. It was over the canopy in the rear and under the canopy in the front. That's how I'll build mine.

Kit included photo-etch sheet:

Batmobile Deluxe Edition Photo-Etch by trekriffic, on Flickr

Stainless steel with three license plate options and tons of tiny nameplates. I loved how the Batmobile had signage all over it so you didn't mistake, for example, the radio controls for the buttons that fire the rockets!

Once the parts dried off I started on the priming using Duplicolor grey automotive primer:

Batmobile Body in Primer by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Chassis in Primer by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Parts Tree Primed by trekriffic, on Flickr

After priming, I used a can of Krylon Colormaster Covermax Flat Black paint for all parts:

Batmobile Rear Deck Painted Flat Black by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Painted Flat Black by trekriffic, on Flickr

Some parts will get brushed with Testors chrome silver, Italian red, or steel enamel later on. I won't be using Penguin's umbrella though:

Batmobile Parts Tree Sprayed Flat Black by trekriffic, on Flickr

The body parts eventually got a second coat of Krylon Colormaster Covermax Satin Black giving them a nice semi-gloss sheen:

Batmobile Parts Sprayed Flat Black by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Parts Shot with Krlyon Flat Black by trekriffic, on Flickr

 

[trekriffic]

First thing I assembled was the jet turbine engine. The turbine consisted of only three pieces. Cables and hoses were brushed with Testors "rubber" enamel over flat black. Here it is installed in the chassis. I used Testors steel over Krylon flat black.:

Batmobile Jet Turbine Installed by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Chassis Underside by trekriffic, on Flickr

Next I played with the tires...

The rims were pushed into the vinyl tires then the brake drum plates were painted steel before gluing into the backside of the rims:
Batmobile Tires and Hubs by trekriffic, on Flickr

This is a curbside model meaning it's meant to sit at the curb - the wheels don't spin in other words. I wanted mine to spin so... I found these small picture hanging nails to use as axles for the tires:

Batmobile Tire Modifications by trekriffic, on Flickr

The nails will be cut short and inserted into the spindles using CA. First I drilled the holes for the nails into the spindles using a pinvise:

Batmobile Drilling Holes for Axles by trekriffic, on Flickr

After trimming to a half inch length the nails were inserted thru the center of each hub before being glued into the front spindles and rear transaxle:

Batmobile Axles Measured by trekriffic, on Flickr

The nails I used worked great. All tires turn freely:

Batmobile Chassis with Tires Installed by trekriffic, on Flickr

The front tires turn left and right too:

Batmobile by trekriffic, on Flickr

Matte Aluminum Bare Metal Foil was wrapped around the exhaust nozzle:

Batmobile Turbine Exhaust Nozzle by trekriffic, on Flickr

The dashboard:

Batmobile Dashboard by trekriffic, on Flickr

Two sections of stainless steel photo-etch were attached to the dash using CA glue:

Batmobile Dashboard Photo-Etch by trekriffic, on Flickr

Part 32 consists of the clutch, brake, and accelerator petals:

Batmobile Photo Etch Detail by trekriffic, on Flickr

I scraped off the black paint and glued the three pedals in place using CA glue:

Batmobile Pedals by trekriffic, on Flickr

The rear canopy deck was modified to remove the rings representing the speakers. Each speaker will use two phot-etch parts to replace the plastic kit rings. Here the rings have been removed using an xacto chisel blade before being masked with Tamiya Tape for a second coat of satin black:

Batmobile Rear Speaker Cover Mods by trekriffic, on Flickr

A section of Matte Aluminum Bare Metal Foil was rubbed onto the interior of each door panel. After rubbing down tight the excess foil will be trimmed away using a very sharp xacto knife:

Batmobile Door Panel Foiled by trekriffic, on Flickr

The Bare Metal Foil after trimming:

Batmobile Finished Door Panel by trekriffic, on Flickr

More to come! Thanks for reading along!

 

[Quaralane]

Impressive. I may use this as a guide when I finally build mine

 

[mod3l Lover]

I love the turbine choice under the hood!!
You are knocking this one outa' da park!!!

 

[Mr.Max]

So far, so good! Looking forward to more bat modeling goodness!!

 

[trekriffic]

Sorry for the long pause between posts guys. I've been a little tied up lately...


Dynamic Duo Tied Up by trekriffic, on Flickr

As you can imagine I've made some progress... after some minor hiccups.
Anyway, here are more pics taken with my Bat Camera...

Got this at Harbor Freight years ago. Inexpensive for my needs which is cutting tubing. It's so old now the (rubber?) housing has gotten sticky:


Drillmaster Mini Cutt-Off Saw by trekriffic, on Flickr

The kit instructions included a bracket and template for making your own rocket tubes using aluminum tubing. I masked the tubing with Tamiya tape to avoid scratches- hopefully:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

The new rocket tubes glued to their bracket with CA. The two outer tubes were a bit of a pain to get the same length but only took two tries and they were just right. I removed any burrs from the tube mouths using flat and round diamond files:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

The cockpit arch painted with Krylon Satin Black. This is after about three coats:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Canopy frames masked with Micro-Mark Liquid Masking Film before being brush painted with Testors Semi-gloss Black enamel. After it dries I'll brush on Testors Aluminum:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

After gluing in the photo-etch grills and brush painting with de-canted Krylon:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Rear deck after gluing photo-etch in place with CA:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Canopies after removal of dried liquid mask. Sometimes a piece of tape helps to get the mask to start peeling off. After some more cleanup I'll retouch the frames using a liner brush and some thinned enamel. Then I have to wait about 3 days for the aluminum enamel to dry. Uggggh!:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Photo-etch signs for dashboard with orange decals applied. These are incredibly tiny. Luckily I have a set of extremely fine pointy tweezers:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

More pics to come Bat fans!
Just thought I'd keep it to ten at a time.

 

[trekriffic]

Cockpit seats. Flat black Krylon with aluminum enamel frames brushed on:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Dash buttons painted flat red using thinned enamel and a round toothpick:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Bat turn handle and Bat fire extinguisher painted and decaled:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Rear Taillights painted with Tamiya Clear Red acrylic. I backed them with pieces of reflective tape to shine when light hits them; although, you can't see much anyway behind the black grills to come:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Rear taillights Installed:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

rear taillight grills installed using CA. Touched up with Krlyon black satin brushed on from the can. Parachutes installed with Testors tube glue:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Mobile Crime Computer decaled:

Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

I was looking for information on the Bat Computer when I found this tribute page. Lots of neat stuff about the Batcomputer, Batmobile, Utility Belts, and more:

http://adamwest.tripod.com/equip.htm
Anyway, moving right along...

Rear deck with Bat emergency brake handle and Bat fire extinguisher:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Headlights and lower front grills installed:

Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Stand by for more!

 

[trekriffic]

Now for one of the hiccups...

I thought I'd lost the small sprue with the license plate brackets attached. Couldn't find it anywhere on or under my work bench (thought I might have accidentally thrown out the sprue?) so I made my own from scratch to work with the photo-etch steel license plate below the exhaust vent in the rear. Then after three days I found the missing parts (I was also missing the tiny Bat Ram lever for the dashboard) clamped in the hobby vice at my right elbow! Still don't know how I could have missed seeing that in plain sight like that:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

The amber lenses were painted black, then silver, then Tamiya Orange Acrylic. The PE screens over the headlights were touched up using a brush and some de-canted Krylon Satin Black:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

A little cleanup left to do but the signs are all in. The letters are decals which you apply first to the brass strips that are about 1/64 of an inch wide. Then you glue the strips to the dashboard using CA. Delicate work:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Chassis finished. The fit of the dash, doors, and rear deck was pretty bad. I had to use a lot of CA and kickstarter to get the parts to mate and, even then, there were still gaps. I may go back and apply some AVESD Apoxy Sculpt to the larger gaps (unless I feel they are not that conspicuous):


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

"Holey Moley Batman somebody stole the Batmobile's body!!!"

"Well Robin, you know what they say?"

"What Batman?!"

"Every body... needs a body... sometime."


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batphone and the shift handle next to it were glued in with CA. If you have a jeweler's loupe you can actual read the tiny letters on the dash's orange signs. I covered the floor with "carpet" using a sheet of adhesive-backed felt:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Turbine Engine was brushed with Creatfx acrylic black wash to bring out some more detail:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

You also have to paint the canopy rims on the inside. Otherwise you will see the black enamel layer underneath:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Rear canopy glued in with canopy glue oddly enough. I glued the arch down using 5 minute epoxy:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Chassis ready for assembly with body:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

 

[trekriffic]

Mobile Crime Computer, Rear canopy and Arch, and rocket tubes installed in body:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Tamiya tape just to protect the Krylon from my dirty fingers temporarily:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batmobile Emergency Turn Lever. Releases the bat chutes from the back and spins the Batmobile 180 degrees when pulled back.


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

That's all for now Bat citizens! More to come before the final unveiling!

 

[Quaralane]

Tune in for the next update.
Some Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel

This is looking really good

 

[trekriffic]

Tune in for the next update.
Some Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel

This is looking really good

Thanks! I appreciate your compliment!

It hasn't been without its problems that can try a modeller's soul though.
For instance, one of the (pinion?) pins holding the left front tire broke so I ended up having to cement it. The pin was delicate to begin with, a flaw in the kit design IMO. So now I have a car with front wheels that don't turn left or right (a small loss as they only traveled about an eighth on an inch anyway) but at least they still spin.
This versus the kit instructions which would give you wheels that turned but did not spin.
If I had to choose... I'd go with the former.

The other thing that was rather major was a flex in the chassis. I had just finished gluing the cockpit into the chassis when I noticed the right back tire was about 1/16" off the tabletop when I set the chassis down level. It was level a week ago though so I'm wondering if during those three really hot days we had it had gotten in a beam of sunlight thru my garage windows and warped it? Possible. Or did my having to force the cockpit parts together with clamps and CA cause the twist? Regardless, I couldn't have that and trying to gently twist the back of the chassis back into level wasn't working so I ended up firing up the heat gun and carefully heating the plastic; not too long or it would melt of course. Gradually I got it to twist the way I wanted until the car sat nice and level again.

Phhhhhhew!

 

[Quaralane]

Sounds like it's been a challenge

 

[trekriffic]

Yes. I would call this a challenging kit for sure.

Anyway, here's a small update...

I gave the tires a scuffing with a coarse sanding stick to make them look road worn.
I figure the Batmobile's tires stopped looking like new after about 5 minutes the way Batman drove:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Then I gave the undercarriage another brush and rub with the black acrylic wash. Really adds to the realism I think with the tires:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Cockpit done. Gave her another brush with water-based Liquitex Matte Varnish.
I also added the white buttons on top of the red circles I had dotted above the steering wheel yoke. So basically a white dot inside the red dot I had painted a week or so ago.
Done with a pointy toothpick and thinned white paint ... Dot's all:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Next I think I'll paint and assemble the PE seatbelt buckles. Says to use black masking tape for the belts - hmmm. Then I need to assemble and paint the vinyl Dynamic Duo figures.
Then I'll stick them into the seats before I glue the chassis to the body.

Thanks for reading! Keep your Bat Monitor tuned to this Bat Channel for my next update!

 

[Quaralane]

Looking forward to the next update.
What you have so far is giving me plenty of ideas

 

[trekriffic]

Greetings citizens! Time for your next Bat Update...

Bat Ray PE parts painted and ready for gluing together.
I drilled a tunnel into a piece of very thin styrene rod to insert the end of the PE shaft into:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

PE license plate glued to kit license plate bracket. A decal will be applied at the end of the build before final clear coats:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

PE steel Bat Ray antenna glued into styrene rod. I'll paint the shaft silver. The grids should also be yellow not red so I'll repaint them to:


Batmobile 1966 - WIP by trekriffic, on Flickr

Batman glued together and seams puttied:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

Neck presents a significant gap. Will putty and sand smooth:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

After first round of PPP:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

This makes for much less of a pain in the butt to work on... for me anyway:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

The neck gap is filled and sanded:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

First primer coat brushed on. Tamiya white Surface Primer is lacquer based and goes on the vinyl real well.
No observable stickiness after it dried either. I tested it out on the back and buttocks of the figures before brushing it on all over:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

After first primer coat before wet sanding with a narrow sanding stick:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

After first primer coat and light sanding:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

After sanding before second wet primer coat:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

Dotting the eyes. With a toothpick:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

Here I brushed white around the pupils to shrink them a tad.
Then I brushed a mix of light tan and white to make flesh and paint the eyelids and faces. I mixed a little red with the flesh to paint the lips.
Next I'll mix up some light blue grey to paint the body, arms, and legs:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

Robin:


Batmobile 1966 - Dynamic Duo by trekriffic, on Flickr

I applied liquid mask to face and head around the mask.
Then I painted flat black enamel around the eyes and the rest of the mask.
Here I am peeling the dried liquid mask away:


Batmobile 1966 WIP - Robin by trekriffic, on Flickr

After applying a coat of light grey to torso, arms, and legs, I masked them with liquid mask. The parts that are meant to be dark blue will be painted Testors Sea Blue over a coat of black yet to come:


Batmobile 1966 WIP - Batman by trekriffic, on Flickr

Robin after liquid mask removal. I think this turned out really well myself.
Later, I realized the forehead was covered with too little mask based on the incised line in the photo. So I had to paint over the excess black with flesh tone.
Will need two coats:


Batmobile 1966 WIP - Robin by trekriffic, on Flickr

 

[Quaralane]

The figures are bad, but you're making look very presentable
Not an easy task with these

 

[trekriffic]

The figures are bad, but you're making look very presentable
Not an easy task with these

Yeah. They gave Robin a pompodour! Should be flat and parted on the left. May have to recarve the hair.

 

[Quaralane]

Yikes....

 

[Grendels]

Just catching up, nice work so far, I have an older version of this kit without the photo etch, that I have half done, your work is inspirational!

 

[Dark Kyp]

nice job done so far!