Batman has been around in
comic book form since the 1940’s, and while he may not be able to fly or
swing from spider webs of his own making, he has always had one thing that
very few of the other superheroes have had: a really cool ride.
Playing Mantis (which
owns both Johnny Lightning and Polar Lights) is coming out with a whole
batcave-load of Batman-related vehicle kits in various scales and media.
One of the first to come out is the die-cast 1960’s Batmobile in 1/24th
scale. This is NOT the Batmobile from the TV show that we all know so
well, but the Batmobile from the comic book. It is similar in many
respects to the TV car, but it has some major differences.
The kit comes packaged in
what has become a standard box for pre-finished kits: a heavy, oversized
cardboard box with a large plastic display window through which the
completed body shell can be seen. And the body shell IS completed:
painted, decaled, with all clear and chrome plastic pieces attached, and
with the hinged hood in place.
Yes, a hinged hood. This
is NOT a curbside, skill-level 1 kit. It has a fully detailed engine
compartment, poseable steering, and a nicely detailed interior. Glue is
required to assemble the kit, and some detail painting is highly
recommended. There are also nine (yes, NINE) tiny screws that are used to
hold various parts of the kit together.
Aside from the die-cast
body, the kit is molded in black plastic, with one small tree of chrome
pieces and a set of soft vinyl tires. The pieces come packaged in several
separate plastic bags, and mine showed no signs of damage from the
packaging and shipping process. The parts are almost entirely flash-free,
and the engraving is crisp.
The instructions consist
of a single, large sheet printed in English on one side and French on the
other. Painting suggestions are provided, but some details (such as the
color of the upholstery) are left to the builder’s discretion because they
were either never actually shown in the comic book or because they
appeared differently in various issues. The construction process consists
of five steps: wheels and tires, engine, interior, chassis, and final
assembly. Each step has a clearly drawn exploded view of the assembly,
with text describing the sequence of steps to follow. All parts are
clearly labeled with both part names and numbers.
Each wheel and tire
assembly consists of six pieces, including a finned brake drum insert that
fits between the inner and outer wheel halves. Once assembled, the wheels
fit securely into the tires in such a way that no glue is actually
required to hold them there. The wheels are chromed, but it would probably
be more accurate to remove the chrome and give them an aluminum finish.
The chromed “bat” spinners should DEFINITELY be painted red!
The engine is a 12-piece
assembly that builds into a fairly nice representation of a 1960’s V8. The
parts count is reduced (and assembly simplified) by combining the cylinder
heads and intake manifold into a single piece. The engine block is a
3-piece affair: left and right halves which include the top of the
transmission, and a bottom piece that represents the oil pan, oil filter,
and the bottom of the transmission. As a result, there are no seams on the
bottom of the engine, where they are the most visible. Unfortunately, the
oil filter is hollow, and the hollow end is glaringly visible on the
underside of the chassis; some filler will be required to fix this
problem.
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