Imagineered 1930's Batmobile wip

[rodsnracin]

Well, I've been following this since the start. At first, I wasn't sure about the direction you were heading, but these pics showed me that you had the "vision" all along! I have exactly Zero model Batmobiles, but have a fair collection of AFX-scale slot car Batmobiles. My favorite is a resin body of this one, unknown source (from e-Bay):


If I were to build a model Batmobile, this would be the one.


Keep us posted on your progress, I can't wait to see the finished product!

Brian

[farmboy]

    Hey Brian, nice lookin' piece o' kit you got there! I have a Plymouth I've been putting off building thinking it may be another batmobile-in-waiting, ending up wearing the classic vintage lines and paint like the slot car. It will be of large batfin pedigree if I go that route.

    
    A couple of mockup pics.  A note that the side pipes are the same ones I've been using over and over so they're not quite as 'sharp' as fresh ones.  I just wanted to see what it was going to look like.  As mentioned in a previous posting, the base color for the car hopefully will be a dark slate blue, maybe even with a matte finish.  I find it easier to imagine with the now black test pipes in place



In the shot below, you can see the fenders finished where I want them front and back.  Despite being a little nose high in the photo, it's wearing the approximate stance the car will have.  I have the nose to finish, the bat shield to mount, perhaps a whip antenna to mount on the passenger side  from the rear bumper arcing to a clip on the top right of the A pillar, possibly a round directional antenna centered on the cowl.  I was planning to black out the wheels, but now I don't know.  I have a few other ideas I'm toying with, time will tell.



Comments and observations welcome.

[41chevy]

That looks great! I like the whip antenna and the DF Loop ideas, maybe a Bat Spotlight too? I think a combination of paint and chrome on the wheels like in the die cast pic would look better than all black or all chrome. IMO. Paul

[farmboy]

I think I agree with you Paul.  Antennas are a go for sure.  The spotlight, yes.  I keep thinking of the police cars having them when I was a kid.  And yes, the chrome wheels are going to stay.   I had thought of rear fender skirts early on in the build, but I made a sample one and it just made the vehicle look out of balance.  There are a few other items on the detail list but first I have some bodywork tweaking to do before final prime and paint.  Thanx for the input everybody, much appreciated.

[Bert]

I like where this is going, really like the fender exhaust.

[farmboy]

A little more progress...

     First off, got the nose the way I want it.  Again, I used some file folder cardboard to make the pattern then cut a piece of styrene to shape.   I worked this piece into submission by repeatedly bending it to shape till it held.  Resistance is futile.



Still to come is splatter screening (sprayed black) to be inserted in the side openings after the car is painted.  It looks pretty busy as it sits what with all the trim meeting up, the headlight mounts and the fender curves but a bit more work should square things up.  The BatShield will cover most of this anyway, leaving only the top of the curve visible.  Also note the bat emblems in the wheel dishes.  Got lucky making them!  

And here it sits in the stance i wanted with the wheels permanently mounted to the axle/frame assembly.  





I will be going over the body to take care of a few minor cracks and blemishes that have developed due to sometimes not paying attention to how much force I was holding the vehicle with while sanding and filing.  It needs a general refreshing but the horizon is in sight.  

Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

Things progressing as they should. Got a couple of things to post. Firstly, the Duesenberg type side pipes.
The shot below is the full straw shot in primer



I did have a shot of them done in black over the primer however it said the file was too large?  Anyway, no worries.  
I had been wondering about what to do for the oil and smoke pipes out the rear.  The straws came to the rescue.

After snipping off the sections needed for the side exhausts, I lined up 8 short sections that, coincidentally, fit exactly between the rear bumper mounts.



This first pic (and this is just a test piece) is shot in Krylon chrome paint



one of the properties of this particular type of chrome is that it turns a steel color when shot with clear.



Still deciding on the finish, though if not black will probably leave in chrome.


Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

These are the two colors I'm mixing for the body.  As you can see it's basic craft paint, around a buck a bottle.

This stuff airbrushes surprisingly well.  The paint is cut with 2 parts rubbing alcohol and 1 part water.  I've also found that simply cutting it with Windex does a nice job.  

Anyway, here's the color I ended up with.  Looks a little lighter than it does in the mixing jar.  I'll be sanding out a few flaws, re-priming and recoating, maybe adding a bit of black to darken it



Comments and observations welcome.

[Paul B. Canney]

EXCELLANT!!

[farmboy]

a few things..

first off, I had a few issues with some of the bodywork so wanted to re-do a few things.  The more things improved, the more work it led to, so....Castrol Super Clean time...


It took about 4 days or so to reach this workable stage.  I attribute that to the acrylic paint as the blue coats came off like plastic sheets while primers just melted away.  Lotsa bodywork to redo.  The big itch was/were the Duesenberb style pipes.

I wasn't really happy with the pipe angle though I measured and remeasured.  Sort of seemed to me like the bottom was ahead of of the top.  Look at the photo. forward.  The decision was made to make them slant more to look like the car was in motion while parked.  Here's how I did it.


A paper punch luckily made the inserts just a touch wider than the existing holes in the fenders.  I flared the holes with a half round file while the Tamiya cement melted the two parts together. I backed up the join with c/a glue to further enhance the integrity.  I purposely left the inserts a little proud of the fender surface to give me something to sand and file down.



Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

Here's the first of 8 inserts



I have them all done, here's a pic of one side filed/sanded more or less even

\

...and with some fill roughly smoothed to contour....


I will use the jig I made previously to reset the base of the pipes to slant them to lean a bit more forward

Comments and observations welcome.

[rodsnracin]

Sweeping them back at the bottom will be a definite esthetic improvement!

[Paul B. Canney]

couldn't you use the rear 3 holes on the running board for the front 3 above? and then just poke a hole for the last one?

make any sense at all?

[farmboy]

Yeah Paul, it does. I've already visited that and want something more subtle. I'm working on something. Thanx much for the nudge though, it's appreciated.

[farmboy]

I didn't want to give up on the side pipes, but it seemed to me that to drill another 4 holes in each fender, especially near the extension join, wouldn't leave the model with a whole lot of structural integrity. So, I created a couple of inserts from the original template... 



...hogged out the fender areas and inserted them.  






time to finish up the details, repaint and finish.

Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

I have a few things done pictures coming. Summer, motorcycles....what's a guy to do.

[farmboy]

Got some time in lately, thought I'd finish the BATtering ram.

A sort of hydraulic ram was made from various brass/copper tubing attached to a small square of styrene mounted in the back of the ram shield



Next up was a like-sized hole to make a friction fit for the tubing



Just show show how it all fits together



and this is the finished position





back soon.  Thanks for looking in.
Comments and observations welcome.

[41chevy]

That is cool! you did a nice job on it. Paul

[farmboy]

Here it is with the painted body.



I have stripped this body 3 times...each time due to the clearcoat, which, strangely, has never let me down before. Both cans say it is acrylic clear, but i don't think it's the same chemical clear. The 'good' one on the left cleans up with mineral spirits, while the new 'hot' one on the right recommends lacquer thinner. Must be a difference there somewhere 'cause the can on the right wrinkled my finish every time I used it. It also answers why the white on a dragster I'm working on wrinkled as well.  Anyway, what you see after repaint is a wet coat of Future with a slight amount of body color added. It stays this color.

[farmboy]

A couple of things done...
First up is the mount for the whip antenna on the passenger side bumper mount.



I used an aluminum post used for breadboarding/laying out circuits (at least it was a few years ago).  I wrapped it with thin wire, cut the end off, and let it sit in my parts bin for the last 10+ years.  Tailights are from the parts box, possibly from a 55 Chev.

Adding to the bat theme are the bat fins atop the fenders.  I drew it on file card, traced to plastic, and lightly filed in the low spots to add some texture.  Turned out ok.



Lastly, a partially completed rear shield.  I fabbed it from a plastic coffee stir stick and an old wound 4th string from my 5 string.  The idea is this:



This batmobile will have the rear continental wheel cover.  In the 'real' world, and, in the event of bad guys opening fire on the Dark Knight from behind, a throw of a lever inside would activate the cable, raising the wheel cover up the track on the rear of the car, stopping when it covers the rear window letting him live to fight another day.

Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

Gave some thought to the wheels.
Here is what the idea was originally



I think the overall chrome added a nice accent to the car, but, being open to suggestion, I wanted to see if black used between the hub cap and rim would add to it.  I didn't want to possibly ruin a fully chrome wheel assembly with paint in an experiment so.....

enter the 'o' ring



just happened to get lucky finding these in a variety of sizes at a hardware store, so next day I brought a rim with me to see which size would be a better fit



While not the finished product (but I suppose it could be), it did give a good representation of how black paint would look in the wheel, but more importantly, how it would jibe with the body shapes and color with no damage to the original chrome.



I think the added black in the rim is a bit too much detail, so in this case ive decided to stay with the all chrome, but, it is a good idea -- and technique -- to use on possibly another vehicle.

Comments and observations welcome.

[Paul B. Canney]

I would go with the black between the trim ring and hub cap. The all chrome screams 60's Beach ... to me anyways. You asked..

[41chevy]

I like it so far!
I recently had issues with a new can of Krylon Gloss Black, same paint I've be using with excellent results for years. Wrinkled in a lot of areas. I let it dry well sanded with 800 wet and dry and reshot it. More wrinkles that the first time. Seems it is an "improved" formula.

[Paul B. Canney]

Jul 19, 2021 10:47:22 GMT -6 41chevy said:

I like it so far!
I recently had issues with a new can of Krylon Gloss Black, same paint I've be using with excellent results for years. Wrinkled in a lot of areas. I let it dry well sanded with 800 wet and dry and reshot it. More wrinkles that the first time. Seems it is an "improved" formula.

What's that saying.... doing something again and again and expecting a different result...like... somethin' somethin' I can never remember how it goes.

[farmboy]

We got pipes!







...on to the rest of the details.  Blacking out the windows, adding the rear tire cover/bullet shield, whip antenna and miscellaneous stuff.  Whew, the end is getting closer!

Comments and observations welcome.

[rodsnracin]

Those are some good-lookin' pipes!

[farmboy]

Getting near the finish line... a few more items finished.

I held off putting floorboards on the model till after the majority of the handling of the car was finished. Here's how I made them;

This is the foil seal from a Melitta coffee can. This stuff reminded me of diamond plate.



I cut them to fit the opening left in the running board areas under the doors and bent a 90 degree edge.  After a few tries, the bend looked ok. Here are a couple of shots of one that didn't make it.





I primed them with a heavy gray primer so the flat black topcoat would stand up to accidental scratching and possible wear due to handling during the rest of the construction process here's how they look installed.  Also got the door bat insignias done while I had the flat black out.



Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

other details...

Installed the whip antenna.  It's connected to a scratchbuilt spring assembly at the right side bumper mount and anchored on the a pillar with a small section of aluminum tubing




Here's a better view of the whip assembly, along with the previously installed running boards.  There's also the rear tire cover cable track and the blacked out windows.  Also, if you look just ahead of the door frame at the exhaust pipes you'll see a small curved piece.  It's designed to be a door stop in the event the door (for whatever reason) swung too far forward preventing it from damaging the exhaust.



...and a better view of the cable assembly.  It would bring the steel tire cover up over the back window.



...so this is where it sits at the moment.  Still an antenna or two to install and maybe a couple of small details..



Comments and observations welcome

[rodsnracin]

Nicely done, you've got all the 1/25 scale criminals on the run!

[41chevy]

Fantastic!
I'm going to use your Melitta foil idea for some 1/25 Jeep panels. Paul