Drake69

A kit I'm definitely familiar with, as I've built it twice now. Are you doing stock or street (looks to be stock)?

Thanks! Well, today I wasn't as productive. Just working on the interior today, so I'll have more pix later.

Engine is done up like the 289ci as featured in another magazine. I added an0 alternator bracket so that it doesn't "float" like in other kits. Front springs also done in dark red oxide and rear axle is black with dark red areas and a chrome diff cover. Wheels are already properly painted and waiting to go on the chassis, but I don't like the chrome disc brake calipers in the front. Rear drums are marked as "silver" in the directions but I'll probably paint those red oxide as well.

Pics!!!!

Thanks to one of my club guys I have a big can of Duplicolor Wimbledon White I'm using for my next build. No pix just yet but the body is already sprayed and I've just finished doing up the chassis in red oxide and black. Someone else had some great pix of the undercarriage of an older Mustang, so I've been detailing everything I see under there. Pix soon!

You know? I keep passing over this kit for other models in the LHS and I can't explain why. Now looking at yours gives me a reason to buy one and build it. Great car!

Well... I had WANTED this to be a beat-up chase car for the Batmobile, but I think it came out "better" than I wanted it to. Paint is MM One-Coat Purple-licious, lime green interior, and Pegasus wheels with knock-offs. Engine is a blown 409 and the car's stance is quite lowered... I know the paint combo is going to throw some of you off, but considering the Joker's taste, I think it's not too bad.

Real. Gotta be.

Last two pics...

Okay. BMF applied to door handles and buckles painted silver with Future shine. I have two more pics to post up soon to mark the last minute stuff, then all that's left is the spinner when I get it. Car is complete!

My build thread outlines my work. Most of the paint was Tamiya except for the Modelmaster engine red. A few minor details to do, but she is presentable at this point. Canopy done in BMF, and body glossed in Future Shine. Comments welcome!

Okay. I went ahead and screwed down the body to the chassis, attached the lower fender panels then covered them in Future, attached the rear antenna and license plate, and put on the rear plate. After glazing the plate in Future I let it all dry overnight. The rear antenna had to be routed out with my pin vise and the peg sanded before it would even consider going into the hole, The license plate went on without a hitch. Although I am posting a "completed" thread, I still have the remaining spinner, BMF door handles, and parachute buckles to do. I also will try and darken the rocket tubes some, but to rout them out would require disassembly at this point. Here is a "teaser" shot of the car at this point....

I'd like to think my work would be featured in an issue of MCM, as a build or review feature, or possibly in a BOOK (.....cough....FUTURABAT.....cough....), or pinned up as a build thread here. But I'm just as happy providing this thread to those who want a nice, clean Batmobile to add to their shelves.

Okay. I think I figured out why the antlers were so troublesome to put on. I've been VERY CAREFUL with the numbered parts in this kit, and I think the parts "16" and "17" (left and right antlers) are actually labelled backwards in the instructions. I looked at the tabs on the bottom and then reversed the antlers so that the tab terminates closest to the beacon light, and both antlers popped right in! Where she sits now... I gave her a brushed-over glaze of Future after wiping the body of fingerprints which is why she's so glossy. Canopy is now sealed in Future at this point, and she will dry nicely overnight. All that's left to do at this point is... 1: Paint buckles on the parachutes silver and glaze with Future. 2: BMF door handles and locks. 3: Attach spinner to last wheel (once I get it in the mail...). 4: Attach wheel to chassis. 5: Screw chassis to body. 6: Attach bottom panels to chassis and glaze with Future. 7: Attach rear antenna. 8: Attach license plate. 9: Affix license plate decal and coat with Future. A few last minute things. The small silver "radar" antenna needed to be smoothed out with an emory board on its peg to get it on the car. It also is keyed to the hole a certain way, so hold the piece gently between the tabs of your fingers (fingernails are a plus here), and test fit the piece to the hole. If it does not slide in, rotate the piece (or car) and try again. It should just go in nice and snug. Paint the radar fins gold, copper, or lite bronze once the piece is installed using a brush with a very fine point (I found it easier to paint once it was mounted). And lastly, there are SEVERAL decals left on my sheet which are not mentioned in the instructions. Some will be left over from using only one of the 2-part set thoughtfully included by Polar Lights, but there are others I can't read very well that look like they might be used (on other versions of the Batmobile??) They are #1 (four small round decals in a row!!), #7a, #8a, #8b, #9a, #10a, #12, and two other license plates. Any idea where these go, if at all?

Beacon light is attached but "antlers" will not go on the car as they are right up against it. I decided to cut a small sliver off of the edge of each side of the beacon, and I will try it again here soon. Had to remove the Bat Turnaround Lever underneath the canopy, and I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that the beacon, antlers, lever, and decals all be on the canopy arch before mounting the whole thing to the car, even before putting in the glass. And I haven't even gotten to the whip antenna and chrome emitter on the hood yet. Yikes.

Another update, BMF applied to canopy glass and attached to body... Used a dental pick to gently widen the holes in the body to allow the glass to snap in easier. Later on I'll brush Future Shine on the glass and chrome to seal it all up. I've also started assembling and painting the beacon light with clear red on top and at the slots, so once it's dried I'll attach it to the canopy apex. Then the "antlers" will go on, followed by a brush of engine red paint at the tops. Still waiting on the replacement spinner to finish the wheels before I attach the car body together.

I may have not said this before... but Thanks for ALL THE COMMENTS, GUYS! KEEP 'EM ROLLING IN!!!!!! Now, chassis is completely painted.... I used gunmetal for the suspension and inner panels, then a quick brush on of Detailer Black blended everything together. The gunmetal worked WONDERS covering all the over-brush areas, and I was able to achieve a more uniform look to the underbelly. That's FOUR DIFFERENT METAL PAINTS on that chassis! And since I've dragged my feet for so long, I need to start BMF'ing the canopy glass. Don't get me wrong, I love BMF, but it's tedious and can look like garbage if not done right. But first, I have to pay attention to the wifey some. She kinda feels neglected after all this "Bat-Work", as she calls it....

Last pix of the night.... Decals applied to arch, red warning lights with silver trim painted on.... Exhaust nozzle painted and mounted with some routing (again!) to the hole in the body... And something for EVERYBODY to debate on..... WARNING! EXTREME GLARE!!!!!! Turbine engine painted metallic grey. Reinforced frame supports painted titanium silver. Outer pans also painted titanium. And exhaust tubes painted flat aluminum. There will be some touchup left to do, but after all is done I'm black-washing the entire assembly with Detailer Black for a hard-life look. Hey, how many times did Batman clean the bottom of his car anyway?

There is no flipping WAY this is a model. It HAS to be a 1:1 scale REAL car. Words cannot express the DETAIL that is in this build. And in 4 YEARS of model building?!?! My hat is seriously off to you, dude.

Another thing to watch for. The instruction sheet has the wrong decal numbered for the "Bat TurnAround Lever" at the apex of the cockpit. It lists it as "14" (which is associated with the fire extinguisher) instead of "17". And you will need BOTH "17" decals, one for each side. Now all the front grilles are on the car, no further issues with them. The headlight grilles required NOTHING to get them to stay where they were since they went in snugly at an angle into the headlight recesses. Also, the front headlight bulbs are absolutely useless here as well as in the back because the grilles are completely opaque (once the flat black paint is on), so skipping that step is recommended. I would think you COULD smoke the clear plastic in the front to show up the lights behind them, but I don't think it would look right. Henceforth, a wasted step. 2 questions for Jacen. Is the black canopy bar glossier in the 1:1 car rather than the flat black it's portrayed in this kit? I can use Future Shine on it to "gloss" it up if needed. Also, should the exhaust nozzle be chrome silver or aluminum? I would think aluminum would be more natural due to the entire exhaust system.

Make sure to put in the headlight grilles FIRST before putting in the bottom front grilles. I snapped the left facing front grill at the pegs behind it when I tried to anchor my thumb on it. Not a big issue, as I was able to reglue it on, but it makes things easier when the headlight grilles are already installed. Now I have to wait until it dries before I tackle the other side. Pictures...

Who says I don't go back and correct my mistakes? Dash is correctly marked now, with color-matched indicators, white buttons above the steering wheel, and a black-rimmed bat-scope. Steering wheel is on the car now (no pix yet), and also required some trimming to fit into the hole in the column. Front grilles are now painted flat black, rear grilles will be done later the same, and the parachutes will get a coat of semi-gloss black with silver straps. The headlight pieces are now painted flat black and clear orange and will go on after they've had a chance to dry, considering using Micro Krystal Klear to make sure they stay seated. Steering wheel also has the silver center trim, proper decals applied, AND red buttons on the tips, as per one of the pix of it. Future Shine has been applied judiciously on the dash to highlight the gauges, buttons, and indicators.

Okay, done for tonight and some more pix. Where she stands now.... Now, another issue has popped up, albeit a minor one. In designing the model, I guess Round 2 wanted to have rear lenses in the car for viewing through the grilles, but they are opaque. The problem is that they are curved outward like headlights, and the rear grill is flat, non-see-through... And here is where the trouble lies. When the grill/parachute assembly is ready to go on, the back of the grill bumps against the lens, bowing it out... Additionally, the alignment of the small pegs of the grill don't seem to jive with the larger hole where the parachute peg settles in, and coupling that with the lenses causes it not to sit flush. Again, this is a minor problem as the bottom fender valence SHOULD cover this up and everything ought to smooth out, but the rear lenses are completely unnecessary. Don't bother mounting them unless you plan on adding your own meshed grill, when they would be visible. So, I clipped the tiny pegs behind the grill and relied solely on the larger parachute peg to seat the grilles in, then glued the peg to the back part of the fender accordingly. This is how they look now.... Will pick this up again in the morning.

No additional pics for tonight, just a quick update. Body was dipped in Future and has dried, leaving a nice glossy sheen to it. I have the bat-canopy in the car now, but it needed a peg shave and very light routing of the holes to get it to fit. Glue has been applied at the pins and around the base of the canopy underneath the body for secure fitment. The underside panel of the canopy is painted silver now (pics to come soon), and the bat-turnaround lever is drying after a quick coat of engine red paint (the lever that hangs down in the canopy...). Also, I attached the front grilles to the fender with some VERY GENTLE PRESSURE (holes were small...), so I recommend taking your time popping those in. They actually go in at a slight angle after being tucked under the trim lip, so they are a little tricky.Make sure once both pegs are lined up that they go in simultaneously, because if they go in crooked they won't line up right. Apply glue to the pegs sparingly to seal them in place. Looking at the rear grilles, I decided I wanted to have the parachutes already on to make it easier for them to go on, so I have the chutes already on each grill and they are in the process of drying from again a light touch of glue. Canopy glass will get the BMF treatment tomorrow, then get installed. Plan on using only fingernail edge to remove excess foil, as a knife might etch into the glass.

I think that rendition is pretty accurate. Of course, it might be because I've been playing a lot of this lately.... Back on topic.... Had to file down the pegs and open up the holes on the chrome part a little here to get the pipes flush.... Applied glue to hold them in tight once I had them snug. I recommend test fitting the pipes only once or twice, as the chrome gets scraped repeatedly when sliding into the body holes. Also, just noticed this flaw..... Yes, that's trim paint that went over from when it was put on at the factory. Wouldn't have noticed it until I started mounting the lenses. A minor thing, flat black applied judiciously will hide it. And here is the real reason why I can't quickly disassemble the interior to correct the door panels.... I applied glue to the outer seam to fit them tightly against the dash and seat area, otherwise they were extremely rickety. Another glue area I recommend is the front part of the dash where the tab goes into the turbine housing.... These will help keep the interior nice and snug. Ohh, the phone cord to the bat-phone HAS to be glued on, it will not sit on that part at all otherwise.