Tumbler Batmobile: WIP

[David G.]

Because yes, right now I just need another Batmobile in my life.

I bought this kit about seven years ago and I'm just now getting around to building it.

This kit, not surprisingly has a bit of an unconventional design, the first structure to be assembled is the interior.

 

The interior is the central core or in terms of a tank, which this vehicle most closely resembles, the hull. All the other structures are mounted to this hull. 

 

There sure are an abundance of monitors and view screens!

 

Although it looks more like tan in some of the photos, the gray on the side bolsters and dash pad is Tamiya XF-12. I guess it's kind of a warm gray.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look and as always, please feel free to comment.

David G.

Edited June 19, 2021 by David G.
typo

[Madhatter]

nice work on that interior. The metal finish is perfect

You don't see too may of these being build these days. I'll be watching for sure

[Dave Van]

Watching....have two in stash.....

[David G.]

Thank you both for your comments. This should be a fairly quick build.

David G.

[David G.]

It's time for another update.

In mounting the front section of the hull, (the pointy bit in the center) I discovered some alignment issues and had to break the front panel loose on the starboard.. right... uh, passenger side. I did a bit of a messy job reattaching it and had to sand out the areas where I slopped the glue.

 

A little bit of creative masking for the repaint.

 

As good as new... almost. The places where the masking marks show are not likely to be very visible when the kit is completely assembled. Still, I may be able to blend them a bit with a little polishing. We'll see which way it goes.
If I ever build another one of these I think I'll assemble the outer walls to the chassis plate first then fit the interior panels in afterward.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please always feel free to comment.

David G.

[Madhatter]

I didn't realise that front bit was so exposed. Prime real estate for some wiring

[David G.]

8 hours ago, Madhatter said:

I didn't realise that front bit was so exposed. Prime real estate for some wiring

Thank you for your comment Simon. 

Based on the research I did there is not a lot of detail that would be visible in that area. Most of the vehicle is fairly well shrouded with airfoils and spoilers which actually seems appropriate for a Batmobile. The mechanical detail and busy-ness that can be seen is fairly well represented and I'm mostly satisfied with that. Mostly.

Thanks again,

David G.

[David G.]

When I started building this kit, my desire (aside from adding another Batmobile to my collection) was to be able to complete a build within a reasonable amount of time. So far, this kit has provided me with a good balance of challenge and accomplishment. It's a rather simple kit but the unique design and structure add a bit of interest to the building of it.

Struts and braces added to the front.

 

Front suspension and wheels.

 

There's not a lot of clearance for the wheels.

 

But I guess that Batman knows what he's doing.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[David G.]

This build is going rather quickly, at least for me.

Time for the next update.

 

Parts clean-up and prep for the rear chassis assembly. Definitely not a conventional set-up. You can see on the lower left that I've already assembled the chassis block and engine housing.

 

 

This is the rear engine housing and the chassis block with rear axle. What I'm concerned with here is the seam in the center depression. Features like this are rather difficult to fill and smooth with putty.

 

 

My solution is to cut a thin piece of styrene sheet to an appropriate size and shape. Once glued in place, it is a near perfect filler.

 

That's all for now, it's not much but there it is.

 

As always, thanks for watching and keep those cards and letters coming!

David G.

[David G.]

Here's another quick update.

Test fitting the rear chassis sub-assemblies. This is such an unusual vehicle that each stage of assembly is unique and requires a bit of study and practice to sort out how it goes together.

 

In this kit Moebius makes extensive use of a tab-in-slot method for parts placement. All those little slots on the side of the hull have tabs that fit snugly into them. Each side of the vehicle is made up of about six or seven pieces. Something tells me there will be more test fitting in my future.

 

I should be able to post more soon.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[David G.]

For those of you who may still be following this build, here is another update.

I had to make a minor modification when putting together the rear chassis sub-assembly. There were supposed to be locator pins on the struts that would fit into the brackets on the hoop.

 

They didn't come through on the castings so I decided to drill the brackets and add some wire pins.

 

Here then, is the completed rear chassis sub assembly.

 

From this angle it reminds me of some kind of flying motorcycle from a Miyazaki movie. I keep expecting those "wings" to start flapping.

 

With the rear chassis attached to the hull, it's "Wheels Down!"

 

Of course I had to do some tweaking to get them all in even contact with the ground but there it is. On to the body bits.

 

Thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post a comment.

David G.

Edited June 8, 2020 by David G.

[bisc63]

Got a couple of these in the stash; loving what I'm learning from your build! Keep up the good work

[David G.]

6 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Got a couple of these in the stash; loving what I'm learning from your build! Keep up the good work

Thanks Rusty, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

David G.

[David G.]

OK, here's another update.

These vents or air boxes that mount to the side of the vehicle have a rather yucky looking "screen" cast into them. I just can't live with that.

 

This is some speaker cloth that I found in my garage. It should suffice as a replacement.

 

Cutting out the old screen castings.

 

 

The replacement mesh is cut and glued into place. This looks much better.

 

A quick shot of the air boxes in place. Well worth the effort.

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to look, all comments and suggestions welcome.

David G.

Edited June 15, 2020 by David G.

[David G.]

The next update:   

OK, the side pieces are firmly and permanently affixed to the hull and I'm working on fitting the windshield panel in place. It looks like it will need some adjustment. I'm also trying out the new base for the photo diorama I'm working on. It's supposed to look like asphalt.

It's a shame that all that work I put into the interior will never be seen again.

 

The air boxes are installed after and are supposed to tuck under the pointy side piece with the shiny bit. No matter how I tried I couldn't get the boxes to slide up and under the side pieces, the just wouldn't go. I ended up grinding away just a pit of each side piece to allow for clearance. I don't know if I did something incorrectly or if it is a design flaw of the kit but it's in there now.

 

That's it for now but I should be posting the final update soon.

Thank you to those who are still following along. Please feel free to leave a comment.

David G.

Edited June 15, 2020 by David G.

[PatW]

Superb! But I thought I'd paint mine red to be less easy to see!

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by PatW

[David G.]

2 hours ago, PatW said:

Superb! But I thought I'd paint mine red to be less easy to see!

 

Gotta say, that is different. It looks like it should have sponsorship decals- and maybe a number along with a stripe or two.

Thanks for the comment and the interesting take on the Tumbler.

David G.

[bisc63]

Really coming along nicely. The vent detail was a nice touch, small changes like that make huge differences in the final appearance of any model. Can't wait to see more!

[David G.]

8 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Really coming along nicely. The vent detail was a nice touch, small changes like that make huge differences in the final appearance of any model. Can't wait to see more!

Thanks Rusty.

I agree. Even though many people may not consciously notice them, little details can add up to make a make a big difference in the appearance of a model.

David G.

[David G.]

Just a couple of quick shots before I mount the airfoils.

I did try to give the windows a gold tint with a quick spritz of acrylic gold paint. The paint did fog the windows just a bit but there wasn't going to be much of the interior visible through them anyway.

 

I thought about installing some LED lighting for the interior but due to the construction style and my lack of skill assembling it, I didn't think I'd be able to close up all the light leaks anyway. And the foggy windows too...

Thanks for looking and please feel free to leave a comment.

David G.

[PatW]

Beautiful build, it looks just great, well done David!

[bisc63]

Ditto; a really fun build to watch, and well executed! Now, just move on to the newer Batmobile...

[David G.]

13 hours ago, PatW said:

Beautiful build, it looks just great, well done David!

Thank you Patrick, I'm glad you like it.

12 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Ditto; a really fun build to watch, and well executed! Now, just move on to the newer Batmobile...

Thanks Rusty, I appreciate your comment.

If you're referring to this Batmobile...

I already have one in my stash... with a Green Strawberry PE kit.

But before I get on to that one, I have a Batpod I want to knock together first. Sort of a companion to the Tumbler.

Also, there is an available lighting kit for the DOJ Batmobile. Hhmmm...

Thanks,

David G.

[bisc63]

Oh yeah, that's the one! As much as I like the tumbler for its "outside-the-box-" design, I really do LOVE that DOJ Batmobile, and look forward to seeing you build (and light) that one up. It took me forever and a day to score a good deal on one of those, and I only very recently added it to my stash. I recommend the 1/18 Batpod with Catwoman kit as well.

Edited June 20, 2020 by bisc63
added info

[David G.]

16 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Oh yeah, that's the one! As much as I like the tumbler for its "outside-the-box-" design, I really do LOVE that DOJ Batmobile, and look forward to seeing you build (and light) that one up. It took me forever and a day to score a good deal on one of those, and I only very recently added it to my stash. I recommend the 1/18 Batpod with Catwoman kit as well.

Thank you for your comment Rusty.  

The construction design for the Tumbler is definitely outside-the-box and there was indeed a bit of a learning curve there. It's finished and I should be done working with the photos soon.

I don't have a lighting kit for the for the DOJ Batmobile but I am shopping for one. I have yet to make a decision on how involved I want to get with it. I haven't built a lighted model and I would certainly like to some day. The DOJ Batmobile looks like it could be a good kit to start with.

Though I certainly wouldn't mind having a 1/18 Catwoman (or a full size one for that matter), I have already started the 1/25 Batpod. There won't be a WIP thread for it as it's not any more involved than building an engine for a 1/25 automotive model. I'll just post the pics when it's done.

Thanks again,

David G.