Here at the Bat-Blog we have a friend named Ed who writes a blog called "Toys & Stuff". Basically it covers his vintage toy collecting obsession. He is also totally into creating extremely detailed train set scenes. Well, recently he did a blog post all about "How to Make a Batcave". It's pretty interesting, if you would like to check it out then just click HERE! Also, be sure to watch the video I posted here down below. It shows a lot of the details to his train layout. You can see the 1966 Batmobile 1:43 Scale Corgi Car around the 2:20 mark.
YES! Awhile back, here at the Bat-Blog, we got the scoop on the latest Batman Hot Wheels Car but never had a decent picture of it. Until now! Ladies & Gentlemen, I present...the BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD Batmobile by Mattel! It's going to be "regular Basic Hot Wheel size", which is 1:64 scale. It's rumored to hit retail stores around late July 2010 so be sure to keep an eye out for it around then. I totally love this new Batmobile from the animated TV Cartoon series so you know I'm really excited! OK, enough talk, it's time to drool all over the pictures, enjoy!
Here's a very cool ( totally brand-new ) Batman Toy that you need to keep your eyes peeled for. Mattel has finally released the HOT WHEELS ELITE 1966 TV Series Batmobile Car in 1:43 Scale. Now, the "Elite version" means that it is hyper-realistic in it's detailing, like every tiny little detail imaginable. I mean, the Bat-Phone's Receiver has a little spiral-cord, ha ha! The next thing would be it's size. OK, if you remember the Classic Corgi Batmobiles from the 1960's & 70's then this car is approx. the same size as that. It measures about 5 1/4" long & 2" wide. One last thing, it's going to be limited to 10,000 pieces & it comes with a Special Display Stand Base. Plus, I have not hit retail stores recently so I'm not quite sure what the actual retail price is, sorry. Please stay tuned for more details.
OK, This is getting kinda weird. Mattel must be getting ready to release this new version of the Hot Wheels 1:18 Scale Batmobile Car because they are starting to show up on eBay right now. The special thing about this one is that it is CHROME-PLATED & also made to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of DC Comics. So, if you're a Completest-Collector, who has to have every single version made, then you might keep an eye out for this one soon!
I thought, for this post, we would revisit a cool Batman Toy from the recent past. In 2002 a toy company called "Johnny Lightning" was making a few Batman-related items that were extremely cool! Now, they made some diecast toys of the Batmobile vehicles of course but they also made these small 1:24 scale metal "screw-together" Model Kits. There were 4 in the complete set: The 1960's Batmobile Car, The 1950's Batmobile, The 60's Batboat, & my favorite, the Bat-Gyro! I remember when these came out & I thought it was so cool that they did such an obscure vehicle as the Bat-Gyro, ha ha! I mean, you never NEVER see this being made! Now another weird thing too was that these were kinda hard to find. I never really saw them much in the usual retail stores like Target & Wal-Mart but you could always find them at Hobby Specialist shops. I guess because they were more like model kits & not actual toy cars. But anyway, they're just great. Now for reference photos I could only find 3 of the original boxes, & I'm missing the one for the Bat-Gyro, but you get the idea. Plus, all 4 vehicles are shown here & you can see their TOTAL beauty.
A new friend to the Bat-Blog, named Mark, recently sent us these pics from his toy collection. He wanted to share pics of a brand-new set of toys he found called Motomax American Graffiti "Moments in Time" Dioramas. Basically they are plastic bases with a fixed background & scene that has a clear cover to display your Matchbox or Hot Wheels car. They are 1:64 scale & look pretty awesome! The scenes are stuff like "Country Store", "Mechanic's Shop", & stuff like that ( the names are on the bases ). I think these are pretty clever. Mark said that they're kinda hard to find but he has had some luck finding them at Toys-R-Us & Wal-Mart. They cost around $10.00 each. Thanks for sharing & sending the great pics Mark, I appreciate that.
I have a good friend named Billy who collects Batman Toys & Memorabilia but his main focus is on the Batmobile Cars. I mean, he's totally crazy about the Batmobile! The neat thing though is that he has an amazing collection. We were talking yesterday about some of the new stuff coming out. There's a new Batmobile Toy Car being made for the Batman: The Brave and The Bold series. It's smaller than the 1st one they made & is pretty cool. There are some new 1:50 Scale Diecast Batmobiles being made by Mattel that are starting to pop-up around the retail stores. They are extremely super-cool ( in my opinion, ha ha ). And then there is the car I am featuring in this post. The photos up above show a new 1966 Batmobile TV Series Toy that is modeled after the Classic George Barris design. It's 1:87 HO Scale, which is smaller than the regular Hot Wheels size, & measures approx. 1 1/2" long. It's a tiny little car that is very detailed & kinda cute. If you have ever surfed the Hot Wheels toy isle then you might have seen these before. They sell them in small little "window boxes". Now Billy told me the reason he has had a hard time finding them ( besides the greedy idiot scalpers stalking the delivery trucks ) is that there's a rumor that there is only 1 Batmobile per case! Now, to me, this seems like total market manipulation by Mattel. Come on, you know THEY know this car will be the most popular. My guess is that latter they will flood the market with them. But who cares about all that. It's a really cool toy & one that all Batman Fans should try to get. Just don't pay the "scalper prices" on internet auctions. Some vultures are trying to sell them to losers for $30 ( they retail in stores for $1.00 ). I say, just be patient & you'll find one. During "new release time" all the scalpers end up buying them all & not being able to sell them because ALL the other scalpers have them too ( because their greedy minds lack any honor or originality, they end up cloning each other ). So, what happens is there are all these scalpers "eating their own product". Go look on "internet auctions" for items they were popular a year ago or just a few months ago. You can almost buy them for "under retail price". Like I said, CLONES. Whew! OK, sorry to vent but as a Vintage Toy Dealer for 20+ years I have learned that these Scalpers are nothing but greedy vultures...who make me sick to my stomach. The only way to stop them is to NOT buy their product. They're just in it for the greed & their fantasies revolve around screwing collectors. So, Please stop helping them, ha ha!
Everybody knows how I like it when Bat-Fan Artists get totally creative & use Batman in their art in some way. Well, here's an amazing example! A guy on eBay, named Jeb8, recently posted this "Batcave Atomic Pile & Cave" Backdrop you can get to help display your 1/18th Scale 1966 Batmobile Car. Basically it's an extremely well-made, highly detailed, "model kit" that has been made to look like "a piece of scenery" from the Classic 1966 Batman TV Show. Just looking at the photos up above you can see the attention to accurate detail is totally insane! I bet this item will become pretty popular with hardcore Batman Fans! If there are any readers out there who make custom dolls, toys, action figures...whatever, then please send us some photos to share. Our e-mail button is always at the top right-hand side of this page.
Mattel just recently released the "prototype blueprints" for the soon-to-be-released 1966 BAT-BOAT WITH TRAILER. Now of course they will also be releasing about 12 new 1:50 Scale Batman Batmobile Cars too, including the boat. One of them will be a re-release of the 1966 Batmobile but it will have a special trailer hitch on the back to haul the Batboat. Personally, I can't wait because these are just really great collectibles!( Click the above image for a larger photo ).
The Official Hot Wheels Collectors website has just released information about their line of Batman 1:50 Scale Vehicles for 2009. It looks like they are gonna have a really great variety again this time too. The list includes:
1966 BATBOAT™ ( with trailer ) (SKU# N8016)
1966 BATMOBILE™ ( with trailer hitch ) (SKU# N8017)
1989 BATMAN BATMOBILE™ (SKU# N8014)
1989 BATMAN™ BATWING™ (SKU# P4407)
Animated Series BATMOBILE™ ( with battle damage ) (SKU# P4408)
It's just been announced but Mattel will be making a special 1:50 Scale Hot Wheels 1966 BAT-BOAT with Trailer! They are also gonna release another 1/50th Scale 1966 Batmobile Car that has a trailer hitch to hook it up to since the previous one didn't have one ( Yes, they're tricking us into buy ANOTHER Batmobile, ha ha! ). The boat looks amazing & the details will probably be a little better since this photo is a prototype. It's suppose to be released sometime in January 2009, which is just a few months away. Be sure to stay tuned with the Bat-Blog because we'll be featuring more news in the future on this very cool collectible...I can't wait!
Over at THE CAR ROOM they have an interesting video review of the Hot Wheels 1966 "Elite" Batmobile by Mattel. The one with the classic 60's TV Show design by George Barris. The detailing on this car is insane & it's quite a beauty. I couldn't embed the video right here for you to enjoy but here's a few photos to wet your appetite & then just click the button below to visit their page to see the video.
This extremely awesome HOT TOYS 1/6th scale Batman Collectible Figure ( The Dark Knight movie ), stands approximately 12" tall, featuring Hot Toys figure body with over 32 points of articulation.
The Dark Knight Batman 12 inches collectible figure also features:
- Alternate head with authentic likeness of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, a new head sculpture of Bruce Wayne
- Detailed Batman Utility Belt with cell phone
- Activated Mini Mine
- Grapnel Gun - Two small Batrangs on belt clip (removable) - Newly developed Bat-suit with cape - Three sets of interchangeable gloved hands, Inclusive one set of gloves hands for riding the Batpod - Figure display base featuring THE DARK KNIGHT logo and BATMAN nameplate
(( Product shown is not final, pending licensor approval. ))
Release date: Third Quarter, 2008.
Artists: Bruce Wayne Head Sculpt by Yulli. Batman Head Sculpt by Kim Jung Mi. Head art directed by JC HONG.
OK, I bet you thought the HOT TOYS ( 1/6 Scale ) Batman/Christian Bale 12" Action Figure was pretty awesome but get this, they also made a large-scale TUMBLER BATMOBILE to go with it!! This toy company keeps surprising me with the super high-quality stuff they make! Their "Dark Knight Tumbler Batmobile", shown here, is simply amazing. I love the the extreme details like the rubber tire tread, the way the door opens, even the dashboard....sweet! ( Please be sure to click on the above pictures for larger, more detailed, photos ). This will be a "must have" for many Batman Toy Collectors. Crap, I need a second job to afford all this stuff, ha ha!
Oh yeah, I saved the BEST for last! This is the very special BATPOD MOTORCYCLE, made by HOT TOYS, that will be built to go along with their 12" ( 1/6th Scale ) Batman Figure!! I sincerely think that this is a true work of ART!! The detailing is totally insane & would be really great to have to display with the action figure. Please be sure to click on the above photos for larger, more detailed, pictures. Oh my god, if I only buy 1 Dark Knight movie item ( ok, 2, because I'll also need to have the figure, ha ha ) then this will be it!! Please COMMENT down below & let me know what you think about this toy line. I don't think I have seen any other new TDK merchandise that is more beautiful!
OK, in the new wave of 1:50 Scale Batmobile Hot Wheels Cars by Mattel I still need to find the "Comic Book" version & this one, the Dark Knight Tumbler! These are really great & the fact that they're only around 6 or 7 dollars is awesome! The detailing is really sharp & even the packaging is cool. I like that they all have Batman logos that are correct for each vehicle. Now, if you don't wanna spend a lot of gas money trying to hunt them down then I suggest Amazon. They have great service. But you might wait awhile until the "scalpers" are done ripping people off ( selling them for $29, shame, shame! ) & get them for about $7.00. I'm still gonna try to find them at the store because I love "the hunt" but if I don't find them soon I'll just order me a set. Here's a link:
Out in stores right now but extremely hard-to-find is this brand-new COMIC BOOK BATMOBILE Car by Hot Wheels. It's 1:50th Scale so if you remember the old Corgi Cars it's about that size. I love that they used the modern day comic book logo for the header card. Actually, I still need this one for my collection. I also need the Dark Knight TUMBLER Car too. In 20+ years of collecting I have learned to be patient & it will pop-up. They have these at Amazon for $7.99 which is only about a dollar more than regular retail. The savings in gas cost alone makes it worth it, I might get it there.
I already have way too many "collecting hobbies" that I can barely afford or else I would start to collect slot cars, ha ha. I have always thought they are pretty cool. Here's a nice example. In Germany there's a classic slot car toy company called CARRERA who specializes in high-quality slot car sets. The cars they make are extremely well-detailed. Later this year, around June or July, they're gonna release the Carrera GO (1:43 Scale) Batman "Hyperdrive Batmobile" & Joker-Mobile Slot Car Racing Set! The photos up above show the actual boxed race car set & then the 2 cars. ( In Germany they call the Batman's car the "Batmobil", I like that ). You also get a ton of track & everything to make a complete race set. I am also posting a photo of the "Banester" slot car that is modeled after BANE, a Batman Villain. This car is NOT included in this set but was one I found during my research. If you would like to find out more about this classic slot car toy company then here's a link button to CARRERA down below. But, be sure to BOOKMARK the Bat-Blog before ya go!
