[MOC] History of the Batmobile in Mini-Scale Project

[sparkart]

A couple of years ago, there was an assemblage of the live-action movie Batmobiles that made appearances at Warner Brothers Studios and the San Diego Comic-Con. This is a LEGO mini-scale recreation of those gatherings:

To the Batmobile! by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

It's funny to me how playing with LEGO sometimes leads you down creative paths you don't intend; At first, I didn't set out to make all these Batmobiles at this scale.

It started with my acquisition of the Mattel Hot Wheels Batman Live Batmobile die-cast toy; I thought it would be fun and easy to recreate it in LEGO. Not that fun, not that easy, ultimately a failure, but what I learned from that exercise led to the creation of the Batman Forever mini-scale model design.

After designing the Batman Forever model, I thought it would be a shame not to attempt the Batmobile designed by Anton Furst from Tim Burton's Batman. I re-used ideas from my Chibi Batmobile to make a more realistically proportioned mini-scale model.

I really wanted a Christopher Nolan Tumbler to go along with these models, so I reworked the Tumbler design I already had, made it a little bigger and more accurately shaped. It's still undersized compared to the others, but close enough for me for now.

The Futura Batmobile from the 1966 TV show and movie came next, and I laughed out loud with the creation of the little figures of Adam West and Burt Ward in their colorful, distinctive costumes. Isn't it amazing how just the suggestion of a few pieces of colorful plastic make pictures in the mind? That's one of the things I love about LEGO, that almost impressionistic appeal of suggesting something with a few colors and shapes, then relying on the audience to "get it".

I kinda dreaded making the Batman and Robin version of the Batmobile because I don't like the movie, and I have habit of watching the source material for reference and inspiration while working on the models. You know, the quiet parts of Batman and Robin I really enjoy - those interactions between Alfred, Bruce, Barbara, and Dick - it's just the cartoony, loud, obnoxious parts of Batman and Robin that I find less than good. After all the practice with the other Batmobiles, this last one was designed pretty quickly; It's also the least accurate detail-wise and very simplified...but it comes from the movie I like the least, so...there.

I've got the Tumbler and Batman Forever versions 99% done in real brick, and the Furst Batmobile is 80% done. I'm working on collecting the elements for the others. So, the project is very much WIP. Please feel free to give opinions on this ongoing effort, what you like/hate, what could be improved, etc.

Edited August 31, 2015 by sparkart

[LegoPercyJ]

Cool!

[Legocity2713]

Love the (for lack of a better word) "technique" used for Batman's cape.

Great vehicles too, very accurate. :thumbup:

Edited August 30, 2015 by Legocity2713

[Naijel]

Awesome!

[deraven]

Just great! I especially like the 60's and Futura models!

And, yes, with just those few bricks you've made an instantly-recognizable Batman and Robin duo.

[TGB]

These are awesome! Great work.

[Only Sinner]

I like the LIncoln Futura and the Burton mobile the best. Like the tiny figs, too. Impressionist, but instantly recognizable, like you said! I do hope you can make a parts list and instructions for these, too. I would pay money for that!

[plastic_ati]

Nice ones, especially the cute Batman and Robin figs :) I prefer the 60's Batmobile

[sparkart]

Finally got the time and bricks to piece these together:

History of the Batmobile 1966 by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

History of the Batmobile 1989 by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

History of the Batmobile 1995 by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

History of the Batmobile 1997 by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

History of the Batmobile 2005 by SPARKART!, on Flickr.

I am working on a similar scale Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice Batmobile, too:

Edited September 18, 2015 by sparkart

[FTG Prime]

They all look awesome!! That BvS batmobile looks great too