1/6 Batman 1989: Batmobile Collectible Vehicle - Specs & Pics

[Irvy]

It's cool to hate Nolan stuff now right? I'm gonna smash my tumbler tonight.

 

[a-dev]

Yes it is. I know because I'm cool.

 

[Stratmeister]

I agree as far as the "aesthetics" go for the Tumbler. It's thick, it's angular, it's tough, It's on steroids. but sleek and sexy it's not. There's something about a Batmobile that is sleek, low, wide, has curves, and is aerodynamic that makes it appealing.
The 89 has that for the most part. It also has a retro-ish thing going for it. I liked it a lot the first time I saw it, and still do. It's lost a bit of it's charm over the years, but for the most part, I still really like it. I feel pretty much the same about the 66. I have a feeling the new Batmobile in the upcoming Superman/Batman movie will have more in common with the 89 than with the Tumbler.

 

[RaBu]

i like this batmobile so much but to expensive for me

 

[67L88Stingray]

Yes it is. I know because I'm cool.

What's that saying about anyone who calls themselves cool is most definitely not.

 

[DiFabio]

I've met a-dev in person, he's the coolest cat I know.

 

[Rorywan]

Well, that's because the Tumbler is a squat, paneled monstrosity.

The best thing about it was when it gave birth to the Batpod and died.

....

 

[Fan]

Imo it doesn't make much sense to decide for one as the better Batmobile. It's all about different tastes as always.
They're different, same as the two Batman univereses they were designed for.

Imo the Tumbler was more logical as a military, better maneuverable vehicle. The vehilces background is explained in BB.
89 Batmobile has an awesome Design for sure, but imo more for the show factor, it looks more like a fast dragster.

 

[morphosis]

Imo it doesn't make much sense to decide for one as the better Batmobile. It's all about different tastes as always.
They're different, same as the two Batman univereses they were designed for.

Imo the Tumbler was more logical as a military, better maneuverable vehicle. The vehilces background is explained in BB.
89 Batmobile has an awesome Design for sure, but imo more for the show factor, it looks more like a fast dragster.

1000% agree. People are always comparing both franchises when they are just so different. And i think there is room in this world to enjoy both. They are both awesome IMO.

 

[5x10]

Would love to pick up one, but don't have the space!!! Arrrgggg

 

[a-dev]

I don't claim my preference for the 89 batmobile as anything other than that, a personal preference. Its the batmobile of my childhood and I prefer its aesthetic, no matter that the Tumbler is more practical/plausible.

 

[Fan]

I don't claim my preference for the 89 batmobile as anything other than that, a personal preference. Its the batmobile of my childhood and I prefer its aesthetic, no matter that the Tumbler is more practical/plausible.

No problem with that, each his own. If I could afford it I would have bought the 89 Batmobile as well for sure.

 

[RaBu]

there are people who have changed him here and there?

 

[morphosis]

I don't claim my preference for the 89 batmobile as anything other than that, a personal preference. Its the batmobile of my childhood and I prefer its aesthetic, no matter that the Tumbler is more practical/plausible.

Yah we all have our own tastes. I think i was more commenting that some people make it seem like you can only like one or the other. I love them both. Both awesome designs. I do prefer the Tumbler myself if i had to choose just 1, but i really like them both. Actually really love the 66 and prefer that over 89 if i had to choose. I just hope its coming soon. Its one reason i didn't order the 89 because i want the 66 more.

 

[DiFabio]

Function (or "practicality") shouldn't come before style, nor should style come before function.

The '89 Batmobile has that balance. The Schumacher and Nolan vehicles? They don't. Schumacher was all about gaudy and frivolous designs. Those Batmobile's lit up and resembled toys, most likely to help promote them to the kiddies. The Nolan vehicle is the exact opposite. It was disgustingly "practical" and without style. Through excessive use of exposition to making the Batmobile nothing more than a prototype that the villains could steal. They took the mystery and fun out of the car, essentially taking the "bat" out of the Batmobile (not to mention the mystery). It doesn't even achieve all the things it can do without "movie magic", so the practicality of it should get thrown right out the window. It's just as make believe as the others, the only difference is that they brought Morgan Freeman in to tell you about it.

As audiences, we expect "realism" sure, but it is important to remember that this if fantasy. The 66' Futura and '89 Batmobile's are the only cars with personality (and the only two that weren't destroyed in the films). They strike the perfect balance of form (something the Nolan version lacked) and function (something the Schumacher films lacked). The '89 Batmobile was naturally brooding and intimidating with it's design alone. It didn't have to rely on a computer console with an "intimidation mode" where canons fire, nor did it need obnoxious neon lights to be sleek or flashy. It covers just about everything. It's sleek, it's dark, it has just the right amount of gizmos. It's sexually perverse, brooding, and implements the best vehicle designs from not only cars, but jets (harrier jet for the turbine and canopy) and locomotives. The only lame and goofy aspect about it was the armor cocoon that came out of nowhere.

I'm sure the Schumacher and Nolan cars are fun to drive, no doubt, but that's what ATV's and dune bugs are for. Batman isn't just about practicality, if he was, he wouldn't wear a theatrical cape and cowl or be called "Batman". The '89 vehicle is more appropriate as The Dark Knight's choice in ride.




EDIT:

And the Batpod is fantastic, I think. Much better than the Tumbler. It's like the filmmakers finally embraced the character instead of being tight asses about it. The vehicle truly personifies Batman as a "knight". He looks like a jousting, Dark Knight in shining armor on that thing, plus, it can do everything the crappy Tumbler could do. Like the '89 Batmobile's armadillo cocoon, the only lame thing about the Batpod was the weirdly impossible wheel rotations it did. That was stupid.

 

[Fan]

I understand your pov but to me it seams like it's based on the fact that you don't like the Tumbler's design.
Personally I like the Tumbler's design a lot, it kind of looks like a stealth mixture of a Lamborghini and a tank to me, I think it fit's well into Nolans version of Batman and I couldn't imagine another version that would have worked better in there. But that's just my opinion and again, I don't mind other opinions.

Sure thing 89 Batmobile is more elegant and more Bat-typical but though you're of course right that it's all fiction, Batman is meant to be a superheroe that doesn't benefit from super forces but from training and technology, so a more military Batmobile made sense imo, although it was completely different from what we saw before and from what we would have considered Bat-typical by then.

 

[morphosis]

I understand your pov but to me it seams like it's based on the fact that you don't like the Tumbler's design.
Personally I like the Tumbler's design a lot, it looks like a mixture of a Lamborghini and a tank to me, I think it fit's well into Nolans version of Batman and I couldn't imagine another version that would have worked better in there. But that's just my opinion and again, I don't mind other opinions.

Sure thing 89 Batmobile is more elegant and more Bat-typical but though you're of course right that it's all fiction, Batman is meant to be a superheroe that doesn't benefit from super forces but from training and technology, so a more military Batmobile made sense imo, although it was completely different from what we saw before and from what we would have considered Bat-typical by then.

All diFabio wrote is just his own opinion. He doesn't think the tumbler has style, but I 100% do as well as many others would. If I had to even a chance to buy a Batmobile I would choose the Tumbler every time because I love the style. The guy who made my 1:1 suit built a full scale Tumbler and design wise it's a work of art and very complex.

But of course others will like the 89 or 66 more and that's perfectly fine.

But everything DiFabio wrote, just his opinion. He likes 89 better. No problem on that. But I don't agree with some of his take on it, I have my own opinions. Practicality is just meant for that movie world. Of course there will be movie magic. But a real Tumbler can do a lot they showed. They even built and filmed a real batpod coming out of it but they chose the cgi version.

 

[DiFabio]

Yeah, but I'm sure some guys here prefer literally every aspect of Nolan-anything to what came before, or after. There's like this unwavering fanaticism with those suits, caves, planes and cars. The whole "well I like them all" just seems like an obligatory preface, especially after that is followed by "but I like Nolan's more". The one person that I truly believe has a genuine love for it all on here is Batfan, Tony Meis and the Professor.

It seems a little hive minded in this section in particular. It's like it's always Nolan > everything else. I think it's especially apparent when you see people in this very collectible community that claim that they like or love all of the interpretations, but don't have the time or money for them. Case in point ("I want a 4th Begins suit Batman, c'mon Hot Toys", what about the DX 09 Batman? "Oh I like it, but I can't get that one right now"). They'll pay major $$$ for a tenth custom Ledger Joker or another Diorama for their third Tumbler, but nothing 60s show/Burton/Animated related. It just feels a tad pretentious to me. I'm not saying anyone here in this thread is guilty of that, but it does seem prominent. I'm all for focuses, but it strikes me as odd when people who claim to like it all, only stick with one damn theme in excess. The "Show your Batman Collection" and custom threads are the best example of this.

Sure, at the end of the day it's only "my opinion", but I do truly believe that the '89 Batmobile (and 60s Batmobile) are subjectively better looking vehicles than the Tumbler (and anyone that says otherwise is simply being coy). It's just one of those things. The Gary Oldman Gordon is clearly better than the Pat Hingle Gordon, just like the '89 Batmobile is clearly better than the Tumbler. Nathan Crowley, the designer of most of the Nolan Bat-World, claims a Lamborghini and Humvee were inspirations for the Tumbler, and I believe him. The finished product however, does not resemble either. Look at a Lambo, it's elegant, sleek and beautiful. The Tumbler is neither. Look at a Humvee, it's a flat, tough truck. What element did the Tumbler take from it? Nothing but maybe it's panels (which the Tumbler clearly over does with it's front, sides, and flaps. Crowley himself referred to the combination and outcome itself as "ugly" in the making of featurette, it's own designer. I don't think I'm far off with my assessments.

I never got the tank comments (other than, again, forced Goyer-Nolan exposition where the cops claim it appeared to be "a tank"). I've seen all the Bat-Vehicles in person, 60s to 2008, and the Tumbler is one of the smallest. The '89 vehicle is much larger and stronger looking with it's length and sturdy design alone. A tank has tracks, where are the Tumbler's tracks? A tank has a haul, skirt plating, the familiar cupola/turret rig. Where are those things on the Tumbler? There's not a single thing in "real life", that resembles the Tumbler, not even in the military. The only way we come to that conclusion in the film is from the writers and it's original beige camo. In reality, the only Bat-car that is of our "grounded world" is that classic Lincoln Futura that was used for the 60s show. Everything else from Burton to Nolan was made up by designers for fictional films.

People may like the Tumbler, sure, and that's their perogative, but I do think it is in reason to call it a paneled monstrosity that resembles a small, compact beetle thing that is inherently ugly and devoid of style. It's the same deal with those that call the Schumacher vehicles garish and gaudy, sure, people may like them, but they ARE garish and gaudy.

 

[Irvy]

I like the tumbler for it being a brute, and I like the 89 for it's elegance. I think I actually like batmobiles more than the batman character

 

[vodoun]

I like the tumbler for it being a brute

It's lovely when you're blinded by the 7 lights…


As much as I love this 89 model, there's just little small things that spoil it. The out of scale windscreen. Not as curvy as the real one… and certain subtle things when you compare.