Jay Virtual
Super Freak
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2015
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I haven't kept up with what's going on aside from friends sending DMs on IG of the "realistic" version proposed by fans so apologies in advance if my critique is outdated or out of the loop. I'm a huge BTAS nut, but when my friend asked what I thought of the "realistic" render of the car I immediately groaned and here's why:
The entire aesthetic of the show was modeled after the 1939 World's Fair and is an idealized art deco design (dubbed "Dark Deco" by the showrunners) and looking back at the 30s and 40's vehicles at the time you can clearly see the influence. The show was also meant to look like it was made in the 40's and the overly broad body physiques and designs feel larger than life, they feel unique and nothing on this Earth can replicate. There's a reason why NONE of the artists that worked on the show have ever sanctioned or made any "realistic" renditions of the characters because that goes against the very deliberate art design yet I've seen again and again fans trying to make this happen with 'realistic" art and even realistic custom figures many years back. Imagine if you tried to make Mickey Mouse realistic.
Instead what the BTAS Batmobile figure really needs is a more bulbous design, something NONE of the toys ever seem to get right (they're all boxy and squarish) and a more flip flop paint job with black and navy blue. Having those two alone will make the car "pop" without any need to make it look realistic. Heck, we've seen stuff like the Spiderverse movies that mashes various styles and even the Arkham games knew that when making bonus wearable alternate models of the cartoon, they should not make them "realistic".
That's why I absolutely loved the 1/6 Mondo figure when it came out as it felt like a still cell from the show come to life as opposed to cloth figures which ruins the aesthetics. Too bad the QC sucked so I won't buy another Mondo again.
Here are some photos of vehicles of that era and you can imagine how bulbous, shiny and broad the car should look like:
The entire aesthetic of the show was modeled after the 1939 World's Fair and is an idealized art deco design (dubbed "Dark Deco" by the showrunners) and looking back at the 30s and 40's vehicles at the time you can clearly see the influence. The show was also meant to look like it was made in the 40's and the overly broad body physiques and designs feel larger than life, they feel unique and nothing on this Earth can replicate. There's a reason why NONE of the artists that worked on the show have ever sanctioned or made any "realistic" renditions of the characters because that goes against the very deliberate art design yet I've seen again and again fans trying to make this happen with 'realistic" art and even realistic custom figures many years back. Imagine if you tried to make Mickey Mouse realistic.
Instead what the BTAS Batmobile figure really needs is a more bulbous design, something NONE of the toys ever seem to get right (they're all boxy and squarish) and a more flip flop paint job with black and navy blue. Having those two alone will make the car "pop" without any need to make it look realistic. Heck, we've seen stuff like the Spiderverse movies that mashes various styles and even the Arkham games knew that when making bonus wearable alternate models of the cartoon, they should not make them "realistic".
That's why I absolutely loved the 1/6 Mondo figure when it came out as it felt like a still cell from the show come to life as opposed to cloth figures which ruins the aesthetics. Too bad the QC sucked so I won't buy another Mondo again.
Here are some photos of vehicles of that era and you can imagine how bulbous, shiny and broad the car should look like:
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when I mentioned the Batcomputer and Armory.
