NECA: 1/4 Batman 1989 Michael Keaton figure

[MaulFan]

My friends had the Toy Biz one. I remember messing around with it. I liked how it was a two seater but the clicker and lack of canopy bugged the crap out of me.



Funny thing about the Toy Biz vehicle is, Kenner used it as a stand in for their little Kenner product booklets back in 1990. Remember those?

I couldn't stand the lack of canopy, I get that it was probably hard to figure out how to have it and put figures in. The Kenner compromise was it was a one seater.

I loved the little booklets, I actually still have a couple Star Wars ones for nostalgia, but they were like a little dream book of stuff you'd want, did many of my Christmas lists from those booklets.

 

[Sephiroth1089]

I remember having a two seater Batmobile with a canopy. But I could be wrong. I might have had both and just used the canopy from the Dark knight collection. Is there anyplace that shows a list of all the Batmobiles made from those movies?

 

[DarkMagic]

My favorite toy Batmobile of all time is the '89 Batmobile by Kenner from the 1990 Dark Knight Collection toy line. Actually, it's probably my favorite Batmobile collectible period.


The body of the vehicle was great, it could seat Batman, and it had cool action features like the pop out exhaust flame and flip machine guns. It wasn't perfectly accurate, but I thought it killed the vehicles of it at the time. Waaaaay better than the Toy Biz one and the Kenner Batmissile Batmobile. I know people held the Batmissile in high regard, but I always thought it was a big, clunky POS.

...

I like the 1:18 from Hot Toys, it's more accurate and packed with detail but, I dunno, I liked the shape of the Kenner one more and the fact that it was more of a "toy" and could actual have a figure sit in it.

Maybe part of it is that you're not afraid of a few scuffs and scratches on the Kenner version, even as an adult collector. When the HT arrives, I know I'll rotate the tires a bit and slide open the canopy and gently test all of the other features of it, but it's definitely not something that you can have as much "fun" with in the sense that you can send it "vrooom-vroooming" down a hallway on its own to crash into a bunch of villains (or the wall!).

Yeah the Dark Knight Collection Batmobile was the best compromise between good, accurate-enough looks, and fun play features. In fact the only more accurate plastic Batmobile at the time wasn't even a toy per say...the 1/25 AMT/Ertl Model Kit, and for all its accuracy even they screwed up the rear trunk and vents shape!

And then there's the 1/10 RichMan's Toys R/C version, which is basically blown up version of the AMT Model, (right down to the inaccurate trunk) in a vacuum-formed one-piece shell (no opening canopy for figures), with a pretty powerful hobby R/C engine under the hood and foam tires. Until the 1:18 Hot Wheels was released, this was my favorite 1989 Batmobile. I've got six of them in varying degrees of completeness, two of which have the optional light kit installed and the cocoon case.

Not mine:

I think when the HT version is released, it will trump them all for me.

 

[DiFabio]

I almost bought that Rich Man's 1/10 at a local toy convention, even though I wasn't too fond of that flat base thing sticking out of the front. The guy claimed it was brand new despite not having the outer box (it just had the cocoon shell case).

For some reason, he wouldn't let me check it out so I passed.

I went looking around, then I came back to the table and noticed it was gone I was sort of disappointed. Then a little while later, there was this big uproar. It was back at that guys table. I guess the one he had didn't function or something to the person he sold it to. The buyer was pissed and the seller was refusing a refund.


Not sure what became of that.


I have two ERTL models. One mint in the box and one I put together when I was younger. I guess I didn't really have patience back then because it was put together and painted poorly. Don't know what I was thinking. I've been meaning to pop open the MIB one and try my hand at it, but just never get around to it. I loved the details, especially the interior and those grapple hooks, just never liked the size. I own various others like the 1:50 Hot Wheels (can't believe how much those go for now, crazy) and the old ERTL die casts as well.



But yeah, my two favorites are the Kenner Batmobile and the Hot Wheels 1:18 (the first one, not that gun metal/gold rimmed crap).



I'm sure the Hot Toys Batmobile will be a different experience completely. Can't wait for that thing. Can't wait to put it together, pop those machine guns up, mess with the features, put the lights on, etc. etc. It'll be one hell of a day.

 

[DarkMagic]

Wow, clearly that was one shady seller. The ones I have with motors installed work, but I've only run one of them in a narrow driveway once and it's pretty damn fast. One day I'll take it to a wide open parking lot and really cut loose. That flat base thing is the crash bumper and it's completely removable if its only going to be on display--only attached by four screws on the bottom.

Haha, you're like me when it comes to the model kits. I've got almost every Bat-vehicle from the Burton/Schumacher era in model kit form (won them all in a bundle ebay auction years ago) and just got a couple of model kit Bat-pods. The only ones I've tried to build are the '89 Batmobile and Batwing, but I also didn't have any patience at all and completely half-assed it just to see what the complete shape looks like. They're all in a box somewhere until I develop some skills and patience, or get a pro to fix them for me.

 

[jye4ever]

I wonder if opening the cockpit on the HT will scratch the hood, hope they figured that out in its years of development.

As it is I don't even open the Tumbler's canopy.

 

[rego]

from the YouTube video with the proto backstage the canopy slid forwards on a grove track in the center of the hood. it looked like it never came in contact with the hood at all.

 

[krewe555]

Neca 1/4 scale batman.

Enterbay 1/4 batman = $360

.25 * $360 = $90

Neca 1/4 batman = $84.99

I think I just got raped by math

 

[Psycho]

Anyone Know were I can get a Diecast 1/18 Tumbler... I cant find any anywhere for a decent price... Also was The Batman Returns Model trunk more accurate? Be nice if we would atleast get 1/18 Scale of the Batwing,BatMissle, and the Bat SkiBoat....

 

[DarkMagic]

Anyone Know were I can get a Diecast 1/18 Tumbler... I cant find any anywhere for a decent price... Also was The Batman Returns Model trunk more accurate? Be nice if we would atleast get 1/18 Scale of the Batwing,BatMissle, and the Bat SkiBoat....

I'm pretty sure ALL of the AMT/Ertl 1/25 Keaton Batmobile kits had the incorrect super-curve trunk seam and rear slits. The original 1989, 1992, and 2003 reissue seem to be all from the same basic mold.

The 1/35 Bandai kit got the trunk right IIRC, but the overall shape of the whole car was a little "off" to me in ways that the AMT model was right.

The 1/18 Hot Wheels Batmobile is the most accurate release so far...the overall shape is correct, and all of the details are in the right place and of the right basic shape (accounting for unavoidable "softening" on that scale and the limitations of the materials). The only glaring error on it is the orange headlight lenses.

A 1/18 Batwing would be a neat desktop item. I'd probably pass on the Batmissle and Batskiboat though.

 

[Psycho]

Yeah..... I have all 3 of the Batman Returns models un-opened so I was wondering..... Thanks for the info...

 

[ragacin]

Any word from NECA about a Nolan Batman 1/4?

 

[DarkMagic]

Any word from NECA about a Nolan Batman 1/4?

Nope. So far it seems that the Batman 1/4 rights are divied up so that there is no direct overlap between different companies.

NECA gets exclusive rights to 1/4 89 Keaton
Enterbay gets exclusive rights to 1/4 Begins Bale
Hot Toys gets exclusive rights to 1/4 TDK/R Bale

That's the way it looks anyway. Especially in the long time that the HT 1/4 has been announced, and the time that the EB 1/4 has been out...if they were allowed to spread out to another version of Batman, they probably would have announced or hinted at it by now.

It seems that this is the way it is for the 1/6 rights too? TDK is the last time I remember multiple companies being allowed to make 1/6 movie Batmen. HT, Medicom, DCD (shudder), and even Mattel. By the time the TDKR wave came about, it looks like HT is the only game in town on that scale, (besides some Mattel stuff that seemed even cheaper quality than the TDK Mattel 1/6 figures.)

 

[batfan08]

That's not confirmed, and they've said stuff on twitter about maybe a Ledger Joker; if that's the case, I'm inclined to believe that they could make a Batman, too.

 

[DarkMagic]

Yeah, it's not confirmed either way, it just seems that way. I know lots of people (myself included) would like as many options available as possible to choose from for our figures, but since TDK, I haven't seen two companies directly compete with each other on the same version of Batman on the same scale.

Maybe unless you count Mattel's large figures, but really, they aren't in competion with HT or EB.

 

[ragacin]

My only nitpick with either a Nicholson or Ledger Joker (I'd love to have them both) is that in 1/4 the clothing won't look right. Look at the 1/4 Lone Ranger and Tonto for example. It would look like a giant action figure. The armored characters like Iron Man and Batman look fine because of the armor. The 1/4 scales only look "right" to me if they have real clothes and not sculpted ones, but that is just me. If the headsculpt on the Joker (whichever version) blows me away, I may overlook my "inclinations"

 

[ragacin]

OK another bump to keep this one moving
So really any twitter activity on a Nolan 1/4 Batman, ANY 1/4 Joker, and a date when NECA can show the 1/4 Man of Steel figure?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Instead of bumping, go over and see for yourself.

 

[ragacin]

I don't have a twitter account

 

[Johnny Utah]

You don't need one. Google NECA TOYS Twitter.