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Hate to be a broken record, but that is awesome so far.
Roberto's Custom MEGO Bat-Toys Project
- Thread starter Darklord1967
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Darklord1967
Freaked Out
Hi gang!
After some much needed rest from customizing MEGOs, I am back and ready to hit things hard again.
I am planning to mainly focus on the 1966 Batmobile project that I began a couple of years ago.
I should explain the long delay...
The project went on hiatus due to limited funds. Seems like a LOT of us were hit hard by this recession.
But even more importantly, the limits in prototype technology at the time I began the Batmobile, (and the fragile nature of the resin material that my one-off prototype was being made of) forced me to put this project aside temporarily. I wanted to wait for advances in prototyping technology to catch up to my vision so that the production of this car could be high-quality while remaining reasonably affordable .
I think that time has come.
Exciting new developments in 3D printing technology have come up over the last two years that look to be able to produce some parts with nice strength, multiple colors of available resins (including clear and black!), and parts with really smooth surface textures (requiring virtually no sanding). This is very exciting stuff, that looks really promising, and I am very close to making the investment.
I cannot say much more than that right now, but if things pan out the way I think they will, this project could get a MAJOR shot in the arm very shortly...
In the meantime, I spent the entire day in front of my computer yesterday working to create the final packaging design for The Batmobile in Adobe Photoshop.
I wanted to create a graphic that functioned as an updated tribute to MEGO's original Batmobile comic book art box design.
The main challenge was the fact that the 1966 "Futura" Batmobile has only had very, very limited exposure in the pages of Batman comics. So finding a suitable image actually became a very daunting research project.
In the late 1960's, the Batmobile of the comics was only loosely based on the design of the TV show car. It was not exact. No doubt, this was due to the legalities of George Barris's ownership of the TV car's design patent... and DC Comic's unwillingness to pay him royalties for the use of his car.
But somehow, in recent years, the Barris '66 Futura Bat has been occasionally snuck into the pages of several issues of Batman Comics, no doubt by baby-boomer artists who watched and enjoyed Adam West's and Burt Ward's adventures on TV when they were children. Unfortunately, virtually all of these artists seem NOT to be overly concerned with accuracy whenever they draw the '66 TV Batmobile. Many important details are typically forgotten, omitted, or altogether changed by pencilers / inkers who are working with poor model / photo references, OR (even worse) working with no reference at all.
To make matters worse, most of the actual Futura Bat's comic Book appearances were NOT usable for my box artwork due to (either) the angle that the car was drawn in, the minimal size of the drawing in the panel, the car being partially cut off or obscured within the panel, or some other unworkable issue.
Back in the year 2000, I began an Excel database spreadsheet of all known comic book appearances of the '66 TV Batmobile to aid me in my research. The database, covered the car's earliest appearances (however minor) from comics dating back to the early 1990's all the way up to present.
In the end, it was finally in a Booster Gold comic book, of all places (published in September of 2008), that provided me with the base image I needed. It was a bizzare storyline where Booster and his sister Michelle travel back in time and end up in The Batman's secret Batcave. They steal the '66 Barris Batmobile to make a hasty escape from Bruce Wayne's shotgun-toting butler Alfred!
After some much needed rest from customizing MEGOs, I am back and ready to hit things hard again.
I am planning to mainly focus on the 1966 Batmobile project that I began a couple of years ago.
I should explain the long delay...
The project went on hiatus due to limited funds. Seems like a LOT of us were hit hard by this recession.
But even more importantly, the limits in prototype technology at the time I began the Batmobile, (and the fragile nature of the resin material that my one-off prototype was being made of) forced me to put this project aside temporarily. I wanted to wait for advances in prototyping technology to catch up to my vision so that the production of this car could be high-quality while remaining reasonably affordable .
I think that time has come.
Exciting new developments in 3D printing technology have come up over the last two years that look to be able to produce some parts with nice strength, multiple colors of available resins (including clear and black!), and parts with really smooth surface textures (requiring virtually no sanding). This is very exciting stuff, that looks really promising, and I am very close to making the investment.
I cannot say much more than that right now, but if things pan out the way I think they will, this project could get a MAJOR shot in the arm very shortly...
In the meantime, I spent the entire day in front of my computer yesterday working to create the final packaging design for The Batmobile in Adobe Photoshop.
I wanted to create a graphic that functioned as an updated tribute to MEGO's original Batmobile comic book art box design.
The main challenge was the fact that the 1966 "Futura" Batmobile has only had very, very limited exposure in the pages of Batman comics. So finding a suitable image actually became a very daunting research project.
In the late 1960's, the Batmobile of the comics was only loosely based on the design of the TV show car. It was not exact. No doubt, this was due to the legalities of George Barris's ownership of the TV car's design patent... and DC Comic's unwillingness to pay him royalties for the use of his car.
But somehow, in recent years, the Barris '66 Futura Bat has been occasionally snuck into the pages of several issues of Batman Comics, no doubt by baby-boomer artists who watched and enjoyed Adam West's and Burt Ward's adventures on TV when they were children. Unfortunately, virtually all of these artists seem NOT to be overly concerned with accuracy whenever they draw the '66 TV Batmobile. Many important details are typically forgotten, omitted, or altogether changed by pencilers / inkers who are working with poor model / photo references, OR (even worse) working with no reference at all.
To make matters worse, most of the actual Futura Bat's comic Book appearances were NOT usable for my box artwork due to (either) the angle that the car was drawn in, the minimal size of the drawing in the panel, the car being partially cut off or obscured within the panel, or some other unworkable issue.
Back in the year 2000, I began an Excel database spreadsheet of all known comic book appearances of the '66 TV Batmobile to aid me in my research. The database, covered the car's earliest appearances (however minor) from comics dating back to the early 1990's all the way up to present.
In the end, it was finally in a Booster Gold comic book, of all places (published in September of 2008), that provided me with the base image I needed. It was a bizzare storyline where Booster and his sister Michelle travel back in time and end up in The Batman's secret Batcave. They steal the '66 Barris Batmobile to make a hasty escape from Bruce Wayne's shotgun-toting butler Alfred!
Last edited:
Darklord1967
Freaked Out
and then this panel caught my eye...
As usual, the issue's (outstanding) artists (Penciller: Dan Jurgens and Inker: Norm Rapmund) were not 100% accurate in their rendering of the Futura Batmobile. The drawing and composition of the car in this panel, while beautiful, would nevertheless require some serious graphic art alterations in Adobe Photoshop in order to turn it into an accurate representations of the 1966 Bat:
1) The tip of the hood scoop nose had to be changed from a flat tip to a pointed tip.
2) The headlights were changed from red to the correct amber.
3) The missing Bat-Laser antenna on the car’s hood was added.
4) The (broken) red pinstripe around the front wheel fender was smoothed and made seamless. The red pinstripe behind the rear wheel fender was made more pronounced.
5) The door's bat-emblem was replaced with the correct size and shape emblem (and in the proper perspective).
6) The overly rounded bat tail-fins were re-contoured into the correct shape.
7) The entire shape and contour of the rear fender was re-drawn to be the correct for the 66' Futura Bat.
8) The siren beacon cage was re-drawn to be correct.
9) The top antlers atop the roll bar were shortened and moved to their correct height and position. The warning light bezels on top of the antlers were re-shaped to be uniform and correct.
10) The missing three "anti-theft Rocket Tubes" were added to the rear deck of the car.
11) The front tire and wheel were re-drawn to be accurate, and the Bat spinner hub was added.
12) The missing honeycomb-pattern front grilles were added
13) Michelle's word balloon was eliminated.
14) The figures of the two police officers firing upon the car were eliminated and Booster Gold and Michelle "Batgirl" were replaced with The Batman and Robin. I thought it would be humorous (and totally MEGO-appropriate) to have box art where one of the characters (Robin) is looking directly out at the viewer.
When I was done with the changes, this was the box art I had come up with...
As usual, the issue's (outstanding) artists (Penciller: Dan Jurgens and Inker: Norm Rapmund) were not 100% accurate in their rendering of the Futura Batmobile. The drawing and composition of the car in this panel, while beautiful, would nevertheless require some serious graphic art alterations in Adobe Photoshop in order to turn it into an accurate representations of the 1966 Bat:
1) The tip of the hood scoop nose had to be changed from a flat tip to a pointed tip.
2) The headlights were changed from red to the correct amber.
3) The missing Bat-Laser antenna on the car’s hood was added.
4) The (broken) red pinstripe around the front wheel fender was smoothed and made seamless. The red pinstripe behind the rear wheel fender was made more pronounced.
5) The door's bat-emblem was replaced with the correct size and shape emblem (and in the proper perspective).
6) The overly rounded bat tail-fins were re-contoured into the correct shape.
7) The entire shape and contour of the rear fender was re-drawn to be the correct for the 66' Futura Bat.
8) The siren beacon cage was re-drawn to be correct.
9) The top antlers atop the roll bar were shortened and moved to their correct height and position. The warning light bezels on top of the antlers were re-shaped to be uniform and correct.
10) The missing three "anti-theft Rocket Tubes" were added to the rear deck of the car.
11) The front tire and wheel were re-drawn to be accurate, and the Bat spinner hub was added.
12) The missing honeycomb-pattern front grilles were added
13) Michelle's word balloon was eliminated.
14) The figures of the two police officers firing upon the car were eliminated and Booster Gold and Michelle "Batgirl" were replaced with The Batman and Robin. I thought it would be humorous (and totally MEGO-appropriate) to have box art where one of the characters (Robin) is looking directly out at the viewer.
When I was done with the changes, this was the box art I had come up with...
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