Show Your Entire Batman Collection!

[Mike Stutelberg]

Hey Fellas,

Old awful photos but sum cool things in the cave...
Lots of prototypes and one of a kind items.
Many of the statues and models are very rare paint masters, production mold masters, artist proofs or original sculpts and test shots.

Some favorites are my original Corgi Toys toy store showcase and my 8 foot 1/25th scale comic book Batcave I sculpted for Horizon Hobbies many years back when I designed many of their Batman model kits. Some of of you old guys may have seen the cave at Wonderfest or in the pages of Amazing Figure Modeler Magazine years ago.

Sorry bout' the poor pics. The room was a bit of a mess, I was working out my lighting when I shot these.
Look close you'll see some interesting things you've never seen before...


My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design






My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[Captain Clown]

Holy crap, that's awesome! Do you have any closeups of that Burton shelf?

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

I'm out of town or I'd shoot ya one.
Those 1/6th scale large figures From Batman Returns were used by Horizon Hobbies, (They manufactured these as vinyl model kits) at some trade shows. I worked for them back then. The 1st Batman set of Keaton and Jack were done by Billiken out of Japan... The smaller vehicles were 1/25th scale kits by AMT.

 

[JamesXGZ]

Superman: Get off my planet... monster!

Darkseid: I am many things, Kal-El - but here, I AM GOD!!!

Shot with DC Icons Darkseid, MaFEX BVS Superman

 

[Animal Mother.]

LOVE the WBSS and DC Direct statues/maquettes. Whats that one cast in white? Looks to be a Superman of some kind.

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

Hey Animal Mother,

Nice catch....
The white Superman is a rare mold master of a Kent Melton Sculpture. This piece became the 1st of the 1/6th scale comic book sculptures developed for the Warner Brothers Studio retail stores.

Great story around this...
As I heard it told. Kent Melton (prolific Disney maquette sculptor) was contracted to do this piece but it was indeed supposed to be a maquette, to be used internally not to be used as a retail piece that would be sold to the public. This type of use would require the sculptor to be paid on a different scale, i.e. more money. Irregardless of their agreement, Warner Brothers decided to produce the piece as a retail offering in their new WB studio stores. Melton objected and they simply blew him off. I was told he wouldn't work with the WB after the dispute. A huge loss for the WB as Melton had produced a few really outstanding pieces for them. I can't swear to this part of the story but that was what I was told. (love to know if anybody can confirm this)

The original 6 you see in my second photo in the above pics are a complete set of the 1/5th scale (Larger) paint masters that were on logo shaped bases instead of simple ovals.
THIS IS A CLIPPING OF PHOTO 2 (These are the larger original 6 Comic book masters, Catwoman through Superman)



These are ultra rare... there were only 12 of these paint master sets made for internal use and to confirm colors. I'm not sure how many of the 12 sets have survived certainly not all of them as some were sent overseas. My Superman wasn't painted because he pre-dated the decision to make these as hand painted retail pieces, and was produced at a earlier date. Interesting to note that the original Catwoman in the set was completely different and is quite stunning compared to the smaller production piece that made it into the stores. Here is the full set of production ones that actually made it. Included is the different Catwoman. They also made more pieces after the original 6 (seen in photo 3 of original post)
THIS IS A CLIP OF PHOTO 3 (These are the smaller production pieces)



I suspect these later pieces (Batman Beyond through the second Catwoman above) were not produced originally in the larger scale first and that the process of shrinking them may have been avoided. The shrinking actually distorted the pieces and the 1/5th scale originals are much cleaner and crisper.

When the WB downsized these original pieces from 1/5th scale down to 1/6th scale, they also unfortunatly changed the head sculpt on this amazing Melton Superman. When Kent was given the job Superman's hair was long in the comic books and in the style guides, the original sculpture was totally on model and awesome. The new WB head sculpt done by another artist was not 1/2 as nice and seems distorted. It reflected Superman's new shorter haircut in the comic books, WB went ahead and released the piece in the WB studio stores and despite the new head I think these pieces actually sold very well. This was followed by all the other 1/6th scale comic pieces done by other sculptors and the large 1/6th scale animated maquettes. I suspect the other original 5 comic book pieces may have been done by the talented William Paquet. The original 1/5th scale Kent Melton Sculpt with the original head was reproduced in a numbered edition by Leblon in France with a Superman shield shaped base. If you can find one... the Leblon piece with the Melton head sculpt sells for a lot more than the WB pieces and are actually very rare over here in the US.



Here is a better look.

One other interesting note on these... The bigger nicer 1/5 scale Batman on the logo base was also released by Mattel as a numbered limited exclusive (I think there were 1000 of them made) through FOA Schwarz in New York. These were quite expensive and sold out instantly. If you can compare one of these to the smaller WB ones the distortion is blatant the big one is so much cooler. There were also 58 artist proofs made of this piece, I am lucky to own the number 1 of 58 AP's.

Before the fall out with the WB Melton was the guy that did the early Bronze finish Michael Keaton statue with crossed arms and the hand painted Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson numbered sculptures that were marketed in the movie theaters for the 1st Keaton batman movie. These pieces (250 sets were made) were hand painted by Melton himself and are very rare and very expensive. I believe he also executed the Jim Carry Riddler and the Tommy Lee Jones Two face statues produced by the Warner Studio Stores for the WB Batman and Robin Movie before the fall out.
ALSO SEE MY MOLD MASTERS FOR THESE 2 PEICES ABOVE AS WELL

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[ToastedFred]

It's certainly not my entire Batman collection, but I love how this pic turned out.

Full Size Here

 

[dtmulvey]

How, where in the world did you get that Corgi store display? That is the best!

 

[Platty]

Mike, that's awesome!

I recognise some of those model kits, especially the revell batman forever ones as I've had a crack at building those myself.

The Kilmer model kit looks exactly the same as the one on the cover of the box. Is it the one?

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

Hey Platty,

Revell retains their original box top kits, but...

Its as close as you can get…

I worked with Jay Adams, the guy that did the Revell box top figure model build ups. Jay did all 6 of the Revell kits from Batman forever and the 2 vehicles from Batman and Robin and signed them for me. The vehicles he did for me were way better than the box top build-ups. These shots don't do them justice. I asked for some special adjustments that made them awesome on close examination. As a bonus he had received some early mold masters from Warner Brothers of these characters because he was working with the sculptor for the vinyl kits on the project. These masters are larger, have different details and are not distorted as the smaller shrunken retail pieces were. Here are some shots. Sorry for the bad lighting and dust.



The Batman kit had a painting error on the box art. The belt buckle had a gold background with a silver batsignal. This was wrong, it was the other way around... I asked Jay to fix it but he got confused and repeated the error on mine.



These Batman and Robin vehicles and MR Freeze were painted by Jay... This Mr Freeze master was unpainted and was used to work out mold breaks. The others in this set were 1 of the 12 Paint master sets done for the WB in CA. I do have the Mr Freeze from that set but I like Jays paint job way better.



The first 3 in this set were the Masters sent to Revell, Jay painted these. The Riddler came from the WB paint masters... 1 of 12 sets that were made. Revell didn't get the Riddler in their set of masters, I have always wondered if the single riddler I had acquired from a WB executive was the one that went with the revell set of masters...



Here is the Batman master Revell was sent from the Warner Brothers main office. Note Batman's belt buckle was different from the production pieces and see how the smaller production piece was so rough in the details and leaned forward. He always looks off balance.

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

How, where in the world did you get that Corgi store display? That is the best!

Hey dtmulvey,

I was real lucky, I got it off Ebay. The guy was geographically close enough to deliver it himself or the shipping alone would have been well over $200.00-$300.00. It was something UPS could not do, the guy had to look into building a special crate to ship it ($$) and it would have had to go by a Trucking co. I was in the right place at the right time.

I have honestly thought about reproducing this case as it is so perfect for displaying many different collectables. Different scale Die-casts. Hotwheels Dinkys Models.... you name it. The lighting works awesome, Even thought these Iphone pics don't show it.

Would you buy one? I have figured out how to ship it flat and have the glass cut from templates on the shippers end... way more efficient...




Sorry don't know how to flip the pic.

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

Mike, that's awesome!

I recognise some of those model kits, especially the revell batman forever ones as I've had a crack at building those myself.
The Kilmer model kit looks exactly the same as the one on the cover of the box. Is it the one?

Hey Platty,

Heres another example of how the larger Warner Brothers Studio Prototypes look next to the smaller WB store retail pieces.






Here is the larger Superman prototype I was asked about by member Animal Mother, earlier. The Kent Melton head sculpt and details were so much better.



One other spare shot of some one of a kind customized and painted maquettes done from my designs by a freind, super talented Barsom Manasham... Professional statue sculptor for DC Direct and many other companies. Barsom did produce some resin kits of NOCTURNA... Nocturna was a female vampire that was developed to be a new villan on the Batman animated series but was cut and never done. Barsom loved the design and this is his master painted prototype that was used to advertise the kits. Note... the Killer Croc was actually done by a different person not Barsom.

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[Platty]

Awesome stuff indeed, thanks for the information. A cool read!

 

[dtmulvey]

View attachment 340864View attachment 340865

Hey dtmulvey,

I was real lucky, I got it off Ebay. The guy was geographically close enough to deliver it himself or the shipping alone would have been well over $200.00-$300.00. It was something UPS could not do, the guy had to look into building a special crate to ship it ($$) and it would have had to go by a Trucking co. I was in the right place at the right time.

I have honestly thought about reproducing this case as it is so perfect for displaying many different collectables. Different scale Die-casts. Hotwheels Dinkys Models.... you name it. The lighting works awesome, Even thought these Iphone pics don't show it.

Would you buy one? I have figured out how to ship it flat and have the glass cut from templates on the shippers end... way more efficient...

View attachment 340755


Sorry don't know how to flip the pic.

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

I really like it (the original). I don't think I would buy a reproduction even though I am sure it is professional quality. I love collecting promotional and store display items. I was lucky enough to get a few pretty affordably. I have a set of shelves dedicated to bat vehicles and I found these pretty nice stackable cases at The Container store for the 1:43 stuff. I did make this simple corner unit specifically for my larger Batman figures.

 

[Cicada17]

Good God! This thread is getting better all the time!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Griff WV]

Hey Platty,

Revell retains their original box top kits, but...

Its as close as you can get…

I worked with Jay Adams, the guy that did the Revell box top figure model build ups. Jay did all 6 of the Revell kits from Batman forever and the 2 vehicles from Batman and Robin and signed them for me. The vehicles he did for me were way better than the box top build-ups. These shots don't do them justice. I asked for some special adjustments that made them awesome on close examination. As a bonus he had received some early mold masters from Warner Brothers of these characters because he was working with the sculptor for the vinyl kits on the project. These masters are larger, have different details and are not distorted as the smaller shrunken retail pieces were. Here are some shots. Sorry for the bad lighting and dust.

View attachment 340748

The Batman kit had a painting error on the box art. The belt buckle had a gold background with a silver batsignal. This was wrong, it was the other way around... I asked Jay to fix it but he got confused and repeated the error on mine.

View attachment 340749

These Batman and Robin vehicles and MR Freeze were painted by Jay... This Mr Freeze master was unpainted and was used to work out mold breaks. The others in this set were 1 of the 12 Paint master sets done for the WB in CA. I do have the Mr Freeze from that set but I like Jays paint job way better.

View attachment 340750

The first 3 in this set were the Masters sent to Revell, Jay painted these. The Riddler came from the WB paint masters... 1 of 12 sets that were made. Revell didn't get the Riddler in their set of masters, I have always wondered if the single riddler I had acquired from a WB executive was the one that went with the revell set of masters...

View attachment 340751

Here is the Batman master Revell was sent from the Warner Brothers main office. Note Batman's belt buckle was different from the production pieces and see how the smaller production piece was so rough in the details and leaned forward. He always looks off balance.

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

Great pics! I loved the WB store stuff. Years ago I had the maquettes for Batman, Robin, and the Joker from the animated series (after the redesign). I sold them for way more than I paid, but part of me wishes I still had them.

 

[Mike Stutelberg]

Hey Griff,

I loved these pieces as well they were some of the first statues I collected.



These pieces are all very rare. I said this a couple pages back in this thread about some other prototype pieces I have acquired over many years but will repeat it again here. These 4 pieces (all but superman) are 1 of 12 sets of paint masters that were done to finalize colors for the Warner Bros Studio Store offices in CA. I have know and delt with people involved in the process and its doubtful that all 12 sets still exist. These pieces are larger more detailed in some cases because there was a distortion that occurred when these pieces were shrunk to their final production size. The production pieces had logo shaped bases, there were also more limited Artist Proofs that had special tampo printed lettering on the bottom that indicated they were Artist Proofs. Again these are larger, no tampo on bottom and they have the simple non-logo bases. in the case of Batman the colors are different. This Batman had a grey inside his cape and a thin black line on his mouth. The cape is also slotted in and removable sort of like the superman cape was. I have seen a couple of these surface over the years but have only ever seen this 1 Wonder Woman.



These Items are straight stock I have never seen the paint masters for joker or the Batman with raised arm. Come to think of it I don't know if Artist Proofs of these 3 pieces were ever released. If any body knows I would love to hear. I did have the chance to buy one of the Batman Beyond paint masters but passed (I still regret not getting him)



These are a set of the Artist Proofs for the animated show Krypto. They are a nice 1/6th scale and go nicely with the larger animated maquettes. The production sets of these have flocking on them. Its kind of like a fuzz that mimics fur if you will. I was going to pass on these because of that feature untill I found the Artist proof set from someone that worked on the show. When I heard the Artist Proofs didn't have the flocking I had to get them. Mine is #16 / 120 AP sets made

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

 

[Griff WV]

Hey Griff,

I loved these pieces as well they were some of the first statues I collected.

View attachment 341451

These pieces are all very rare. I said this a couple pages back in this thread about some other prototype pieces I have acquired over many years but will repeat it again here. These 4 pieces (all but superman) are 1 of 12 sets of paint masters that were done to finalize colors for the Warner Bros Studio Store offices in CA. I have know and delt with people involved in the process and its doubtful that all 12 sets still exist. These pieces are larger more detailed in some cases because there was a distortion that occurred when these pieces were shrunk to their final production size. The production pieces had logo shaped bases, there were also more limited Artist Proofs that had special tampo printed lettering on the bottom that indicated they were Artist Proofs. Again these are larger, no tampo on bottom and they have the simple non-logo bases. in the case of Batman the colors are different. This Batman had a grey inside his cape and a thin black line on his mouth. The cape is also slotted in and removable sort of like the superman cape was. I have seen a couple of these surface over the years but have only ever seen this 1 Wonder Woman.

View attachment 341455

These Items are straight stock I have never seen the paint masters for joker or the Batman with raised arm. Come to think of it I don't know if Artist Proofs of these 3 pieces were ever released. If any body knows I would love to hear. I did have the chance to buy one of the Batman Beyond paint masters but passed (I still regret not getting him)

View attachment 341456

These are a set of the Artist Proofs for the animated show Krypto. They are a nice 1/6th scale and go nicely with the larger animated maquettes. The production sets of these have flocking on them. Its kind of like a fuzz that mimics fur if you will. I was going to pass on these because of that feature untill I found the Artist proof set from someone that worked on the show. When I heard the Artist Proofs didn't have the flocking I had to get them. Mine is #16 / 120 AP sets made

My Website:
www.mikestutelberg.com
Might enjoy looking under Clients and Toy Design

Love 'em! For the early days of pieces like these, they did a great job. I also had quite a few of the early Randy Bowen and William Paquet statues. I don't really regret parting with them because I enjoy sixth scale figures much more, but they're still terrific pieces. Thanks for sharing your pics/info!

 

[darkeyes]

Hi everyone, I finally took a road trip to IKEA and picked up a couple BILLY Bookcases to organize my Poison Ivy collection. Thought I would share most of what I have so far.

 

[enzolt]

Hi everyone, I finally took a road trip to IKEA and picked up a couple BILLY Bookcases to organize my Poison Ivy collection. Thought I would share most of what I have so far.

View attachment 341948
View attachment 341949
View attachment 341950
View attachment 341951
View attachment 341952
View attachment 341953
View attachment 341954
View attachment 341955

That's is glorious! I love Ivy!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk