1/6 The Dark Knight: Batmobile - Tumbler (relaunch)

[Fan]

Reading back some post I start thinking again about making more accurate 1/6 replacement rear and front wheels for the Tumblers.

Still in love with my Hot Toys Tumbler but imo the rear wheels are the most inaccurate parts of it, at least the ones that are the most noticable.
Reading about the rubber problems would be another problem that could be solved by this and I think it isn't very difficult to get the actual wheels off.

Just think that a small number of parts at this size would be pretty pricey, but who knows, if we get some fellow freaks together it could become affordable ...
If I would make them I'd make them of hard material, looking like rubber, so they can't deform and can better be weathered to look as if the Tumbler was driving. Nobody I know actually rolls the Tumbler over the floor anyhow. Do you? So no need for real rubber imo.

Anyway, just some thoughts at this point but what do you think?

 

[Pixelpiper]

I wouldn't be interested in anything that wasn't rubber. The best way to hit this up if you don't already have experience manufacturing rubber wheels, is to contact one of the small-run producers of RC scale truck/crawler tires.

 

[Fan]

I wouldn't be interested in anything that wasn't rubber. The best way to hit this up if you don't already have experience manufacturing rubber wheels, is to contact one of the small-run producers of RC scale truck/crawler tires.

Thanks for the advice! I know we don't always share the same opinion but I rember reading a post of you some days back about bad plastic / rubber quality on some 1/6 releases and about that I'm totally with you. Looks like there has been some improvement by now but some older releases have such fragile outdated materials that I was wondering if it was just about saving money or because somebody didn't know it better.

It's true, I don't have any experience manufacturing rubber wheels yet . Asking small-run producers of RC scale truck/crawler tires would probably be a really good idea, though I would wanna make the model specs myself.
Didn't know that there are such producers.

I somehow understand your opionon that it should be rubber when it's about tires, thought the same at first but then again I was wondering why.
Look, I mean the model's bodywork isn't made of metal either for example. Don't see the necessity for a part to be made of rubber rather than hard material looking like rubber when the part is only there to fullfill an optical function, I never touch the Tumbler when it's in the case anyhow.

 

[Pixelpiper]

If we don't draw the line somewhere (metal vs. plastic vs. rubber) pretty soon we might as well just display a photograph.

RC4WD have some of their own tires, but there are more companies, including ones listed on their product pages, that manufacture/outsource.

I wouldn't be surprised to find existing tires with the correct tread, but I doubt very much you'd find them in the correct scale. 1/6 is not a common RC scale, even though some examples, especially customs, exist.

I don't know what number of units would make the project feasible, but it would be a chance to not only fix the poor material selection, but also correct the design, which for the back tires at least, is completely wrong on the original.

 

[DarkMagic]

Reading back some post I start thinking again about making more accurate 1/6 replacement rear and front wheels for the Tumblers.

Still in love with my Hot Toys Tumbler but imo the rear wheels are the most inaccurate parts of it, at least the ones that are the most noticable.
Reading about the rubber problems would be another problem that could be solved by this and I think it isn't very difficult to get the actual wheels off.

Just think that a small number of parts at this size would be pretty pricey, but who knows, if we get some fellow freaks together it could become affordable ...
If I would make them I'd make them of hard material, looking like rubber, so they can't deform and can better be weathered to look as if the Tumbler was driving. Nobody I know actually rolls the Tumbler over the floor anyhow. Do you? So no need for real rubber imo.

Anyway, just some thoughts at this point but what do you think?

You're right the rear wheels are quite easy to remove. I discovered this when I did my camo repaint of a black Tumbler. All you need is a flat head screwdriver. First you use it to gently pry off the center plate with the five bolts. It's glued on, but it doesn't take a lot of effort to remove, and you can do it without causing any damage if you're careful and loosen it from multiple sides first. Once the plate is off you have access to the rear axel. The wheels are attached to that by a flat head bolt screw.

The front wheels however, are a real pain to remove. You'll need a pretty small Philips screwdriver, and a lot of patience and care to avoid stripping all of the tiny, hard to reach screws that hold them in place, and connect them to the steering arm. And then....when you're done with whatever mod you did, putting them back on right is even more annoying and stressful. I never want to do it again.

 

[Fan]

If we don't draw the line somewhere (metal vs. plastic vs. rubber) pretty soon we might as well just display a photograph.

RC4WD have some of their own tires, but there are more companies, including ones listed on their product pages, that manufacture/outsource.

I wouldn't be surprised to find existing tires with the correct tread, but I doubt very much you'd find them in the correct scale. 1/6 is not a common RC scale, even though some examples, especially customs, exist.

I don't know what number of units would make the project feasible, but it would be a chance to not only fix the poor material selection, but also correct the design, which for the back tires at least, is completely wrong on the original.

Now I'll have to cut out a photograph and glue it on the Hot Toys rims.

Had a long search for 1/6 truck parts when I started this project a while back

but most are either 1/5 or 1/8 or some 1/4, was pretty frustrating

The number of units to make it feasable would of course also depend on the material and the models complexity, another reason why I'd prefer to make them of one piece but therefore with different paint apps, maybe even a thin rubber like surface for the tires, to make them look accuratly. Would also reduce the chance to fail, for example by having a rubber tire that doesn't fit on a custom wheel in the end or something like that.

In any case I'd definitelly be interested in such a project if we get some fellow freaks together.

 

[Fan]

You're right the rear wheels are quite easy to remove. I discovered this when I did my camo repaint of a black Tumbler. All you need is a flat head screwdriver. First you use it to gently pry off the center plate with the five bolts. It's glued on, but it doesn't take a lot of effort to remove, and you can do it without causing any damage if you're careful and loosen it from multiple sides first. Once the plate is off you have access to the rear axel. The wheels are attached to that by a flat head bolt screw.

The front wheels however, are a real pain to remove. You'll need a pretty small Philips screwdriver, and a lot of patience and care to avoid stripping all of the tiny, hard to reach screws that hold them in place, and connect them to the steering arm. And then....when you're done with whatever mod you did, putting them back on right is even more annoying and stressful. I never want to do it again.

Thanks a lot! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Hearing that, if I should make improved custom wheels, I'd probably make just the rear wheels.


EDIT: Just out of curiosity at this point, but would anybody else be interested?

 

[gothamcityboy]

Hi - found an eBay seller who produces kits of those display cases. Just told him the dimensions, color and material I want and he prepared everything. Just had to put it together myself, and had 5 Panels of thermally toughened safety glass made in the proper size by a local glazier. (they are 8 mm thick, so I can use it as a normal coffee table as well and don't have to worry about scratches or even a breakage.)

The eBay seller is located in Germany, so not sure if that is an option due to shipping costs, but if you want to figure it out, that's his eBay shop:

https://stores.ebay.de/HEWA-VITRINEN



Congrats to your new ride! Hope you had a big grin like me, when unboxing this monster (facial expression of my girl friend looked slightly different in that moment, no idea why ... )

Yeah, a pedestal would bring it up to eye level certainly, but on the other side of the room is my home cinemas screen located and I would probably have a tough time wachting my movies through the display case.

View attachment 91049

Thats a classy display mate... Very well done

 

[rdc2]

 

[Fan]

Iconic display! And happy to see me black rim decals!

 

[rdc2]

Iconic display! And happy to see me black rim decals!

Thanks bro! I guess i need another pair for my camo tumbler...

 

[RaBu]

rdc2 your pictures look nice

 

[Darknightsw]

Beautifull rdc2

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[Fan]

Thanks bro! I guess i need another pair for my camo tumbler...

Anytime bro, I'm not offering them atm but I might offer them again some time later this year, just drop me a pm.

 

[RaBu]

the tumbler with all the dark knight hot toys looks so cool

 

[onges33]

My new custom shelves for my Hot Toys Batmobiles

 

[supermasterhulk]

sweet display. how much for each glass if you don't mind me asking.

 

[onges33]

Each glass is 6mm thickness x 1250mm x 650mm, the price is about 11USD per piece.

 

[onges33]

Still in progress. Thinking how to seal this with glass or acrylic.

 

[anubis20]

Got mine 2 days ago and its an impressive piece. My cousin came over yesterday and he is not a collector and started taking all kinds of pics of it Bought it used and unfortunately the seller failed to mention the fender panels had bulged. Dont know if they came like that or it was never propped off the ground. It came all the way from Italy so i just gotta live with it now. I raised the front end off the ground with a hockey puck holder and 4 quarters. Either way the bulging is not too noticeable and overall everything else looks great!

Oh yea and I just got into buying HT and im still Batman-less... waiting on the armory set