Someone once described McFarlane’s ’89 Batmobile toy as a $60 model kit, and that description is apt. I’ve wanted a proper 1/12th or 1/10th 1989 Batmobile for so long, and when we finally get one it falls short.

Ignoring the fact it is undersized, my biggest complaint was the misshapen canopy. Why did Todd raise the front end? It looks so odd. At first I thought it was meant to accommodate Batman’s “ears,” but the figure sits too far back for that to be an issue. (Plus, the whole canopy was inexplicably painted grey on the first release. What?) At first I turned to some of the various printable kits to find my own solution. Alas, my skills at digital editing were not yet up to the task.

The canopy seen here was made by Flemming Schmidt over in Europe. He reshaped the existing canopy by hand (brave man!) and made molds, casting new copies to share with others. Once painted, it blends in and fits perfectly!

Kyimcustoms sells a canopy as well. His is based on one of those 3D-printing kits I mentioned above. I’ve got it sitting here with the second edition of the car, waiting for it’s time in the sun.

The guns took some pondering. In the film, the guns flip over on the inset panels. I had no desire to cut into my toy car and re-build flippable panels. So I compromised. Using my meager skills, I shaped a “box” that would sit over the panels. The guns themselves came from the digital kit. Magnets are glued to the inside of the panel boxes, with matching magnets glued to the underside of the Batmobile body. Thus the guns will hold position, but are easily removable.

I sold a few copies of the Batmobile guns online. I thought I was done with them, and then O.G. Trilogy added blast effects to his. Why didn’t I think of that! So I printed some blast effects to complete the look.

Oh, and of course the whole thing had to be repainted. The weird plastic look was not going to fly.

There’s still much to do to make this Batmobile better, not the least of which is making it a proper 2-seater. Maybe some day.

UPDATE: Added gas caps and thruster flames. 3D-printed, of course.

Created June 2023