# Batwing



## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I've been looking for a kit to build for the 'At the Movies' competition over on the SFM:UK site....

http://www.scifimodels.org.uk/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=3&func=showcat&catid=46

In sorting out my stash I came across this partially built Batwing.....



I think I started this back in the early '90's when the kit came out...it all appears to be here...





Wheels are up and there are some nice gaps to fill...



It's interesting to compare the bits I've done to what I do now....back then I was happy to stick a few random scraps of styrene to the parts and call it superdetailing!....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

The seat features the extending spectacle sight like the movie....





So....I've started by cleaning up the instrument panel and sourcing some etched detail from a spare ParaGrafix sheet....expect a lit interior on this one....



More soon.....:thumbsup:


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## GSaum (May 26, 2005)

This is VERY COOL! I would love to get my hands on this kit. This was by-far my favorite version of the Batwing. This, along with a model of the Batmobile from the same film, would make an excellent addition to my collection.  Very nice job on your build thus far. Looking forward to seeing this one finished!


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Have a sealed kit in my collection. I'll get to it one of these days! Looking forward to seeing how yours comes out.


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Going to be very interesting to see what you do with the Batwing. I sourced it from ebay and built it a while ago. Looking forward to seeing the lit cockpit.


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

This will be a fun build to watch, keep the pics coming!


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

Built one of these many years ago. Just an out of the box build. Looking forward to seeing what all can be done with this model.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I was about to get started on detailing the cockpit with random detail when I found this pic online of a prop accurate collectable....



So I set about getting something closer to the movie....first up I found a suitably sized aperture in a brass fret...in this case the surround from part 26....



I cut out the brass with some scissors then trimmed it to it's outer dimensions...



It was still oversized internally so one edge was trimmed off....



I pencilled in the actual screen size then drilled out the bulk using a pin vice....



The hole was then squared up using a sharp blade....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Two small sections of brass tube were cut to make the instrument bezels either side of the screen...



Finally the pieces were applied to the kit instrument panel....





Now onto the side consoles....:thumbsup:


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

That is going to look awesome, especially if you're going to still light it. Great work!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Oh, I love this model, but I *SO* messed it up back in the day. Yours will be the Catwoman's whiskers!!!:thumbsup:


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Cool!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Paulbo said:


> Cool!


I knew those J2 misprints would come in handy one day Paul :thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

More progress on the cockpit....I fashioned some sidewall details from more spare etch....



Note the additional screen and the throttle handle...



Here's a test fit of the instrument panel...



I used part of the sprue to create the right hand control stick...



Another test fit...this time with the seat....


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bat-awesome!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Still on the cockpit but took time out to sort out part of the upper fuselage...this being an '80's kit the makers felt compelled to add some toy-like features such as the extending cable grabber in the nose and an opening hatch that reveals a gattling gun....



I decided to glue the hatch in place and fill the worst of the gaps with scrap plastic...once dry I'll fill the seams and hopefully make it invisible....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Meanwhile back in the cockpit I test fitted the figure which proved a tight squeeze....he's also packing a lot more muscle than I remember Michael Keaton carrying...looks more like Lou Ferrigno....







I wanted him to be holding the control stick and the throttle lever so some remodelling of the arms was in order...another issue is that he doesn't sit properly in the seat meaning his eyes don't line up with the spectacle sight...



I carved away some of the seat and a lot of the cape....I also had to amputate his feet but they can't be seen anyway....here's how he finished after surgery....





More soon....


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bat-tastic!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Along with the cockpit lights I really want to add the wing lights but had a problem since the wings were assembled twenty-odd years ago. I first used an extra long drill bit to try to feed some wires through the wing but couldn't manage it. In the end there was no other option but to break the wings apart. I used a fairly blunt blade and very carefully prised them apart at the seams....



There are also two small lights on the underside on the fronts of the wheel well bulges so I took the opportunity to drill out the wheel wells on the inside to feed the LED's....


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

This is a brilliant & inspiring re-build!!! I did a similar one on my '78 Galactica, but THIS is OFF THE HOOK!


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Loving the cockpit. Can't wait to see this finished and lit up!


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

spock62 said:


> Loving the cockpit. Can't wait to see this finished and lit up!


Here too!:thumbsup:


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Very cool!

I've seen a tip (personally untested) about soaking assembled parts in water, then putting in the freezer to let the expanding ice break the parts apart.

I'm sure, though, that with your mad-modeling-skills you won't have any trouble fixing any jagged edges and making the wings look perfect.

BTW - keeping notes for the Batwing I bought a year or two ago when I finally found one to replace the one I never picked up back in the day.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Paulbo said:


> I've seen a tip (personally untested) about soaking assembled parts in water, then putting in the freezer to let the expanding ice break the parts apart.


I've seen that as well! But I'd just tear it apart I do the body work larer, personally.:thumbsup:


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Seriously awesome job! I'm dying to see how good the finished product looks :thumbsup:


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## Shado1980 (Jul 15, 2009)

Looks great. I built the '89 Batmobile last summer from an original issue and loved it. I've got HMS Dreadnought on the workbench right now, but after that's done I want to get one of these. 

Can't wait to see the finished result!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

The current heatwave here in the UK is probably not the best time to be pulling kits apart but after much gentle persuasion and an equal amount of swearing I finally managed to prise the wing halves apart....



Besides fitting the lights, the other incentive for getting them apart was to add a little more refinement to the rather rudimentary detail that I'd attempted inside the airbrakes over twenty years ago....this was done with some leftover etch from a Viper set and some solder wire...nothing to write home about here but it adds a little depth to the area....



I mirrored the detail on the opposite wing....



Just starting to paint the cockpit now....:thumbsup:


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## Carl_G (Jun 30, 2012)

I now have Danny Elfman music stuck in my head. And it is AWESOME.


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Still looking good!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I had to hollow out areas of the wing halves to accommodate the LED and wiring....here is the LED glued in place...



I then covered the run of wires with aluminium tape to doubly secure it...



Finally the two wings were reassembled with the help of a lot of clamps....


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

You're making a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Great job so far! Loving the results :thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> You're making a silk purse out of a sow's ear! Great job so far! Loving the results :thumbsup:


Thanks  I love the challenge of bringing these classic kits up to modern standards....much more fun than just assembling something.
I'm having a bit of a Batman week at the moment....I'm waiting on the Batman Forever Batmobile and Batwing to arrive from a seller in the USA and just an hour ago I scored a Horizon Catwoman on eBay for a super-cheap price....:thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Just as an aside from the build, these two arrived from the USA this morning....still sealed too...



I already have the Batboat from this movie and also the three vinyl figures. The good thing about this particular movie is that the vehicles lend themselves to some fairly spectacular lighting. The kits are well moulded with a nice satin sheen to the parts...here's the Batmobile...



One slight disappointment is the nose being moulded solid....I'll be cutting out those areas with the mesh showing...another disappointment is the lack of figures to pilot them...



Here's the Batwing....interesting to compare it to the Keaton version, the stated scale is 1/32 which is about the same...



Again the meshed areas along the cockpit sides will need opening up....



Anyway, back to the build....


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Those are going to look epic all lighted up, can't wait to see them!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

The cockpit components were given a coat of Satin Black auto spray from a rattle can....



I then very lightly weathered it by drybrushing two shades of very dark grey....



Various details were picked out using random colours...



Here's the instrument panel with the obligatory hair stuck to the screen....



I also drilled halfway down the sight arm on the ejector seat in order to fit some fibre optics to the sight controls....the hole exits in the centre of the panel....



The fibre optic bundle is fed down the back of the seat and is held in place with some metal tape...it exits under the floor and is fed from a single LED...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I glued some short lengths of aluminium tube into the side consoles using 5-minute epoxy....these house the LED's that light the control panels....



The LED's were then fitted using CA glue and insulation tape was placed between the anode and cathode legs to prevent shorting....



Here's a test fit of the cockpit in the upper fuselage...here it's unlit...



And lit....not easy to see in daylight but it looks good to the naked eye...



Note the small rectangular screen...this will be having a slide fitted that will be backlit by the white LED...



The lights are clearer in this shot...the holes in the panels will be filled with Kristal Kleer and then individually coloured later....note also the lenses in the spectacle sight, these were done with Kristal Kleer too...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I also fitted some brass tubing in the wheel wells to house the underside lights....



Finally here's a shot of the underside of the cockpit tub showing the metal tape used to block out light leaks....



More soon...


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Great!!!!!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Only had an hour to work on it today so thought I'd tackle one of the small jobs.
The kit provides you with these sorry-looking pieces for the forward guns...



In less time than it would have taken to try and make the styrene guns acceptable I manufactured these new ones from small sections of telescoping copper and aluminium tubing....still undecided whether I should attempt drilling out the holes in the cooling jackets....



Test fitted in position they really look the part....



More soon....


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Looking good, I would say try drilling the holes. It would add a lot to the appearance.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

harristotle said:


> Looking good, I would say try drilling the holes. It would add a lot to the appearance.


I think so too...I might try and dial them in on the drill press...


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Nice! Far superior to the originals, even discounting the poor alignment.



miniature sun said:


> ...still undecided whether I should attempt drilling out the holes in the cooling jackets...


You know you will


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

miniature sun said:


> I think so too...I might try and dial them in on the drill press...


I don't envy you, those tiny precise holes like that are a bear, especially when it's into metal and not plastic. BUT it's those little details that will take this build from a great job, to simply amazing!


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Those gun barrels are a big improvement. Wish I'd thought of it when making my version.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I wonder if acid etching would be possible. It would require different ways of adding the resist and some way to seal up the inside rather than trying to mask that.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Paulbo said:


> I wonder if acid etching would be possible. It would require different ways of adding the resist and some way to seal up the inside rather than trying to mask that.


Funny you should say that Paul....I've just been eyeing up part 24 on those J2 sheets of yours that I've been cannibalising...it's a small panel with two rows of etched holes...if I anneal it I might get it to roll around the barrel for just the effect I want....hmmmm....


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

One way you might be able to achieve the holes without drilling is some photo etched grill material. If you painted the metal underneath black, or a darker shade of gray, then wrapped the grill around it. I was just looking at one of my model engines, and it made me think of that...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

harristotle said:


> One way you might be able to achieve the holes without drilling is some photo etched grill material. If you painted the metal underneath black, or a darker shade of gray, then wrapped the grill around it. I was just looking at one of my model engines, and it made me think of that...


Thanks for that....it's similar to what I'm thinking using the spare etch I have...:thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Yet more kits arrived today....this Batwing build has spurred me on to try and complete my Batkit collection....

Here's the companion to the Batwing....box is not the best but the contents are mint....



And from the sequel, a Horizon original Catwoman....



More Batwing soon....


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

The Batmobile is a nice kit. I enjoyed building my own. I never done a vinyl kit but it's on my must try one day list.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Xenodyssey said:


> The Batmobile is a nice kit. I enjoyed building my own. I never done a vinyl kit but it's on my must try one day list.


I've done a few (including a really nice Keaton 14" Batman that I just finished making today; this thread made me dig it out of four-year storage last night!), and they're really fast & easy.
This Batwing, however, is like the Everest of Bat-builds IMHO!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Some more progress....

First up the man himself, now minus his feet for a better fit....I primed him grey, painted the visible face parts with acrylics then masked him using liquid mask...I then gave him a coat of satin black....



He was then lightly drybrushed with Revell enamel no. 9 Anthracite Grey which is really just a shade off matt black...this helped pick out the detail on the suit. I then gave the chest badge its first coat of yellow...the kit provides a decal for this but it's out of register and oversize....I'll do another pass with the yellow then pick out the bat symbol with a fine brush. The belt buckle was a test to see how the colour looked but I need to use a more brass-like shade...once I get the colour right I'll paint the whole belt...



Also completed were the belly lights...I simply fed a white LED, suitably insulated, down each brass tube then fixed them in place with epoxy and aluminium tape....



Powered up they look really good...I'm going to use the kit lenses which should diffuse them nicely....



As soon as Batman is finished I can get him in the cockpit and start to get the whole thing together....


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

This is a great build ! Love the forward guns you made. Can't wait to see more ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

One thing that slipped past me was the incorrectly moulded chest badge....seems Ertl based it on the shape of the Batwing rather than the one on Keaton's suit....



They did supply a decal too but it was out of register and oversize so the only alternative was to print my own. I found a suitable logo online then shrunk it down to the correct size in a graphics program....I then printed off a few onto white decal paper....



The decals were then overcoated with some lacquer and left to dry. I carved the raised detail off the figure then applied two of the decals, one on top of the other to give some opacity ....



The single white LED was installed in a light box made from sheet styrene and fixed behind the instrument panel. The etched holes were filled with Kristal Kleer then touched in with various Tamiya clear colours. The screen was given a slide made from a spare from the ParaGrafix Blade Runner Sedan set....



It's hard to get clear pics of the panel lit but to the eye it looks terrific...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

So with Batman painted and decalled I could finally put the cockpit together and connect all the lights to a single power feed....here you can see the side consoles pretty well...



Note the reflection of the forward screen in the lenses of the spectacle sight...



Flashlit I can see a few areas that need touching in....





The view forwards shows the front screen....



Now to shoehorn it into the fuselage....:thumbsup:


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bat-gasp!


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## Carl_G (Jun 30, 2012)

Holy awesome model, Batman!


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

That is just amazing looking, outstanding job!


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## Bruce Bishop (Jan 17, 1999)

The work you are doing on this is fantastic! I can't believe all the details and special lighting you are installing on this model. It is something you can be proud of even before putting it on display!


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Beautifully done cockpit!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

With the cockpit done time to move on to the airframe....first another small improvement....the guns in the wings are ok but I wanted something more realistic....



I drilled and filed out the moulded guns...



Then they were replaced using small lengths of telescoping aluminium tube...the tubing is simply glued in place from the back...



And the result speaks for itself...


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I now reattached the wings to the lower fuselage taking care to feed the wiring through the wing joint....



The gaps from last time were still there so I inserted some Evergreen strip to ease the filling process...



I thought I might test fit the canopy before the upper fuselage goes on....the windshield fits reasonably well....



The problem lies with the canopy which is designed to open...even after removing the hinge at the rear the fit is poor to say the least....



Some work needed here I think....



More soon....


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Looking good, the little details like the more authentic guns on the wings make a huge difference!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

A little more progress...I'm itching to get the fuselage together but there's loads of little jobs to do first.
I offered up the wing light transparencies and found that internally they were too narrow to fit over the LED. Since I couldn't widen the transparencies the only other option was to narrow the LED's....I managed this using a chisel blade and very carefully paring the round LED to an oval shape....



I then lined the wing light housings with aluminium tape....



The poorly fitting canopy was next....I had to sand about 1mm off the rear edge of the windshield to get the canopy to close flush. The kit part only features a frame on the front edge so I added framing to the sides and rear edge, the rear frame being doubled up to disguise a flaw in the clear part...



Here it is test fitted in place...it's remarkably clear and shows off the interior really well....



I've also added copius amounts of filler to the awful joints in the lower wings....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Time I drafted in some help with the build....


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Don't you mean "draughted"? 

Would be funny to superimpose some drawings of the Keaton Batwing on that cover.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

miniature sun said:


>


That's some pretty advanced tech thinking for a _comic book_ back then!!!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Some small but important jobs before final assembly....the intakes are open to the interior so to avoid seeing right into the airframe I simply blanked them off with some black styrene...I did think of fitting grilles but you can barely see the card...



I tidied the feeds to the wing/belly lights then terminated them with a connector block which was epoxied in place...a single feed was then fed back towards the stand position...notice the styrene reinforcement where the stand fits, once the light feeds are all married up I'll send a single long feed down a length of brass tube that will fit into the stand....



I glued the cockpit tub into the upper fuselage then placed it on the wing for a final check to ensure none of the additions affected the fit....nearly there!...


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Meddings would love it.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Finally the moment has arrived to close up the fuselage....

first thing was to fit a mounting for the brass tube that will be used to support the finished model...I found a wheel from an old Revell Bridgelayer that had a hole in the centre the exact size of the brass tube...this was cemented into place set at a slight angle so that the Batwing will be banking to the right....



Inside I applied plenty of 5-minute epoxy to ensure it stayed put....



Here's the tube test fitted into the socket...note in the background the latest addition to my Bat arsenal, the Ertl Cocoon vacform....



Two lengths of wire were fed through the brass tube...



The power feed was fed through the socket and connected to the remaining wires from the wing/belly lights and cockpit...this stage is always a little fraught due to the proximity of the soldering iron to the kit, molten metal and styrene don't really get on...



The upper fuselage was then tacked into place using CA glue before clamps were applied and Plastic Weld cement was run along the joints. Here's another lighting test, this time with all the lights fed from a common feed....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Final assembly before the paint goes on....







The joints between the exhaust segments were a real pain to deal with...notice the lack of any engine exhaust detail here....I did consider hollowing out this area but the work involved far outweighed any real payoff so I decided to leave it as is....


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bat-Epic.


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

Looking Great !! Can't wait to see her finished. This is my favorite Bat-plane design. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Base coat of Satin Black acrylic auto spray is on and it's starting to look the part....just some touching in to do and start weathering before applying the decals...I'm going to hand paint inside the intakes as I was wary about too much paint building up as I tried to spray them....



Eye level with the pilot....



Overview showing the contrast with the airbrakes...


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

The Batwing is looking very nice with it's initial coat. Look forward to seeing how the weathering goes.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Totally Bat non-bogus!


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

She's really coming together!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

No more progress on the weathering till probably Friday when I can get a full day in on it...might even get it completed...

Meanwhile my Batmobile collection is almost complete...these arrived today...

first up the unloved Clooney version...actually I quite like the shape of this one...



Next the classic '60's version with what has to be the greatest boxart ever to grace a sci-fi kit, that's going straight in a frame...this is the deluxe version with the photoetch....



One thing I couldn't resist was this bargain from Hobbylink Japan...just a fiver!...maybe I'll try a German Batman diorama...would that be Fledermaus man?....


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Man, getting my hopes up for an update lol! I kinda like the first one actually.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

harristotle said:


> Man, getting my hopes up for an update lol! I kinda like the first one actually.


Sorry about that....I tend to give the base coat a few days to fully harden before attacking it with any weathering...I'm aiming to get the build completed by Sunday!


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## kdaracal (Jan 24, 2009)

Nice work, as usual...


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## DCH10664 (Jul 16, 2012)

Miniature Sun, the Batwing is looking great ! As for your comment "the unloved Clooney version" of the Batmobile. I know a lot of people didn't like it. But I do. I think it's a very sleek looking design. The version I really didn't like was the Val Kilmer Batmobile.
I hope when you get around to doing the Clooney-mobile, you will document it. Maybe I can pick up some tips for when I finally get around to doing mine.


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