# Polar Lights deluxe Batmobile in work



## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Here are three shots of one of my current projects, the new Polar Lights deluxe Batmobile kit. It was an Xmas present from my older son. I am going with the IC engine rather than turbine but lost the fan belt assembly so if anyone is going turbine and would like to sell me the fan belt piece I would be most appreciative. It obviously is a much more in depth build than the old Aurora kit but well worth it. There is still a long way to go on it but I am having fun. The initial coat of black on the body was Testors sparkly black but I am going to pick up a can of gloss black and fix that. Anyway, here's three shots of the work in progress.


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## Dracula (Jun 5, 2005)

Looking good. Have the fan belt, you can have it no charge. PM me .


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

This looks like a fun kit to build! I'm hoping to get one... not that I need anything else to build, or, for that matter, find room to display!! Keep posting pics... it's great to watch it come together. - Denis


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## tracy.net (Aug 30, 2009)

Bob looks like your making good use of your extra time! Just to check and make sure did you get my reply to your questions about the mercury redstone kit?


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## rat salad (Oct 18, 2004)

Bob, what did you spray the body with? I tried spraying black gloss enamel years ago, and ended up with this mess...the only kit I've ever shelved...and ruined. The Munsters Koach.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Rat, when I did my Munster's Koach I used Testors gloss black lacquer. I will tell you that if you put on just a little bit too much they will run and it isn't difficult at all to make them run, especially when you go for that final wet coat. I used Testors blazing black which appears to have a minimal sparkle effect in the paint which I don't want so I am going to pick up either gloss black or Tamiya black. I can tell you for certain though these go on rather thin and it doesn't take much over spray to have them run. As for getting it off, I believe you could strip it with something like Easy Off oven cleaner or other things and start again. Here's my Koach from a year and a half ago.


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## teslabe (Oct 20, 2007)

rat salad said:


> Bob, what did you spray the body with? I tried spraying black gloss enamel years ago, and ended up with this mess...the only kit I've ever shelved...and ruined. The Munsters Koach.


Dumb question, did you wash the kit first? I have both models and would hate to mess
up with the paint.......:drunk: Also, what brand paint did you use? Thanks......:wave:


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## rat salad (Oct 18, 2004)

I used Testor's Gloss Black *Enamel*.
Looks like I should have used *Lacquer*.
Live and learn.....
I'm not much of a vehicle builder.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Rat, I typically use lacquer. However on my recent Moebius Hudson Hornet build I used Tamiya red on the body but could not find the correct color for the root in lacquer. I therefor used Testors ivory enamel and it came out pretty good too. I do think that it had more of a tendency to run and I think I got a run by putting it on too thick to begin with. Getting it on without running is a skill I am beginning to think. So on the Batmobile I started with a relatively thin coat. I plan on 3 or 4 thin coats, then some tooth paste buffing. Then I'll hopefully finish the spraying with a wet coat without runs and tooth paste buff it out for the final finish. I bought some Testors normal black spray at Hobby Lobby today. Here's the Hornet with the body in Tamiya red lacquer and the roof in Testors ivory enamel from the cans.


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## rat salad (Oct 18, 2004)

Looks great!
I'm usually pretty good at spraying. The reason I applied the thick coat was because it came out "spitting". It was bad from the start. I probably should have sat the spray can in a bowl of hot water to thin the paint up beforehand.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

rat salad said:


> I used Testor's Gloss Black *Enamel*.
> Looks like I should have used *Lacquer*.


Not necessarily. I use enamels almost exclusively and rarely have problems, but I've been using them on styrene kits for more than 40 years now so I do have _some_ experience.

Heating the rattle cans does make things better (soaking them in hot tap water will do), but the thing to remember is to spray multiple light coats rather than one or two heavy coats; keep the can moving, don't hold it on one spot too long. And be sure to shake the can _thoroughly_ before spraying, and again every minute or so while spraying. Also, ambient temperature and humidity can affect the paint, so check the manufacturer's recommendations on the label.


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## BatToys (Feb 4, 2002)

When you say spray multiple light coats, should they be dry and wetsanded before the next coat?


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## jand1958 (Jan 27, 2005)

While not the deluxe Batmobile, here is one I built and displayed.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

BatToys said:


> When you say spray multiple light coats, should they be dry and wetsanded before the next coat?


I don't know if each coat _should_ be completely dry, but I've always given each coat ample time to dry before applying the next. The good thing is thinner coats dry faster than thick coats, but it can still be a time-consuming process. Remember, patience is a virtue. 

With regards to sanding, I imagine it would be beneficial to sand each coat (including the primer coat) if you desire that kind of fine finish. I'm not that particular and I have no intentions towards ever entering one of my builds in a contest, so the only time I sand a painted surface is if I've screwed up somehow and wound up with a run or overly obvious "orange peel".


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

BatToys said:


> When you say spray multiple light coats, should they be dry and wetsanded before the next coat?


I'm not an expert on finishing model car surfaces but when I did that Hornet after 3 fairly heavy coats I tried the wet sanding with very fine Tamiya paper. As I recall I went through the paint rather quickly and also had trouble getting good sanding done on the compound curves. I wasn't too happy doing it that way. So I pulled out a tube of basic toothpaste and took to the surface again after some more painting. I used a soft paper towel with the toothpaste and all I can say is WOW. It doesn't take off much as you might imagine and with the paper towel and toothpaste you can get into the curved surfaces just fine. I also buffed out the ivory top painted with enamel and it worked just as well on that. To me it beats the heck out of sandpaper no matter how fine and let's you do those compound surfaces. Also, you can either wait for all your coats of paint to go on or if you see things you might want to buff out between coats sand after those spray jobs are cured. I would give the paint at least 48 hours before attacking it with the final buffing job. I was extremely pleased with my Hudsons paint finish when I was all done.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Last summer I sanded and polished out a black 39 Ford. You need about 4-5 THIN coats of paint on the car and some REALLY FINE sandpaper. I got a polishing kit from Micro Mark. I started with 3600 grit and went through progressively finer grains all the way to 12000 grit. Wet sanding. At first, sanding makes the finish dull and you wonder what the heck you've just done. But as you move to the finer grades, a brilliant gloss comes back as the paint levels out. It is a long, slow process, but worth it. Be sure to stay off the high spots where it's easy to get through to the primer. Here are some instructions from one of the best model car builders in the business and a pic of the 39 with the finish done following this plan.

http://ilovewood001.tripod.com/modeling/polish.html


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I gave you a 10 on that one PF, it is a beauty of a paint job.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Thanks. Just thought I'd show it again and post the instructions for anyone interested in trying it. This was my first attempt at a sand-out/polish car. You'd have to be darn careful doing this with the Batmobile because of all the fins, curves, etc. On the other hand, there's not as much to sand because it essentially has no roof. I'm going to give this a try on a Batmobile glue kit (not deluxe) that I have to see how it works. What the heck, worst case you mess up and spray again.


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## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)

Just coat it with this:










And be done with it.

- GJS


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## Stoney-VA (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm going to try the floor wax finish on this one.











I really liked this retro police car and with it's number being 54, I was sold. 



Sorry for the brief hijack Bob.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

No problem Stoney. One thing I would recommend though, at least I think this is true, is that the Future is not going to hide a poor finish to begin with. I buffed out the paint finish to a very nice finish prior to spraying the Future on my Hudson Hornet. If I had not polished it with tooth paste first I doubt it would have been near as nice after applying the Future. And make sure there are no contaminants on the surface, such as a dust or paint chip or such as the Future will show them very clearly.


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## Stoney-VA (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks Bob. I'll experiment on the inside of the body before I put any wax where it will show.


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## jaws62666 (Mar 25, 2009)

The Batman said:


> Just coat it with this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I use rustoleum painters touch satin black and coat it with future. Great look and shine without any headaches. Just waiting on the Moebius Tumbler to complete the set


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I want to give Dracula a hearty pat on the back, as long as he doesn't bite my neck. He sent me the fan belt assembly I stupidly lost and he did it in style, a huge padded envelope shipped certified and priority mail. All I can say is thanks a million and hopefully someday I can return the favor. A true scholar and a gentleman. There are many people on here like that and you all are great people. I even have it painted and installed on the engine so I can get back to work on the Batmobile.


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## Dracula (Jun 5, 2005)

Gee Vampires are not suppose to blush. Willing to help in any way I can. Just glad the post office did not break it, and arrived in time.

Richard


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I've been able to do some more work on the Batmobile although it gets only about 30% of my workshop time while the BSG gets 70%. Here are a couple more shots with some more painting completed and a test fit of the assemblies.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I did some more work today and basically have the exterior painting completed. Once I did I started applying decals as they really set it off, it is so bland just black. I also got some more interior work done and started painting the Batman figure. There is a lot of detail work on the interior and I am doing most of it by hand. Finally I started trimming the windshield, which can maybe see in the picture, using bare metal foil. It actually makes the job rather easy and works and looks much better than painting it. Here's a couple of pictures of my progress.


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## Scorpitat (Oct 7, 2004)

Jand, great shot! Now, did you paint those body lines or use the decals? Looks amazing.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Scorpitat said:


> Jand, great shot! Now, did you paint those body lines or use the decals? Looks amazing.


Those are the decals, while you could paint the stripes the decals work very nicely and certainly make applying the stripes a whole bunch easier than painting them. It also appears they give you some extra decals for some of the locations so if you screw up you can simply replace the messed up decal with another.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Another day and some more work done on it. I am going to try to finish it up tomorrow. I got more decals applied, BMF'd the windows, and added more of the smaller details as well as painting up the figures although they aren't done yet. Anyway, here it is after today's work.


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## Stoney-VA (Oct 19, 2011)

Looking pretty good. Nice job putting the foil on the canopies.
:thumbsup:


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

This will be my last post for at least 8 days as we are off on a vacation. I put in a good amount of effort today and am over 90% complete now. I finished the figures and pretty much finished the interior. There was a fair amount of detailed work on the interior much done by hand. I applied the remaining decals and have trunk and crime computer installed. I also used the PE grills on the front and back. Then while gluing the trunk in I very stupidly had CA glue run over the left rear fender which also messed up two of the side decals. That is going to require some repair work when I get back. Very frustrating. Here are the almost finished pics at this time.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Nice work! I wish the figures included with the kit looked more realistic rather than looking like they were modeled after the character sheets from the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon.


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## PF Flyer (Jun 24, 2008)

Great work as always Bob. I've got the basic "glue kit" that I hope to start soon.


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