# Aurora Batman



## phantom11 (Jul 12, 2007)

Hey all-

Thought I'd show some of my work here, finally. I stripped and disassembled parts of this Aurora Batman kit that I've had since my father bought and built it for me in 1966. Amazingly enough, there were no parts missing, even though my brother and I repeatedly removed Batman from the base so we could play with him. When I set out to restore the kit, I had to remove and "re-seat" the head and cape, and do a full repaint. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...































































Now I just need to finish up Robin to go along with him...


----------



## pugknows (May 28, 2002)

Very nice, your seam work is excellent and cool paint job.
Rob
Monster Model Review
http://monstermodelreview.com/


----------



## kit-junkie (Apr 8, 2005)

I have the Revell re-pops of this kit and of Robin. I hope my copy turns out as nicely as your original did. Great work!

EDIT: I've saved your photos to use as a reference for mine. I hope you don't mind.


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Fine job, phant! Much as I enjoy your near-movie-version color scheme on Batman, I really appreciate your having eliminated the seams between the parts. I find it disquieting at times to see photos of beautiful paint jobs on models that are marred by seams running through them. Your pictures are a treat.

Have a great weekend, all.

Mark McG.


----------



## Night-Owl (Mar 17, 2000)

Thats a very impressive build up Phantom11, well done! :thumbsup:


----------



## MonsterModelMan (Dec 20, 2000)

Nice job! Love the seam work and colors you chose. Nice detail on the owl too!

MMM


----------



## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

Really nice work all around!

I like the colors, he even looks more brooding than other built ups I've seen.


----------



## Geoff Boaz (Jan 1, 1970)

Looks great! Love that model too! It's AURORA love day on the boards!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## chevy263 (Oct 6, 2003)

Super paint job !! the texture and sheen look just right :thumbsup: and like the others have said great seam work boy are they a pain :drunk: coooool wood too.


----------



## beck (Oct 22, 2003)

very nice ! i really like the darker tones you went with on it . 
hb


----------



## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Nice work!! I really like the dark grays and blacks - looks more 40's style Batman.
Steve


----------



## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

Excellent work. :thumbsup: 
Love the color choices.

RK


----------



## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

That is one sweet job ya did on that Classic kit and thanks for posting:thumbsup:


----------



## the Dabbler (Feb 17, 2005)

Hey, you did a nice job on the re-do Phantom, wish you had taken a before & after pic.


----------



## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

I really like the colors and seam work also. I LOVE the back story, Very cool.


----------



## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

Very nice work Phantom!! I'll have the same kit soon and I hope I can do it the same justice you've shown yours!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Chris.


----------



## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Pardon my heresy, A-nut, but - if you get the MPC/Revellogram-headed repop, IMHO you'll have gotten aBat-noggin that's superior to the original sculpt.

Mark McG.


----------



## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

You're right Mark my heathen friend, and I'll probably do that later on, but I'm after the original Aurora aura- if that makes sense- to this one. I'd like to get the Revellogram repop later on for the different head but at the moment I'm on an Aurora rush. Also, my dad built one for me back in '68 and I have a fondness for that kit.
BTW, once you're in the Monarch club, Interested in a peasant hunt?

Chris.


----------



## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

The repop head reminds me of the Neal Adams era, while the original Aurora head recalls Bob Kane. I like both.


----------



## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Mark McGovern said:


> Pardon my heresy, A-nut, but - if you get the MPC/Revellogram-headed repop, IMHO you'll have gotten aBat-noggin that's superior to the original sculpt.
> 
> Mark McG.


The MPC/Revellogram heads on the Superman/Batman repops were actually scaled up versions of the 1984 Kenner Super Powers action figures. In the case of Bats - arguably an improvement. In the case of Supes - inarguably _not!_


----------



## Cappy D (Jun 19, 2004)

Great job on the kit...I really like the base, tree, and owl

Cappy D


----------



## dgtrekker (Jul 23, 2001)

Really nicely done, I think you've done justice to that kit.


----------



## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

I'm 50-50 on seams. But only for Auroras or other rare kits. There are a few I can't bring my self to sand or putty!



Mark McGovern said:


> Fine job, phant! Much as I enjoy your near-movie-version color scheme on Batman, I really appreciate your having eliminated the seams between the parts. I find it disquieting at times to see photos of beautiful paint jobs on models that are marred by seams running through them. Your pictures are a treat.
> 
> Have a great weekend, all.
> 
> Mark McG.


----------



## phantom11 (Jul 12, 2007)

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments! This is one of the few model kits I have that has significance beyond the fact that it was an original Aurora, intact, of one of my favorite comic characters (although, all that's pretty siginficant in itself!). Heh, nice to see so many made comments on the seam-work; I obsessed over that, I'll admit. I knew after so many years of having this kit and all it had been through, I had to give it my best. And being a big fan of the 1939-1940's Batman, I wanted a darker color scheme, so went with the dark gray and blue.
As for the headsculpt, I agree that the repop sculpt has merit and is more Neal Adams/Jim Aparo in it's look, with the original more like Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson's take. The trickiest part of finishing the original headsculpt is painting in the "eyebrows". My dad had never done that, and I realized how important a seemingly small detail is in making the whole kit work properly. I white-knuckled it through painting those...
Thanks again for the warm reception!


----------



## normlbd (Nov 2, 2001)

Excellent job on the Batman. I really like the dark color scheme.


----------



## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Mark McGovern said:


> Pardon my heresy, A-nut, but - if you get the MPC/Revellogram-headed repop, IMHO you'll have gotten aBat-noggin that's superior to the original sculpt.
> 
> Mark McG.


I agree; I much prefer the resculpted head that came with the reissued versions of this kit.

Truly nice work Phantom11! IMO the black-on-gray color scheme works much better with this kit than the blue-on-gray colors most modelers use, and your sparse use of highlighting and shading looks very natural. :thumbsup:


----------



## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

Simply stunning!


----------

