# Batman vinyl figure questions...



## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I suddenly feel the need for a Batman figure with Michael Keaton's face behind the mask...
Has anyone here done one? I see a bunch on Ebay, but most say 'recast', and I've heard this means a drop in quality- is that the case here? I'd sculpt one from scratch, but honestly I just don't have the time right now.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

I did the very first Horizon one from '89 or '90 and didn't like the kit over-all. I still have the "Batman Returns" kit somewhere still boxed up - a much better kit IMHO. A better pose and the cape is actually vinyl. Probably have a semi-started Penguin kit too. Built up the Catwoman. All nice kits if you ask me - I enjoyed doing vinyl kits. I would probably be willing to part with the kit, but I have no idea of their worth.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I ordered the Batman 11" vinyl kit with the vinyl cape just now.
Keaton rules.:thumbsup:


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Cool -it's a great looking kit. Think I'll put mine up in the for sale section and see if anyone wants it.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bobj812 said:


> Cool -it's a great looking kit. Think I'll put mine up in the for sale section and see if anyone wants it.


I didn't get the Batman Returns one, I ordered this one:










I like the simplicity of it. With shipping it was $25. The one you have was going for between $25 (recast) & $125(original Horizon w/box).


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Ah. I remember a Billiken kit around the time of the first movie that was pretty good. Is this it?


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Bobj812 said:


> Ah. I remember a Billiken kit around the time of the first movie that was pretty good. Is this it?


I think so, or one of them anyway. It's a recast though, so it's not credited as to who designed it. All it says on it is animehgk. The original Billiken (but with the gun in hand) is going for $299- waaaay out of my financial reach.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

I see.


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

The original was called Type A (Billiken); they did a Type B with the grappling hook gun.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

RossW said:


> The original was called Type A (Billiken); they did a Type B with the grappling hook gun.


Okay, that explains it! Thanks Ross!


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Np. Here's my Batman Type A (original Billiken vinyl kit) build up:


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

RossW said:


> Np. Here's my Batman Type A (original Billiken vinyl kit) build up:


Oh man, I *hope* mine will come out nearly as good!! That's absolutely astounding!
Did you paint it with acrylic? I can't believe how great it looks! You got the eyes SO RIGHT!!! And the skin tone... the shades...


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

Here's My Billikin(all original issue) Keaton and Joker..




And the type "B" with Speargun


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Thanks! Those are great too!!! Mine's coming from Thailand, so I've got a wait...


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Thanks Chrisall. It was painted with acrylics and I used pastels for shading the face. For the suit, I used different blacks for the different parts and for the main body pieces I buffed the surface with a lint-free cloth to try and get the look of the original. What I didn't do was any real shading/highlighting, though.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

RossW said:


> It was painted with acrylics and I used pastels for shading the face. For the suit, I used different blacks for the different parts and for the main body pieces I buffed the surface with a lint-free cloth to try and get the look of the original. What I didn't do was any real shading/highlighting, though.


Flat lacquer coat at the end?
I just looked a totally zoomed in picture of it- even super close up- it's flawless.:thumbsup:


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

You're too kind  Without any shading/highlights on the suit it looks a wee bit toy like.

Because I used different blacks (with different sheens) I didn't overcoat the suit at all (the eyes/face were painted first and were dull coated with gloss applied to the eyes after).


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Just got my Batman vinyl kit from Hong Kong (country of origin: Thailand).
Yep, it says "Billiken" on the boot bottom.
This is a great recast! Detail is excellent. This is gonna be one of the funnest builds for me ever! I would so totally get another from this company.


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Can you post pics of your recast Billiken Batman? Hopefully it looks better than that recast Frankenstein from a few months back.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

robiwon said:


> Can you post pics of your recast Billiken Batman?


Sure!

















The belt & stuff is all there, but I had to carry it over to my work table to avoid flashy badness, and I'm lazy at this hour. Just the major parts here.
The chest was a little flat so I ran really hot water over it & held it to the proper shape with cold, and BAM! Just right.

I actually like his armour in Batman Returns a little bit better (they also have two of those- Horizon recasts, I think), but I just like this pose & cape hang so much more...
It's here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Movie-Batman-1-...794?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c199e3852


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

I've been doing some research, and there's a big disdain out there for these 'recasts' that I can't fathom. Sure, as a collectible kit, my recast Batman is practically worthless. But I got it to MAKE it. And it looks pretty good to me. Sure, the original probably has a noticeably higher level of detail, being, well, *ORIGINAL* & all, but since the original kit is no longer in production, and well over $200 as a collectable, I find that under $20 for this one is well worth my time.
Thoughts?


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## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Oh, man, what a kettle of worms you just opened. Recasts are the reason companies like Billiken, Horizon, Screamin', Geometric et al stopped making model kits all together (although Geometric still makes resin kits). So, you might be getting a cheap kit but because of recasts we aren't getting new vinyl kits anymore.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

RossW said:


> Recasts are the reason companies like Billiken, Horizon, Screamin', Geometric et al stopped making model kits all together


What was the price on the original Batman Billiken? Just curious...
I'd pay top (reasonable) dollar for a _real_ one.
I bought the _real_ vinyl Robot B9, the _real_ vinyl Robocop... but those weren't *$200!!!!*:freak:

To clarify, THOSE I bought in the 90's though.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

Okay, I *can* fathom it now.
Unlicensed recasts are like pirated DVD's used to be. Sucking the profits from the peeps that created the product in the first place. 
Like my Son likes to say, sadface.

Okay, this is my last vinyl kit.

Recast, anyway.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

Chrisisall said:


> What was the price on the original Batman Billiken? Just curious...
> I'd pay top (reasonable) dollar for a _real_ one.
> I bought the _real_ vinyl Robot B9, the _real_ vinyl Robocop... but those weren't *$200!!!!*:freak:
> 
> To clarify, THOSE I bought in the 90's though.


that depends on where you got it. most of us in the u.s.a. ended up paying way over retail price for it, which, at that time, meant we paid about $100 for them.

most of my first issue billikens, those from the 80s, were bought for $30 to $80. 

im very glad youve seen the light about recasts. (and although i hate to tell you this, when you see a real billiken batman in person, you'll know how badly you were ripped off for your copy, no matter how little you paid for it.)


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## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I had to sell my boom box in the 80's to buy my Biliken Predator. It was $80.


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

To shead some light on "recasts", when we were doing the Star Trek figures the molds were done in Hong Kong and Korea with the stipulation that they kept the molds and we imported bagged shots to save duty fees. Many other companies operated the same way and those molds are still the property of the molding company. If the licensing agreement has lapsed, they are fair game. They however cannot list the original distributing company.


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## Chrisisall (May 12, 2011)

razorwyre1 said:


> i hate to tell you this, when you see a real billiken batman in person, you'll know how badly you were ripped off for your copy, no matter how little you paid for it.


I found a pic of real Billiken:








My kit:









Detail is definitely sharper on the real one.

Cheapest real one I can find is $125...


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