# 1949 Batmobile help!



## daikins

*1949 Batmobile: Work In Progress*

Hey guys,

Wow, the newly merged forum? Looks good!

I am starting on a new build, the 1949 Mercury convertible used in the 
*brilliant* and *action-packed* Columbia Pictures "Batman and Robin":

http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1949-batmobile.php

I have just ordered a custom resin body, as no one makes a kit of the convertible, to go with my '49 AMT kit.

Here's the deal: I am having trouble finding paint reference photos of a vintage 49! Mercury engine blocks were green, but I can't find a color ref.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Deane


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## Dave Metzner

#1 Try your local public library there are a lot of books published with good photos
#2 try a google search on your computer
#3 go to http://wwwboard.modelcarkits.com and ask for help there that is a message board inhabited by car builders and only car builders - there will probably be somebody over there who will know what color green you're looking for.

Dave


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## free spirit

49 merc 255 cubic inch motor


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## daikins

Yeah! Thank you guys! That's it!

The resin body arrived today. It's in good shape but lots of flash. This week will be spent doing a lot of clean up, fit testing with the original hood and chasis...

..and finding this:

http://www.originalrobin1949.com/

Heh, think he remembers what the engine block looked like?

Gotta ask him if he kept the suit.

Pics in a week!

Deane the Boy Wonder


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## free spirit

girls also belong to hobby talk l.o.l


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## spencer1984

Good project, where did you get the resin body from?

How close to stock are you going to built it? Whenever I can, I like to add a few performance options under the hood - sure, it looks like any other street car from the outside, but it's still a Batmobile underneath.


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## daikins

Hola amigo!

The resin is at:

http://www.resinrealm.net/Star/PriceList.pdf

As of last week, it was in stock. Mr. Kohler was very responsive and the product shipped in twice-wrapped packaging. What's cool is that it comes with the interior with the ragtop scultped in the reclined position, a cover, and the ragtop fully extended. Thus, you could change your Batmobile into Bruce Wayne's car at your whim. 

To be exact, the resin is of a 1950 Merc. There is no 49 Merc convertible kit. However, the 50 differs from the 49 only in:
a) the chrome lettering on the hood, and 
b) the leading aspect of the chrome molding on the front fenders. 
c) some slight differences in the tail light.

I am solving point a by using the 49 hood from the AMT kit. I plan on gently sanding the detail difference on the chrome molding to address point B. You can sand off the resin light on the '50 and glue on the piece from the 49 kit to take care of c.

You raise a great point about the engine. The AMT kit contains enough parts to make 2 different engines, a stock flathead and something with a little more horsepower. Batman will not be driving a standard v8, I can tell you that!

The last things to get are Batman and Robin. I have resin figures to go with my '66 Barris that I got from CultTVman. I'm gonna see how well they fit in this one.

I don't think there's a kit for the '43 serial?

Best,

Deane


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## spencer1984

Cool, thanks for the link to the PDF. It's been a long time since I visited Resin Realm, they have some great stuff. When I start the '49, I was going to try to modify the existing steel roof into a convertible "up top." Not sure how well it will work, but it has to be less work than the '43 will be...










This is the closest model I could find in 1/24 scale. It's the '38 Caddy Limo done by Yat Ming. In addition to the extra length, it has the wrong grille (and hood) for the Batmobile. However, the rest of the bodywork is perfect, it has a ton of Batman-appropriate details (like the onboard phone and Presidential mechanical upgrades) and best of all it has Caddy's V-16 under the hood. You can read a review of it and see more pictures here.


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## daikins

A metal 49 Merc? You maniac! My biggest foray into metal will be the 1941, based on the Corgi 1/24 scale. Somehow, I'm going to alter the fenders to have those trailing scalloped edges that it was always drawn with. My current thought is to create vacuform "booties" that will fit over the metal fenders. I think I'm going to wait until the repainted car + metal batman comes out on the market.

In regard to the '43: Are you going to cut the stretched middle out to return to the original length? Could be done!

(a link http://www.batmobilehistory.com/1943-batmobile.php for those who don't know what we're talking about).


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## spencer1984

Heh, oops - I should have put "steel" in quotes...I'll be using AMT's '49 Merc, but rather than cut the top off and make an all-new piece, I'm going to see if I can cheat and resculpt what's there and texture it to make the convertible top.

Yes to the '43 question; removing the middle section looks pretty straightforward. The only problem area that I see is the rear doors. The stock Caddy had the doors cut out to fit around the rear fenders, while the limo has the doors further forward and more square-shaped. What I think I'll have to do is cut out a piece of body above the rear fender, then cut a fender-shaped piece out of each rear door so that they can move back where they belong.

I plan to use the grille from Monogram's 1939 Chevy. It looks pretty close to the Cadillac part, I'll just need to fit it into place and fix the hood.


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## daikins

Yes, that's an interesting solution to the rag top problem. Very do-able, I think.

I am still in awe of your plan for the 1943. It will be very impressive.

As for me, I spent the week getting acrylic paint for the white walls and did a ton of test fitting and sanding of the resin pieces onto the kit chasis. Definately a bit of a challenge. I think, once the humidity goes down, I will start by building the chasis completely, and then carefully fit each kit piece to the new resin body. 

Pics next week!

Deane


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## Deane

After a long hiatus, I have finally finished the first in my BATMAN IN HOLLYWOODLAND collections: The 1949 Mercury used as Batmobile in Columbia Pictures BATMAN & ROBIN:




























And with a little post-production:



















I really don't think you can tell that it's two car bodies fused together. Batman and Robin are modified POLAR LIGHTS figures.

Thanks for viewing!

Deane


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## brineb

Wow, the B&W versions look so cool... just like the serial!!!


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## Deane

Thank you! I love those serials- I bought the DVD collections of both.

I really owe Spencer1984 a huge tip of the cowl for pointing me in the right direction on the color- I was ready to paint it all black!

Deane


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## DemonSpeeding

kick ass work man!!!!!!!


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## Deane

Thank you, although the ass that got kicked was mine! This model required a resin 1950 Mercury convertible interior and rear end attached to a standard plastic model kit 1949 Mercury front end and chassis. For awhile, it looked like this:










Which made me very sad. On those days, stuff like:










would cheer me up and keep me going!

My next Batmobile from 1949 issues of Detective Comics will be much easier.

He said.

Full of hope.


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