There's gonna be a few new variations on the Hot Wheels 1966 Batmobile Car that has caught a lot of people by surprise. It looks like Mattel will create a reissue of the '66 Batmobile they made last year ( what a surprise, ha ha! ) for 2009. This new version will sport some new tires on the car & the header card will have 2 variations: one has a plain background with concept art of the Batmobile ( nice! ) & the other one is identical but has some "snowflake" graphics on it. These have already started to surface on eBay so I guess they're out now. Remember, be patient & look for these in stores. Don't pay greedy scalper prices! I remember when the 1st original version came out people were paying $100.00+ for these babies. I couldn't believe it! Go look on there now, you can buy them for 99 cents, ha ha!
Here's a pretty cool Tribute Video from a 60's Batman TV Show Fan. It's main focus is on footage of one of the very best Batmobile cars out there, the one designed by George Barris for the 1966 Batman TV Show!
OK Everybody, here's your chance to win a beautiful 1966 Batman TV Show Batmobile Replica Car. No, this is NOT one of the Bat-Blog's famous contests, ha ha! This post is about a current auction being held over at the CHARITY BUZZ website where they are auctioning off a few items to support the "Life Project For Africa" charity. The car was donated by AA Limousine Service. This amazing '66 Batmobile Replica Car is fitted with a flame thrower, custom leather seats and rims, Pioneer Navigation System, and much more! All proceeds from the auction will benefit "Life Project for Africa", dedicated to saving lives and giving hope to the poor in Africa. To bid on this item, & for more information, be sure to click HERE!
A good friend to the Bat-Blog, named Mark Racop, is in the business of making 1966 Batmobile Replica Cars. I gotta tell you that these cars are pretty amazing! I mean, the attention to every single tiny detail is totally insane! Well, recently, he posted a few hi-res desktop wallpapers of the cars he makes. I thought I would share a few here ( there are many more at his website ) & also give a shout out to his website. It's called FIBERGLASS FREAKS & if you're a fan of the 1966 Batman TV Show ( Adam West & Burt Ward ) then you gotta check it out!
I need to send a shout out to my good friend Eric Seltzer & congratulate him on the 10th Year Anniversary of his ORIGINAL 1966 BATMOBILE MESSAGE BOARD! I've been a member there for quite awhile & though I do not get to participate as much as I like it's really a great site that is totally dedicated to the original 1966 Batmobile Car designed by George Barris. I mean, the information there is totally insane! You can tell that Eric is a true Fan & really loves this piece of bat-history. You can also tell, from the attention to detail, that it's a labor of love. That's awesome! So, Eric...here's looking forward to the next 10 years, keep up the good work, & thank you. I guess I should say that I stole this photo of Eric from his website. It shows him in the original, totally authentic, NUMBER ONE Batmobile...the real deal!
Remember that post we did recently of when our friend "Burlyman" went to see George Barris & his 1966 Batman TV Batmobile Car in Burbank, CA? ( Here's a link to check it out, click HERE! ) Well, he also shot some super-excellent video!! I always love seeing this Classic Custom Car, it's so cool! Plus, it's really great to see George Barris again. He looks like he's in very good health, that's nice. Thanks to Burlyman for sending this video clip, YOU ROCK, Sir!
Batman has a lot of cars, jets, subs, & other vehicles. There are almost way too many to even mention! But if you ask a large group of people what their favorite car is then one of the top ones has got to be the 1966 Batmobile Car designed by George Barris for the '66 Batman TV Show. It will always be #1 because it's a Classic! Recently, I have come across a few "Bat-Car-Inspired" photos & decided to share them here. The 1st pic is of an actual "George Barris item" you can buy, not from me, but from his personal website. It's a 1966 BAT-CAR Lapel Pin made out of metal & when I last checked it was only $8.00, a great deal. The 2nd photo is of a fine art painting I saw on the Jonathan Levine Art Gallery website. An artist named M. Todd did this wonderful painting totally inspired by the famous TV car. I really like the primative, almost child-like, style of the art...very nice. The last photo is sort of a humor photo but it's also extremely cool because it's real. This is one of those little micro-mini eco cars that have been popping-up lately. This one has been totally customized to look like Batman's car! It's black, with classic red pinstriping, just like the Barris Car. Also, Ya gotta love those big-tailfins! Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed some of these pics, I thought they were cool. If you ever come across any great Batman-related photos then please send them in because sharing the love of the character & the collecting is what the Bat-Blog is all about!
Awhile back, here at the Bat-Blog, we posted a Desktop Wallpaper featuring graphics from an old toy catalog ( unknown, probably Sears or J.C. Penneys ). The picture was for an extremely RARE piece of Vintage Batman Merchandise they made in the 1960's. It was a Bedspread Cover designed to look like the 1966 Batmobile Car! The ad was a beautiful piece of ART that I thought would make a cool graphic. Anyway, people went nuts over it, ha ha! But the great thing was that, later, some people sent me photos of it, it was fun! So, here is the 1966 Batmobile Car Bedspread, in all it's GLORY...start drooling now!
Recently, a bicycle company called NIRVE hired Barris Kustoms to design a special edition bat-bike called The BATT-KRUISER! Now of course we're talking about the designer George Barris who created the famous 1966 Batmobile Car for the Batman TV Series. If you check out the details you can see the inspiration here. Mainly the black paint job with the red pin-striping....AWESOME! It costs around $370 dollars which isn't too bad for the great quality. Be sure to click on the above photo for a larger, more detailed, version. Also, for more information, be sure to check out Nirve's website by clicking on this word: '66BAT-BIKE!
I think it's actually been awhile since we posted a Batman Tattoo but as soon as I saw this one I knew we had to feature it here. I contacted the owner & he was kind enough to allow us to post it. His name is Steve & this beautiful piece of art was done by a Tattoo Artist named Matthew Ward. It's a wacky-crazy graphic of Batman in his 1966 Batmobile "George Barris" Car with missiles shooting out of the back!! I say "wacky-crazy" because it's sort of done in the vintage 1960's "Rat-Fink Style". See how Batman is wayyyy bigger than the car & the gearshift knob is really huge? Plus, the tires are smokin' like crazy! This is really great &, as a tattoo, totally original... I love it! Thanks to both Steve & Matthew for allowing us to post it. You guys did an awesome job on it & I know many Batman Fans are going to completely love seeing it! One last thing, if any other Bat-Blog Readers have recently got some ink done then please shoot us a pic, our email button is always on the top right-hand side of this page.
Two days ago the Bat-Blog Contest for the Red Line Club 1966 Batmobile Hot Wheels Car was chosen & I totally forgot to mention it...duh! Sorry, the last few days have been pretty hectic around here. The contest ended on January 24th & that night I picked a winner. Then, the next morning, I forgot to mention who won, ha ha! Sorry about that! Anyways, the lucky winner of the brand-new RLC Hot Wheels 1966 Batmobile Car, Mint in Original Package, goes to Simon F. from the United Kingdom! Simon, please contact us in the next few days to confirm your address & then we will be mailing you this very cool collectible! It's really great & I know you will totally love it.It's even better in person than my bad photo,ha ha! I also wanna thank THE BATFAN for donating this amazing prize to the Bat-Blog contest. This guy has contributed a lot to this site & I really appreciate it. For everybody else please stay tuned to this blog because we're popping up Wacky Batman-related Contests all the time, thanks!
OK, now how awesome is this?! Awhile back the Bat-Blog we reported that George Barris was going to be at a public event in Burbank, CA with his '66 TV Batmobile Car. It was to promote the new Chevrolet Camaro he designed. Which would have been so cool to see but the great thing is that we got some really nice pics from the event! Yes! A Loyal Bat-Blog Reader named Dave, who lives in New York & is a part of The Bat Squad ( a group of Cosplayers who are totally into Batman ), has a friend named "Burlyman" who lives in California. So, Dave asked his friend to get some photos while he was there, that's AWESOME! Now, the pics are really good & a few of them have been made into "1966 Batmobile Wallpaper Backgrounds" you can use to brighten your desktop ( the first 3 photos ). When I say "good" I mean he got some great shots from every angle! One of them even shows the interior, it's always cool to see the inside...it always makes me want to drive it, ha! Plus, there's some nice shots of the King of Kustom himself, George Barris. What a trill this must have been! I wanna thank both Dave & the "Burleyman" for sending these wonderful photos...you guys ROCK! Hey, wait a second, I just realized... there's NO pics of the Chevrolet Camaro! Ha Ha, I guess "Burleyman" was so excited about the Batmobile that he didn't care about the other car, that's funny! But I can't blame him, if you're a Batman Fan your brain sort of totally short-circuits when you get near this car. I know that personally I probably would have cried like a little girl.
I have a good friend named Billy who collects Batman Toys & Memorabilia but his main focus is on the Batmobile Cars. I mean, he's totally crazy about the Batmobile! The neat thing though is that he has an amazing collection. We were talking yesterday about some of the new stuff coming out. There's a new Batmobile Toy Car being made for the Batman: The Brave and The Bold series. It's smaller than the 1st one they made & is pretty cool. There are some new 1:50 Scale Diecast Batmobiles being made by Mattel that are starting to pop-up around the retail stores. They are extremely super-cool ( in my opinion, ha ha ). And then there is the car I am featuring in this post. The photos up above show a new 1966 Batmobile TV Series Toy that is modeled after the Classic George Barris design. It's 1:87 HO Scale, which is smaller than the regular Hot Wheels size, & measures approx. 1 1/2" long. It's a tiny little car that is very detailed & kinda cute. If you have ever surfed the Hot Wheels toy isle then you might have seen these before. They sell them in small little "window boxes". Now Billy told me the reason he has had a hard time finding them ( besides the greedy idiot scalpers stalking the delivery trucks ) is that there's a rumor that there is only 1 Batmobile per case! Now, to me, this seems like total market manipulation by Mattel. Come on, you know THEY know this car will be the most popular. My guess is that latter they will flood the market with them. But who cares about all that. It's a really cool toy & one that all Batman Fans should try to get. Just don't pay the "scalper prices" on internet auctions. Some vultures are trying to sell them to losers for $30 ( they retail in stores for $1.00 ). I say, just be patient & you'll find one. During "new release time" all the scalpers end up buying them all & not being able to sell them because ALL the other scalpers have them too ( because their greedy minds lack any honor or originality, they end up cloning each other ). So, what happens is there are all these scalpers "eating their own product". Go look on "internet auctions" for items they were popular a year ago or just a few months ago. You can almost buy them for "under retail price". Like I said, CLONES. Whew! OK, sorry to vent but as a Vintage Toy Dealer for 20+ years I have learned that these Scalpers are nothing but greedy vultures...who make me sick to my stomach. The only way to stop them is to NOT buy their product. They're just in it for the greed & their fantasies revolve around screwing collectors. So, Please stop helping them, ha ha!
OK, I know I'm on sort of a "Batman-inspired Art Kick" recently but we have been getting a ton of cool submissions from Bat-Blog Fans. Plus, I can't help it that my readers are smart, creative, talented people ( ha! ). Here's a great example of that creativity in action. This Pop Art Painting was done by our good friend Chris Mason. It shows "The Joker stealing the '66 Batmobile". You know the car, it's the George Barris Custom, otherwise known as the 1966 TV Show version, a total fan favorite! It's done in that famous Ed "Big Daddy" Roth style that was originated in the Hot Rod Culture of the 1960's. Just think about those old vintage "Weird-O's" toys & model kits. Then you'll know what I'm sayin'! But regardless, the artwork here is just totally great! Actually, I mean to say... completely beautiful! The pictures shown here sort of explain their selves but basically you have a close-up detail shot ( the 1st pic ), a nice picture showing the work in progress, then some photographic proof of Chris actually doing the painting ( in case you don't believe us, ha ha! ), & finally the completed work. Now the last graphic, showing the final artwork, it's BIG enough ( if you click on it ) to be made into a Wallpaper Background for your PC. Yes, that's a bonus! Not only do you get some beautiful eye-candy to look at but you also receive a souvenir of the special moment. Yeah, the Bat-Blog is pretty awesome, I know ( just kidding ). Actually if you'd like to see more of Chris' work you can visit his Facebook page by clicking HERE! The only problem is I think you have to be a member to sign-in to see it but it's all worth it. Plus, if you're a member ( or become a member ) you should join the Bat-Blog while you're there, our link is the button down below. Please join us!
This weekend, actually April 16th through the 19th, 2009 ( Thurs - Sunday ), the CELEBRATION EXOTIC CAR FESTIVALwill be happening in Sebring, Florida. One of the main stars of the event will be George Barris & his amazing custom cars he has made for both movies & television. The original 1966 Batman TV Show Batmobile will be there plus the Monkee Mobile ( The Monkees ), The Munster Mobile ( The Munsters ), The Countach from the Cannonball Run movie, The DeLorean from Back To The Future, "KITT" Car from Knight Rider, the Original Star Wars Landspeeder, plus many many more! OK, I mean, there will be tons of other race cars, vintage classic, wacky customs, etc....way too many to show or list here, ha ha! It looks like a pretty cool event & how often do you get to see a real-life Batmobile! For more convention information be sure to visit their website ( click on their name up above ).
Here's a very cool ( totally brand-new ) Batman Toy that you need to keep your eyes peeled for. Mattel has finally released the HOT WHEELS ELITE 1966 TV Series Batmobile Car in 1:43 Scale. Now, the "Elite version" means that it is hyper-realistic in it's detailing, like every tiny little detail imaginable. I mean, the Bat-Phone's Receiver has a little spiral-cord, ha ha! The next thing would be it's size. OK, if you remember the Classic Corgi Batmobiles from the 1960's & 70's then this car is approx. the same size as that. It measures about 5 1/4" long & 2" wide. One last thing, it's going to be limited to 10,000 pieces & it comes with a Special Display Stand Base. Plus, I have not hit retail stores recently so I'm not quite sure what the actual retail price is, sorry. Please stay tuned for more details.
The Bat-Blog is happy to announce another one of our famous contests! Enter here to win a FREE Mint-In-Package Hot Wheels Special Edition Die Cast Car of the 1966 TV Show Batmobile ( George Barris style )! This is the super-RARE one that you could ONLY get if you were a member of the Official Mattel's Hot Wheels "Red Line Club". This is a different version than the regular car they sold in stores ( and have re-released ). This one has special tires/rims, the windshield is clear ( instead of blue, looks way better & more realistic ), & a few other features. It's really really nice! I mean, it's AWESOME! Speaking of "nice", This car was donated by a Bat-Blog Reader known as the BATFAN! He has sent us stuff to give-away in the past & I always like that! Seriously, this is an extremely generous gesture that I really appreciate, thank you BATFAN! TO ENTER THE CONTEST: Here are the simple rules, just e-mail us your FULL NAME / ADDRESS & put "RED LINE BATMOBILE" in the title. The contest runs until Saturday, January 24th, 2008 till 11:00pm. The winners will be picked out of a hat at midnight & then announced the next day right here on this site. ( This contest is not affliated with Mattel or Warner Bros in any way ).
CONTEST RULES:
The contest is open to the general public as well as anyone currently reading the BAT-BLOG on a daily basis. Employees of the Bat-Blog and employees' immediate family members and persons with whom such employees are domiciled are excluded from this contest.
The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded.
Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available.
By claiming the prize, the winner authorizes the use, without additional compensation of his or her name and/or likeness and/or voice/photograph and municipality of residence for promotion and/or advertising purposes in any manner and in any medium (including without limitation, radio broadcasts, newspapers and other publications and in television or film releases, slides, videotape, distribution over the internet and picture date storage) which Bat-Blog may deem appropriate.
In accepting the prize, the winner, and any reader(s), acknowledges that the Bat-Blog may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using this prize.
The person whose name is drawn as being the winner of the specific prize will be required to send us their correct mailing information before the prize is awarded to them. Postage to be paid, free of charge, by the Bat-blog.
Detailed contest rules applicable to this contest, including contest entry dates, how to enter, and prize value, number and any restrictions applicable to these prizes are available upon request by reading these Contest Rules, ha ha!
The Bat-Blog retains the rights, in its absolute and sole discretion, to make substitutions of equivalent kind or approximate value in the event of the unavailability of any prize or component of the prize for any reason whatsoever.
This contest is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws.
The Bat-Blog reserves the right to withdraw or terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.
You might remember back a few posts where I wrote about a blog called COVERED where they get different graphic artists to re-create classic comic book covers. One of the artists featured in that article was Ben Newman. After writing this piece I became more curious about what some of his other artwork looked like. So, I checked out his Art Gallery page & WOW! This guy does some extremely cool stuff & awhile back he even did a portrait of ADAM WEST for an article in "Dangerous Ink" Magazine ( which I think is in the UK ). The graphic is extremely cool! Ben admits that he's not really great at making a character look like an actual real-life person so to compensate he added a lot of things "around the character" that would remind people who he is. In Adam's case he put the Bat-Signal over Gotham City, the Joker, Batgirl, Batman & Robin climbing the side of a building, the 1966 Batmobile Car, and even the "Exploding Shark", ha ha...very clever! I love this picture & his other artwork is even just as awesome. he has a great cartoon-style! The name of his blog is BLOGOLIOLIO, you can check it out by clicking on this yellow word.
A few posts back we presented a Model Kit Artist named Jim who had made a Custom 1966 Batmobile Car. It was sort of small & cute. I guess the keyword is CUTE because it was done in a very over-exaggerated way. It sort of reminded me of those models I used to get as a little kid in the 1970's. The front tires were really small & the back ones were way too big. The main characteristic is that everything was extremely out of proportion & kinda crazy wacky coo-coo! I loved that style & this Custom Model Kit sort of brings that back but with the 1966 Batmobile. Now, to get back on track, we showed Jim's previous Batmobile Car he made & now here's a newer one that is even bigger! ( Look at the 1st photo, that tiny one was the one we showed last time ). It's a large scale version of the small one and, believe it or not, even more awesome! Just take some time to study the sharp photos up above & you'll see what I'm talking about. This baby is a work of ART, a True Masterpiece! The details are insane & I love all the wacky proportions. It's just really fun & clever. Plus, please take a look at the last photo in the stack & you'll see a Custom Batman Action Figure that's really funny! Thanks Jim for sending these wonderful photos. Also, please keep us updated on future bat-projects...you do great stuff!
