Bandai 1/35 scale ‘The Batman’ Batmobile plastic model review
Turn out a heroic scale model car within one weekend
Kit:5062186
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Scale:1/35
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Price:$50
Pros:
Pop culture subject; easy construction; crisp detail; molded in full color
Cons:
Small error in driver’s compartment
Comments:
Injection-molded plastic (black, silver, clear); 81 parts (4 vinyl)
Bandai has not wasted its deal with Warner Bros. and now has three 1/35 scale models of the Batmobile, including the Corvette-based version from 1989’s Batman with Michael Keaton; the Tumbler from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins; and the street machine from the latest big-screen offering starring Robert Pattinson, The Batman. It’s the last of their kits that I’ve most recently built.
Like many of Bandai’s other kits, the Batmobile doesn’t require glue, its parts pressing together. That doesn’t mean you can’t use liquid cement just to reinforce it, but it does mean a more approachable kit for inexperienced builders. Construction went quickly due to the lower part count and precise parts fit.
As usual with car kits, the instructions start with the engine. The large Dodge-based rear-mounted engine is molded in silver. The fine detail on the parts is precise, down to bolts on the turbos. After building the engine, I left it separate so I could paint and pick out details.
You’ll build the body and suspension simultaneously. The front wheels are posable, and all four wheels rotate. The driver's compartment is molded in a dark gray and is the only location where I found a slight inaccuracy: The hero car from the movie has tanks where the passenger seat would be, and those aren’t present on the model. It's a minor detail, but worth noting.
Bandai molded the Batmobile in full color, so you can build it without painting. However, I thought the final model would look better with paint, and I wanted to bring up some of the details. I painted the body Tamiya Flat Black (No. XF-1), the engine Alclad II Aluminum (No. ALC-101), and hit details with various Vallejo Model Color acrylics.
Don't let the low part count and press-fit nature of the kit deter you, because this isn't a simplified model. The detail is exceptional. If you haven't built a model from Bandai before, you should give one a go. I built and painted the model over a weekend, spending about six hours total, I can’t wait to get the other Batmobiles from Bandai so I can display the trio together.