Building the Batmobile Tumbler [Hachette Partworks: Issues 23 – 28]

First revealed in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, my 1:8 Scale build continues…

First revealed in Christopher Nolan’s iconic The Dark Knight trilogy, making its debut in Batman Begins, the Batmobile ‘Tumbler’ holds military-level stealth tech as its inspiration, can break through concrete walls, has bullet-proof bodywork and is one of the finest additions to Bruce Wayne’s Batcave / hidden underground workshop… and now, I’m building a 1:8 scale model!

After kicking off with Issues 1 to 22 (head here for those), it’s time for another 6 issues in 1 post with this release from Hachette Partworks – and if you fancy getting getting, you can build your replica by getting involved here.

Build your own Batmobile Tumbler will take you through the assembly, alongside sticking and screwing together die-cast parts, plus plastic-moulded ones for the smaller details, and it’ll be a beast when you realise how many features are covered, and you’ll see the progression here.

It’s the early points of a long-term project but hopefully my thoughts or guidance will help your build along the way, so feel free to ask any questions below!

Issues 23 and 24

These opening two issues follow up where #17 to #22 left us, this time though with the passenger seat to complete. As you’ll have a better idea of what’s to come with these sections, there’s not much new information to share but it’s definitely easier to slot things, and go smarter on the single double-sided stickers – the ones that help get the padded seat segments into place.

There’s also a nice little section on the debut on Batgirl, and some further insight on the legacy of the original Batman TV Series, plus physical models and CGI in the movies. Oh, and if you’re a subscriber, you get a fun 1:43 scale die-cast model of the Tumbler to remind you what you’re building – I thought I’d place it next to the front wheels in my photo below – as a good representation of size!

Issues 25 and 26

In the magazine for Issue 25, we get the first entry into the history of the Batmobile itself, from 1939 right through the ages, and this is a great reminder – including that the first was not only red (and not very inconspicuous) but the people who knew Bruce Wayne/Batman the best didn’t even realise he was using the same vehicle for crime-fighting as he was his day-to-day Wayne Work. I love how this wasn’t considered in the early days, and each of these issues takes us through the history of those cars.

While the build for #25 is only sticking on the rubber seats, and putting the passenger together, Issue 26 gets it finalised and onto the cockpit floor. These sections also repeat some of what we did in the previous 17 – 22 blog post, but make sure you’re screwing it into the right placement and remember it will stay more solid in the base – and doesn’t have the head-up display in front of it.

The magazine for #26 also has one of my favourite Bat-verse history that I didn’t know before – the brief venture into Bat Manga in 1966 from the Japanese publishing house: Shōnen Gahōsha. These stories were told by Jiro Kuwata but amazingly told completely different stories to the USA ones, although kept the spirit and adventure of Batman and Robin alive. Although, Kuwata preferred to develop the villain stories, over our dynamic duo, which is an interesting twist of the comic history.

Issue 27 and 28

Now we get something more original as we hit the left and right bulkhead around the base of the cockpit. Over these parts, make sure you’ve got a little bit of masking tape as (for me) some components didn’t quite sit in the spaces completely flush – and while I’d like to glue them in properly, I figure that later on we’ll be adding in proper lights and wiring, so they might need adjusting.

For fun, I shone a torch through the back of the finished article and you’ll be able to see what to expect when the dashboard is properly lit up below – because it’s going to look great if my experience of building the DeLorean is anything to go by. As a general rule, make sure you’ve got your cockpit wall lined up properly (and on the right/left side) and you can check all these as you go along. Issue 28 follows the mirroring of #27 as you put together both walls and to create something more cohesive. While not too complex, when you stand back, you can see the separate pieces all coming together nicely – and I’m very eager to keep this going – with the cage build on the way next time out.

Again, if you have any specific questions just get in touch (and thanks to those who have!) and happy to talk through any of this, at whatever skill level you have – I’m always learning something new, both about these types of builds and in this case…. Batman himself!