Building the Batmobile Tumbler [Hachette Partworks: Issues 95 – 112]

Dan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ Tumbler build continues…

Welcome back to my build for the Hachette Partworks 1:8 scale model of the Batman Tumbler! We rumble ever closer to the latter stages of this bulky, beautiful beast – and now we’re finally starting to get into actual electronic movement, and it’s quite exciting. As you’ll see from my shots below, the various shape of our Tumbler is coming together and I wish we could get it all done together, but I’m enjoying the process now.

The whole structure is going to be a heavy one, but at least that feels like, but it’s mighty impressive in detail and possibility and, by the end of this post, you’ll see how big the back wheels are = massive!

We’ve nearly hit the middle 2025, and so as the end gets ever closer, of the Tumbler build – not the year! – it’s time for a bulky update with 17 issues covered. Here you’ll see a vast number of parts and construction that’s finally merging into what will become The Dark Knight tumbler, a vehicle unlike any other, and one of the bulkiest beasts in Gotham.

Issues 95 and 96

While the magazine gets its claws into the origins of the excellent Catwoman, the parts may only seem to be about 40 screws and a couple of panels, but in reality it’s a big move towards things actually taking shape as we’re about to put together the front wheel assemble, the chassis, loudspeaker, lights, wiring, floor assembly, battery box, and then even more wiring, lights and electrical insides.

This issue is all about getting all those elements into the bulk of the build. Thankfully, you can utilize the adhesive tape for getting the wires stuck down – otherwise those snakes would be everywhere – and after following the instructions to connect plugs and sockets remember, once again, to be patient as you slot and screw the floor and front wheel sections together. They kinda click into place, but initially it seems impossible, which also describes quite a lot to come, especially as many times you might feel you need more than just your own two hands.

As you’ll see from the pics, it’s a massive rectangular entity, but what it does do is encourage a testing of the sounds and lights, once the batteries are in and you’ve connected as much as you can but – bear with on the testing – as there will also be more of that to come because Issue 95 might be one of the biggest of the entire build, strangely! As well as everything mentioned above, you’ll also be placing/screwing in consoles, picking up the tail/engine and getting that on the back alongside more sockets and plugs.

I would say this, follow the guidance carefully with all this because with so many wires and LEDs involved, you don’t want anything to break at this stage – as it’d just be a pain. But it’s mostly fun, as you get to slide on the roof over the cockpit and even adding a few more cables! And then Issue 96 continues on, like a good two-parter, as you add the left panels BUT not before completing what you started in Issue 95, with more attaching of emergency break rods, screwing together a few other places, and getting involved with the shock absorbers. In fact, before Issue 96 is over, you’re actually at a ‘break’ before actually using the parts supplied with this specific issue – which in turn is stretched out again…

Issues 97, 98, 99, 100 and 101

So, as mentioned, while the end of the last issue is something you would have started, you’ll be completing some more panels (right) and cylinders, through issues 97, 98 and 99 – which lends to barely any time at all. It’s one of those points where they could have easily all been in one issue together. And, as you can tell by the short paragraph, Issues 100 and 101 follow the same pattern, with two sides of the ERA (Explosive Reactive Armour), which is the two covers for the front/side of the wheels. It sounds cooler than it is because although it’s technically reinforced, that’s on the inside and so basically, it’s two panels that – again – could have been in one issue.

Issues 102, 103, 104 and 105

And talking of frustrating separations of builds, and I think it’s more noticeable when we’re so late in the completion of the build, there’s a sequence through these issues which would have benefited the creation experience by being all together. Like some very early issues, I personally don’t find the act of pushing a segment into another segment much of a ‘build’ process. The backplate with its fuel gauges and valves of Issue 102 is exactly that and, in many ways, the act of opening the magazine and box takes longer than the entire issue, which should take you a minute or two, at the most. Issue 103 adds in the emergency break chassis, and then you screw in the backplate, and then you need Issue 104 to add the left emergency airbrake, followed by Issue 105 for the right. All very quick and easy, and that fact it covers 4 issues is a little impolite.

Issues 106 and 107

Issue 106 ups the interest, thankfully, with a load of shock absorbers and supports, which you can slowly put together to then connect onto the everything from the previous 4 builds. There’s also some hydraulic-style cylinders which maybe could have been included earlier in the build – but this is a theme, where random bits pop up and you do wonder if they were either missed early on by the structure setup, or they’ve just been saved because they’re close to what’s happening now.

Oddly, you don’t get to attach all the chassis work yet, but you do add the aforementioned cylinders and get the rest ready for a nice, heavy weight of the rear axle of Issue 107, which takes the emergency airbrake frame and keeps that previous issue going. At first, you do wonder where this will fit into the tail and once you have the chassis in situ, you can see it quite easily slots in and – my favourite – those proper CM screws, along with a couple of XP’s, that are both sturdy screws that feel like they’re strong enough to hold the bigger wheels to come later. I didn’t find this part too complex, although the Tumbler is huge now, so you’ll have to find your favourite angles to get those screws in place, and the overall look of the airbrakes from above is mighty fine.

Issues 108, 109, 110, 111 and 112

Now you can use the axle from Issue 107 to get Issue 108 moving, which is a delightful selection of springs and shock absorbers, which is quite easy to put together. What I like about this part is the bulk of the metal involved, meaning you trust it again a little more, especially as there’s going to be a lot of weight at the back of the car. Issues 109 and 110 continues the same area and theme, with the left and right brake discs for the rear axle, including callipers and axle shafts.

These callipers aren’t maybe as strong as they could be – in relation to the rest of the heft of this section – but they’re mainly a visual extra, rather than anything actually important, despite their importance for the overall design. Both these parts go together reasonably well, and when you hit Issue 111 with the joy – and OMG – of the first left outer wheel, you don’t get to use it properly yet (despite Issue 112 giving you the inner and outer rim of that wheel), but you do get to fully connect and screw together the rear axle, by lining up the pistons, shock absorbers and so forth. The only issue I did have was getting the final ‘lid’ into place which supposedly should lock the axle into that rear section a little, but the force you need to apply doesn’t seem to quite fit the part, and it’s something I’ll come back to at the end of the build.

So, overall, with not much left to do, you can see the scale more than ever – and certainly feel the weight of it all – where am I going to display it? I have yet to work that out! I know I mention the annoyance of the ‘tiny’ issue builds – and I think it’s fair enough given everything – but I also do like this process, and when we get to physically put those bigger parts into the Tumbler, because it’s certainly getting so very close to the end, as you can hopefully see!