Sometimes my favorite blog posts are ones like this. There's really no particular reason for the post, other than that I found a cool 1/64 scale diecast car to crack open and take photos of. Take today, for example. This Hot Wheels Batmobile was given to me as a freebie thrown into an eBay purchase. The package was badly damaged (hey, it's free right?) and I have another one, so why not crack it open and do a photo shoot?
Like most collectors, my favorite Hot Wheels Batmobile has to be the George Barris-designed '66 TV Series Batmobile. While I'm not going to pay sky high prices for a zamac Hot Wheels Batmobile on eBay, I will pick them up when they show up on my local pegs. (Or when I get them for free) According to Wikipedia, the late George Barris is a custom car builder famous for his built-for-Hollywood designs. What Magnus Walker is to Porsches is what George Barris was to Hollywood cars. Of course Barris' legend is far greater.
The basis for the '66 TV Series Batmobile was the 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept Car. Legend holds that Barris bought the Futura for a measly $1 before going on to whip up the Batmobile in 3 weeks time. Not bad, eh? The massive rear exhaust pipe is actually a customized 5 gallon paint can. Crazy. If you go to 1966batmobile.com, you'll find yourself down a rabbit hole nerding out over this one-off movie car that's a customized one-off Lincoln concept car. I killed a lot of time reading about it and I'm not even a huge Batman fan.
So yeah, the real '66 TV Series Batmobile is mad cool, but what about the Hot Wheels version? Popularity among collectors suggests that this casting is one for the ages. I tend to agree. The '66 has already done the Hot Wheels world tour: RLC, Comic Con, Convention, Mexico Convention, Mainline, Zamac, Super Treasure Hunt and (Retro) Entertainment have all been done. What's left? Not much, honestly. Can we ever have enough Hot Wheels '66 TV Series Batmobiles, though? I have a sneaking suspicion collectors will continue to buy this casting every time Mattel releases it, and with good reason.
The Hot Wheels '66 TV Series Batmobile checks a lot of boxes for collectors. It's got the Batman/pop-culture connection. It's got that childhood/nostalgia vibe, it's a one-off custom and it's got a very cool story behind it. Top that off with mean looks and a black and red paint scheme and it's no wonder every collector has to get their hands on every release. I know I sat and stared for a few after cracking this Hot Wheels Batmobile open. Enjoy the photos!
Happy Collecting!!
From : thewesterndiecastreview.blogspot.com
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