Picking up where we left off, we’ve got 5 more 1:24 scale Batmobiles from JADA to check out. So far we’ve looked at the 60s TV Series Batmobile, the Tumbler with desert camo, the Batman v. Superman and Justice League Batmobiles, and finally the 2022 Batmobile from The Batman.
The Burton-Era Batmobile (’89 – ’92) (1:24)
To some of us, there is only one true Batmobile.
The Tumbler from Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (1:24)
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The Tumbler returns, this time in true inky-black Batmobile form. It’s easy to pass over the geometry of these vehicles on a smaller scale, but at this size, you just can’t ignore it. The sheer number of irregularly shaped flat planes and the angles that accompany them are nothing less than impressive and it really makes you wonder just how difficult it was to design something like this.
Batman Forever (1995) Batmobile (1:24)
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Ironically, the vehicle introduced in Batman Forever is one of the more mainstream iterations that seems somewhat lost in the shuffle over the years. Sure, this flick may not have been Batman’s shining moment, but the production design was insane, trickling down to this rather flashy version of the Batmobile. When you really take it in, its pretty darn cool. It’s got the most pronounced wings of any well-known Batmobile, and the slits in the hood with all the lights give it a unique and futuristic look. Is it a bit phallic…? Well yeah, but it’s not like it’s the first Batmobile with such a “long nose.” This is a feature that would stick with the vehicle for decades, going as far back as that very first Batmobile from 1939!
I do want to draw some attention to how JADA manufactured the 3 wing pieces. The wings “click” into place with these little plastic barbs, but the fit isn’t super-precise so there’s a lot of wiggle room. At first I thought this design was employed so that if one of the fins was bumped with force it would easily break away instead of just breaking. Not true. I bumped the center wing and it came loose, but only one of the two clips disengaged; the other broke clean off. I think supergluing these into place and just being extra careful with this Batmobile in general is probably the best answer.
Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile (1:24)
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For some reason this stark, austere, almost simplistic design starts to look cooler and cooler the larger it gets. I was pretty indifferent to this Batmobile back when I actually watched the show as a kid, but for whatever reasons it’s grown on me over the last couple of years.
Arkham Knight Batmobile (1:24)
Aesthetically, this Batmobile is a little…confusing, for lack of better word. But man, once you’ve spent about a thousand hours behind the wheel in Arkham Knight it becomes one of the most badass gadgets that Batman owns. Seriously, our Caped Crusader absolutely dominates in this freakin’ urban assault vehicle and I don’t think he’ll top it until he’s out in space taking out capital ships with a dogfighter, Luke Skywalker style.
However, – and yes, I’ma keep sayin’ it – someone needs to sit down for an hour and draft up a Battle Mode model of this beast. It doesn’t need to be transformable or move around on ball bearings (though that would be a cool way of implementing the vehicle’s movements), or feature fully articulated weapons…I don’t even need all that. Just splay out the wheels a bit, give it a bit of a lift, and replace the top half of the back with the base of a mini-gun and give it 2 or 3 barrels – that’s all you gotta do, Mr. Jada or Mr. Mattel.
All 10 1:24 Scale Batmobiles from JADA
I’m really sorry about the uber-dirty floor.
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Top Row, L to R: TV Series Batmobile (1960s), Batman (1989) Batmobile, Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile (1990s), Batman Forever Batmobile (1995), Desert Camo Tumbler (The Dark Knight Trilogy), The Tumbler (The Dark Knight Trilogy).
Bottom Row, L to R: Arkham Knight Batmobile (2015), Batman v. Superman Batmobile (2016), Justice League Batmobile (2017), The Batman (2022) Batmobile.
And I stuck a lil’ 1:64 scale ’89 Batmobile in the lower right for comparison!
Batman Metalfigs that came with the 1:24 Batmobiles
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From left to right we’ve got the 60s Batman (Adam West), ’89 Batman (Michael Keaton), TAS Batman (Kevin Conroy (voice)), Forever Batman (Val Kilmer), Dark Knight Trilogy Batman (Christian Bale), Dark Knight Trilogy Batman (Christian Bale), DCEU Batman (Ben Affleck), DCEU Batman (Ben Affleck), Arkham Knight Batman (Kevin Conroy (voice)), 2022 Batman (Robert Pattinson).
Ok, that wraps up The Big Guns but I still got more BMs to share…keep your eyes peeled…
Introduced in Part 11: 5
Total to this Point: 242
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