Thursday, February 24, 2011

Danbury Mint Batmobile Advertisement

No I don't own this very fine Batmobile.
I do own the advertisement for it though.

Years ago a friend of mine, Randy, got this in the mail and passed it on to me.
Thanks Randy E!


Check out how the shadow makes the Bat symbol.

It is from the Danbury mint and it featured this amazingly detailed Batmobile.



It think this is from the 90's.


Close ups of some crazy details.

Look! Batman has two cakes in the trunk compartment.


Sorry those are spare crime fighting uniforms not cakes. My bad.





I like the Bat symbol on the engine heads. Nice touch.



I found this the other day and wondered how many of these were bought for $149.00?

I looked it up and first thought you could still buy it but you can't. It is sold out.
HERE is where you could have bought it.

Has anyone ever seen one of these in person?

Brian B

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

Mego 1979 Diecast Metal Batman

This is Mego's 5 3/4 inch Diecast Metal Batman figure from 1979. Mego actually produced 4 characters in this series with the others being Superman, Hulk, and Spiderman.

I'm not sure where Mego was going with this series. The scale was odd for the time since the other Mego lines were being produced in 8", 12", and 3 3/4" sizes. I can't think of any other figures from this era being produced in this scale. In comparison with modern figure lines, this Batman fits somewhere in between the sizes of JLU and DCUC figures.


I can only guess that diecast metal was used on these figures as a way to increase the perceived value of them. Also, there were quite a few other toys at the time being produced with metal pieces... many of them being Japanese import type toys like the mini-Shogun Warrior figures and Mego's own Micronauts. However, your guess is as good as mine why Mego decided to go the "metal route" with these heroes.

The execution leaves a little bit to be desired as the only metal piece on the figure is Batman's torso. The rest of the figure (arms, legs, head, etc) are made of fairly traditional plastic. The joints on these figures (at least on this example) are very loose and I can only imagine that this has become worse over time as the figure has been played with more and more. So, with the heavy torso and loose joints, standing and posing this figure is a bit like trying to balance a hard-boiled egg on a couple of spaghetti noodles. The weight of the torso is just too much for his weak knees and ankles and causes this figure to topple unless everything is just right. I had to employ a bit of masking tape under his feet to help him hold many of these poses.


Stylistically, you can see that this Batman figure has the looks of his 8" older brother. The cape is the same, prone to fraying, nylon material that you would find on the 8" Megos and his head sculpt is also very close to that of the 8" Mego Batman.

Comparison pic with modern Mattel Batman Brave and the Bold figure


From what I can tell, these Mego diecast figures are fairly rare. I haven't seen them pop up for sale all that often. I like to seek out unusual Batman figures and this one doesn't disappoint, in that regard. I picked him up, at some point, last year and he makes a great addition to the collection.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Saturday, February 12, 2011

DC Direct 75th Anniversary Kubrick Set

This is the new Medicom Kubrick set of DC characters to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of DC Comics. This was released late in 2010 by DC Direct and was only available through comic shops and other outlets that sell DC Direct products.

Although, this isn't billed as a Batman set, it is quite obvious that Batman characters are the predominant selling point here. A Superman from Superman Returns is the lone non-Bat figure. I guess he's here so that they could still call it a "DC Comics" Anniversary set. Supes is here to represent the non-Bat side of DC Comics.


Kubricks are similar to Lego figures but are about 3" tall. Medicom has produced many different Kubrick lines for different licenses including Star Wars and Planet of the Apes. They've been producing DC Kubricks for several years and many (if not all) of these figures are repacks and/or repaints from previous DC Kubrick releases.

The figures are packaged in a nice fold-out window box that even includes an invisible magnetic closure. Each figure is clearly labeled and displayed behind individual little windows within the box.

All Ten.

I think it's kind of a neat thing when a licensed property like Batman or Star Wars has been around for so long that companies can begin to take chances with more creative representations of the characters. After all, how many different realistic versions of Batman do we really need? Over time, collectors also begin to welcome more interesting interpretations of the characters that they enjoy. With these figures, I really enjoy the squat and distorted but somehow still accurate representations of these characters. These are TOYS through and through and they just beg to be played with and manipulated.

The Batmen (L to R: BTAS, Comic, TDK, and Batman 1989)


All Four Batman: The Animated Series figures


Batman 1989 and Catwoman from Batman Returns

Batman and Joker from The Dark Knight

Superman from Superman Returns

Just the Girls

These guys are pretty tiny. Under 3 inches tall.

Cheesecake... just for you, Bubba.



Like Lego figures, these Kubricks can be taken completely apart. So, for those inclined, the pieces can all be mixed and matched for some fun combinations.

All in all, I think this is a great set. For my money, though, I do wish that an animated-style Joker was part of this set instead of Superman. I love the "Big Blue Boy Scout," but it seems a bit pointless to include him in this set other than to claim it's not entirely a "Batman set." An animated Joker would have rounded-out the animated characters included very nicely.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011

Superhero Museum Collection Auction: Part 7


This is what I bought from the collection.
It was all bundled into one bid.


I bought it for this but I never mind picking up some more View Master reels.


It worked different than I thought it did before I bought it.
I thought you could hold it up to the light and look through it. I didn't realize it needed another piece to function correctly.

Anyone have a Double-View I could borrow?
I will figure out some way to scan its contents I am sure.

Here are a few samples of the View Master Reels.

Superman-meets-Computer-Crook-3

Superbaby



Christopher-Reeve-1

Superman-Car-pull


Superman-3D

Glad I went but wish I could have lasted until the Batman goodies came up for bids. Oh well!

Brian B

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Superhero Museum Collection Auction: Part 6


This is one of the Batman tables.
There was some nice stuff on it but I was really hoping to find some vintage goodness at the auction. Especially a 1966 Fireking Robin mug to complete my set.

There were some boxes of stuff that contained some hidden gold goodness but I would have to leave long before they got to these items.

My son was home sick and my wife had some place she had to be. I had been there three hours already waiting for them to get to the stuff I could afford. I know by the time they got to the Batman stuff it would have gone really cheap or bundled and gotten a ton of stuff.
I think this is why my wife had some place she had to be.

I didn't make it to the Batman tables.




Is this a Mego Mister Mxyzptlk? I would have bid on this guy had I been there.


I probably would have bid on this hairbrush too.
I wouldn't have used it though.




The lunch box yet again. They grabbed it off the back table and auctioned it right after the costumes. If it would have stayed in the back I might have begged to stay until they got to it.




This would have been nice too.



They started in this corner and made their way around the room. The Batman stuff was on the opposite corner. Ugh!

So I bid on the only Batman item that was in this section and got it.


It was in the cabinet to the left. In the top left corner.


Finally the last big dollar item was auctioned off.
A tiny Superman charm that went for $600.


You can see all the costumes hanging to the left.
See Robins cape peeking out towards the back?

Brian B