Keaton Batmobile color ?

Twinsen

Sr Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hi all,

On the 1/18 scale Hot Wheels Keaton Batmobiles, which one is movie accurate in terms of color ?

- The "matte" black regular edition

or

- The "glossy" black limited edition


Thanks :cool
 
I'm saying this because I own the "regular" one, released in 2003, but when I saw the 1:1 scale screen used Batmobile that was sold on eBay, I realized it was really really shiny :confused

Later on, I read that the car in the movie was painted using 70 (yes, seventy) coats of black pearl acrylic lacquers. :eek
 
Last edited:
From what I recall, that pearl version was a show car, used only at carshows and similar displays. The Movie car was matte (at least the 1989 movie version - returns could be different)
 
I think you're right...

I saw one of the original Batmobiles in Los Angeles back in 2003, and it was particularly glossy :



Note : Both the engine and the rims are glossy black too. On the 1/18 replica, the engine and rims are smoked chrome... Weird.
 
I have the '89 Batman issue of Cinefex around here someplace and I recall them saying that the hero car was painted with many layers of different colors and densities to produce a "beetle shell" appearance. Not matte not gloss, not black, not bown but a bit of all of them. I'll see if I can find it and get the exact quote.

I saw the '89 car too back in 1990 at it looked pretty much like pictured above. The top clear coat had subtle red and blue metallic highlights in it to accent the curves of the body (which looked terrible).

Dave
 
The real 89 number 1 car was painted a matte black with the metalic pearl added in different areas. Green somewhere, blue somewhere, etc. He's right about the beetle thing. In my opinion it's pretty much impossible to reproduce it perfectly. For a true 89 replica car it should be more of a matte finish.

However, for Batman Returnsthey repainted both the number 1 and 2 cars glossy black. They painted the gunmetal wheels black too for some reason except for the "wheel bats". They also added some exra features like windshield wipers to the cars for Batman Returns. They both look really cool but I prefer the 89 color because the gloss black washes out a lot of the cars detail. Just my opinion.

Here's the real number 1 car from 1989.
Batman4152.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow thanks for the input ! That was some interesting bit of information.

That means the Hot Wheels 2003 Regular edition is in fact screen accurate ?

It has this "satin/matte black" color and the wheels & engine are smoked chrome, not black.

On several "showroom style" Batmobiles, everything is glossy black : the car, the rims, the engine, the exhaust, everything. It looks really cool but unfortunately, even on the "glossy black" 1/18 Hot Wheels Batmobile, the rims & engine remained smoked chrome...

To make it look correct, one should take the whole car apart and spray some gloss black paint here and there.

Maybe I should buy the glossy one and do the modifications myself to have both versions... :)
 
Found it. It's not as detailed as I had remembered but here it is from page 23 of Cinefex #41. Quoted from an interview with Anton Furst:

"The Batmobile was built in kevlar," Furst noted, "which is a polycarbonate that is extremely light and yet very strong. It is the same material used to make racing cars. We then had a custom paint job done on it. There were about six different layers of colors to give the car the finish of a beetle--a lot of colors coming through the blackness so that it had a three-dimensional quality to it rather than just being a flat black. We did not go to a full gloss on it--we left it with a slight matte finish to make it look more like a war machine."
 
Wow thanks for the input ! That was some interesting bit of information.

That means the Hot Wheels 2003 Regular edition is in fact screen accurate ?

It has this "satin/matte black" color and the wheels & engine are smoked chrome, not black.

On several "showroom style" Batmobiles, everything is glossy black : the car, the rims, the engine, the exhaust, everything. It looks really cool but unfortunately, even on the "glossy black" 1/18 Hot Wheels Batmobile, the rims & engine remained smoked chrome...

To make it look correct, one should take the whole car apart and spray some gloss black paint here and there.

Maybe I should buy the glossy one and do the modifications myself to have both versions... :)


I'd mod the glossy one and have one of both. It's a pain but because the Returns Batmobiles are so glossy it's tough to get a really good picture of them. I always look for the windshield wipers.

Strangely enough years after Batman Returns, WB actually painted the number 1 and 2 89 Batmobiles gunmetal grey for use in the OnStar commercials.
 
Well I already own the matte version since 2003, and I think the modded glossy one will be representing both '89 Showroom & '92 Returns versions.

Thanks for all the precious informations, it's been a great help to better understand the whole thing :cool

Edit : OH NO ! Someone bought it before me... :cry
 
Last edited:
I should receive it next monday, it will be shipped express :cool



If it can be easily taken apart, I will spray paint the engine, wheels and exhaust in a nice glossy black color with several layers of clear coat, to match the '89 "Show car".



If it's too tricky, then I'll leave it as it is. It'll look cool anyway to have both versions, satin and glossy :)

By the way, can someone tell me how many Keaton Batmobiles were made, and what were they used for ?

I know there were 5 cars for the '89 movie, but I read somewhere that Warner Bros produced more Batmobiles after the release of the film (five more?)

Were the "Show cars" built only for display or were they former screen used cars merely repainted ?

I'm a bit lost and i'd love to get things straight in my mind :wacko
 
This thread is more than 15 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top