Batman 89' Batarang Question.

[etrigan69]

I read somewhere that the original folding batarang used a bungee cord to have it "fling" open. Does anyone know how the original was done? What kind of hinge (if that"s what they used.) did they use?

When I was doing some research on it I was surprised to see when he throws the batarang on a line and it wraps around the thug's ankles (When Bats makes his first appearance.) you can clearly see the smooth unfinished side of it.

 

[chris_s]

There were many indepth discussions on this topic over on the brotherhood of the bat forum a while ago. It was a bungie cord that was used during the shot when it shows the batarang unfolding. In fact - replicas of exactly that were created.

It was generally thought that the batarang with the bungie was only used during that particular closeup shot. The other shots of the 'folded open' rang were a different static prop.

 

[SonOfPumpkinhead]

The info provided is exactly right. The folding rang was done with bungee cord which acted as the snap action AND the "hinge". Every other shot was a static prop that happened to be one sided, causing the smooth unfinished side. That always bugged me, but I'd love to get a replica of each exactly as they appeared in the film!

 

[etrigan69]

The info provided is exactly right. The folding rang was done with bungee cord which acted as the snap action AND the "hinge". Every other shot was a static prop that happened to be one sided, causing the smooth unfinished side. That always bugged me, but I'd love to get a replica of each exactly as they appeared in the film!

Any pics or a diagram? I don't quite get how it would work....

It looks like Brotherhood of the Bat is long gone.

 

[chris_s]

This is going from memory - but the rang was divided into four sections. With 2 pieces of bungee running through the whole thing. Where the pieces intersected they were cut in such a way that one was curved and fitted into the other.

So when the rang was bent the bungee was stretched and when let go the bungee pulled the pieces back into the correct shape. The curved and slotted end allowed the rang to 'snap' back together into its original shape. If the ends were flat they might not line up correctly when it snaps back.

Hope that helps!

edit - I can add a quick and embarrassingly rough illustration tonight. Work has blocked my ability to upload photos to my website.

 

[etrigan69]

This is going from memory - but the rang was divided into four sections. With 2 pieces of bungee running through the whole thing. Where the pieces intersected they were cut in such a way that one was curved and fitted into the other.

So when the rang was bent the bungee was stretched and when let go the bungee pulled the pieces back into the correct shape. The curved and slotted end allowed the rang to 'snap' back together into its original shape. If the ends were flat they might not line up correctly when it snaps back.

Hope that helps!

edit - I can add a quick and embarrassingly rough illustration tonight. Work has blocked my ability to upload photos to my website.

An illusrtation woud be awesome! Thanks!

 

[etrigan69]

I just pulled one up on the UK evilbay. Itls sold but there are pictures.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290380785945

 

[etrigan69]

O.K. I think I have this figured out.

I found a thread here that discusses this very thing which led me to some answers. I did a search but it didn't come up, but when I did a Google search there it was. Go figure. So here's a link to that thread. http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=34164

I found some pics of an actual screen used batarang plus a bunch of fanmade versions too. http://www.batmanunmasked.com/index.php

So I think there are at least a couple ways to go about it.

When you cut it into four pieces it looks like the cut is slanted. You can see it here. http://www.batmanunmasked.com/displayimage.php?album=64&pos=24

From what I have read there is a thin layer of rubber on the back. Kind of like a tire tube. So the way I think I would do it is just cut two grooves down the back that I could lay the bungee cord into then apply the rubber covering the grooves. Not sure if that would work.

The other and more difficult route would be to drill two wholes through all four pieces and glue the bungee cord in on the end pieces. That looks to be the route this guy took. http://www.batmanunmasked.com/displayimage.php?album=65&pos=82

I'm not sure if I'm going to attempt this anytime soon. One of the problems I can see for myself is cutting it in four pieces. The best way I can see to do it is use a band saw. Unfortunately I don't have one. I would have to do it by hand. I don't know if I want to butcher a kit to see if I can pull it off.