jvasilatos
Sr Member
I am restoring a casting from the studio scale model to remold a clean version for myself.
It needs a LOT of work.
I decided instead of building it up into a kit, I would clean up this casting and improve it (add a cockpit box and custom Batman pilot since the one that came with this was not cast from the studio model and looks like a comic book Batman instead of Michael Keaton in the film suit.) In fact, none of the cockpit detail from the studio model is present (the lower half of the seat or '89 style Batman figure) so it's going to be a project to clean up and restore. My intention is to completely restore the body, smooth it, essentially assemble it as if it were the sculpt master to clean up the seams, etc. and then recast it either in silicone for resin pulls or consult with another friend on how to do a vacuform molding so that a pull is lightweight, hollow and allows for internal lighting electronics (similar material to what lightweight radio controlled aircraft are made of or white stormtrooper armor for costuming) if I can also find someone with a vacuform machine.
Here are pictures of what I bought:
And the studio model I was told it was cast from (although I don't know how many generations):
Other pics of the studio model and the cockpit detail I would like to restore:
Finally, the first phase of puttying and sanding down the parts, which in person had much more work required than that first set of pics above suggest. The orange pieces are some kind of resin fiberglass and a little brittle, which is why I figured it would make more sense to clean up the parts, restore it as a mold master and then do a clean pull for myself (since I would also want to install the flight lights in the wing as well.) The left, lighter side is the first side I have started cleaning up and sanding...
Nope, it ain't pretty but will be a challenging and rewarding project when done. So if anyone else is really interested, I will keep everyone posted on progress.
If anyone wants to help also with the moldmaking process after I restore the master parts and make this a group project, please let me know.
JV
It needs a LOT of work.
I decided instead of building it up into a kit, I would clean up this casting and improve it (add a cockpit box and custom Batman pilot since the one that came with this was not cast from the studio model and looks like a comic book Batman instead of Michael Keaton in the film suit.) In fact, none of the cockpit detail from the studio model is present (the lower half of the seat or '89 style Batman figure) so it's going to be a project to clean up and restore. My intention is to completely restore the body, smooth it, essentially assemble it as if it were the sculpt master to clean up the seams, etc. and then recast it either in silicone for resin pulls or consult with another friend on how to do a vacuform molding so that a pull is lightweight, hollow and allows for internal lighting electronics (similar material to what lightweight radio controlled aircraft are made of or white stormtrooper armor for costuming) if I can also find someone with a vacuform machine.
Here are pictures of what I bought:
And the studio model I was told it was cast from (although I don't know how many generations):
Other pics of the studio model and the cockpit detail I would like to restore:
Finally, the first phase of puttying and sanding down the parts, which in person had much more work required than that first set of pics above suggest. The orange pieces are some kind of resin fiberglass and a little brittle, which is why I figured it would make more sense to clean up the parts, restore it as a mold master and then do a clean pull for myself (since I would also want to install the flight lights in the wing as well.) The left, lighter side is the first side I have started cleaning up and sanding...
Nope, it ain't pretty but will be a challenging and rewarding project when done. So if anyone else is really interested, I will keep everyone posted on progress.
If anyone wants to help also with the moldmaking process after I restore the master parts and make this a group project, please let me know.
JV
