"Got a New Toy I See." "Figured It Might Come In Handy." (Making a Batsignal)

Flanman

Active Member
So for the longest time I have wanted a Batsignal but not one of the modern ones. More of the Art Deco, late 1930's kida vibe. But they are way more than I wanna spend. This is the RPF after all, so I figured I could make one pretty nice and cheap. My inspiration for my build at first was the old DC Direct bat signal but it was rather small. Only about 9 inches tall. I wanted something a little bigger but not to big that I couldn't put it in the corner of a room. I also didnt wanna start from scratch completely. I wanted something that looked like it could have been a real world item, something practical.

Inspiration

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(DC Direct Batsignal)

The donor is a vintage Westing House company glow heater. Find it at an antique store for $45 here in town and the lady gave it to me for $35, plus tax. With the perfect base made of cast iron and beautiful copper dish it almost looked like a bat signal before we even start!

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(Vintage Westing House Heater circa 1920's?)

This should be a really fun and easy build. Something someone else could replicate pretty cheaply. I plan on removing the cage from the front and the glow element and wiring (it just unscrews from the back). No paint or detailing plans, the vintage patina is perfect in my eyes and really help gives the look of something used and from Batman's early crime fighting days. A relic I guess. Ill get a cheap lamp base socket with a plug and attach through the back where the current glow element is attached. Grab a old school edison bulb (they have led versions now!) and find way to attach a bat to the front and Im done. Easy as cake, should look awesome and only cost about $50 when all is said and done. By comparison the DC Direct Batsignal runs about $300 on Ebay. So until next time; Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!
 
Worked a 10.5 hour shift today and my sixth month old is teething so it was a pretty restless night. But I did manage to do a few things today. First I made a trip to Lowes for supplies.

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I bought a candelabra base that was prewired with a switch thinking that a 60 watt base would be too big to fit through the hole. I came home and realized it would have worked. But I want this to be more decorative than an actual lamp that I would use so candelabra bulb will be just fine, and actually it scales better with the dish than a 60 watt bulb would. As you can tell I disassembled the heater already. It was super easy except from the 8-9 decades old electrical tape that had been used to wrap the cord around the base and had turned into a rock like substance. I had to cut the cord to get it off. They lady said it still worked, but there is no way I would have plugged it in. She was actually kinda upset I hadn't tested it before I bought it. Can you say extra crispy?! I did a wipe down with a damp cloth just to get the excess grime off without destroying the patina. This gave a good bit more shine to the copper which really helps with the refection. I did a mock bulb test before and after the wipe down and the difference was very impressive. Hopefully I'll make some more progress tomorrow. Im really looking forward to my first experience with a dremel. But for this cape crusader, 3 am comes very early. (factory life is not as glamorous as crime fighting but my parents weren't rich, oh well)

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I didn't get time to post yesterday, was too busy getting work done on the bat signal. First experience with a dremel was interesting. The results are not perfect but considering I was going for more of worn relic in a museum look than something that look pristine and functional I say it was a success and Im very happy with the results.

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I cut out a round inch and a quarter piece of acrylic and spray painted it black on one side. I then cut a hole out of the middle. A word of caution, the acrylic sheeting I used was kinda thin and didn't cut well on the low setting. On high it kinda melted as it cut. Nothing a grinding wheel couldn't fix but just a fair warning. I then fed the socket through and super glued it in place. I then glued the entire assembly to the back of the hole in the center of the dome. Next it was time to find my bat symbol. I wanted something kinda retro but not too recognizable as like the 66 batman logo or the standard 89ish batman logo, something basic.

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This is the one I ended up going with. I think its from the batman chronicles books from about 95 but Im not sure. I then traced and cut out piece of acrylic and spray painted it black on one side.

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Using a piece of copper wire from the original grill, I bent that to shape to go around the bulb and suspend the bat logo in front of it. I used some more super glue. I then attached that to the front of the adapter used to hold the socket in place with super glue as well.

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And the finished product.

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Like I said its not perfect, but it was never meant to be. Its my interpretation of a relic bat signal from Batman's early years (circa late 1930's). Unfortunately the bat logo does not project out onto any surface even though it will light up walls and the ceiling. This is probably due to the shape of the dish being too rounded. It just lets the light spread out too far, it doesn't channel it like how a flash light does. Just a FYI if anyone plans on making a bat signal this way. Total cost for the project was $35 for the heater, $10.28 for the acrylic sheet, $5.88 for black spray paint, $4.98 for the led vintage bulb, $5.98 for the candelabra socket switch cord. That puts the grand total at $62.12 not counting the dremel which I needed for a few other projects around the house as well. So I over shot my $50 budget but I'm sure if you looked around you could do it even cheaper. This was a super fun and quick little project and it looks fantastic, looks great in my nerd cave and I can't recommend it enough especially if you are a batman fan or want a good size bat signal on the cheap.
 
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