In 1979, my teenage dream came true when I bought my third car (or I should say my Dad did after I pestered him to death), a 1965 Mustang coupe. When I was growing up, my folks bought two of these beauties brand new, a 1965 convertible and 1968 California Special. The Mustang was firmly rooted in my mind as one the coolest cars I’d ever seen. I had to have one. A testament to my Dad’s wisdom, my Mustang wasn’t the hotrod my friends had with their 289 and 302 V-8s. Mine was a straight six 200 cid with diamond tuck interior and a cheesy baby blue paint job. In retrospect, he probably saved me from getting into a lot of trouble. Over the course of the next two years I restored the car to its original factory condition, down to its Philco AM radio. As nice as it turned out, I really always wanted a Shelby. Even then, Shelby’s were coveted collector cars well out of a high school kid’s budget.

The Subject

The Batmobile is the car of the fictional comic book superhero Batman, an iconic American character. The character of Batman first appeared in DC Comics’ Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). By 1940, Batman proved popular enough to spin off into his own dedicated comic, Batman. In the years since, there have been other comics, books, radio shows, television shows, and films featuring Batman and his related characters and equipment. The car used by Batman, called the Batmobile, appeared in the very first stories in 1939 and has evolved over the years. Perhaps the best known version is the vehicle that appeared in the 1960’s hit TV series Batman, which is the subject of this kit. Designed specifically for the TV show by famous customizer George Barris, the car was a heavily modified former Ford Corporation concept car called the Lincoln Futura.

Kit Description:

1/25th scale, 117 pieces, molded in white, clear and chrome; newly tooled 2010 body and wheels with retooled 2005 Mustang interior and chassis, decals for three racing stripe versions.

History and Research:

Who in this world is not familiar with Ford’s iconic Mustang? Ford’s 2010 Mustang is the first restyle of the 2005 retro-styled version of the brand. The 2010 restyle further enhances the car’s aerodynamics and aggressiveness. Today’s Mustang remains the oldest American pony car in continuous production, 47 years to date.

The Build:

This kit is molded in light blue, black and chrome parts. It has 59 parts and is being marketed as “snap tite.” The kit has no engine, but the oil pan and the transmission are present.

The fit is good for the most part. I only had trouble with the chrome parts fits. I was not able to get them to snap, and some of the chrome parts (like the tanks) have sizable gaps.

I put together the chassis and wheels, then checked for misalignments. I only had to add a small shim to one of the suspension parts to get all the tires to touch the ground. I painted the chassis/wheels assembly flat black and the cab in “true blue.”

This is a good kit for a kid getting into the hobby, or a grown-up who just wants a break from more complex builds. I had fun putting this kit together and it was a great break from other projects. The only downside is that some of the chrome parts didn’t fit well, but it is nothing that some modeling skills couldn’t overcome.

Recently Revell has been reissuing some of the older Monogram titles under the Revell name. This time around they have chosen to bring back the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302, under their Motor-City Muscle line. With this kit you have 2 choices of building it, stock, or a modified Trans Am car, with only 98 parts total. Parts are molded in white, clear, and chrome plated.

The instruction sheet is 10 steps, 9 of the actual assembly sequence and one for applying decals for either version the builder wishes to choose from.

The first step in the instructions deals with the stock engine construction, which is what I chose for the built up model.