| GEORGE BARRIS 1966 TV SHOW VERSION BATMOBILE IN SCALES 1/18 1/50 AND 1/64. BY MATTEL TOYS. HERE AT SPUTNIKTOYS.... EMAIL US SPUTNIKTOYS@YAHOO.COM...These die cast toy batman cars ARE NOW IN STOCK!!!!! |
The Batmobile was actually a converted show car, The Lincoln Futura.
Lets go back in time , before the series started, before Adam West had put on his
Batsuit, lets go back to the year 1955.
Lincoln originally Designed the car which was all hand built for the tune of 250,000. At
the time it was quoted as being " The most novel of the years dream crop". It was one of
the first cars to have idiot lights for fuel, battery, and temperature. The designers here
made a full size plaster mold and sent it over to Italy where a metal body was made by
Ghia. They finished it and shipped it back to the US completed. It was showed at car
shows around the US from 1955 to 1959.
The Futura was retired from Lincoln and found new life as a movie star ! The car was
repainted red ( to show better on camera ) and was in the Debbie Reynolds/ Glen Ford
movie- It Started With A Kiss in 1959. After sitting on the studio lot for awhile, it found its
way to George Barris, a Hollywood car builder where it would sit lonely and forgotten....
until 1965 when there was an new show being planned- Eddie Graves a 20th Century
Fox production artist came up with the concepts needed for the car, turbine, jet ect and
the plans were given to George Barris who decided that the Futura would fit the bill.
Now many cars could have been built for these concepts however Barris was only given
three weeks to deliver the car so with such a tight deadline, it made much more sense
to convert a car rather than build one from scratch. If you look at the photos of the
Futura, you will notice that it looks pretty much like the completed Batmobile with a few
exceptions, the most noticeable was the removal of the center section of the bubble -
replaced by a pillar and the fins were elongated also. The actual building of the car was
not done by George Barris but his competitor Bill Cushenberry ( who sadly passed
away December of 1998). According to Bill " I guess they were too snowed under, I did it
at my own shop. Barris told me what to do, I didn't work from any sketches. I made up
new fins that went all the way into the doors Then I reworked the wheel wells and made
them all the same , and reworked the hood to make it look like a Batman car type hood.
I had a welding machine and a little air hammer. I would pound the metal out and run it
through a little air hammer until I got the shape I wanted. I would trim it and weld it on."
After Bill finished, one of George Barris's employees put the finishing touches to the car
and it went back to George Barris's shop to get the final touches. The Batmobile was
born ! George Barris retained the rights to the car and leased it back to Greenway
Productions on a week by week basis. It is interesting to note that when a car was
needed for the new series, The Green Hornet, it was not George Barris that was picked
to build it but Dean Jeffries another custom car builder and 20th Century Fox owned
both copies of The Black Beauty and thus did not have to pay on a week to week basis .
The original car is still owned by George Barris to this day but the others have gone to
collectors across the country. The most recent sale was the # 4 drag car.
Lets go back in time , before the series started, before Adam West had put on his
Batsuit, lets go back to the year 1955.
Lincoln originally Designed the car which was all hand built for the tune of 250,000. At
the time it was quoted as being " The most novel of the years dream crop". It was one of
the first cars to have idiot lights for fuel, battery, and temperature. The designers here
made a full size plaster mold and sent it over to Italy where a metal body was made by
Ghia. They finished it and shipped it back to the US completed. It was showed at car
shows around the US from 1955 to 1959.
The Futura was retired from Lincoln and found new life as a movie star ! The car was
repainted red ( to show better on camera ) and was in the Debbie Reynolds/ Glen Ford
movie- It Started With A Kiss in 1959. After sitting on the studio lot for awhile, it found its
way to George Barris, a Hollywood car builder where it would sit lonely and forgotten....
until 1965 when there was an new show being planned- Eddie Graves a 20th Century
Fox production artist came up with the concepts needed for the car, turbine, jet ect and
the plans were given to George Barris who decided that the Futura would fit the bill.
Now many cars could have been built for these concepts however Barris was only given
three weeks to deliver the car so with such a tight deadline, it made much more sense
to convert a car rather than build one from scratch. If you look at the photos of the
Futura, you will notice that it looks pretty much like the completed Batmobile with a few
exceptions, the most noticeable was the removal of the center section of the bubble -
replaced by a pillar and the fins were elongated also. The actual building of the car was
not done by George Barris but his competitor Bill Cushenberry ( who sadly passed
away December of 1998). According to Bill " I guess they were too snowed under, I did it
at my own shop. Barris told me what to do, I didn't work from any sketches. I made up
new fins that went all the way into the doors Then I reworked the wheel wells and made
them all the same , and reworked the hood to make it look like a Batman car type hood.
I had a welding machine and a little air hammer. I would pound the metal out and run it
through a little air hammer until I got the shape I wanted. I would trim it and weld it on."
After Bill finished, one of George Barris's employees put the finishing touches to the car
and it went back to George Barris's shop to get the final touches. The Batmobile was
born ! George Barris retained the rights to the car and leased it back to Greenway
Productions on a week by week basis. It is interesting to note that when a car was
needed for the new series, The Green Hornet, it was not George Barris that was picked
to build it but Dean Jeffries another custom car builder and 20th Century Fox owned
both copies of The Black Beauty and thus did not have to pay on a week to week basis .
The original car is still owned by George Barris to this day but the others have gone to
collectors across the country. The most recent sale was the # 4 drag car.
| ADAM WEST BATMAN BAT MOBILE TV TOY DIE CAST CAR. GEORGE BARRIS 1966 TV MOVIE BATMAN BATMOBILE ORIGINAL TOY DIE CAST CARS. IN SCALES 1/64, 1/50 1966 BATMOBILE AND 1/18 SCALE DIE CAST CARS. GEORGE BARRIS PRODUCTION IN STOCK NOW!!!!. BASED ON THE LINCOLN FORD FUTURA. IN STOCK!!! |
| AT SPUTNIKTOYS YOU WILL FIND TV & MOVIE DIE CAST CARS, HOT RODS, CHOPPERS, AND SPACESHIPS! At Sputniktoys we sell a large variety of die cast cars, Spaceships, helicopters, tanks, military airplanes and other die cast vehicles. This is your source for TV and Movie cars and other die cast vehicles. We carry Gerry Anderson related Die Cast Spaceships from his hit British series like UFO, THUNDERBIRDS, SPACE 1999, STINGRAY, SUPER CAR, JOE 90 AND CAPTAIN SCARLET. Each Dinky toy in our store is an original made in Great Britain from 1966 to 1979. Thunderbirds 1, Thunderbirds 2, Thunderbirds 3, Thunderbirds4, Armored Command Car, SPECTRUM PATROL VEHICLE, UFO Interceptor, S.H.A.D.O 2 Mobile, S.H.A.D.O 1 Mobile, SHADO CONTROL VEHICLE, SPACE 1999 Eagle Transporter, SPACE 1999 Eagle Rescue,Eagle medical, Eagle Freighter, Stingray Spaceship, Supercar, UFO Skydiver and Sky 1 Interceptor, UFO Flying Saucer, Dinky Eagle Freighter, Thunderbirds Fab1 Car and Fireball XL 5 die cast Spaceship. STAY TUNED. Sputniktoys sells a variety of George Barris Custom Cars. 1966 TV show batmobile. Based on the LINCOLN CUSTOM FUTURA. Featured at the 1959 DETROIT CAR SHOW. The Batman Batmobile, Monkee Monkeemobile, The Munsters Dragula, THE MUNSTERS KOACH, Fireball 500 Modified Plymouth Cuda, Tom Daniel's Red Baron, Trantula Hot Rod, Blues Brothers Blues Mobile, Green Hornet Black Beauty. The Car Lincoln Concept Car and STEVEN KINGS CHRISTINE CAR from the Steven King horror movies of the 1970s. George Barris Ghostbusters Echo 1 and 2 1959 Cadillac Ambulance, Ghostbusters Echo 2 1959 Cadillac and a variety of Dukes of Hazzard Dodge General Lee Cars. We carry the new die cast tooling of The Munsters Koach, Hot Rods, and Grand Pa Dragula (DRAG-U-LA) Dragster. We have the 1/64 scale Hot Wheels Bat Cars, limited world wide and more. Here at Sputniktoys. |
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| FOR MORE VISIT www.sputniktoys.com |
| Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), DC Comics, and Mattel (NYSE:MAT) announced today the production of a line of the HOT WHEELS® die-cast cars inspired by the Batmobile featured in the 1966 “Batman” television series. The legendary crime-fighting vehicle was designed by custom automotive icon, George Barris, and has since become a lasting symbol of the Batman franchise. Under the partnership, Mattel will produce Hot Wheels® Batmobiles, which will begin arriving at retail locations in 2007. This launch of the Batmobile commemorates the 40th anniversary of the “Batman” television series, which initially aired in 1966, and reintroduces one of television’s most recognized vehicles to an entirely new generation of Batman fans Barris’ classic version of the Batmobile is world-renowned and the Hot Wheels® reproductions will be the first of their kind. “We’re bringing one of the most iconic entertainment-based Batmobiles to consumers in honor of the television show’s 40th anniversary,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “While the vehicle has been reinvented numerous times over the years in comic books, animated series and feature films, the TV Batmobile is still held in the highest regard with countless fans who will truly appreciate this exciting endeavor.” In recognition of the occasion, Mattel will produce multiple scales of the Hot Wheels® Batmobile, including a 1:64th scale model that will appear on store shelves in Spring 2007 in the Hot Wheels® basic car line. In Fall 2007, there will be an additional 1:64th scale model introduced as well as a 1:18th scale, which will have LOADS OF DETAIL . STAY TUNED!!! |