Batmobile - 1989

High-res model of the Batmobile as seen in the two Tim Burton films "Batman" and "Batman Returns". Having seen the new film "The Batman" in theaters in March, my childhood obsession with Batman was reawoken. I wanted to take the energy and motivation from that awakening to express my love for the franchise and also model something non-Trek for a change, and it was between this version of the Batmobile and the '66 Batmobile. Having previosuly attempted but never finishing the '66 version back in 2015, I decided to go with the Burton-verse route, as it's form and curves would be a challenge that would push my subdivision modeling skills. This was also an opportunity to model a car to completion for the first time. Once I set my sights, I was hooked. I began my reference gathering. However, I quickly realized that there were no schematics of the car available that had the degree of accuracy I was looking for.

I talked to fellow artist Jay Machado about his digital build, and he informed me that he used a homemade photogrammetry scan of the AMT model kit of the 89 Batmobile for reference for the basic proportions. This led me to buying a nice digital camera, the AMT kit, and doing a photogrammetry scan myself. So this project also was my intro into basic photogrammetry.

I was fortunate enough to need to fly down to Los Angeles during my reference gathering stage, so I was able to go to the Petersen museum and take additional reference photos of the 89 Batmobile replica that is presented there. While it was not entirely screen-accurate, being able to take up-close photos of many of the details was a huge asset to the project. I also scoured the website www.chickslovethecar.com for all the info and photographic reference of the screen-used car and various other amateur builds there.

This was a challenge for me, as I'm not used to modeling such unified, curvy, complex forms. But the method of starting simple and use of a subdivision tool (in this case, 3ds Max's Turbosmooth) was the key; tweaking the form in a less subdivided state and only subdividing more once I had the shape locked in. The most challenging part was the fins; I actually modeled them twice after my first attempt wasn't up to par.

The side mechanics were almost an entirely separate project themselves, as I spent at least 4 days just modeling and painting those. The underside, while not completely necessary to model, was something I pushed myself to tackle because it would've felt incomplete without it. I also had the detailed underside of the AMT kit to use as reference and riff off of.

The interior, machine guns, and grappling hook were stretch goals for this project, but sadly I have not started those details yet. I wanted to get the exterior done and presented before my motivation and energy took a dive. However, I do have plans to revisit this project in the near future to add at least some of those details to the model. Stay tuned for those updates.

Overall, a very fun project that allowed me to explore my love of Batman and push my skills while helping to round out my portfolio! I hope you enjoy!