ZOWIE! Hot Wheels Batmobile Custom Packages! Batman! Robin! Riddler! Adam West!

One of the major recent events for Bat-fans has been the detangling of the many rights issues pertaining to the 1966 BATMAN TV series! The first salvo that signified that the years-long legal thicket was being cleared, was the release of all new die-cast "TV Batmobile" toy cars, from the collector-friendly Hot Wheels folks! Originally designed for the ABC-TV show by car customizer George Barris, this iconic vehicle was eagerly snatched up by fans far and wide, then and now! But, the recently-released beautiful Batmobile came delivered in some very un-beautiful packaging! The remedy? My own custom packages on which to display the Dynamic Duo's die-cast deity! Feast your eyes on my own eye-popping presentations below! Click images to enlarge!

Above: An example of the deadly-dull packaging in which
the long-awaited Batmobiles were presented!

Above: I used the captivating cover to 1968's BATMAN #200 (by Neal Adams) as the
basis for this one pop-art package! Add a re-closeable "clamshell," and a dynamic
 display is ready!

Above: I always loved this image of actor Adam West as the Caped Crusader, and
here it is (along with added logos and graphics) used as a custom card!

Above: No other 60s BATMAN cover screams "Silver Age" quite like this
one, and it even features a main Bat-foe, the Riddler! Using elements
from the cover of BATMAN #179 (from 1966), this great
Gil Kane/Murphy Anderson art works like gangbusters!

Above: Another great Adam West BATMAN pose, this time I used an "alternate image" from
the famed 1966 TV GUIDE cover photo shoot from the show! Here is another use of
this wonderful action shot!

Above: The first image I ever saw from the BATMAN TV show (even before ever 
viewing the actual program) was the wonderful View-Master set of 3-D reels. 
The above custom Hot Wheels package uses much of the same memorable 
graphics, but with added logos and new formatting!

Above: Using the cover to a sensational '67 coloring book, here is a fabulous
custom Batmobile display! Sure, that's actually the Batboat the Dynamic Duo
is piloting there, but...

BAT-BONUS! Click below to glare at the colorful custom Batmobile collection on display!

Get a closer look at some of those custom action figures here!

BONUS BAT-BONUS! Click here to see the ultimate custom Hot Wheels collectible!

Green Lantern! The 2011 Model Kit--Built! DC Comics Greatness!

Here is my latest finished and built-up model kit--Green Lantern! This swell new 2011 kit comes from the fine folks at Moebius Models, a firm that's released great new figure kits, and exacting re-issues of the older Aurora ones, too! Their "GL" kit is in the manner of those other mid-60s DC Comics offerings, in scale, attitude, and overall look! Let's get started, as I take you on the step-by-step building process!

Below: The unassembled kit, in it's original green plastic, ready for building! Dig that nice transparent green "power-ringed" hand! The figure (tho overall well-designed and sculpted by the talented Joe Laudati) was a bit over-muscular and "cut," so I sanded away (and flattened) some of the ab muscles on the figure...

Below: Here's the base, including GL's evil robot opponent (tho the little guy looks awfully chummy)! I used some brown, black, gray, and white spray paints, in order to create a mottled "rubble" effect! Also added were some bits of rock and sand, some dark and light "splatter," and other bits of texture!

Below: The finished base, with silver and gold paint carefully applied to the robot! Some 

details were filled in using inking/technical pens, more added rubble, and 

overcoats of gloss (on the robot), and matte sprays (on the ground surface)!

Let's move on to the GL figure! 

Below: After sanding a few seams, and applying a nice hi-gloss "metallic black" to the finished figure, I used Silly Putty (!) to mask off those areas, then came in with a nice "metallic lacquer green," for those portions of the famous costume! Once dry, the Putty comes right off! 

Below: The head detailing begins!

Below: The finished figure, with translucent "power-ringed" hand, ready for attachment to the base!

I did a bit of "dry-brushing" to the hair and face of the figure, creating 

subtle light and dark areas...A bit of brushed-on gloss for the hair and mask...

I wanted the figure to "hover" much closer to the base than the kit suggests...The two figures just seemed too distant and disassociated (as if they belonged to separate kits), so I angled the joining portion of GL's right hand and power-ring effect in such a way so the figure could be nearer the base...

I hand-painted the chest insignia (what a pain), altho I almost went with a computer-generated sticker! I kept the white gloves a flat matte, to contrast with the other parts of the more reflective and bright costume! I kept the name-plate in its original green, using technical pens to fill in the black background...

Overall, a very well-done kit, by a company that recalls and loves the original Aurora superhero kits of the 60s and 70s! The designers (including comics fan and artist Terry Beatty) really went for (and succeeded in) re-creating the feel of a Silver Age GREEN LANTERN comics cover as drawn by Gil Kane! I hope they make many more such model kits, featuring those characters who never got a shot at all-plastic stardom!

The 1974 SPIDER-MAN/GREEN GOBLIN Saga! Original Comic Art by Albert Bigley!

Harry Osborn is the new Green Goblin?! Sure, I was inspired by the then-current SPIDER-MAN storyline (today, they call them "story arcs") running in Marvel Comics in 1974, but here are 4 pages from my OWN (age 9) original take on the ever-present Spidey/Goblin entanglement! Even at that young age, I had many of the "Marvel method" tropes down. Spidey's patter. The pacing and cliff-hangers. The over-dramatic story titles. The details, such as Spidey running out of web fluid. Heh. I had fun, in this dry run for my future as a comics artist! Click to enlarge!