Polar Lights New Batmobile Snap Kit
I’ve decided to take a closer look at some of the new kits that have come out this summer. I had a few “scratch and dent” kits among all the models we have received in the warehouse so I’ve pulled out a couple and popped them open.
Before I start, here’s a bit of disclosure. I sell these kits in my Hobbyshop website and I have provided some advice to Round 2/Polar Lights regarding some of the products they produce.
Here we have the new Batmobile kit from Polar Lights. This is only the second new genre kit that Round 2 has put out in the three years they’ve been back. It was announced back in 2009, so it’s taken a while to get to us. This 1:25 scale SNAP kit is the first of three versions of the 1:25 scale Batmobile. The next versions will be a more detailed glue kit, followed by a deluxe glue kit with extra details.
This is easily the nicest styrene Batmobile produced so far. It is far more accurate than the old 1:32 Aurora kit. There have been several resin kits and this one certainly comparable to those. It is far better than the faux 60’s Batmobiles based on the comics, produced several years ago by Polar Lights.
The box is pretty jammed packed with parts, and they are all carefully packaged. The model is molded in black plastic, and the car body is already detailed with the bat symbols and red pinstriping. The body is firmly attached to the red cardboard box panel, so use some care in removing it so you don’t scratch the body. I guess you would call it a partially pre-painted model. The rest of the kit is not prepainted, so you will likely want to detail it out, particularity the interior. I understand that the upcoming glue kits will not have a pre-detailed body.
This snap version of the kit comes with these prepainted vinyl figures of Batman and Robin. They are rather simply painted, but a welcome addition to the kit. In the hands of a good painter, these should could be nicely finished up. From what I have heard, the figures will not be included in the later versions of the kit.
There are some chromed parts including the wheel rims, siren, and rocket launchers.
The siren is perhaps the weakest part of the kit. It might be a bit difficult to get the details right at this scale, but compared to a few of the other smaller parts in the kit, this one is lacking.
The dash is well detailed and should paint up nice. The kit also includes a small decal sheet for detailing out the dash. You’ll want to paint this and all the interior parts prior to assembly. The instructions provide painting guidelines.
A closer look at the clear spue. These are wrapped in foam in the package which should prevent any scratching.
More parts on the sprue for the interior. The Batphone and fire extinguisher look pretty good. You’ll note that several parts appear to be missing. I think these are actually parts for the later glue kits. Parts 71, 72, 96 are identified on the sprue, but not included. They are not mentioned in the instructions either.
This is a pretty basic kit. It lacks an engine or trunk compartment. Because the body is pre-detailed, you don’t have to worry about painting those pesky pinstripes. The figures are a little on the plain side, but at least figures are included. The instructions appear to be well done and include details for painting.
I’d be very hesitant to try and snap this kit together. I’m not a big fan of snap kits as they don’t tend to hold up over the long haul. And some of the snap parts often require a bit of effort to get them to “snap” together. I’d recommend glue for the assembly of this kit as well as any other snap model. You won’t regret it.
While this is the best Batmobile kit to date, Polar Lights has better kits coming soon. I would wait for that. As a snap kit it is does not feature the detailing that most model builders would look for in a standard automotive kit. Details such as the engine, truck interior, undercarriage detail, etc are standard in most car kits these days. Some of this should be included in the upcoming glue kit so you may be happier to get one of the upcoming glue versions of the model.
If you are interested in this kit, you can purchase in the CultTVman Hobbyshop or look for it at your local hobby retailer.
