In the upcoming week I'll be posting some »Classic Plastic« model kits from the swinging sixties. The first entry is everyone's favourite crimefighter: The Batman.
Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939 he hit new heights of popularity in 1965 due to a sucessful TV-Series. Aurora released their first model kit devoted to Batman in 1964. The kit came within a box measuring 7"x13" with box art by Carmine Infantino.
The model features the Caped Crusader grabbing onto the limb of a dead tree and using it to swing forward, preparing to release his Batarang with his other hand. A pair of bats flitter about a small tree stump nearby supervised by an owl on the tree.
Their first kit release came before the Batman TV show aired in 1965, but would be re-released to capitalize on the popularity of the show.
This kit was re-issued in 1974 as a part of Aurora's Comics Scenes line, with a different box sporting new artwork by Dick Giodarno and containing a free comic, including an backdrop to go with the model for a diorama effect. The owl and name was deleted from that reissue, the chest symbol was replaced by an decal.
This build up was made from:
- an original 1964 base (with the name on, bought in an lot of incomplete AURORAs),
- an resin cast head taken of the original 1964 issue
- an Revell reissue from 1999 (with a new, ugly head that went straight into the bin) using poor fitting, some branches and bats.
Finally, recreated with Photoshop, the »outstanding« diorama effect with the backdrop provided with the 1974 reissue....
