Hot Wheels' first push into the world of larger-scale Batmobiles was the 1989 car, first released in 2004. As one of the two most popular Batmobiles ever created (the other being the 1966 TV car), there have been several replicas of this Batmobile produced over the years. However, this is the first time it has appeared as an official 1/18 diecast model. Several variations were released by Mattel, including original, battle damaged, and versions in special Collectors' Edition packaging. Reviewed here is the Batmobile in its traditional satin black paint job.
Packaging
Rather than a regular box, the Batmobile comes packaged in it's own display case. A cardboard tray wraps around the bottom edges and up over both ends of the case. The tray is primarily black and blue, with the Hot Wheels logo in the lower left corner and the Batman logo in the lower right corner. "Batmobile&tm;" is written between the two. The top corners have discreet notes noting the scale and "Metal Collection." Other than the Hot Wheels logos on either end of the tray, all other information is on the underside of the tray. The Batmobile itself is held to the display case bottom with three very long screws, and is kept closed thanks to a single plastic band in front of the canopy.
Casting/Paint
Mattel did a beautiful job capturing the look of this Batmobile; the artists responsible should be proud. All the panels are nice & sharp, with none of the round corners that so often plague diecast replicas. The parts fit is also nice & tight, especially impressive between moving panels like the canopy and surrounding body work. Chassis detail is minimal but convincing, and this is clearly based on the first movie Batmobile (without the rotating foot pad). Paint is equally well done, with most of the car painted a very accurate-looking satin black that seems to absorb light. The wheels, turbine intake, side details, fuel caps, rear nozzles, and exhaust are all done in a dark metal color, and look great. Clear pieces include the main windshields, portholes, and clear red taillights. The only things that look wrong to me are the headlights, which are red rather than the movie car's yellow. the roof scoop also bothers me a bit, as it obviously is not very deep. It would have been nice if this was cast open (or at least a bit deeper), but this and the headlight color are both minor nitpicks.
Features/Accessories
There are three main features: a sliding pit canopy, rotating machine guns, and working steering. The canopy is very well done, sliding snugly along a track in the middle of the hood and locking firmly into place when closed. The way Mattel did the machine guns is really quite clever: instead of having removable covers to get lost, the machine guns are attached to the undersides of the covers: you simply rotate the covers 180? to expose the guns. This does mean that the guns don't stick up above the fenders very far, but they still look great. The steering is nice to have, but really pretty useless. The movie Batmobile couldn't make a sharp turn without the aid of a grappling hook, and this won't fare any better: the turning radius of the car is 2'3", which works out to be 40'6" in the 1/18 world.
Accuracy
As noted under casting quality, this is very well done. From the movie-accurate color to the Mickey Thompson-inspired tires, everything looks the way it should. Details like the wheel bolts, nozzle valves, and non-skid panels on the side intakes are all present. The interior looks great for the most part, with all of the appropriate levers and dials along the rear bulkhead and between the seats. The dashboard details are represented by a sticker, which looks good if a bit bright for the 1989 Batmobile. The only place where accuracy comes up short is scale. Literally. In 1/18 scale, the 1989 Batmobile should measure 14.5" in length. Mattel's diecast is only 11.5" long, which puts its scale between 1/22 and 1/23.
Overall
There are a lot of 1989 Batmobile replicas out there, ranging from museum quality to truly laughable. Mattel did an excellent job with this, at a price point that makes it a no-brainer. They're still available in some stores (as of July 2006), and can easily be obtained through the secondary market as well. This is one replica that belongs in every Batman and/or Batmobile collection.
RE: Review: Hot Wheels 1/18 1989 Batmobile -
Posted on 06-08-2006 17:30
Posts: 1631 Location: Rockville, IA Joined: 24.06.05
I feel pretty stupid still not owning one of these. My brother saw it in Target in '04, but I never did... Now I gotta get on eBay and win one. It's definitely at the top of my Batmobile/model/die-cast wish list.
RE: Review: Hot Wheels 1/18 1989 Batmobile -
Posted on 07-08-2006 13:13
It is a really nice car, the only thing I don't get is why the scale is so far off. Actually, I know that Mattel wanted to keep to a certain size box, but in that case why not just call it a 1/24 replica? Are people really more apt to buy a smaller scale item just because it claims to be a larger size on the box art?
It seems to be pretty common across diecast manufacturers; they'll make a car the size they feel like then try to claim it's a particular scale for marketing reasons. I'm not really complaining, though - I have an accurate 1/24 Batmobile from Corgi, and two near-1/24 Batmobiles from Mattel, I just need to ignore what it says on the boxes
RE: Review: Hot Wheels 1/18 1989 Batmobile -
Posted on 08-08-2006 01:40
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I own one of those. I is awsome!!!
