Reviewing Fanhome’s ‘1989 Batmobile 1:8 Scale Build-Up Subscription’ Stages 29-33

The ninth package in my Fanhome 1989 Batmobile Build-Up subscription has arrived.* This 1:8 scale model meticulously recreates the iconic vehicle from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film with all the sleek styling and high tech gadgets that make it Batman’s ultimate crime fighting tool.

The finished model will clock in at an incredible 29.5” long, consisting of diecast metal and ABS components. Just like in the film, it will have retractable side wings and roof canopy, a functioning front turbine, a realistic dashboard, rotating wheels, and an opening trunk. There will also be retractable machine guns, a disc launcher, and a grapnel. A remote control will trigger LED lighting and sound effects. 

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this build for a several reasons. First, this is my Batmobile. This is the one I saw on the silver screen when I was 11. It was designed by Fireball Tim Lawrence, who I have had the absolute delight of working with at several conventions and car shows over the last several years. This is also the first build that I have really enjoyed every one of the articles featuring different versions of the Batmobile in the digital magazines** that accompany each build stage. This is a car nerd’s build.

Let’s get into build stages 29-33:

Stage 29

The featured vehicle in this stage’s digital literature is the 1967 Batmobile. Not that Batmobile. The one from the comics. If you say ‘67 Batmobile to almost anyone, they think of the red and black Futura that Adam West drove in the campy classic TV show.  

The Batmobile in this piece is the car that debuted in April 1967’s “The Night Batman Destroyed Gotham City.” It boldly featured long, scalloped fins and a twin-bubble windshield that were directly influenced by the TV show’s Futura. Other features, such as the twin hood scoops and stacked quad headlights reflected the then-current muscle car era. It had an arrowhead-shaped bat mask splitting the horizontal bar grill and long side pieces started behind the front wheels and tapered to sharp “ears” pointing rearward. This car only lasted a few issues before it was fully replaced by the car it was homaging.

The build stage is the right disc launcher, which will seat inside the right fender a few stages down the line.

Stage 30

This issue’s featured vehicle is labeled “Batcycle,” but I’m having a hard time placing which version of the cycle we’re actually looking at here. All of the spots where I would look for livery that would nail it down are inconveniently cut away to reveal hidden gadgets and gizmos. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say this is the highly modified 1965 Harley Davidson that only appeared in a single episode of the first season of the TV show.

However, as I stated, without a clear, uncut image, it could also be the Yamaha Catalina 250 that replaced the original Harley after a single outing. This is the first article that really has me stumped on the exact vehicle being referenced.

The actual build for this stage only requires snapping together two halves of one Bat-disc, as the other parts will get installed on the right fender in the next stage. 

Stage 31

I honestly don’t know why Fanhome is trying to catch me out with this group of unlabeled Batmobiles, but to this challenge, I will rise. They’re calling this featured Batmobile the “Winter-Mobile,” but to my knowledge no Batmobile has ever been called that. From the images, I believe this one is the Norm Breyfogle Batmobile Mk. II, which was loosely based on the Lamborghini Countach.

It had a stylized Batman cowl on the grill that was sometimes exaggerated to function as a snowplow. This vehicle met its kayfabe demise in 1995 in the final battle between Bruce Wayne and Jean Paul Valley over the Batman mantle. (That may have actually been the Mk. III. I’ll have to read Knightfall again. Damn.)

For the build, this stage involves attaching the machine gun compartment and machine gun cover to the right fender.

Stage 32

The featured Batmobile in this issue is labeled as the vehicle from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, but there were a few cars in that series, which ran from 1989-1992. This particular model appears to be the one from the “Prey” storyline, which borrowed heavily from Fireball’s film design for the 1989 film.

As far as the build goes, I’m still working on that right fender, attaching the disc launcher in this step. 

Stage 33

If I was slightly confused by some of the Bat-vehicles in this month’s installments, I am well and fully dumbfounded by this issue’s vehicle. Fanhome is calling it the ‘Batgirl Cycle.’ They say that “in an episode,” Joker and Catwoman sabotaged the bike, which makes me think they’re talking about the Yamaha YDS-5E used in the 1960s TV show, except … that bike had a purple shroud shaped like a stylized cape and purple body mods that continued the styling and livery down the body of the bike to the tail. This is not that bike. I do not know this Batgirl Cycle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. Looks cool, though.

The final build stage in this month’s box requires installation of the right headlight lens, headlight housing, and headlight LEDs.

As I stated, I am having a lot of fun with this build. As more of the pieces arrive, the scale of this beast becomes more apparent. When completed, it will make an awesome display piece for my office. I am now in the market for a 1:8 scale 1989 Michael Keaton Batman action figure/statue to complete the display. It’s not an easy scale to find, but I have some time before the car is finished.

The Batman 1989 1:8 Scale Batmobile subscription service is available to purchase at this link. 

*Fanhome provides this subscription to me free of charge for the purposes of review.

**I’m still frustrated with the lack of physical print media for this build. The digital literature that is included is clearly designed for print, and is awkward and unwieldy to view on devices.