Building the Batplane
of 1944
Click to see larger version

There are an abundance of high quality model kits available these days with super detailing and recessed panel lines. I didn't want one of those. A major conversion like this means lots of cutting, shaping and splicing. And recessed panel lines just take extra work filling and sanding. I found an old Heller P-40 kit that was molded in thick, strong plastic with raised panel lines and rivets. It would do perfectly and it was cheap, too!

I used a photocopier to enlarge the profile from the comic book to 1/72 scale and then traced parts from the Heller kit to produce a rough plan that showed the modifications needed to convert the P-40 into the Batplane. The plan shown at right is a cleaned up version of the working plan. CLICK HERE to see that.



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The character of Batman, the emblems and the comic book panels on these pages are the property of DC Comics. All text and photographs are ©2001-2007 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted. This website is not intended to infringe on the copyright of DC Comics to its characters, but was created out of gratitude to all the wonderful writers, artists, and editors who created the Batman.