Norman Chan

A Masterpiece of Mid-Century Scale Engineering There is a specific kind of magic that happens when you take a piece of pop culture history and shrink it down to 1/6 scale with obsessive, surgical precision. Adam Savage and Norman Chan recently got their hands on the latest offering from Jazzinc Dioramas: the 1968 Batmobile. While many casual fans might mistake this for the standard 1966 show car, this model is a deep-dive variant representing the vehicle's third-season refresh. For a hardware geek, the appeal isn't just in the nostalgia; it's in the way Jazzinc Dioramas managed to capture the transition from the Lincoln Futura concept car to George Barris’ iconic custom build. Technical Nuance and Visual Refinement What sets this model apart is the commitment to specific historical accuracy. Unlike the previous high-gloss 1966 release, the 1968 Batmobile features a gorgeous **satin finish** that solves the eternal struggle of the collector: fingerprints. Savage highlights the difficulty of maintaining consistent finishes across large, injection-molded expanses, noting that the absence of visible seams on the massive back portion is a testament to high-end tool maintenance. The pin-striping has shifted from a sharp red to a hand-applied "cherry pink," a detail originally necessitated by the era's technicolor camera grading. Even the Bat Logo has been updated, losing its white border and gaining a dimensional, tactile quality that screams premium craftsmanship. Gadgets and Interactive Hardware The interior of this 1/6 scale beast is a playground of functional electronics. It’s not just a static shell; it’s a living machine. The team activated a suite of features including **headlights, blinking cockpit lights, and a ringing Batphone**. One of the most impressive hardware implementations is the **rotating radar antenna** and the animated "fire effect" in the rear turbine, which utilizes a mix of red and blue LEDs to simulate combustion. Even the mobile crime computer in the rear—a piece of prop history that originally used repurposed star-computer parts—has been fully realized. The inclusion of independently rotating hubcaps is a small but brilliant engineering touch, allowing collectors to orient the Bat Logo correctly regardless of the tire's position. The Verdict on Precision Manufacturing Building replicas for a rabid fandom is a high-stakes game. As Adam Savage points out, these fans are both your best customers and your deepest critics. Jazzinc Dioramas has navigated this by leaning into the community, using live streams and feedback loops to ensure every "bat-ray projector" and "detect-a-scope" is positioned correctly. This isn’t just a toy; it’s a 1/6 scale record of automotive and cinematic history. If you have the shelf space—and it takes up nearly as much room as a real car collection—it is the definitive version of the Adam West era vehicle. The satin finish alone makes it a more practical, yet more luxurious, display piece than its predecessors.