Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

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svl
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Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by svl »

Seeing if anyone has a proper spray paint color match. In pix it appears so much more orange than red, hoping someone has some suggestions of paints available.

Thanks!
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weirdkorey
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by weirdkorey »

I would also like to know this information as I am currently working on making my own batphone
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Mark Racop
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Mark Racop »

The phone appears to be made from fiberglass. I think it was a deep red, but when it was lit up it appeared orange.
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Mark Racop
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Mark Racop »

I'm pretty sure the handle was a stock red 500 phone handle, and they matched the color of the handle. The taller batphone picture here resided primarily in Gordon's office, while the shorter one was primarily used in Wayne Manor and the Batcave. From what I could tell, the taller phone had three bulbs inside, while the shorter phone only had one. To be contrary, here's another pic that appears more orange for comparison sake:
tumblr_n8efvdTehs1tdfr61o1_r1_1280.jpg
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svl
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by svl »

My Batphone is stock red, but appears much redder than the show's phones. They come across much more "orangy" IMO. Even the handset- agree that it's modeled on the 500, but it seems to be made of the same material as the base.

Mine-
Image

Compared to the one you posted, the difference is pretty striking.
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Ben Bentley
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Ben Bentley »

For arguments sake a few years ago I put together this comparison from episodes across seasons one and two which suggested that the phones were moved between sets for whatever reason given that they were on the same sound stage.
BatphoneStudy.jpg
The other thing to keep in mind with regards to color is the muddy and less than ideal nature of the syndicated VHS transfers we have all been examining over the years. That all changes as of 10th November 2014 with the release of HD remastered source material.
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svl
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by svl »

You are 100% right, Ben ol' chum. Can't wait to find out what's really what in just a scant two weeks!!!!!

Can you believe that statement- TWO WEEKS! And it only took waiting 48 years to be able to say it!
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Batfanman
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Batfanman »

Shall we post our guesses? It looks orange but I'm going w/ red.
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MattNes
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by MattNes »

I recently took this screenshot of a lit up Batphone...
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ehlers5
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by ehlers5 »

Does anyone know the actual color of the base on which the batphone sat? I have seen photos of brown and black? Thanks!!
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PropReplicator2
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by PropReplicator2 »

To this day, I am 99% sure that the phone handle was stock and the body of the phone was vacuumformed in red plastic. That would explain how the bulbs show through so well.. now to look for sheets of plastic that size that will fit my vacuumformer....
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Batfanman
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Batfanman »

PropReplicator2 wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2020 5:45 pm To this day, I am 99% sure that the phone handle was stock and the body of the phone was vacuumformed in red plastic. That would explain how the bulbs show through so well.. now to look for sheets of plastic that size that will fit my vacuumformer....
You may also be interested in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7486

The consensus is that the Batphones were constructed from fiberglass and that the Gordon/Wayne phones were molded off of a real telephone with some versions increased in height at the base. The Shakespeare bust and cowl shells were also made of fiberglass and this seems to have been the preferred material used by the prop makers. For the fiberglass phones, light would easily pass through with great brilliance. Still, I'm interested in hearing about your results with plastic. I'm not sure how much light intensity would be required to penetrate plastic or how much heat would result depending upon the type of bulb you use.
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Chuck Williams
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Chuck Williams »

Yep, both the hand piece and the phone body were made in the prop shop.
You can see the curved seam lines where the grip goes into the ear and mouth pieces and no seams where the caps would otherwise screw off...

From what I can see it looks like they started with translucent red pigment in the castings and may have turned it up a notch with a light spray of florescent red at some point. It would make for easier casting if they were topcoated even if they were cast in color.

The Batphone in the car was sprayed florescent red, even the cord which was peeling at the time of the auction.
You can see how much darker the red cords are compared to the phone...
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Chuck Williams
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Re: Actual color of Gordon's Batphone

Post by Chuck Williams »

Here are some shots from the DVDs.
The sharp edges say "cast" to me. Vacuform would be more rounded.

The light shows fiberglass matte texture.

The last shot shows that seam line on the hand piece going along the seam where the ear and mouth piece would come unscrewed..
It also shows the darker red of the standard phone cord...
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