Anybody restore a Corgi 267 Batmobile?

[Frenchy1939]

1. I bought and watched every Batman TV episode on blu Ray, most more than one time. I found the music from the “Sensational Bat-boys” album.





(For years, I mistakenly thought that was the soundtrack for the TV show - hey, I love that music!).


2. I found my View Master “purrfect crime” reels from my childhood!

3. I have one last goal to achieve before I feel I’ve gotten the whole ‘60s Batman experience. That is:

Getting my hands on a Corgi 267 Batmobile!



I am no purist or serious collector, I just want to get the car I saw in the early ‘70s but never had. I was thinking about getting a beat up one from eBay and fixing it. Anybody here ever do that?

I figured most guys here know all about this toy. It’s one of those things I always wanted as a kid but never got.
Time for me to start another project that I probably will talk about but never finish, lol!
Here’s a cool guide I found:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/diecast ... -t295.html

[SprangFan]

Some years ago there was something of a niche community on the internet devoted to restoring Corgi Batmobiles. I remember a couple of sites that specialized in selling the various original parts and figures, and at least one guy who would do the whole thing for you (they usually also had parts for 007's Aston Martin and the various Dinky cars and spaceships).

I had a plan to make a project of it but Step One was to get a beaten up car from eBay, and when it arrived it was in terrific condition; really just needed new stickers. It was probably one of the few cases of an eBay item being in better condition than listed. Anyway, I didn't look a gift horse in the mouth and just accepted my good luck, so I never did get around to the comprehensive restoration project I'd originally envisioned. Then the legal issues around the Barris car cleared up and suddenly new (and more accurate anyway) diecast Batmobiles were readily available in multiple scales, so the whole thing was a lot less important to me.

All that said, I wouldn't be averse to the repro box idea. There were guys out there who sold those, too, but it might be easier now to do my own.

[Frenchy1939]

SprangFan,

You are 100% correct. I have a Hot Wheels 1:50 scale ‘66 Batmobile on my desk at work & it’s beautiful...perfect, actually. Very accurate, beautiful paint. It’s only going to be slightly smaller than a Corgi 267 so I should be satisfied, right?

Wrong! It is not that big mysterious car with the chain cutter, rocket tube launcher, and flame gizmo! Oh yeah, little Batman and Robin figures! I think I’ve gone soft in my old age...this is a nostalgic quest!

You had the exact same idea I had. Hopefully, soon, I will rescue one from eBay that’s in bad shape. There are tons of repro parts available. I’m looking forward to painting one satin black like the very first issues.

Here is an autopsy of the Corgi 267 for your amusement: https://youtu.be/hFlyHB3nUM4

Parts: http://www.reprohobby.com/index.php?cPath=21_22
Repro box: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... x-66830594

[SprangFan]

I agree the Corgi has a charm despite, or maybe because of, its flaws. I had one as a kid and I still haven't nailed down which edition it was. I know it was not a first generation, because it came with the trailer and boat. ( I always wondered why the boat wasn't destroyed when Batman fired up the car. LOL )

I remember firing the missiles often, and keeping them in a bronze "cricket box" my Mom kept in the living room (?). i also remember my Robin had a shiny gold cape: apparently some of them had yellow capes.

Somehow it all vanished over the years except for the trailer (no boat) which I found in a box of odds and ends in my GI Joe footlocker, and that purple and yellow "Batman" decal which is still pressed between the pages of my copy of "Batman From The 30s to the 70s." So I was happy to win that 267 eBay auction, but not as happy as the seller, who bought it for a buck at a flea market!

Good luck with the search and be sure to post your restoration if it happens.

[Frenchy1939]

I agree the Corgi has a charm despite, or maybe because of, its flaws. I had one as a kid and I still haven't nailed down which edition it was. I know it was not a first generation, because it came with the trailer and boat. ( I always wondered why the boat wasn't destroyed when Batman fired up the car. LOL )

I remember firing the missiles often, and keeping them in a bronze "cricket box" my Mom kept in the living room (?). i also remember my Robin had a shiny gold cape: apparently some of them had yellow capes.

Somehow it all vanished over the years except for the trailer (no boat) which I found in a box of odds and ends in my GI Joe footlocker, and that purple and yellow "Batman" decal which is still pressed between the pages of my copy of "Batman From The 30s to the 70s." So I was happy to win that 267 eBay auction, but not as happy as the seller, who bought it for a buck at a flea market!

Good luck with the search and be sure to post your restoration if it happens.

SprangFan,

Awesome story, thanks! The Corgi Batmobile was my very first exposure to Batman. I recall neighborhood kids and I comparing hot wheels cars (we probably were carrying them around in our pockets.). One of the older kids brought out the Batmobile and showed me the gadgets on it. That’s the first and last time I’ve ever seen one in person....must’ve been around 1972. Then came the Batman ViewMaster reels for Christmas, then the Batboys record with the cool cover...all that without ever seeing the show. I thought Batman was the essence of cool!

I’ll keep you posted on project Corgi 267.

Oh yeah, I got that Batman from the ‘30s to the ‘70s book around 1977, too!! Good times!!!

[John Mack]

I never knew there were any flaws to the Corgi other than blue window bubbles, but then I found one that had clear and had to have it! My mom allowed it, my dad was upset at $2.95 being spent. He had to work over two hours to make that what with minimum wage being $1.40 in 1967.

[SprangFan]

If you mean you didn't know there were "flaws" as a kid, I'm in the same boat. In retrospect I can see the dimensions are somewhat off, but compared to half-hearted efforts like the plastic Mego Batmobile, it was spot on. Yes, the "chain cutter" (and the gaping groove it necessitated) are kind of odd, but not nearly as off-putting as the apparatus added to the primary hull of Dinky's starship Enterprise to allow discs to be shot from it. (Or the ginormous "shuttle bay" on the underside of the secondary hull, which would've cut the crew compliment down to about 30 people!) As a kid of the 70s, I learned to make allowances. You kind of had to when all your superhero figures wore oven mitts!

Actually, I think the thing that bugged me most as a kid (to the extent I had a complaint at all) was that trailer hitch. Not only was it not screen accurate, it would also -- as noted above -- have resulted in the destruction of the boat. And besides that, the image of Batman and Robin bee-bopping down the road with a boat in tow like they're on their way to a fun Saturday on the water was insane.

[John Mack]

Lol. Yeah, I meant as a kid. But my first Corgis had no tow hook as they were called. My Batboat came a plastic adapter that could be put on so that hitch wasn't always there.

[Blue Meanie]

Not restored, but this is my Corgi Batmobile and still my favourite for sentimental reasons. Parents gave it to me sometime in the early to mid ‘70’s. Is it “screen accurate”, no, but there’s lots of Batman ‘66 stuff produced today that is far from “screen accurate” and fans (including me) buy and enjoy it. For me, the Corgi is cool and it’s from a time when there was precious little Batman ‘66 items out there. Sure there are flaws, but most children use thier imagination and had lots of fun adventures with Batman and Robin in their Corgi Batmobile.

[Frenchy1939]

Not restored, but this is my Corgi Batmobile and still my favourite for sentimental reasons. Parents gave it to me sometime in the early to mid ‘70’s. Is it “screen accurate”, no, but there’s lots of Batman ‘66 stuff produced today that is far from “screen accurate” and fans (including me) buy and enjoy it. For me, the Corgi is cool and it’s from a time when there was precious little Batman ‘66 items out there. Sure there are flaws, but most children use thier imagination and had lots of fun adventures with Batman and Robin in their Corgi Batmobile.

That’s it, exactly! It was a TOY! A very cool toy, and part of the Batman TV show history, IMO.

[Frenchy1939]

I just bought a Corgi 267 Batmobile on eBay! At $65.00 including shipping, it sounds like a good deal. I did very little shopping around and this was an impusle purchase. It should get here in about a week. If I like it as is, I might leave it alone...not sure. What do you think?




I found s good restoration site here:

http://www.batmobile.free.fr/English/Restorations.htm

Let the fun begin!

[SprangFan]

Cool, that's the link I was going to use as a guide all those years ago, and Toytinker would've been my source for parts (looks like it's gone, now).

You're ahead of the game with a Robin included. The Boy Wonder tended to go missing, since he neglected to follow Batman's advice and wear a seatbelt.

Have fun!

[Frenchy1939]

http://www.batmobile.free.fr/English/Bo ... styles.htm

After doing some reading this evening, I discovered they painted the 1st corgis flat black because that’s the way the Batmobile was before the show came out. That leads me to believe that Corgi was on board before the show even started.

I also have a theory that those Batmobile figures aren’t Adam West and Burt Ward. They are.....

Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan! I could be wrong, but the figures are so far off....maybe when they were designed, nobody’d Seen Adam West and Burt Ward, yet.

...useless trivia for pondering over a cup of coffee....

[BATWINGED HORNET]

http://www.batmobile.free.fr/English/Bo ... styles.htm

After doing some reading this evening, I discovered they painted the 1st corgis flat black because that’s the way the Batmobile was before the show came out. That leads me to believe that Corgi was on board before the show even started.

I also have a theory that those Batmobile figures aren’t Adam West and Burt Ward. They are.....

Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan! I could be wrong, but the figures are so far off....maybe when they were designed, nobody’d Seen Adam West and Burt Ward, yet.

...useless trivia for pondering over a cup of coffee....

I'm guessing Corgi just followed a generic idea of who Batman and Robin were when creating the figures. To be honest, their figures for the Black Beauty, the Monkeemobile, the Avengers TV series cars and others are not accurate, either. They were just "in general appearance only" figures, but I loved the fact the Duo were included.

[Lou Szabo]

I was one of those that got the flat black no tow hook original Batmobiles back in the day. That car is long gone. I used to see the two pack and three pack gift sets at Kmart/Kresge’s and at Sears in the mid and late 70’s, but never bought one. If I had seen the 1966 movie, I might have. The last one I bought New was about 1983 or 1984. I got the 007 car then too, replacing my original gold car from the 60’s.

I have one now and bought restoration parts so it will eventually be restored, the 1966batmobile forum has a thread of parts restorers. Since the release of the newer cars, the old Corgi restorers seem to have dried up.

I suggest buying the restoration parts and trying it yourself. The hardest parts (or scariest for a novice) are removing the rivets, painting the red trim, and mounting screws to replace the rivets you drilled out in step one.

See if you can buy a restoration step by step guide, so you know what drill bit size you require. https://www.ebay.com/itm/CORGI-3-PAGE-I ... XQ~6VQ4j-c


Also post in both our craft page and on that Batmobile forum, take pics, and ask for help. I’ve done a couple of builds and posted the step by step guide, and if/when I was stuck, people were always supportive with suggestions and custom parts too.

Personally, when I do mine, i’m Gonna try for the black chrome. The red trim will be the most frightening for me. The little figures will be fun to repaint, particularly Batman.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R ... s&_sacat=0

One of the coolest restorations had the Batman figure under the car painted in the 1960’s colors. Wish I still had that picture.


Good luck