Futura built-up

	Lincoln Futura
Built by: Earl R. Simons, Duvall, Washington HOLY SHOWCARS, BATMAN !! - Growing up with the campy T.V. show BATMAN, I always thought his car was TOO COOL! Only in my mid-20's did I discover the (George Barris/Dean Jefferies) #1 BATMOBILE was built from the 1955 LINCOLN FUTURA, so when REVELL re-popped the curbside 1956 kit, you bet I snatched one up! The 7-piece body conveniently separates at the dog-legs in the door fronts so you can easily make an 'L' cut for opening doors! (& make hinges, filler, etc...), but how to make the canopy swing up as you open the doors had me weaving baskets, so I settled with just cutting the canopy open. The FUTURA'S original body color was pearlescent frost blue-white (Riiiight...) This car used one of the first pearlescent color treatments, using ground pearl to achieve it. I stopped short of grinding pearls, & shot it white with gloss pearlcoats (rattle cans) & ignored its slight blue tint. It was painted GAWDAWFUL RED for the 1959 movie 'It started with a kiss' because the pearlescent finish did not photograph well. George Barris bought it for a song, due to monies owed him (& Barris Kustoms), but the Futura was never titled, & therefore uninsurable. It sat rotting in his back lot until 1965, until the upcoming BATMAN T.V. series foresaw the need for a BATMOBILE! Remembering the fin-laden Futura, & realizing it wouldn't take much, Barris presented a modified 'bat-trimmed' sketch of the FUTURA, was contracted to build it, & only had 3 weeks to do it! He sub-contracted stylist Dean Jefferies, who whipped up the BATMOBILE. The long chrome strips on each side of the model, cover where the body halves come together - SWEET! The 'Futura' nose script is molded so faint, It is almost impossible to bring out, as were the gear indicator lights on top of the dash that I just had to paint in. The domes on top are supposed to be a compass in front of the driver, & a clock in front of the passenger, but Jezz - gimme a break! The roll-up access doors in the dash are molded in the up position to see the climate controls, radio, etc. The 2-Pc. plastic tires are painted Testors 'rubber' & whitewalled. There was no warpage in any of the body pieces, so if you take care when gluing/aligning the body, it comes together as a pretty smooth, historical build, Although with the half-cowled front fenders its turning radius must've been terrible (ala Phantom Corsair syndrome) Good thing Barris opened up the wheel wells (among other mods) & created the unforgettable BATMOBILE, which in my book, is the ONLY Batmobile that matters--not those SCREWY (Bat-missle?!-only-room-for-Batman, Etc.) ones from the movies. Click on the image above to SUERPSIZE it!	Click on the image above to SUERPSIZE it! Click on the image above to SUERPSIZE it! Click on the image above to SUERPSIZE it!
Click on the image above to SUPERSIZE it!

Lincoln Futura

Built by: Earl R. Simons, Duvall, Washington

HOLY SHOWCARS, BATMAN !! - Growing up with the campy T.V. show BATMAN, I always thought his car was TOO COOL! Only in my mid-20's did I discover the (George Barris/Dean Jefferies) #1 BATMOBILE was built from the 1955 LINCOLN FUTURA, so when REVELL re-popped the curbside 1956 kit, you bet I snatched one up!

The 7-piece body conveniently separates at the dog-legs in the door fronts so you can easily make an 'L' cut for opening doors! (& make hinges, filler, etc...), but how to make the canopy swing up as you open the doors had me weaving baskets, so I settled with just cutting the canopy open.

The FUTURA'S original body color was pearlescent frost blue-white (Riiiight...) This car used one of the first pearlescent color treatments, using ground pearl to achieve it. I stopped short of grinding pearls, & shot it white with gloss pearlcoats (rattle cans) & ignored its slight blue tint. It was painted GAWDAWFUL RED for the 1959 movie 'It started with a kiss' because the pearlescent finish did not photograph well.

George Barris bought it for a song, due to monies owed him (& Barris Kustoms), but the Futura was never titled, & therefore uninsurable. It sat rotting in his back lot until 1965, until the upcoming BATMAN T.V. series foresaw the need for a BATMOBILE! Remembering the fin-laden Futura, & realizing it wouldn't take much, Barris presented a modified 'bat-trimmed' sketch of the FUTURA, was contracted to build it, & only had 3 weeks to do it! He sub-contracted stylist Dean Jefferies, who whipped up the BATMOBILE.

The long chrome strips on each side of the model, cover where the body halves come together - SWEET! The 'Futura' nose script is molded so faint, It is almost impossible to bring out, as were the gear indicator lights on top of the dash that I just had to paint in. The domes on top are supposed to be a compass in front of the driver, & a clock in front of the passenger, but Jezz - gimme a break!

The roll-up access doors in the dash are molded in the up position to see the climate controls, radio, etc. The 2-Pc. plastic tires are painted Testors 'rubber' & whitewalled.

There was no warpage in any of the body pieces, so if you take care when gluing/aligning the body, it comes together as a pretty smooth, historical build, Although with the half-cowled front fenders its turning radius must've been terrible (ala Phantom Corsair syndrome) Good thing Barris opened up the wheel wells (among other mods) & created the unforgettable BATMOBILE, which in my book, is the ONLY Batmobile that matters--not those SCREWY (Bat-missle?!-only-room-for-Batman, Etc.) ones from the movies.

Click on the image above to SUERPSIZE it!

Click on the image above to SUPERSIZE it!

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