1940 Batmobile N8mobile, part 6

Life happens, and in the middle of me having lots of fun, I got Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and stopped all my fun projects cold in their tracks in Jan. of 2020! You thought your year was bad? But I did actually make some progress on my bat car so here’s a long over due update on my tribute to the bat cars of the 1940’s.

Added the Bat-eye lights and tried them out! Used to terrify cowardly criminals!

Hopefully as my health returns and help arrives, I will have more updates to share. It’s registered and street legal, but I still have the big fin to add, and figure out how I get into my trunk! To the Batmobile, Robin, we haven’t a moment to lose!

Nate Truman’s starcarcentral.com in the Hollywood Christmas Parade 2012

The biggest group of movie and TV star cars ever assembled for a parade in the world!

Star Car Central update! See famous movie and TV cars in August 2011~ to the batmobile!

OK star car fans, I have been asked to post more info on where we will be appearing so here ya go! Here’s the line up for the rest of August!

This Saturday Aug. 20, 2011 join Nate Truman and a big chunk of the Star Car Central gang for a  FUND RAISER for a  youth center in Montery Park.

Show Time: 3pm to 9pm

Location: Praise Alive Worship Center 201 S. New Ave., Monterey Park, Ca. 91755

Star Cars Confirmed so far:

1) Paul – BTTF DeLorean

2) Jason – Ratchett

3) Brian – Herbie or Bond

4) Oscar – Magnum PI

5) Jason – Herbie

6) Jon – Bumblebee

7) Sue – Get Smart

7) Ari – Jurasic Park Jeep

8) Mark – Adam 12

9) Alex – KITT

10) Nate in Batmobile! He’s actually going to bring it out of the garage, even after getting the right rims on his A-Team van! (I’ll believe it when I see it!)

So join us for some music and star car fun this Saturday!

Then on Sunday

AUG 21ST SUNDAY  SCC-SD CHARGER STEVE’S WILD RIDES AND CLASSIC CARS 6AM  
 This Sunday, if you are in the San Diego area, check out these SCC member’s cool movie and TV car rides!

http://www.chargersteve.com/pb/wp_8ca66bb4.html?0.31193643528426784
   BRIAN HERBIE OR BOND
JENNIFER KITT
LEE GENERAL LEE
STEVE SCOOBY DOO
MIKE TOWMATER
ARI JURRASIC PARK

TONY BANDIT

RICHARD PETTY CAR

Bikini Contests, star cars and great San Diego weather, what more do you want? Check it out!Aug 28th SUNDAY this yr. 9-4 ANIMAL ADOPTION EVENT
Ventura County Animal shelter. event is on August 28.At the shelter in the Camerillo Airport.This will be our 7th year and anywhere from 150-200 animals find homes that day. Event is located at: 600 aviation drive in Camarillo.

The shelter is located on the property of the Camarillo Airport.There will be signs that will be posted they will say adoptathon.Off ramp off the fwy is Los Posas.  Starcars attending as of today: Jon’s Transformer BUMBLEBEE Camaro and Brian’s Die Another Day
007  JAMES BOND CAR!  If you want to adopt a pet and can’t make it, send my pal Craig Nadel an email!

Craig Nadel

ruffbarber@yahoo.com
Thank you for choosing to adopt a special orphan in need of a loving home.
http://www.rescuemeinc.petfinder.com

Aug  31 wednesday SCC-SD Cajon Classic Cruise Star Car Event (The Wed night show) http://downtownelcajon.com/event_ccc.shtml
Back down in San Diego, Charger Steve is lining up some star cars Mid week for all to enjoy!

Gary’s  herbie
Steve Scooby Doo Van
Michael towmater tow truck
Lee      general Lee from Dukes of Hazzard will all be on display!

There are lots of events for the Cajon Cruise, but only this one has star cars!

So come on out and say “HOWDY!”  and bring your camera and friends!

STAR CAR NEWS FROM AROUND THE USA AND THE WORLD! GO TEAM SCC! (THAT’S STAR CAR CENTRAL!)

Starcar fans are all around the world, and starcarcentral.com is trying to keep up with all of our members and chapters so you can find the famous movie and TV car events near you!

One of the most active groups outside of Nate Truman’s  Hollywood division is run by Dee up in the upper left corner of the USA!  He has even started a “starcar Concourse”.  After searching for star cars all over the U.S. Dee and Nate found several owners and they all started hanging out together up north!  So heres the info on their upcoming event!

Its time for the big 5th Annual ‘Star Car Concourse Classic” show at the Americas Car Museum.

The show is always the last Saturday in August, this year the 27th, and is held at the LeMay Museum’s Marymount location in the Tacoma/Spanaway area. This will be a ‘sanctioned’ AMCA event, hosted by the International Movie & TV Vehicle Owners Association and madmaxcars.com. The larger event, the LeMay/Americas Car Museum’s “Openhouse” that we are featured at, is a VERY COOL annual event even if it were not for the moviecars contribution, so it is well worth the trip. You can find the basic details on our events page here: http://www.madmaxcars.com/events.shtml

Then out in the middle of the USA Michael Knight has a great group that is now doing Comic cons and features one of the two original Monkeemobiles!  Here’s a few shots of them sharing the star cars with fans of all shapes and sizes at a recent con!

"Robin, you seem.... Different?"

Original Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson showed up to see and sign the Ghostbuster tribute car (Hey, before you point out it’s not the right body style, not everyone can find a 1959 Mercury Meteor Ambulance, ok? )

Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson and SCC chapter leader Mike Knight!

Everyone had a great time chatting up Ernie about his time as a ghostbuster, and he even signed their car!

"To StarCarCentral.com, thanks for the cool car... what? I don't get to keep it?"

Like I mentioned before, They also have one of the two Monkeemobiles from the old TV series, and it showed up at a live Monkee show!

Well what did you expect them to be rolling in?

Meanwhile, over in Europe, France specifically, Claude has been hosting a great star car get together each year, and it keeps getting bigger each time!

And an article in the french mag “La Vie de l’Auto” The N°1 for the collectors in France! 🙂

Thanks to guys like Michael, Dee, and Claude – fan boys and girls around the US and the world have opportunities to see and get up close to their favorite movie and TV cars!

Where ever there are two or more starcars gathered in the SCC name, you are sure to have a party with some fun loving people!  So to all those who are lovers of cool creations for the screen,

thanks for being part of the star car movement in your neck of the woods!  TO THE BATMOBILE! Transformers, ROLL OUT!   If you see a star car, or better yet, a bunch of them together,

Make sure you say “HI” and tell them you saw them here first!

KITT and Batmobile NOT everyone’s top movie cars! Here’s some rarely talked about star cars!

 

Here is Jim’s list of his favorites, and his reasons for choosing them!

My favorite TV and movie cars: It’s not KITT and the Batmobile

Lists of great movie vehicles are pretty boring because they usually list the same blockbuster choices. Here’s a few from off the beaten path.

YEE-HAW: The General Lee (a ’69 Dodge Charger) takes a ride. (Photo courtesy of CBS)

The next episode of “Hollywood’s Top Ten” (Friday night at 11:30 p.m. Pacific on ReelzChannel) features viewers’ choices for the coolest movie/TV cars, and you know what they’re going to pick: the Batmobiles, the custom Cadillac Ecto-1 from “Ghostbusters,” the jalopy on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” James Bond’s Aston-Martin, KITT from “Knight Rider.”

They wouldn’t give me the whole list — that’s why you tune in — but here are a few of the winners:

• The Trans Am from “Smokey and the Bandit”
• The ’69 Charger from “The Dukes of Hazzard”
• The ’56 Thunderbird from “American Graffiti”

Ho-hum. But there are some less-heralded cars out in movie and TV land, and here are my five, very personal, favorites:

The Saint’s Volvo: The Saint, played by Roger Moore on the 1962-1969 TV show, drove a Volvo 1800S, just like me. Mine was even the same color as his. The Saint was a low-rent James Bond, and the car — a sporty version of the 122S, with nearly identical mechanicals — was no Aston-Martin. The Saint could pursue criminals, but not if they were moving too fast. Switching into “overdrive” provided a powerful visual, but the 1800 topped off around 100 mph. And zero to 60? Well, maybe 11 seconds.

The Alfa-Romeo Duetto from “The Graduate”: Another personal connection because I owned that car’s linear descendant, a 1976 Alfa Spider (with a cut-off Kamm tail instead of the Duetto’s rounded example). Alfa even created a “Graduate” model because of the popularity of the movie and the car’s starring role in pursuit of a stopped wedding, with Dustin Hoffman at the wheel. The exposure garnered by this ’66 Duetto 1600 didn’t save Alfa’s fortunes in the U.S., but it probably postponed the departure for a number of years.

The “Bad Timing” Mercedes: Admittedly not a star movie car, this circa 1959 Mercedes 220S from Nicholas Roeg’s 1980 “Bad Timing” again duplicates one of my own cars — my all-time favorite. It was probably the scene with Denholm Elliot and Teresa Russell, captured in the video below, that stimulated my interest in the car in the first place. Alas, I let mine get away, and now I couldn’t touch a nice one for less than $10,000. If you get a chance, it’s a really good movie (forget what the blurb says) — from the director of “Walkabout” and “Performance.” Kind of hard to find, though.

The “Julie & Julia” Buick: I’d love to own one, but they’re worth $40,000, so it’s not likely anytime soon. The movie’s production designer describes the car as “a 1947 wooded blue Buick station wagon.” It was nicknamed the Blue Flash, and found in France where they filmed much of the movie. Sorry to disagree with Mark Ricker, but I think it’s actually a later car than 1947. Can I suggest that it was actually a 1950 Roadmaster with a 1949-style two-piece windshield? “It could have been Paul and Julia’s original car, as far as we knew,” said Ricker. Maybe.

The 1962 Cadillac Coupe de Ville from “Mad Men”: Don Draper (John Hamm) brings home this beauty in the second season, at his boss’ urging. It’s interesting that there was no product placement here — instead, it’s exactly the right car for the character at that time. It’s the car Don thinks he wants, even though it turns out all wrong for him. This is the pinnacle of  “Standard of Excellence” Cadillacs, for a guy on top of the Madison Avenue nest of snakes. There were some great Cadillac ads in National Geographic around this time. The Draper-type owner was shown heading into a country club with his fur-bearing wife, looking back at the car that his power and prestige had secured for him.

There’s actually an Internet Movie Car Database you can search by make. Have fun with it. Make up your own list and post your choices below in the comments — I’d love to see what you come up with.

Wizard World Comic Convention and Star Car Central.com in Anaheim 3 day eventorama!

Wizard World Conventions are all over the U.S. and Canada and over the last few years I have sent a few area chapter members out to appear with their movie or TV car, mostly on the East Coast and Canada.  But when Adam West and Burt Ward, the original Batman and Robin make a rare appearance here in nearby Anaheim, well the batsignal goes up, and starcars roll out!   More of the original Bat cast was in attendance as well, Lee Meriweather who was catwoman in the Batman Feature film, Malichi Throne who played the villain “False Face” as well as a host of celebrities and artists from all walks of fandom!

Nateman (That’s me!) and my Natemobile were up near the entrance, and right in front of Batman and Robin! Even though I was a bit lonely without my star car pals, it was a fun time meeting all the batfans and helping to raise money for the “Friends of Angels” Autism Camp.  We are in our eighth year and going strong!

Meanwhile, in the back, the rest of the peanut gallery were putting on their own show, and having fun talking to the press and fans!

Paul agreed to a rare interview about his car.... 🙂

When it comes to any comic con, you never know what “crossgeeking” surprises you  will see. (Crossgeeking means a fanatical pursuit or interest in two divergent areas of traditional geekyness, Such as owning a Herbie the Love bug, and also speaking klingon – copyright Nate Truman 2001! Go ahead and google it!) Here is an example that popped up, a Flux Capacitor in a Magnum P.I. Ferrari!

The fans crowded in to see the star cars we had on display, and lots of interviews for various media outlets, both TV and online sites were constantly quizzing the star car owners in front of the cameras.

The crowds were non stop all day long, and everyone had a great time checking out costumes, artists and celebrities that they got to spend time chatting with in person.  Hey, I got to talk with the 80’s Captain America about the release of the new one. Reb Brown is still in great shape and could pick up the shield!

But you can’t see the cars, so here is a shot of the set up before the doors opened up.

Rockin' the 80's... well Herbie spans several decades!

My A-Team van was on display for Friday only, then we swapped out the van for Brian’s James Bond BMW Saturday and Sunday along with three day attenders Oscar and his Ferrari from Magnum P.I. Paul’s BTTF Delorean, Alex’s KITT from Knight Rider and Brian’s Robo-Herbie. (Also there were two classic “Snake and Mongoose” funny cars! )

Being inside with fans who “get” our cars is always a treat. Plus, the fans are a lot more interesting to talk to and people watch at a comic con too!

Even Kermit the Frog came by to do some interviews!

Lots of dinner’s out and buying stuff we just had to have as well as meeting old friends made for a great weekend of fun fandom!

Look for us in November at the Los Angeles Comic Con, Danny’s BTTF Delorean inside at the San Diego Comic Con!  When this many fans line up to see us, well, we are always glad to share our famous movie and TV cars!

Burbank on Parade StarCarCentral.com wins again!

Hey Star Car Fans!

Yes I know I am behind on my blogging! We are having too much fun playing with our toys lately to stop and write about it!  So let’s catch up a bit!  On April 9th, 2011 a BIG group of the ever changing line up of cars at Star Car Central.com showed up to drive in the Burbank Parade!  For the second time in a row, we won our category!  Novelty, Non Commercial!  Not sure if we had any competition, but we won!

We had a few new members, some Burbank locals that rarely come out and a bunch of the “regulars” all lined up once again for a fun parade on a beautiful day!

Our “Banner Girls” lead the way out in front with Sue in Her Get Smart Sunbeam and machine gun!  After a long wait on a beautiful tree lined street we finally got started and the crowd loved seeing all their old “four wheeled friends” from TV and movies from the past!

Here’s a nice shot of Sue with our award banner at the end of the parade!

Paul brought out his “MAD MAX” Interceptor for a rare look at his very rare replicar with right hand drive and meanest looking police car around!

New to our group this year is Stephen and his Jurassic Park Explorer! He is actually more into rock climbing than star cars, but his truck is a crowd pleaser!  We have yet to get Stephen and Ari together, who has a Jurassic park Jeep!

Transformers, assemble!  and then turn off your engines and wait for a bit longer!  John’s BumbleBee Camaro from Transformers is followed by Jason’s “Ratchet” Transformer ambulance from the cartoons! You can also see Tony’s top notch Smokey and the Bandit Trans am and Lou’s Torino from Starsky and Hutch bringing up the rear in the above photo.

Behind Tony is Nate Truman in his new “A-Team” van – this is the last shot of the van before the front push bar and even MORE front lights were added!  “I pity the fool” who doesn’t love Mr. T and his van!

Alex put on his light and sound show with his amazing KITT car from Knight Rider!

Cliff and his son are behind the wheel of their NASCAR inspired Herbie, like in “Herbie, fully loaded”

Oscar’s 308 GTSi Ferrari decked out like in the Magnum P.I. TV show is pretty at any angle!

Charlie brought his Green fastback Mustang like the one Steve McQueen drove in “Bullitt” the dream car of many men in the crowd!

Lou turned on his sirens and police lights and delighted all the “Starsky and Hutch” fans. His “stripped tomato” is a fan favorite!

Paul drove his Back to the Future Delorean with gull wing doors open, and  sounds from the movie blaring! Reba, get that leg back in the car!

Dave and his family tooted out the familiar sounds of “DIXIE” as they displayed their Dukes of Hazzard General Lee Charger!

A few times a year we are always happy to see “the other” batmobile! Tom’s car is sweet and he’s one of the few guys Nate has to chat with about after burners!

You are not seeing double, this is Jason’s “classic” Herbie as the lovable Bug appeared in the early movies! Jason also was running through the cars to get all these photos and did all the paperwork and phone calls so we could all play with our cars down the middle of the street!  Thanks Jason and “Dad” Dave!

Mark with his Adam-12 Cruiser gets extra “good guy” points for coming despite being in terrible pain! His “reward” for his troubles? He started overheating due to the slow speed of the parade! So he switched on his police lights and sirens and tore to the end of the parade to let the car cool down! Thanks for putting yourself through all that!   The crowd loved seeing the car tear down the street and I thought it was the “real” cops behind me – not the “REEL” ones!

I saved Brian’s car for last, as we all were amazed at his latest “upgrade” to his James Bond BMW from Tomorrow Never Dies.  He brought along a pal dressed as Super Spy James Bond, and he pretended to drive the car by remote control, just like in the movie.   No one can accuse Brian of wanting the spotlight, his friend was cool and collected walking down the road while Brian was well, it’s easier to just look at the photo!

Look closely, that seat has HANDS! That’s brian behind his seat disguise driving the car and looking through the headrest!  He truly suffered the heat and uncomfortable ride  to delight the parade goers! Too cool Brian, Aka “Q”!  We never know what gadget he’s going to build next!

True to form, after the parade my “cats” all scrambled off, some went home to get their “meds” others went to “in and out” but most of us made it to dinner to swap stories and catch up on the latest break downs and upgrades to our cars.

Ari couldn’t make it, and a new “mystery” batmobile almost made it in the parade with us but lost his keys to his electrical shut off switch – and by “lost” I mean a fan took the key!  But “G.I. Joe”mobile may be at an event soon!  Thanks to all who came and all the fans who yelled out each theme or show title as they recognized their favorite old car star!

STARCARCENTRAL IS EVERYWHERE THIS WEEKEND! WizardCon Anaheim, Torrance, and Rosemead!

Three, count em, THREE events, 5 days of viewing most of the line up of starcarcentral.com this weekend!

First, you can see Batman and Robin, Adam West and Burt Ward, along with other cast members and tons of stars and cool stuff all three days at the Anaheim WizardCon!  Friday 5-9 pm, Saturday and Sunday all day long! (No Adam and Burt on Sunday, FYI, but the star cars will still be there for you!
APRIL 29-30 – MAY 1st ANAHEIM COMIC CON WIZARD CON
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-anaheim.html
Here’s who’s at the Wizard Con all three days this weekend:
NATE with his  street legal tv style BATMOBILE
PAUL with his  Back to the Future Delorean Time Machine!

BRIAN is bringing his fully robotic ROBO HERBIE the love bug, along with his James Bond BMW with roof rockets!
ALEX is F.L.A.G.’s agent with his super car, KITT from Knight Rider.
and OSCAR will have his 308 GTSi Ferrari decked out just like MAGNUM P.I. !

Then on Saturday, while those guys are still at the Anaheim Convention center,
April 30, 2011  Jennifer and her Super Persuit mode car will be appearing at the
85th Anniversary Celebration of the Volunteer Club
Place:  California Mission INN 8417 Mission Drive, Rosemead, CA 91770
Date:  April 30, 2011
Time: 2pm-6pm
Theme – roaring 20s  !!

If you go to this show, you can see:
jenn and her SPM version of KITT from Knight Rider
gary with his Love bug AKA Herbie
John will bring his tricked out Transformer Camaro Bumble Bee
and Mark will be displaying his Adam-12 police cruiser as well!
mike will be showing his “CARS” tribute to “Towmater” too!  There’s even a rumor that the HOFF himself might make and appearance!
There will be food, entertainment, dancers, the car show and a raffle –

That wraps up April, but Sunday is
MAY!

MAY 1 REVVED UP FOR KIDS EDELBROCK SHOW
Sunday May 1, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM PDT
Vic’s Garage
510 Madrid St
Torrance, CA  90503

So on Sunday you can check out the rest of the gang in Torrance!

At this show, scheduled to appear with their movie and TV cars are:

CLIFF with his HERBIE Fully loaded NASCAR Love Bug
GARY with the more classic HERBIE
charlie with his Green Mustang fastback from the Steve McQueen movie, BULLITT
JASON and his one of a kind Transformer cartoon tribute to RATCHET
CHUCK with his award winning ROD RIGUEZ custom rod
JOE with his transformer camaro BUMBLEBEE (SECOND MOVIE)
VIC with his BLUES BROTHERS car
LOU with his STARSKY and HUTCH Torino.
J RYAN BTTF may be there as well with his Time Machine Delorean!
You would think that would be enough, but then the next weekend another big appearance! So if you are busy this weekend, come see all the great collectibles and toys at Frank and Sons!

MAY 7th FRANK AND SONS SHOW    enjoy too many toys and collectibles  assembled under one roof!
Frank and Son
Star Car Central Show
19649 San Jose Ave.
City of Industry, CA 91748
9:00am to 5:00pm
So if you want to come see the cars all in a pile indoors, this is the one to come to!

OSCAR – MAGNUM P.I. Ferrari
PAUL – BTTF Delorean
NATE – 60’s TV style  BATMOBILE
BRIAN – JAMES BOND BMW
JON – BUMBLEBEE from Transformers
JASON – RATCHET  also a transformer
JERRY – HERBIE THE LOVE BUG
ALEX – KITT KNIGHT RIDER

The more we do, the less I have time to blog and tell our fans about it! So there are the facts!

A new Batmobile in London?

He is the iconic Caped Crusader who has starred in comic books, television series and film franchises for the last 70 years.

Now Batman is making his stage debut in one of the most lavish theatrical productions ever to appear in London, at The O2 arena. Gotham City will be brought to life in Batman Live, with a huge stage lit up by a dazzling display of pyrotechnics and special effects.

Today the villains that Batman and sidekick Robin will face during the show were unveiled as the Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Catwoman. Creative director Anthony Van Laast, who has worked on West End shows and Hollywood movies including the latest Harry Potter, said: “It’s got stunts, it’s got Batman flying, it’s a big lavish spectacular – this is going to be a really good piece of theatre.”

The Dark Knight will be helped by a brand new Batmobile created by Formula One designer Professor Gordon Murray, which will drive on to the stage before skidding to a halt.

A 100ft screen shaped like a bat will act as a backdrop for the special effects, and characters will be able to fly around the set thanks to a grid suspended above the stage. It will also include an action sequence where the Joker tries to escape in a hot air balloon, only to be shot down in flames.

The story of Batman Live follows the young Dick Grayson, a circus performer whose parents are murdered, and how he becomes Batman’s sidekick
Robin.

It will tour the world for five years!

For more details go to batmanlive.com.

But batman the musical idea has been around a while, and even was featured in one of the Batman:The animated series episodes!

Take a look! One of my favorite clips!

Batmobile design contest winner! Batman gets a new set of wheels

Everyone knows the coolest set of batwheels is the original TV style crimes stopping machine featured in the 60’s TV series. (Yes, I am biased, but I am also right!)   But everything eventually needs to be redesigned and updated, right? So a website dedicated to car design put out a contest to see what artist thought the next Batmobile should look like!

As seen in a previous post, the batmobile has had a lot of different looks.  With the third Dark Knight movie in the works there is also a lot of internet chatter about what the next batmobile will look like in the next installment, after the Tumbler was destroyed in the last movie.  Here are a few ideas artists have come up with for the future set of wheels for the worlds greatest detective! These are all submissions to a contest for a new batmobile design. If you want to read more about the contest, you can go HERE but if you just want to see the cool designs, read on!

Let me know which one you want to be Batman’s next Crime stopping transportation! Click on the smaller photos if you want to take  a closer look!

Each design is a unique look at form and function for a man with a quest that requires both elements to be incorporated into his “daily driver”!

There were many submissions but only one could be the winner.  See if you can pick out what was chosen! Here’s a hint, it has design elements from the most famous incarnation of the batmobile!

So you made it to the end, and now you want to know the winner? Well, I did give you two pretty big hints!  First, I said it looked like the most famous batmobile, which of course is the TV series classic!

Then, I also posted the winning design bigger than all the rest  at the top of the blog!  🙂  Hey, you still had fun looking at cool car designs no matter what. TO THE BATMOBILE!!!!