Moebius Models The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman with Bat-Pod "COMPLETED"

Oright!

I've built the 1/25 Bat-Pod and looked at sprue shots and i-sheets of this kit. Seems to be a scaled up version exactly. 

My advise (I know it wasn't even asked for) is to build and add the figure rider while building the Bat-Pod and not later. 

Also, grind down the ribs on the outer surface of the wheel rims to avoid damage to the rubber tires when you push them on 

I'll be watching this build 

Yeah, the Catwoman/Bat-Pod kit is 1/18 scale.

Actually the instructions suggest adding Catwoman as the final step but adding her along with the handle bars thus fitting the hand grips and handle bars to Catwoman and then attaching it all to the Bat-Pod. So that's similar to what you suggested.

I'll keep that in mind about the wheels. I remember the Tumbler had the same ribs. I left them as is and didn't have any trouble with them damaging the tires but when putting the tires on they ended up getting a little stretched and didn't fit as snug around the rims as it seemed they should. This was especially the case with the rear wheels. Thanks for your response.

I'd take Sprue's advice.I built the 1/25 Bat Pod and totally agree with him.I'll be watching this one.

Yeah the tires are definitely going to have a tight fit over those ribs. I tried pushing one of the rims up against the tire without pushing it all the way on and I saw how it could definitely  tear the tire. I hate the idea of filing the ribs down because they are the only thing that will hold the tire in place and keep it from sliding from side to side and off the rim. That was a small problem I ran into with the Tumbler's front wheels. Of course once I got it together they stay in place okay. I'll probably just place a drop or two of CA between the rim and tire.

As far as the figure goes I'm more concerned with painting it than I am fitting it on the Pod. I don't want to paint it with the handle grips already attached to the hands so I will probably assemble it except for the arms and paint it, drybrush it lightly to enhance definition, attach the hand grips to the hands and then the arms to the figure. I dry fit the figure together and fortunately the arms and legs attach to the body almost perfectly. I was amazed. The seams were almost nonexistent.  And I'm anal when it comes to making glue seams and mold lines disappear. I think once it is painted the seams will be difficult to see.

I haven't built the bat Pod but in the past, when I've had trouble with tight tires it helped to heat the tires so they would flex/stretch a bit easier. I just dropped them in hot hot water. It's worked for me in the past with some cars and motorcycles but I don't know how tight the pod tires are

.... for what it's worth.

Gerry, I thought about doing the same thing. The wheels on the Tumbler are the same way and those ribs were the only thing to keep the tires from sliding from side to side without using CA. Of course, on the Tumbler, when I forced the big monster tires over the rear rims they stretched a little and never really returned to their original size. You could actually easily turn the tires on the rim. But this wasn't really an issue in appearance.

The chassis assembly through the first four steps.

It went together pretty much without a hitch, except....

....for the oil tank.

The hole that the pin on the bottom of the tank locates into needed to be opened up a little more but I didn't realize this until after the frame halves were assembled. It was difficult to get to so I just cut the pin off the tank and glued it straight to the frame.

I added parts from one more assembly step then gave it a coat of Vallejo flat black and then began adding some subtle weathering with Vallejo Dark Grey, Neutral Grey, and Burnt Blue and Gun Metal from Tamiya Weathering Master kits.

looking good!

The "oil tank" part didn't fit 'right' on the 1/25 Bat-Pod either. Good solution you discovered

Any updates on this bad boy?

Yeah. I haven't worked on it in a few days but tonight and tomorrow night are off nights from work. Working the graveyard shift, for 10 and 11 hours a day, is finally getting the best of me and thankfully I'm going to be working straight days after the first of the year so things should be getting better soon. So, I'm going to work on it some more in a little bit. I've added a little bit more since the last pics I posted and the next assembly steps are getting a little more critical as far as making sure the parts are lined up right. I'll post pics in a little while and show where I'm at. Stay tuned.

I love an all-nighter at the bench.

Hold on now! I'm not going to be pulling an all-nighter at my bench but I will try to get in some more build time for the rest of the evening.

The next assembly is step CRITICAL!

The proper alignment of the FRONT CHASSIS SUSPENSION ARM and the LOWER STEERING BAR must be assured so that other parts that attach to them later will also be properly aligned. 

One of the parts to be attached later is the STEERING CONNECTOR. This part is attached in the following assembly step. I decided to attach this part at the same time that I attached the steering bar and suspension arm so that all three parts would be correctly aligned with each other as well as the rest of the vehicle. And, attaching the connector earlier than called for doesn't affect assembly of parts in the following step.

How sturdy is this kit? The 1/25 kit is quite fragile.

It seems pretty sturdy. And that's probably because it's bigger.

I know a lot of guys on here use Alclad to get really good metallic finishes on their builds. And as I understand it, you have to lay down a base coat of gloss black before applying the metallic finish for it to look right. I don't know this from experience because I've never used Alclad. I also don't know if that procedure only pertains to Alclad metallics or if it applies to any brand metallic paint whether it be enamels or acrylics. I thought I would try a similar procedure with Vallejo acrylic paint. But instead of applying a base coat of gloss black paint a clear coated the part with a couple coats of Future since the model is already molded in black. Then came a coat of Vallejo silver. I don't know if this is how it should look or if it would look the same regardless of the color of the base coat and whether or not it was a gloss base coat but, I'm pleased with how it came out. It's virtually flawless...no blemishes or dust particles trapped in the paint. And the paint went on smooth as silk. I'm happy.

That looks totally smooth.

BTW, on this kit, did the Front Chassis part fit correctly into the key way of the Frame Halves part? I had to drill and trim a little on my 1/25 version

SprueOne, I'm assuming the part you are referring to is either one of the two I highlighted here. 

The connector tube didn't cause much trouble. It went together and attached to the side of the frame without much problem. 

The horizontal connector, however, posed a little bit of  problem connecting to the tube. It has a little key or tab that fits into a notch in the end of the connector tube. The tab and notch weren't really the problem. The end of the tube would start so far into the horizontal connector and then stop. I think the hole in the horizontal connector  has a little bit of a taper allowing the tube to only go in so far. I had to trim both parts a little until they fit together right. It wasn't a huge deal, though.

yes, this is exactly what I referring to. Ok, problem solved

Nice job on the metallic finish.I drybrushed mine with Citadel Colour metallic.

Your 1/25 Pod looks good. And thanks for the compliment. I continue to be satisfied with Vallejo acrylics and the Neo for Iwata airbrush I'm currently using. The finish I achieved on the engine cover may be the best results I've ever had with metallic paint or any color paint for that matter. I have to credit much of that success to the paint and the airbrush since my skill with an airbrush is only so-so.

At this point, with the engine cover and saddle attached, it looks like some strange bug.

I finally got to use the cutoff saw I got from Micro-Mark a few months ago.

I cut the tubing I'm going to use to make the axle for the front wheel. The kit comes with an axle(the black piece in the third pic) but I decided to use tubing to make a channel for routing the wiring for the light from the right side. However, I decided not to install lights because the lights I ordered from Walthers are more of a soft white rather than the cool white like those I installed on the Tumbler and it would be more of a headache than I want to deal with right now to attach the wires along the chassis in a way that will not be easily noticed. I guess Catwoman will have to ride it during the day.

The shorter piece press fits into the wheel and acts as a bushing for the feel to rotate around the longer axle tubing that will press fit into the left and right munitions clusters.

Since I'm not installing lights the tubular axle was not necessary but I decide to go with it anyway just to get a little practice at scratch building(if it can be called that) and improving a model.

I must say that the wheel turns right nicely.

Oh good grief. Where it says, "...bushing for the feel...," it should be 'wheel.' I've gotta pay closer attention to what I'm typing.

A coat of silver paint for the munitions clusters. One little step further.

You're lighting this one up too?