New BATMAN EVOLUTION Message Board - FRENCH LANGUAGE

This post is a shout-out to all our French-Speaking Friends out there! A Bat-Blog Fan named Damien just told us about a very cool Batman Fan Message Board called "BATMAN EVOLUTION". Now, the thing is, it's totally in French. Damien is French but lives in Australia and decided to creat this forum for sharing "Batman" information. So, if you live in France, or speak French, then please be sure to check it out, just click HERE!

New BATMAN TOYS - 18" Mega Scale Mez-Itz Figure by Mezco!

The Mezco Toy Company has announced a brand-new BATMAN MEGA SCALE MEZ-ITZ FIGURE that will be 18 Inches Tall! It's way bigger than previous versions ( 2" and 6" ) and will come in 2 color variations: Limited Edition Black and Gray and Ultra Rare Variant Limited Edition Blue and Grey ( I like the blue one the best ). He features a real cloth cape and 5 points of articulation. Now, before you fall in love, the retail price will be around $200.00, OUCH! This new toy will premiere at the world famous San Diego Comic Con ( 2011 SDCC ) but will also be available at the Official MEZCO Website, click HERE!

Vintage Batman Toys - Cheesy Carded Rack Toys From The 70's

If you have ever read the Bat-Blog for a few days or longer then you know I love the Batman Toys, ha! I like everything from the 60's all the way to today. But the stuff that's the most special to me is the merchandise made in the 1970's. You see, I was born in 1964 so I remember most of the bat-products on the shelves around that time. I guess you could say they were "the toys of my childhood". So, I'm sort of nostalgic for them. Now, in the 70's there was a "retail-marketing thing" called RACK TOYS. They were usually extremely cheesy plastic toys that were sold inside a clear bubble-pack on a thin-cardboard header card.










You would see them all the time at Grocery Stores, Drug Stores, & especially 7-Eleven! They were inexpensive & some modern-day Toy Collectors call them "Shut-Up Toys". You know, you would whine that you wanted it & Mom would say, "OK, here, get this one & be quiet!", ha ha! So, this post is dedicated to those wonderful collectibles from the past. Most of the photos are pretty self-explanatory so I'll just let you check them out. Also, if you have any special memories of this stuff then please share.

The BAT-BLOG Batman Fan Site Is Three Years Old Today!!

I couldn't sleep tonight & at about 2:30am I suddenly realized, "Oh Man, Today is the 3rd Anniversary of The Bat-Blog!! So, to commemorate this fact I thought I would post this wacky-fun graphic a friend sent to me recently. His name is Mark & he took a picture of Robin I had here & made this funny "Motivational Poster". As soon as I saw it I totally cracked up, HA HA HA! Plus, it was a very touching gesture to see somebody actually care about this stupid blog! OK, I think I'm gonna go try to get some sleep now & when I post later today it will be the 1st day of my 4th year. Also, I want to thank everybody who keeps reading this site. I really hope you enjoy it at times & it brightens your day. Thanks.

Reference Guide: 1966 OFFICIAL BATMAN UTILITY BELT By IDEAL

I have a good friend named Chaz who is a major Batman Toy Collector and his main focus is the Vintage Batman Toys made by Ideal in the 1960's. Over the years he has acquired a few different Official Batman Utility Belts ( Ideal ©1966 ) & he wanted to share the information with Bat-Blog Readers. Now, as a collector myself I knew there were a few minor variations. But, not as many as Chaz as discovered, it's crazy! OK, it's gonna be a lot easier if I just allow him to explain the information so this is what he wrote to me recently:



Yes, I found many variations to the Bat-Gun Launcher. One has black holes, some have no bat, with an all gray diamond rigged handle. One has a red trigger with no bat, one has a black nose, etc... There's 7 different versions of the gun. I'm missing one...the one with the red trigger WITH the bat.



The Bat-Signal Flashlight was Red or Yellow vinyl with embossed X's on the body, then there's a hard plastic square body version w/translucent cap and aluminum switch. And the most rare is the metal one with the bat airbrushed to the body and the caps came in purple, black, and red...most Bat collectors don't know that the stub at the top where the ball chain runs through doesn't move...the top part is not a button or switch to turn on the light..it does not move. and there's no switch on the metal lights..so when there was a battery in those for use..they ran dead. so when the battery ran out, the kids tossed it, making it very rare and Ideal switched to the plastic & vinyl flashlights.



I got the purple cap flashlight for just $9.99 on eBay in 2004...the dealer didn't know what they had, it was listed as a Bat Light Key Chain! ...no mention of 1966 or Ideal Utility Belt, as it's an unmarked piece. It was the happiest day of my collecting life..I think. But then I went to the Goodwill Fashions Store in Bensalem, PA and found the black cap metal light for 47 cents! They must have thought it was a Halloween flashlight, LOL!



Oh yes, the white belt is a prototype belt and the raised copyright information on the back, the lettering is different than the final product. And with that belt was the Grappling Hook in translucent white and Batarang also in translucent white and Batcuffs outlined in white..these were never played with, left in pristine mint condition.



One of the sets has a rarer version of the belt, where Ideal cut of the loop that holds the Bat-Rope and in it's place they punched a hole near the Bat-storage pouch, and hung another metal clasp ( like the 2 on the other side ) to carry the rope.



There's 3 versions of the Dummy Transmitter ( buckle decal ) one with squares, and one with dots, and it's got a section factory cut out at the top for your thumb, when you go to open the buckle. Then there's a smoother finish tin foil Bat Radio..which they called it sometimes.



In one pic is the rare silver logo Helmet w/Cape.



There's the Helmet in the package with the header card which is extremely rare, unlike the more common solid box. and behind it is the most recent set I bought in an original box..I have 2 original boxes, one of my boxes has rice paper overlays & light color touch up because it was restored. One of my boxes I reproduced myself ten years ago. I think there could be less than 20 boxes known to exist. I have counted only 15.



The Batman Message Sender ( dart bomb ) came with a black or red dart shaft.



The set pictured in your cool top ten list has the more rare Equipment Set Belt, it is more flexible, the Batrope loop is different and most importantly, it has no puncher holes for staples to mount it to the cardboard insert tray.



Whew! That's a ton of great information Chaz! I know that many serious toy collectors are gonna really appreciate that, I do. This one example of a Vintage Batman Toy is a total classic! For many collectors this Bat-Belt ( in the original box of course ) is the Holy Grail! In fact, I don't have one of these at all & have been looking for years. Thank you for taking the time to take all these photos & write the info down, I really appreciate that, thank you. It's insane how many variations there are!

BATMAN COLLECTOR in GERMANY Sends Awesome Batman Collection Photos!

I recently got an e-mail from a reader named Iris who wrote, "I'm a Batman-Collector from Germany. The Bat-Blog Site is very good. Here I send you some Photos of my Batman-Item`s. I collect Batman-Item`s from the whole world. I buy Batman-Item`s in America through eBay. My English is not so good, but I hope you understand what I mean." Yes, Iris. I understand. Your English is very good. I understand how hard it is to communicate in another language that you do not speak & I appreciate your effort, good job. WOW! It looks like you have an amazing collection! ( Readers, please click on the above photos for larger versions where you can see a lot of neat stuff ). I recognize a lot of it as American but you also have a nice selection of foreign toys as well. I see a lot of French items, that's cool. These photos are great & thanks again for communicating with us. Please stay in touch. I want to invite ALL the Batman Collectors from around the world to please send us photos of your collections. Sharing the fun of this hobby is what the Bat-Blog is all about!

THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie BURGER KING FAST FOOD TOYS Appearing in Germany!!

Here in the USA we don't have any THE DARK KNIGHT Movie Fast Food Toys but they will have some in Germany! BURGER KING Restaurants in Germany will have 6 different Batman "The Dark Knight" Kids Meal Toys to collect! There is the "Batarang Launcher, Batman Frisbee, Light-Up Bat-Signal, Batman Action Figure, Tumbler Batmobile Car, & Batman Scanner"!! Sorry if I mis-spelled some of the names because I don't speak or read German! Personally I am really excited about this, at least for the fans in Germany, it's awesome! Thank you Norbert for sending me the news, I appreciate that!

THE DARK KNIGHT Merchandise & New Batman Toys Gallery!

OK, it's time again to check out some of the brand-new merchandise that's being made for THE DARK KNIGHT Batman movie! I have a theory that there will be so much cool memorabilia for this film that you won't be able to go anywhere & not see it! Just wait, in a month or 2, it's gonna be BATMAN and JOKER EVERYWHERE! The 1st example is the Scarecrow Action Figure from the Movie Masters toy line. Their stuff has been very good quality & the detailing on their action figures are pretty nice, very well-sculpted. This one of Professor Jonathan Crane in his Scarecrow costume looks great! The next item looks pretty cool too. It's the "BATTLE ZONES Playset" which is a Tumbler Batmobile Car that transforms into a Gotham City Play Set. It comes with 2 action figures of Batman & The Joker plus the "City" features 4 locations to play in. The 3rd piece of Bat-goodness is an "Ultra-Blaster Belt". It's two-toys-in-one. It's a BAT-BELT to wear & then you take it off & transform it into an "Auto-Fire Blaster". Is it gonna shoot water? Anyway, it also includes a Batman Cape! The last photo I posted for fun but it's gonna be a real set of "Dog Costumes" by the Rubie's Costume Company. You can dress-up your pooch as either The Joker or The Dark Knight, ha ha ha!

THE New DARK KNIGHT BATMAN Bat-Pod Toy Reminds Me of...

Anybody who grew up during the 1970's had, or knew a kid that had, the Evel Knievel Stunt Show Bike Playset!! This vintage toy is a certified classic! It was made by Ideal & basically it was a toy motorcycle with "action figure" doll of Evel Knievel that had a special hand-crank launcher. You locked the bike into it, gave a few cranks, hit a button, & zzzoooommm! off it went! I had one as a kid & played with it for many hours. It was a highly successful toy line in the 70's & was even recently reproduced. OK, this brings me to the photo of the new Batman Bat-Pod Batcycle toy ( from the Dark Knight movie )you see in the photo. Notice any resemblance?! I have 2 nephews & I know I'm gonna have to get them one of these, it looks very cool! Of course I'm gonna have to get me one too, Mint In Box of course!

VIDEO: Hot Wheels 1:18 Scale 1966 TV Batmobile Car ~ First Look

Our friend at "Scooter's Custom Works" created this really neat video showing him getting the new 1:18th Scale TV Batmobile from Hot Wheels. He pulls it right out of the case, opens the box, then gives you a great visual of the entire car...nice! It gives you a very good idea what the toy looks like.

BATMAN TOY COLLECTION: A View From A Bat-Blog Reader's Desk!

An everyday reader of the Bat-Blog, named Brian, sent us this very cool photo showing what his office space looks like. I know it's kinda weird but I love to see other people's "desk spaces". As a writer of this blog I always wonder what readers look like or "where they read the Bat-Blog", ha ha! If ya think about it it's kind of surreal. We get 800+ visitors a day so that's a lot of people to think about. So, if you can, please send us a photo of your office space....that would be awesome! Oh yeah, back to Brian's photo. The space looks pretty clean & well organized, it's nothing like my pit! Plus, ya gotta love all the great Batman Memorabilia! The HUGE 30" Tall Batman, right behind the monitor, is extremely cool! Thank you for sending this picture Brian, it's a very nice space & you have some really nice Bat-stuff. My only problem is you don't seem to be displaying Bat-Blog Wallpaper on your monitor, ha ha ( Just Kidding )!