Just a regular old 'novelty' coffee-mug, until..... (OR--- the 'MAD-scientist' strikes AGAIN!)--

Once again, here at the 'ol  blog-a-wog-a-ding-dang, I'm featuring an item I've customized, featuring the 'Caped Crusader'. Batman being pretty much my ALL-TIME favorite fictional character, I guess that shouldn't be too surprising----to any of you who've been following along with me here, at least!

The focus this time around, is on a REALLY odd-ball item I received a number of years back. It's been enough years ago, in fact, that I don't remember if it was a B-day, OR a Christmas gift. But  I DO know that it was from some of my in-laws, who are ALL pretty familiar with the stuff I'm all GEEKY about-- including 'Ol Batsy! Now, when I say odd-ball, I really mean.... ODD-BALL----

The 'Micheal Keaton'-Batman-3D-mug, (I believe it was part of the 'Bat-merchandising-avalanche'--that came with the release of 'Batman Returns', in 1992!) as it looked when I originally got it! Check out the WEIRD, 'glassy-eyed' stare! (pun FULLY intentional!)

For a number of years, this strange, but 'cool-in-a-goofy-kinda-way' item sat on my desk, functioning as a pen-and-pencil holder. This was how it pretty much looked for quite a chunk of time!-----

Now, in more recent years, the 'Keaton-mug' ended up being shuffled into a box---along with other odd-ball items I either couldn't figure out exactly WHAT to do with, or they just took up a little too much space! (This mug fit into BOTH of those categories!) Then, around a month or so back.... I began to think about this odd little piece of 'Bat-bric-a-brac', and my old 'mad scientist'-mentality took over!

'What IF....' I thought to myself...' I could turn this thing into some sort of 'mini-bust'? OR... at least maybe 'fill-out' the top portion of it's 'skull'--- make something like a neat-o paperweight out of it or... something! (Hey--- inspiration / 'mad-scientist'-type-thoughts aren't always crystal-clear!)

So..... after mulling it over for a bit, I started gathering up the little bit of material I'd need for this latest project!----

Two chunks of styrofoam material. this was snagged at the local 'Dollar-Tree' store. This stuff could be easily 'carved' and shaped into the 'missing' portion of  the 'Bat-skull'! I originally grabbed two, just in case I messed up on the first attempt!

'E-6000' multi-purpose glue.This is THE glue to use, for this kind of project! It dries ROCK-hard, and pretty  much will LOCK any kind different of materials together---PERMANENTLY!

Not exactly the FIRST stuff you'd think of, when your'e gonna tackle some sort of 'sculpture'-type of project! But, plastic wood-filler has worked GREAT on a couple of other little things I've tinkered on, up in the 'Secret Sanctum'! This time, I ended up utilizing nearly an ENTIRE tube of the stuff!

Then came the 'getting-down-to-business' part of the deal! Over the better part of roughly a week or so--- I carefully & patiently worked on turning the former 'mug', into something COMPLETELY different! Here's a little diagram of  what it took to turn a 'mug', into the 'Bat-noggin'!---

Then.... roughly around the 'half-way' point of this little effort, I had another jolt of  'Mad-scientist'-type of inspiration! Why NOT--- add a little MORE to this thing? Make it a REAL, legit, 'mini-bust'!--

It's a good thing I had TWO pieces of that styrofoam! Did I mention I was doing this WHOLE project on a SUPER-tight budget? (As is USUALLY the case with me!)

Finally, once I was satisfied with how the 'Dark Knight' was looking from ALL angles--- it was time to start throwing some paint onto this bad-boy! This was the most FUN part for me!

All along, I planned on the likeness to be based on the comics of the late-'50s / early '60s! With maybe just a hint of the way the character looked, in the opening credits of a certain CLASSIC TV show from my childhood! (any guesses as to just WHAT that program might be?)---

Needless to say, I'm proud-as-can-be, of how this latest 'Bat-customizing-project' turned out! I now have yet another item I can look at, up in the 'Crime Fighting Headquarters'--- that brings a smile to my face! Isn't THAT what being all GEEK-A-ZOID about something is all about?

Smokey the 'lucky' cat, and Emma the mini-schnauzer---R.I.P.

Smokey, one of our 'survivor cats'--A few years back.She was sort of our 'rescue animal', who had been treated pretty rough by a previous owner! We found her here on the property we currently live on, a number of years back--- with a broken tail, mangled ear, and nearly starved to death! She later even survived the loss of her right eye! Her nick-name truly should've been 'LUCKY'!

Miss Emma, our mini-schnauzer, in happier, healthier times!

It's been a rough past couple of months, for some of our animal friends, here at 'Supreme Ferrell Headquarters'! All of us being pet-lovers around here, we've ALWAYS had a mix of dogs and cats as part of the family.

At one point in fact,during our time living at the place where we've currently lived, for just over 12 years--- we actually had 5 dogs and 4 cats all at once!  Smokey--- the gray kitty pictured above, and Emma-- the mini-schnauzer up there, were two of our 'long-time residents' around here!

We've lost both of them in the past few weeks. Smokes back in July, and Miss Emma just today. They both were 'getting up there' in years! Smokey was at least 12, and Emma around 16. So, they BOTH led long, active lives. But--- the past few months had been hard on both of them, with various age-related health problems and issues hitting them pretty hard.

Even knowing they both lived long lives, it's STILL tough to lose a couple of our LONG-TIME canine / feline family members! We still have the other two doggies-- Dino, our lab-pit-bull mix, and Waldo, a little chihuahua-weener-dog-mix--- not to mention the four cats (not all of the same 'original 4', of course!) that live here! But--- the 'extended four-legged-family' is a little smaller now, and these two will certainly be missed! Rest well, my little friends--- you will ALWAYS be remembered!

Now for some completely SILLY & GOOF-BALL STUFF!!!---

Just for some grins & giggles, let's have a look-see at the 'Ham-bone' experts--- doing what they did BEST!---

---AND.... in something of a 'related' note, of over all just plain 'ol SILLINESS!! The ONE, the ONLY--- 'Looney Tunes Rubber Band'!!!---

If at least SOME of the above wasn't funny to you--- you simply MUST be DEAD!

Customizing or creating my OWN version(s) of a 'certain BAT-type vehicle', in small-scale!

As all who visit this blog-type-thang-a-ma-jang with ANY kind of regularity know, 'ol Loydster has had a LIFE-LONG love-affair with the Caped Crusader's 'Bat-themed-ride'! In fact, besides all the numerous scale-models, toys, and other kinds of replicas (of ALL sorts of different scales!) in my collection--- I also have a few that I've either customized, or completely crafted myself (from 'generic'-model cars or old toys as the 'raw material' of course! My skills aren't THAT good!). Let's have a little look-see at those 'personalized' Bat-rides, shall we?----

First up, is the one I call the 'Bat-racer', simply because I based it off of a (roughly 1/24 scale) little cheap (it cost me a BUCK at an 'everything-for-a-dollar' store!) toy Can-Am-style race car! The 'Bat-head' on the hood, as well as the 'fins' on the rear fender-tops, are actually sections from the hoods of other old model cars that I had stashed in a box of spare model-parts that I used to keep around for just this sort of project!

I saw this little toy race-car, and even though it wasn't even BLACK (OR dark blue either!), it just seemed to be saying to me: 'turn me into a REALLY ZOOPED-out version of the Batmobile'! This one was one of my earliest efforts, done back in the mid-90s.

This is the one I've always referred to, as the 'hybrid' - Batmobile! Of course, that's because it's based off of a slightly 'cartoony'-looking version of the ride from the '89 movie. It's a larger-scale (big enough to put 3 to 4 inch action-figures into, roughly 10-11 inches long) model, that started out as a fairly thrashed electronic / gadget-filled kids toy.

 None of the gadgets worked anymore at the time I found it, so--- I gutted it of all the (non-working anyway!) electronics / gadgets, replaced the (GOOFY-looking, WAY-too-STUBBY) rear-fender-fins, with some old action-figure doo-dads I had lying in yet ANOTHER box I had, filled with that kind of  odd-ball stuff. Throw on some semi-gloss black paint, and gun-metal-gray metallic for the 'details', and 'WHAM'! One pretty cool, zoopy-looking custom-type Bat-ride!

This little (1/24 scale) number, of COURSE, represents the 'early' (1940, without the red stripe down the side---like in the later comics in the 40s) version of the comics-based Batmobile! The body lines on the snap-together 'low-rider'-custom model kit, that this one is based on, were almost EXACTLY right! Very LITTLE customizing was needed on the body.

In fact, all that was needed, were the 'Bat-head' for the front--again, done with old hood-sections from other scrapped-models (this ALSO worked for the fender-skirts for the front wheel-wells!). Then, little 'flex-pipes' for the sides of the hood (made from sections of round, scrap-pieces of plastic!), AND-- utilizing one of the fins that I'd taken from the 'hybrid' Batmobile I'd recently customized-- one 'central'-fin for the 'top / rear' of the car-- and 'AL-A-KAZAM'! One 'early-1940s-version' of the comic book Bat-ride now resided in my collection!

This one is also a larger, 'action-figure-scale'-sized version of the Batmobile from the movie: 'Batman and Robin'. This was a 'yard-sale find', that had long-ago lost some important parts.(BOTH rear fender-fins, for example!) Along with being fairly beat-up--- by a little tyke who had OBVIOUSLY played with it quite a bit!

I crafted some new rear fins from sections cut out of old plastic coffee can-lids, attached a 'Bat-head' for the hood from a scrap piece of plastic sheet. I enclosed the 'cockpit' / driver's area with a section from an old water bottle. Yet ANOTHER 'hybrid'-style Batmobile came into being! Mostly semi-gloss black (with just a touch of blue and gray, in just the right spots!) paint finished it off just RIGHT!

This one's special! For a few reasons!, It's the one I refer to as the 'what if?' Bat-ride. It's also the one that ended up being the last one I customized (so far! Although It HAS been close to 15 years since I worked on it!)! It's based on the idea I had that, 'what if' the '60s TV show-based-car, as well as the comics version of that same time-period--- was based on an actual-factory-built (but HEAVILY customized) vehicle?'

In this case, it would be an already fairly extensively customized '53 Corvette model I stumbled across--- while cruising the model-kit aisle, back when Walmarts used to HAVE a well-stocked model-kit aisle! (complete with a wide selection of 'Testors' - brand model paints, glue, modeling putty, etc....! Those were INDEED times that I STILL miss!)

I kept this model kit in the box, for close to a YEAR, while I planned / figured / thought-out, heck--- even worked up a drawing or two, of exactly HOW I wanted this thing to LOOK,when it all came together! I REALLY wanted it to look 'smooth' and 'slick'! Like 'Ol Batsy himself had went to the folks at Chevy and said : 'Build me a BATMOBILE'!

The single fin is 3 layers of sheet-plastic, glued-together, puttied and sanded-smooth. the 'pods' behind each seat-head-rest, were actually cut-down caps from old 'sharpie' markers....set down into the trunk-lid area, heavily puttied and again, sanded CAREFULLY smooth!

The actual TOPPER to the whole project, would HAVE to be, the little item I decided--- about half-way through--- just HAD to be seated, behind the cut-down 'U'-shaped steering wheel! A TEENY-TINY '60s-era appearing, Batman figure!-----

The Batman figure (based on a little 'generic' Army-man figure, I scrounged-up at a yard sale someplace!) that's in the 'What if?' Batmobile, was all of just under 3 inches tall! (yes, he 's a COMPLETE figure, with joints in his knees!)

He sports a carefully detailed utility belt, a REAL cloth cape, and the 'Bat-symbol' on his chest is just over 1/8th of an inch wide! Just working on him ALONE, REALLY tested how steady my hands could STILL be!  Without him though, the little custom 'what if' car, just would NOT have been the same! I'm VERY proud of how the project turned out, especially with the little figure behind the (cut-down, 'U'-shaped) wheel!

All of these 'custom-Bat-vehicles', of course, STILL reside in the collection. I pretty much retired from tinkering with those kinds of projects, after thrashing away as long as I did on the last one! All the 'spare-parts' / 'kit-bashing' / 'odds-and-ends' boxes are LONG gone. I still take out one of the little custom-Bat-rides on occasion though, and freshen-up the paint and try to keep them cleaned-up and presentable!

Though I may not see a 'custom-Batmobile' lurking just below the surface of every sporty-looking model-car-kit or old toy car I look at (like I used to!), I'll ALWAYS keep these 'special' ones from the past around! Every time I look at one of them, they make me smile! Anything that does that, I'm NOT EVER going to be getting rid of!

Loyd's BONUS video-clip(s)!!---# 33!!-- NIFTY-NEAT-O animated 'Bat-stuff'!

Ah, the seemingly ENDLESS and EVER-surprising things a curious old 'Bat-fanatic' like me can find out there, while cruising around searching for just generally 'neat-Bat-stuff', in 'Youtube-land'!

Here we have some SERIOUSLY talented folks, (and OBVIOUS fellow 'Bat-freaks'!) that are putting their love for the Caped Crusader (and his trusty ride, the Batmobile) out there for ALL the known universe to see-- in the form of some VERY cool 3D computer animation!

Once AGAIN, I find myself amazed! AND-- kinda envious, of all the FREE TIME these folks must have, to put this sort of stuff together!---

A little 'audio-memory' from my high-school-radio-station days!

Some 'Loydster history' here! WAY back before the dawn of the dark ages, when I was 'teen-Loydster', I worked on an afternoon show, on the high school radio station. KCHS, Central Point Oregon. My partner, Dan Bowser and I, called ourselves the 'Afternoon CornFlakes'. Boy, was THAT name exactly RIGHT!

Heck, it's been enough years ago, I don't even remember WHO found this ODD-BALL cut, off the very end of Van Halen's 'Diver Down' album! Odd-ball INDEED! A slightly-over one minute version of an old Roy Rogers 'sign-off' tune, at the end of a Van Halen album?

 We BOTH though--- having nearly identical senses of humor (I used to go over to Dan's house after school every so often, and we'd read MAD magazines together-- and goof-around, laughing for HOURS!)-- felt it was the EXACTLY  RIGHT way to sign off our show EVERY afternoon! (we were the last show on the station, which signed off at the end of each school day.)-----

This is also the reason / story, behind the way I've always signed off  most of my correspondence with friends & family over the years--'HAPPY TRAILS'! It's my way of remembering those goof-ball high school D.J. days, and my old buddy Dan. God Bless you old pal! Wherever you are!