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Description
For my latest venture into Bat-vehicle creation, I decided to build the classic "Keaton Era" Batwing.  It's hard to find clear images of this craft, so I thought it would be fun to create a few nice crisp images of it as it streaks through the skies over Gotham.

I believe that this design was the first time a bat-jet was built to literally look like a flying "Bat-symbol," and the first time the term "Batwing" was used to describe a Bat-jet. (I could be wrong.) Previous bat jets were typically just generic jets, like an F-4 Phantom, with scalloped details on the trailing edges of the wings.  So at the time, this was a bold departure, and of course it was all a part of Tim Burton's exciting return to a darker vision of Batman.

While the movie's Batwing is definitely cool, there was always something about it that bugged me.  To me, the cockpit area of Keaton's Batwing is strangely oversized in relation to the rest of the craft. Even early concept art for this design showed a much smaller cockpit in relation to the body. (Likewise, the Kilmer-era Batwing and The Animated Series versions have smaller cockpit areas.) My guess is that when they went to make the full-sized mock-up, they decided to shrink everything but the cockpit to save cost. Well, whatever the case, my model is pretty darned accurate to the original design, but with this one significant alteration. My model has a smaller cockpit in relation to the rest of the craft. (Or put another way, I made a larger craft around the same-sized cockpit.)  My missiles are also a little bit cooler. Anyway, to me, this lower, sleeker revised canopy design looks much better. Its proportions make it look like it might even be a 2-seater, so now there's room to bring Batgirl along, . . . which is always a plus. (Maybe after Batman crashed the Batwing at the end of the movie, he built the next one as a 2-seater.)  The flood lights add a lot of atmosphere as well. Enjoy!

Description
For my latest venture into Bat-vehicle creation, I decided to build the classic "Keaton Era" Batwing.  It's hard to find clear images of this craft, so I thought it would be fun to create a few nice crisp images of it as it streaks through the skies over Gotham.

I believe that this design was the first time a bat-jet was built to literally look like a flying "Bat-symbol," and the first time the term "Batwing" was used to describe a Bat-jet. (I could be wrong.) Previous bat jets were typically just generic jets, like an F-4 Phantom, with scalloped details on the trailing edges of the wings.  So at the time, this was a bold departure, and of course it was all a part of Tim Burton's exciting return to a darker vision of Batman.

While the movie's Batwing is definitely cool, there was always something about it that bugged me.  To me, the cockpit area of Keaton's Batwing is strangely oversized in relation to the rest of the craft. Even early concept art for this design showed a much smaller cockpit in relation to the body. (Likewise, the Kilmer-era Batwing and The Animated Series versions have smaller cockpit areas.) My guess is that when they went to make the full-sized mock-up, they decided to shrink everything but the cockpit to save cost. Well, whatever the case, my model is pretty darned accurate to the original design, but with this one significant alteration. My model has a smaller cockpit in relation to the rest of the craft. (Or put another way, I made a larger craft around the same-sized cockpit.)  My missiles are also a little bit cooler. Anyway, to me, this lower, sleeker revised canopy design looks much better. Its proportions make it look like it might even be a 2-seater, so now there's room to bring Batgirl along, . . . which is always a plus. (Maybe after Batman crashed the Batwing at the end of the movie, he built the next one as a 2-seater.)  The flood lights add a lot of atmosphere as well. Enjoy!