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 The Toys R Us Exclusive Batgirl and Batcycle Playset is one of Mattel's best Barbie items , despite the fact that Barbie makes the lamest excuse for a superheroine one could imagine . The high points of this collectible is the costume and moreso, the Batcycle . I bought this toy primarily for the motorbike , which is for the price ; one of the coolest motorbikes in 1/6 scale available featuring a great design that combines the styling of Honda and Ducati in a very unique vehicle and reasonably accurate detailing , simple but very effective . The only drawback to the batcycle is the color scheme , the process blue and yellow with flat black accents makes this killer bike look like a toy and really detracts from an otherwise awesome profile . I knew that eventually it would end up as an accessory piece for one of my Cool Girls , it just needed a custom repaint and a suitable rider . When I acquired the " Best Of Cool Girl " alternative version " Harley " figure , it was obvious my biker babe had arrived and was ready to get her wheels .   One thing is certain , Mattel makes some pretty sturdy toys , definitely engineered to be played with and played with HARD ! This adherence to quality does make the process of customizing rather difficult , since prior to doing a repaint , the model must be taken apart . I spent an entire day studying and tearing apart the Batcycle , and still was unable to break it apart completely . I was , however , able to break it down to enough of the basic separate elements to enable simple masking of those pieces I did not want to paint .  Masking tape is used to cover those portions of the model that you don't want to apply paint on . Depending on the shape of the part to be masked , you will need to trim the masking tape to shape . In the instance of the headlamps , a strip of tape was placed over the model , and then an x-acto knife is used to trim around the inset edge of the headlamp . Masking the windshield was done by using torn strips and just following the contour of the curve , placing the tape edge just below the line of the rim .  Each separate piece of the model is repainted using Testor's Spray Enamels . Gray primer is used overall to form a uniform base . The chassis then gets a second coat of Silver and finally a third coat of Flat Black ( I'll let you know why this additional layer of black is used in the next step . ) The front fairing is then masked for application of a coat of Flat Black and then a coat of Gloss Black on the upper cowl , for a transition of gloss black to flat black to the primer gray of the bottom of the front cowl fairing . The choice of the color scheme is based from the leathers worn by CG Harley .  With the base applications of paint now complete , I can now begin the process of detailing , which will consist primarily of brushwork and airbrushing for precise control and application of paint and will be showcased in an upcoming supplement to this feature . I still need to eliminate the " Bat " emblem on the windshield and design some striping motifs , but I have begun the initial detailing which reveals why I first sprayed the chassis in silver and then overlayed that with flat black . Once dry , but not yet fully cured , a foam abrasive pad is used to remove the black paint on the top layer of the chassis to reveal the silver and primer gray lower coats , a simple and effective technique for weathering . Click Here for a Big Shot of Harley on Her New ride !  With the preliminary basecoats applied , now comes the time to begin the custom paint scheme for the cycle . To be honest , a paint op such as this should be done with a firm idea concerning the design , but frankly , I really don't know what I want as far as the design is concerned . The colors are the only aspect of this paint scheme that I have a firm grasp on , being grey , black , white and silver . To a certain extent , my thoughts on this paint job are running along some of the camoflage paint schemes that were applied to naval vessels during WWII to break up the outline of the ship on the high seas .  Creating your masks when painting without a firm design concept requires a rather freehand approach to the masking as well . For the cycle I am using transparent tape and paper . The tape allows me to get the crisp edging I need , while the 1/2 inch diameter allows me the freedom to " sketch " my masking as I go , adding torn bits of paper to mask off the larger portions of the model means I can block out the larger portions of the model I don't want to apply paint to as I go along with ease and without wasting more expensive materials .  My plan is to incorporate a variety of gloss and flat paint to achieve an interesting paint scheme , and I am also considering switching over to the airbrush in order to also include some variety of paint opacity as I finalize the paint details . Having colors overlap and blend into one another in degrees of transparency and translucency will add a great deal more depth to what is relatively a simple paint op . An aside ; considering the low profile of this bike's windscreen , which is for the most part completely ineffectual unless one is completely hunkered down over the gas tank , I am also planning on painting the windshield to match the rest of the bike's body , transforming it from glass plate to metal which I think will give the bike's front more of a bullet-like appearance and enhancing its intimidation factor . I will most likely also repaint the front signal lamps from orange to a blue , merely due to the fact that the orange color looks kinda dorky .  It has been quite a while since I last worked on the Batcycle custom repaint , mainly due to other projects and my dissatisfaction with the tribal designs that I had been developing for the paint scheme of this motorcycle . For one reason or the other , the muse was with me and I finally achieved a design that worked for me and I have begun transferring it to the model .  The tribal design is all freehand brushwork . The initial design has been pieced together and expanded upon as I have worked . I am creating the design for one side first and when it is complete I will trace it and flip it for the other side of the bike . I will continue the tribal design motif down onto the grey section of the body as well as across the gas tank and back across the seat as well . Transferring the design from paper to model is not a difficult chore , just a matter of eyeballing . I'm using colored pencils in black and silver to make my paint guides on the bike .    | Mail-O-Rama | Geeb's How To | Head Sculpts Using Polymer Clay | Customizing The Batcycle | 1/6 scale diorama | terrain diorama | 1/6 Scale Boots | Re-Rooting Hair | BimBott | Read_A_Book | WorksInProgress | Aki Ross Repaint | Gun-Bashing | painting heads | | Return Home | Updates | The Archive | Gorby Site Map | Geeb-O-Rama's Model Workshop | Geeb's Toy Box | Geeb-O-Rama Goodies | Movie Madness | World Of The Bizarre | Cool Beans | |
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