Whitman Batman Coloring Book

(front)

The Batboat made the cover of "Adventures Of Batman" coloring book, published by Whitman, copyrighted 1966.

Is Robin trying to run over Batman?? The evil grin on his face makes one wonder.

This sold on eBay April 20, 2008 for $4.95 plus $2.95 shipping.

Auction description...

Here is a very nice Batman item.
Featuring a colorful illustration of Batman and Robin in the Batboat.
The adventure inside features "The Frogman" as the foe.
The book is complete and uncolored.
I'd say condition is excellent to near mint.
A nice addition to any collection.

The back cover has a UPC code. Wikipedia says the first commercial use of UPC barcodes was in 1966.

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'60s Argentine Toy Batboats.

Two other Murciel Lancha "Bichi" Argentine Batboat are on eBay with some interesting variations.

Click on the photos for larger versions.

The amount the sellers are asking are a little high. Whenever I see one of these on eBay I'll post the photos here.

Cool Picture Of The Week - My Batboat In The Water For The First Time

On Wednesday, April 14th the weather was good enough to put the Batboat in the water.

Two of the trailer rollers were in bad shape so the boat kind of mounted on it lopsided. I bought the replacements already that week and had been itching to replace them.

That morn the sun was out and the almost warm air on my face made me not wait for anyone to help me out. Across the street are the Zilwaukee boat ramps. I hitched it up.

Lession learned that day was the next time I launch the boat I should wait until the docks are put in. I climbed over the car and got into my trunk to push the boat into the water.

All worked out well. The Batboat was in the water for almost 2 hours and only took on about a gallon of water. Pretty good for a vessel with lots of rot.

The tailer rollers were kind of tricky to get off but after a sprint back home for my metal files I replaced them with the new ones quickly.

Members of the Zilwaukee Department of Public Works were there on break and shouted out comments on how cool the boat was. Another man who was on lunch with his young son asked if he could have a photo and said it was a "sweet" boat.

Man, this Batman Batboat brought on many other smiles.

Two unforeseeable, but comical, mistakes happened at the maiden launching. It turns out that the trailer is not exactly square, therefore, trying to back it in the water in the tight squeeze between the pier and dry-docked dock took some time and one of the turn signals hit the pier and broke.

When I was hand maneuvering the Batboat onto the trailer from the pier I wanted to leave one rope still tied in case the Batboat drifted off the trailer a bit before I could secure it from inside my car trunk. After a few moments cranking the bow rope into place I got preoccupied with something else, then started the car and pulled the vessel out of the water while it was still tied on the pier.

Ping! Snap! Pow! What just happened?

The taught rope tore through some of the Batboat deck detailing, the poor cleat sprung off and flung into the depths to Davy Jones' cleat collection.

I picked up the shattered Batboat pieces of off the lawn of the picnic area and headed back home.

The Batboat is on display in my driveway.

If you are in the Zilwaukee area come on by and check it out. I am dismantling it probably in the next couple of weeks to make ready for its fiberglass restoration and new look.

1970s Batboat Toy From Argentina

This interesting toy was produced in Argentina during the 1970s. I find this rendition odd because the box has the Batboat painted like a Checkered Taxi Cab.

This battey operated (alkaline battery, not sealed atomic) vessel incorrectly has Batman and the steering wheel on the port (left) side. However, the box picture has them on the correct, starboard side. An interesting alteration I've seen in some of the other vintage toy Batboats.

Alfred probably forgot to stock the vessel with fresh Shark Repellent before that mission. Robin and Batman are dismembered from the knees down and slumped over!

One of those unintentionally grotesque, weird childhood toys!

When turned on, this 10 inch long Batboat would run along the floor until it bumped into something, making the wheels change to another direction until bumping something else.

I forget what this type of battery operated toy is called. If anyone knows please post a comment.

These images are from an eBay auction that ended on April 12, 2008, 18:11:47 PDT. It sold for US $57.00 plus $15 postage.

Click on these pictures to see them in their original size.