Hooray! I FINALLY got the Corgi 1:43 scale Mothmobile. Corgi has been making Batmobile vehicles for decades and this particular series of Corgi Batmobile / Villainmobile vehicles (i.e., the DC Comics series) was originally released in 2004 with nice window boxes. Then Corgi decided to take the vehicles and repackage them in various ways. There was a Silver Series in which two vehicles were paired and placed in a large-ish black with silver foil box and in 2007 they introduced the Chassis Art collection. The Chassis Art series is comprised of six vehicles culled from the original 2004 series paired with a very nicely executed statuette of that particular vehicles' driver and issued as Limited Editions of 1500 each. The boxes are nicely executed in black with silver foil. The box top ends are cut-out revealing the Bat-logo printed on the ends of the box bottom (the boxes are very dramatic but a bear to photograph - at least for a novice like me). Inside the box is foam rubber packing with cut-outs for the car and statuette. There is also a Certificate of Authenticity placed behind a clear plastic cover. All-in-all a handsome package.
I've had a deuce of a time acquiring a Mothmobile from the original 2004 series with window box and ended up purchasing the Chassis Art collection version. In a way I'm kinda glad I did. Ya know, for guys like me who are older-than-dirt, this whole Limited Edition shtick really wears thin. I look at the 'Certificate of Authenticity' and can't help but think, somewhat sarcastically I may add, that yes, this is an authentic toy. Big deal. Is it just me or does anyone else wonder when we'll start seeing babies born with a 'Limited Edition' stamp on their butts? Yeah, we've simply gone too far with this 'Limited Edition' nonsense. They're toys, just toys, and none of us will be alive when they appreciate in value (if they do) to the point where we can sell them and retire independently wealthy. They're just toys. I don't like to editorialize but some things bear to be mentioned. OK, back to my original train of thought.
Originally I didn't want one of these fancy packaged vehicles but after looking at some of the statuettes which were executed for the series I found I REALLY like the Batman figures. I also really wasn't too keen on the Mothmobile. Growing up in the '50s I read a lot of comics - not just Batman, and quite honestly I simply don't remember the villain Killer Moth. Try as I might he simply doesn't make an appearance in my memory banks and that makes me wonder how long he lasted in the pages of DC Comics? The Mothmobile itself didn't really appeal to me at first until I took it out of the package and looked at it objectively. It's a comic book vehicle and is colorful. That's fine. But look at that front end - it has that beautiful long hood with multiple exhausts coming out of it and has a look of real power. This is also the only 3-wheeled vehicle in the series! Yes, although not apparent at first, it has the tricycle wheel arrangement of the Messerschmitt KR200 car which was actually introduced in 1955 - 5 years after the Mothmobile! Every car in the 2004 Corgi DC Comics series had some kind of operating feature and the Mothmobile's wings pop out when one presses down on the front wheels. The cast resin statuette is nice and stands 4" (10.2cm) tall and will make a nice shelf display item. Enjoy!
