Amazing Images of 'The Bat' Replica From The Dark Knight Rises

With Comic-Con International kicking off starting next Wednesday in beautiful San Diego, we're counting down the days until we can up close and personal with all six film versions of the Batmobile that Warner Bros. is bringing to the show. While it's unlikely, what we'd really love to see is a close-up of 'The Bat,' the latest and greatest tech that Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne gets to play with under his alter ego as the caped crusader in The Dark Knight Rises.

With no talk of the Bat-Pod or director Christopher Nolan's version of the Batwing showing up at SDCC 2012, we'll have to make due with this detailed look at the vehicle from collectible manufacturer, Hot Toys.

Our first look The Bat (which I call the Hoverbat) came via mysterious set photos and videos from last August, which was later confirmed to be the case when we saw it fly in the third official trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. More recently, scans from the film's manual offered several detailed images as well, but nothing like what we have below.

Hot Toys teased the construction of The Bat model back in late May, days before they officially unveiled their model of the Bat-Pod. Both vehicles look equally as stunning in their detail and authenticity. Check out the model under construction as well as the two brand new photos Hot Toys posted yesterday of the completed 1/6th scale design. Click to enlarge:

Afraid of heights, but feel the need for speed? The Bat-Pod, first introduced in The Dark Knight as an escape vehicle from The Tumbler, is back in The Dark Knight Rises and gets used not only by Batman himself, but by Anne Hathaway's Catwoman as well. It also has its own highly detailed 1/4th scale replica:

If you're a collector, or are simply interested in seeing more, check out the official Hot Toys Facebook page where images of their work ' including several character pieces from The Avengers - are regularly added.

The Dark Knight Rises stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata and Nestor Carbonell. It will open in regular and IMAX theaters around the U.S. on July 20th, 2012.

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Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes.

Source: Hot Toys