It was my intention to address ALL of these issues and produce a fully working searchlight prop that was far closer in accuracy to an actual 1942 60" General Electric carbon arc searchlight (my preferred style of Batsignal).
In the end, I built a fully-functional reasonably accurate version of a vintage WW II army surplus Carbon Arc Searchlight to serve as the GCPDs Batsignal (with some minor creative license applied to the design) I also scratch-built an accompanying electrical power generator trailer AND incorporated the legal warning (about unauthorized Batsignal use) as a weather-beaten sign post. My custom Batsignal features an ultra bright LED light source that is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery pack good for 15 hours between chargings. The activation switich for the custom Batsignal is actually built into the large Carbon Arc Control Box (mounted on the left U bracket arm).
Seen in this photo at its final construction detail phase, the custom Batsignal only awaited final paint and weathering, the addition of a yellow tinted face lens, and several power conduit hoses linking it to the electrical power generator trailer.
The Bat-shaped face plate is actually laser cut out of 1/16" gloss black plexiglass sheet from a digital file I created. It is mounted on three 1/4" thick clear mounting spacers, so it is NOT attached directly onto the face lens, rather it appears to float 1/4"
off its surface!
I detailed the face trim ring with bolt heads cut off of tiny nylon screws and tiny half beads glued into place.
I used a small plastic 1.75" by 1.75" by .75" jewelry storage box to fabricate the Batsignal's primary Carbon Arc Feeder Control Box Terminal. I performed all detailing with styrene sheet, half moon beads, and military model kit parts. The face plate of this control box terminal is removable, revealing the Batsignal's activation switch.
WARNING: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE LED LIGHT SOURCE! This sucker is BRIGHT as all get out!!! I'm sure it will be much safer to look at when I replace the Batsignal's clear lens with the yellow-tinted lens I will be installing.
The sheer
SIZE of the Bat insignia this signal projects above (while sitting on an average table) is awe-inspiring! The circular spotlight-encased Bat projection absolutely FILLS the ceiling of my 18' X 16' bedroom!!
I scratch built the Batsignals hydraulic trunnion bracket rotation motor using a section of plexiglass tube, two small dome end caps, and some military model kit detailing
I imagined that the Batsignal was a very powerful device that generated a tremendous amount of
HEAT during operation. It was therefore logical to me that this searchlight would have been equipped with a sophisticated system of cooling and heat extraction. I configured the Batsignal with heat dispersion fins evenly spaced all around the circumference of the rear half of the main reflector, and I incorporated a sophisticated heat ventilation duct array at the very top of the unit (as exists on actual carbon arc searchlights).
I re-built the entire rear half of the DC Direct Batsignal with a much more appropriate dome shape. The usual General Electric circular medallion (typically situated at the center of the rear dome) was replaced by the round GCPD logo medallion that I carefully cut out of the rear plaque of the original DC Direct signal, and repurposed here.
Custom 9 ART Batsignal stands 10.75" in height and has a footprint diameter of 10.25".
