{"id":32208,"date":"2015-11-11T00:05:49","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T06:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32208"},"modified":"2015-11-11T00:05:49","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T06:05:49","slug":"dc-collectibles-batman-the-animated-series-batmobile-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32208","title":{"rendered":"DC Collectibles Batman
The Animated Series Batmobile Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> “VROOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!”<\/em>– Batmobile, Batman: The Animated Series (1992)<\/strong> <\/p>\n

If the deluge of amazing DC Collectibles Animated figures these last few weeks wasn\u2019t enough for you, DC Collectibles upped their game with\u2026 a friggin\u2019 Batmobile. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ll permit me to reflect a moment. I distinctly recall how difficult it was to collect DC figures back when I was in high school. This was before DC Classics. Before JLU. A DC Collection was clinging to Super Powers decade and a half glory and a handful of Animated figures. Then DC Direct came to \u201csave\u201d us. <\/p>\n

I gobbled up those figures for years. Some great, some not so, but it was awesome. Swamp Thing. Hard Traveling Heroes. Silver Age 2pks. The Endless. The Crime Syndicate. Kingdom Come. I was so happy to get so many of those figures. To get something different than Animated figures that, while cool, dominated the pegs. My attention turned towards DC Classics during recent years, but, ironically, DC Collectibles has gotten real friendly with my wallet again by going Animated. <\/p>\n

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I bring all this up because DC Direct was revelatory in the 90s. And I really feel like they\u2019re being that again. They\u2019ve always made larger, high end stuff; some great props, tons of statues, etc. But this is something different.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve made a Batmobile. In 6\u201d Scale. <\/p>\n

First of all, we\u2019ve been told umpteen times how \u201cimpossible\u201d Batmobiles are to do in that scale in this day & age. Mattel made a funky one years ago, but for the most part Batmobiles are relegated to small scale toy lines. It\u2019s just the way it is and so here comes DC Collectibles again to turn that on its ear. They may never make a vehicle again, but they\u2019ve shown it can be done \u2013 and in the direct market, no less \u2013 so I don\u2019t ever want to hear it\u2019s impossible again. At least with Batmobiles, I get that Supermobiles & Invisible Jets might not have the necessary interest, but Batmobiles do. Even with various iterations, they\u2019re collectively one of the most iconic vehicles of all-time. <\/p>\n

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And, of those iterations, the Animated one tends to find its way into many folks Top Fives, so it\u2019s no surprise that DC Collectibles set up shop with this one. If I had to rank them personally\u2026 its Super Powers, Keaton, and then this one. The Animated Batmobile, thanks to Bruce Timm & Eric Radomski, is one of the most timeless. It\u2019s both retro & futuristic (like most of the show). It\u2019s ridiculously long and sleek as hell. It\u2019s kinda one of those designs where you might say it wouldn\u2019t work well in three dimensions, but thanks to Kenner & now DC Collectibles, you\u2019d be wrong. It looks great in person (even if it might be hard to drive). <\/p>\n

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The sculpt on the car is amazing. It was done digitally through cooperation with Kushwara studios. They\u2019ve done a ton of fantastic work on Star Wars & Marvel figures and that same attention to detail transfers over to this car. I\u2019m not going to get out the spec sheets and make sure it\u2019s 1:12 to the letter, but its 24\u201d long and it looks spot on, so I\u2019m a happy buyer. No matter the angle, the car looks great. Where detail is needed on the exterior: the grill, the exhausts, the hubcaps, and the various lights are all sharp and look great. The tires are real rubber and I just point that out because it\u2019s pretty awesome. They’re also huge. <\/p>\n

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The interior is similarly well done. The various panels sees simple, but that\u2019s consistent with how the car appeared in the majority of episodes. Little details like the headrests are present and it makes it tough to display the car with the canopy closed. <\/p>\n

There is a little paint work here and there, but it\u2019s thankfully well done at the $85-100 price point. It kind of harkens back to Mattel\u2019s MOTU line where all the details are sculpted and painted, no matter how small, and gives an overall consistent and finished look to all the good bits. The car has an appropriate matte finish, but I\u2019ve noticed that I\u2019ve managed to scratch here and there just form taking pictures. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much you can do about it with these large swathes of black plastic, but that might be the one thing that worries me long-term. More importantly, though, the car is black! It\u2019s not a really dark grey, blue, blue with bat-camouflage, etc. I loved the old Kenner toy, but we never did get this car in the right colors and it\u2019s awesome to finally have it in black and without the Bat-logo plastered on the hood. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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There are electronics, requiring three AAA batteries, that are pretty cool. I don\u2019t totally need this feature, but it has cool effects. The entire rear of the car lights up \u2013 the jet exhaust and various break & running lights. The yellow headlamps light up in the front and the cockpit also features some light-up screens that illuminate the figures even when the canopy is closed. That\u2019s pretty cool. <\/p>\n

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If I had a lament, and it\u2019s hardly one, it\u2019s that no fun gadgets were included from the show. I love that this toy didn\u2019t take cues from the old toy like the bad colors and unnecessary tampos, I do wish I could do a little more with it. I don\u2019t need the pop-out jet, but I do miss the wheel shredders from the old toy. Or even show-specific gadgets that could\u2019ve been included like the grapple, flamethrower, missiles, etc. It\u2019s not terrible that they\u2019re missing, and I wouldn\u2019t want the cost to be driven up, but I do just want that last little bit of oomph beyond the visual. <\/p>\n

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DC Collectibles did include two more features that were lacking from that old toy though. The front wheels are hinged so they can turn and a second seat! The single biggest problem with Kenner\u2019s Batmobile? No, it wasn\u2019t that obnoxious logo that I\u2019ve now mentioned three times, it was that it was a one-seater when the show was clearly a two-seater. There\u2019s plenty of room for two folks in this Batmobile and they look great in there. The capes do get in the way (I don\u2019t think I can take off TAS Batman\u2019s head to remove the cape? I\u2019m afraid to try), but once you get them crammed in here and situated, you can buckle the seat belt (yep, it\u2019s got working seatbelts!) and the boys are ready to head off & fight crime. <\/p>\n

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Overall, I\u2019m gonna oversell this and say it\u2019s entirely awesome. I got it at BBTS for $85, but my LCS has it at the MSRP of $100. They ordered three and already sold two, so this thing is moving here and that bodes well for future large-scale projects hopefully. I foolishly bought the Hot Toys Keaton Batmobile (I love it), but it basically lives in the box because it\u2019s just two damn big! This Batmobile is a steal for the price, but I\u2019m having similar troubles? Where do I put a 2ft long Batmobile? I don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m going to have to find room because it\u2019s awesomely done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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