A few weeks ago, LEGO revealed the latest Ultimate Collector Series-style Batmobile, 76139 1989 Batmobile, which will be available for the first time on Nov. 29, Black Friday (US $249.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £219.99). Shoppers who brave the crowds between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5 to purchase the giant 3,306-piece version of Tim Burton’s Batmobile will also get a free Gift With Purchase (GWP) set in the form of a smaller, minifigure-scale model of the same iconic car. 40433 1989 Batmobile has 366 pieces and features a similar rotating stand and info placard.
The box and build
The mini 1989 Batmobile feels like a full, standalone set, not something that was developed to be given away as free swag with a bigger set. At 366 pieces, it’s larger than the vast majority of GWP sets. Inside, the parts are packed into four numbered bags, and there’s only a single sticker for the placard.
The build progresses with a lot of details, and you quickly get a feel for how large this car is. Sure, it’s not strictly minifigure scale like some fan designs, but LEGO cars of all stripes are always a little oversized, due to the nature of the medium. What quickly impressed, though, was the level of detailing with lots of bracket elements for studs-not-on-top work around the wheel wells and side panels. There’s also a simple geared mechanism to spin the jet engine flame as the rear wheels turn.
The completed model
The finished car is beautiful model. Tim Burton’s sleek, curving design has been translated remarkably well into curved slopes. Paired with the simple yet effective turntable stand and placard, it’s a great display piece all its own, and the size makes it much easier to display than the large one. I can see many fans getting the pair and displaying one at the office and one at home.
The bullet nose looks fantastic, while around back the quad exhaust pipes and taillights give the car gravitas.
The tan interior is minimal but is accessible thanks to a hinged canopy. And speaking of tan, I did encounter one very odd thing: the set includes a tan 1×2 hinge brick base that’s not used in the set at all. Two yellow ones are used in the set, but the tan one has no home, according to the instructions, although it does appear in the set’s inventory. I’d guess that it didn’t get deleted from the digital files of an earlier version of the model. While LEGO’s plastic element quality largely remains as good as it’s always been, we here at The Brothers Brick have been noticing a marked uptick in instruction errors and oddities like this over the last few years. Thankfully this one is benign and just leaves you with a free, moderately uncommon element.
LEGO 40433 1989 Batmobile includes 366 pieces. It is available Nov. 29-Dec. 5, 2019, as a Gift With Purchase for buyers of 76139 1989 Batmobile, which retails for US $249.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £219.99.
Be sure to also read our review of the big set: 76139 1989 Batmobile Review
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
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