We first saw Desert Batman from the flashback scenes in Batman vs Superman, and fans can’t get enough of it. This chibi style version (also known as super-deformed) by Choi Dambaek captures him like he’s about to make someone’s day a lot worse. I love how this tiny build has enough articulation at the arms and knee joints to give life to the character poses.
Batman is turning 80 on March 30, so LEGO is launching six new DC Super Heroes sets to celebrate. The line-up of sets includes our heroes Batman, Robin and Batwoman using iconic vehicles such as the Batmobile, Batwing and Batcycle to defeat classic villains like The Joker, Harley Quinn, and The Riddler. In addition to the expected Batman characters, Shazam also comes in one set (most certainly a nod to the upcoming DC film).
The sets range in price from $9.99 to $99.99 USD with general availability starting later this summer on August 1st. One set including Mr. Freeze will be available at Walmart one month early starting on June 1st.
Don’t miss the rest of the LEGO summer 2019 sets reveals, and be sure to check out the new Toy Story 4, Spider-Man, and The LEGO Movie 2 sets that just went sale a few days ago:
LEGO Architecture
LEGO Batman
LEGO City
LEGO City Space
LEGO Creator
LEGO Friends
LEGO Friends Ocean
LEGO Harry Potter
LEGO Jurassic World
LEGO Ninjago
LEGO Star Wars
Click to take a closer look at the upcoming LEGO Batman sets
When it comes to building minifig cars with minimal parts and maximum details, Calin stands out as one of the best craftsmen. Take his latest model of the Dark Knight’s Tumbler, which uses a number of wedge plates along with some mind-boggling construction techniques to create the very complex angled profile that makes this prototype vehicle from Wayne Industries R&D department so unique. And according to the builder, this model even opens up to fit the caped crusader.
If you noticed the triangle road signs and are wondering what set they come in, you are out of luck. These have been painted black (very well, by the way). The wheels come from a model kit but fit in very nicely. Another great and missable detail are the tiny struts for the rear spoilers, made from minifig hands.
Inspired by the new LEGO Batman sets Batsub and the Underwater Clash and Batman Mech vs. Poison Ivy Mech, Elvis Lawrey has added his own spin on cartoon-like super hero vehicles. Embracing the chibi aesthetic, he’s rolled out a clutch of cute, fun, and playable vehicles for the Dark Knight to test-drive.
See more on these quirky Batman vehicles
Growing up, I was a huge fan of Batman: The Animated Series. One of the highlights of the show was seeing Batman fight crime in his bat-themed vehicles, including the Batwing. Jerry Builds Bricks has reproduced the Batwing in LEGO form, and it looks as slick and fast as its animated counterpart. A mixture of curved and angled slopes help form the iconic fuselage, while a combination of curved slopes and hinges are used to pull off the iconic sweeping curves of the wings. Jerry’s Batwing also looks to be the perfect size for “swooshing” back and forth.
The first pictures are available online for the new LEGO Batman 76116 Batman™ Batsub and the Underwater Clash set which is expected to be released early in 2019. Featuring 3 minifigures, Batman, Aquaman, and Ocean Master, a shark and a propelling Bat-Submarine shown taking a dive. A new change has the box art has dropped the Superheroes template that we’ve been used to and only shows the Batman insignia and the DC logo.
76116 Batman Batsub and the Underwater Clash
Click to see more images from the Batman set
Batmobiles are a recurring theme in LEGO because they come in many variations featured in all the different franchises, which gives LEGO builders a clean slate to work on. This particular Batmobile by Lucas is his version of the vehicle featured in Arkham Knight. What I find particularly unique about this are the tyres made from Technic chain links and some nice use of Katanas to shape the back of the vehicle. Lucas scaled the build with the wheels as a reference point and everything else came after, and he even made it fit a Batman minifigure comfortably.
No matter how strange or limiting a LEGO part may appear to be, there is no such thing as a useless piece. With a little thinking outside the box, it’s sometimes surprising what you’re able to accomplish. Case in point, David Zambito’s microscale “Temple of Tarrasque” takes the LEGO Batman Movie’s Killer Croc minifigure and literally turns him on his side. Killer Croc’s body has been cleverly placed within the model to form a major portion of the mountainside, and the figure’s printed dark green spots are reminiscent of shrubbery. It accentuates an already beautiful landscape filled with a variety of fun angles, and the tiny temple is equally impressive.
There have been dozens of Batmobile designs over the years — one for each generation and iteration of the Dark Knight. If you grew up in the late 80’s and caught the 1989 Batman movie directed by Tim Burton, you probably love and remember that version well. Jerry Builds Bricks shares with us a version of the 1989 Batmobile in an instructional video format. The best part is you can actually fit a Batman Minifigure in the vehicle quite snugly!
If you like this, check out this amazing build of a “UCS”-scaled 1989 Batmobile too!
The LEGO Batman App-Controlled Batmobile (76112) made its debut earlier in the year and has been quite anticipated since then. LEGO sets are pretty static in general within the System theme, with exceptions like vehicles running on tracks and rails such as trains and the recent roller coaster, so it’s pretty nice to have a free-form controlled device in the mainstream market that won’t take much time from build to play. The new Batmobile finally hits store shelves today, and we’re taking it for a spin so we can pretend to be the Dark Knight for a day.
Coming in at 321 elements and with a price tag of $99 USD and available on LEGO online stores on August 1st, let’s dive deep and evaluate if it’s worth parting with your hard earned dollar.
Click to read the full review with videos
Today LEGO announced a new set in the DC Super Heroes lineup, featuring Batman duking it out with Poison Ivy and a new-to-LEGO supervillain, Firefly. 76117 Batman Mech vs. Poison Ivy Mech is slated to be on display at next month’s San Diego Comic-Con. However, the set won’t be available to purchase for another 6 months, going on sale Jan. 1, 2019.
Click here to check out all the high-resolution images of the set
The original breakthrough that probably made everyone sit up and take notice that a costumed hero could not only make it to the big screen but make it great is Tim Burton’s 1989 film simply titled Batman. The sleek Art Deco-styled car was built with two Chevrolet Impala spliced together and powered with a Chevy V8. Popular Mechanics called this beast the Stealth Bomber with a ’68 Chevy combo. This LEGO built version by Dave Slater is my favourite representation the vehicle that made everyone believe that Michael Keaton could be Batman. It captures all the perfect angles and that sleek look, down to the turbine exhausts and the Rolls Royce Turbine hub front center.
