While LEGO Batman will forever be Will Arnett, there’s certainly room for creations that take the caped crusader a bit more seriously. For instance, check out this glorious scene from Batman Begins by Joe (jnj_bricks). Within their temple high in the Tibetan Himalayas, the League of Shadows is about to adopt a new member. But Bruce Wayne manages an escape from Ra’s al Ghul and his minions. Here we see the explosion that kicks off the action-packed scene, frozen in plastic-y time. And it’s a good thing, too, because it allows us plenty of time to admire Joe’s impressive use of Harry Potter wands in the vignette. Employed both in the windows above and the railings below, the pair of wands still attached to their sprue provide an interesting and hard-to-achieve texture in the model.
Tag Archives: Superheroes
LEGO DC 76265 Batwing Batman vs. The Joker [REVIEW]
If you’ve ever wondered how Bruce Wayne got to be a billionaire, the answer is simple: this is a man who understands branding. Why else have a plane in the exact shape of your own symbol? Branding. It’s simple. It’s perfect. It’s pure Wayne, baby! And it’s coming to toy store shelves soon in the form of LEGO DC 76265 Batwing Batman vs. The Joker. At first glance, this companion piece to the 76224 Batmobile set might seem redundant. Just another Bat-vehicle with the same two characters as minifigures? But the Batwing might be hiding a few surprises in store for you. And I’m not just talking about a giant pair of scissors. (In fact, this set explicitly does not include the giant scissors.) This 357-piece set will be available Aug 1st for US $37.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £31.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
LEGO DC 76224 Batmobile: Batman vs. The Joker Chase [REVIEW]
Believe it or not, there was a time when movies about superheroes were few and far between. Comics were seen by the general audience as cheap and disposable children’s entertainment. But all that changed in 1989, when Tim Burton’s Batman conquered the world. From clothing to video games to breakfast cereal, it seemed like there was nowhere you could go without getting a bat-logo shoved in your face. And we loved it. Batman would continue to dominate the cultural landscape well into the 1990s, but Michael Keaton would only reprise the character for the follow-up Batman Returns and then never play the character again ever in any movie at all. (No need to fact-check that statement, I’ve done the research.) And, while LEGO recently celebrated Batman Returns with the impressive 76252 Batcave Shadowbox set, the original 1989 film that started it all is getting some more affordable love with two smaller sets featuring Batman’s iconic vehicles. The first of these is 76224 Batmobile: Batman vs. The Joker Chase. This 438-piece set will be available August 1st for US $47.99 | CAN $59.99 | UK £42.99. But is it a set worthy of the cultural juggernaut that spawned it? Let’s get nuts and find out.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes 76262 Captain America’s Shield now available for pre-order [News]
LEGO has just launched the product page for a new lifesize version of the iconic shield carried by Captain America. 76262 Captain America’s Shield will go on sale August 1st for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99, although it’s available for pre-order starting today.
The set includes 3128 pieces and a Captain America minifig. The shield’s face appears to be made mostly from plates and wedges (Sadly, LEGO has not yet begun producing vibranium bricks). The video provided features a 360-degree spin and thus reveals that the backside of the model is a complex network of plates and Technic beams but alas the shield cannot be held or worn as part of a costume without some custom rigging.
LEGO reveals 76256 Ant-Man Construction Figure as their first Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania product [News]
In anticipation of the 2023 Marvel movies, LEGO unveils their first set, 76256 Ant-Man Construction Figure. A 289-piece buildable action figure comes with the Wasp nanofigure, which makes the set a solid collectible. The set will go on sale May 1, for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £29.99.
Why sort when you can Groot?
Famed LEGO builder Dan Ko described a phenomenon that most of us know too well. He had a brown chair piece sitting out at his desk collecting dust for quite some time so instead of sorting it into its proper bin, he decided to build Groot with it. Then he figured, what’s Groot without his BFF Rocket? So because of Dan’s-laziness, I guess- we can all admire a quick little built chock full of fun character. Sorting can be a tedious business. You tell yourself you’re going to get to it someday and reach LEGO builder nirvana, which is zero brick unsorted, but then days turn into months and months into years, and, in the case of some of my friends, you have about an Olympic-sized swimming pool worth of unsorted brick. Do you all know anyone who has reached LEGO-sorting nirvana? Because I sure don’t!
A hero in danger needs to maintain perspective
The insect-themed Captain Flywing tries to evade the terrifying tongue of Mr. Tad the Toad in a comic cover-worthy LEGO build by Nikita Nikolsky. The dramatic perspective achieved in this shot is due not just to the angle of the photograph, but the size certain elements were built at. Captain Flywing’s head and left hand are built to a larger scale than his right hand or his legs. But when viewed from the proper angle, it creates the illusion of a perfectly proportioned crime fighter in a dynamic action shot.
Happy Bat Day to you
The best part about being friends with us Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) is the custom gifts. To celebrate a friend’s birthday, Dan Ko crafted this tribute to The Dark Knight, and what a gift it is. This stunning statue depicts Batman leaping from a Gotham City gargoyle and into action. The Caped Crusader is perfectly captured here, with an impressively effective cowl construction and a video game controller ingeniously repurposed for his chest emblem. And the gargoyle head itself has so much character that I almost want to see a mad scientist bring it to life. (As if Batman didn’t have enough to worry about…)
Mysterious shapes swirl in the mask of Rorschach from Watchmen
“Rorschach’s Journal. December 3rd 2021. There is a foul stench in the city tonight. Crime oozes out of shady alleyways. But I take comfort in one thing. Pistash has built me in LEGO form. Gives me hope. Now I have to go eat some beans.”
In Watchmen, the patterns of Rorschach’s mask change due to the application of an ink which reacts to heat, causing the style to alter. Pistash has accurately created these strange shapes by using of circular quarter tiles. Rounded angled pieces portray the details of the coat, such as the turned out collar. But the ultimate question is, what do you see in the peculiar patterns of Rorschach’s mask?
Miles better than the rest
From the fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, comes this impressive build of Miles Morales. Marius Herrmann has used a variation of unusual techniques to capture Miles’ unique style. The model features a great use of Lego rubber bands; around the eyes and chest as well as the shoe laces of the trainers. Hero factory parts add thickness into the form of the jacket and shorts, creating a nice contrast with the skinny legs of the model. The red details of the jacket are well textured, even red whips make an appearance as tassels. The white part used for the upper section of the trainer had us scratching our heads for a bit, it’s actually a Belville bib piece! The inventive use of parts by Marius contributes to this accurate interpretation of the original design.
Two new LEGO DC Super Heroes Batmobile sets revealed by online retailer [News]
Vietnamese toy retailer Mykingdom has just published official pictures of two brand new LEGO DC Super Heroes sets. Both products include Batmobiles. While 76180 Batman vs. The Joker Automobile Chase is a 4+ building set for younger fans, 76188 Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile is a regular set based on the classic images of the vehicle and heroes. The piece count, regional prices, and availability are yet to be confirmed.
We have a Hulkbuster!
If you saw our review of the LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition set last year, you might recall there was some disappointment with the figure’s appearance. John Car has come smashing though with a more faithful looking rendition of the Hulkbuster. While it uses some of the parts and stickers from the original set, the proportions feel bigger, beefier and Hulkier.