C3 Minimates BatCycle

The BatCycle appears in the second wave of C3 construction sets. It is a smaller set, comprising 76 pieces and 2 Minimates, another variant Batman and the evil Man-Bat. Many thanks go to regular Minimates Central news contributor Jose Lagos for managing to get hold of this set for me at a very reasonable price. Thanks Jose!

As this is a long and picture-intensive review, covering the packaging, the 2 figures and the C3 set itself, you can use the links below to jump to a section.

Packaging | Street Justice Batman | Man-Bat | BatCycle


Packaging

The packaging is a small semi-window box. The "The Batman" logo appears at the top left, and there's a really nice graphic of the Batman on the lower left, done in the same style as the normal blue and grey Batman and Superman pictures on previous C3 sets. The boxart wisely highlights the Man-Bat, helpful when most of the figure is obscured, being the lower of the two figures to the right hand side.

Rather than the blue boxes normally associated with C3, this set has a very striking green to blue fade effect which works very well.



The C3 pieces are all bagged up in the main part of the box, and the Minimates are packaged in a tray on the right hand side. Both of the Minimates have twist-ties holding them in.


The back of the box shows the cross-sell of the other new C3 sets, including the new Mini-Flyers, and a "technical specification" type drawing to show off the set itself. The colour is a very jazzy purple, far more interesting than the more subdued blues.


The Figures

Street Justice Batman

The first figure in this set another Batman variant. Street Justice Batman is based on a motorcycle rider's look, which is something that sounds like a bad idea but works surprisingly well. The helmet has a translucent blue visor, which can be moved to reveal Batman's eyes. As this is based on "The Batman" cartoon, this figure has big bushy eyebrows that were also a prominent feature on the Bruce Wayne figure from the Stealth Batwing. Once the helmet is removed, you can also see a big scowl on the Batman. The helmet has good paint detail with some very sharp yellow trim.

The high level of detailing continues with the rest of the figure. Certainly this is one of the most ambitious Minimate paint schemes in a long while, with some very fine yellow trim detailing on the arms and legs. The Bat-logo has also been very well done. A very cool feature is the pivot added to the top of the cape to simulate it flowing behind Batman as he moves. This allows the figure to look more dynamic and works superbly with the existing Minimate articulation. I hope to see this pivot incorporated into more future Minimates as it's very useful. As evidence of how great the detailing is, the trim on Batman's back continues even though you can only see it when the cape is moved away from his back.

Street Justice Batman comes with no accessories, which is a shame as the more recent C3 figures have had additional hairpieces and it would have been nice to get one with a Batman as we have had so many of them.

Overall, despite being a variant, a lot of thought seems to have gone into the figure. With the ultra-detailed paint job and the pivoting cape, this is an excellent Minimate.

MMC Score - 8 out of 10

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Man-Bat

The second figure in the set is scientist Doctor Kurt Langstrom, who took a mutative serum that transformed him into the extremely powerful and evil Man-Bat. The look of this character is based on his appearance in "The Batman" cartoon, and seems to be a good representation of him as such. The facial detailing is amazing, with sinister red eyes and a mouth that is filled with fangs. This is definitely a bad guy. To top off the head, a large hairpice has been used for the big pink bat-ears, giving the Man-Bat a distinctive look among Minimates.

What really makes this figure unique and special, however, is obviously the wings. Man-Bat has huge wings which are part of the hands. These really add to his size and create a real air of menace, as the wingspan is quite impressive. The wings are simply detailed with the veins and membranes, in fact this Minimate is done in a very simple style which complements the look of the character, with simple lines indicating chest detail, and the black detail lining on the torn trousers. The lining is actually applied extremely well, with not a line out of place in an area which can be a problem for Minimates.

The Man-Bat does not come with any accessories, but those wings of his sure make up for that.

Overall, it's great to get another Batman villain - the poor guy has so many to choose from in his rogues gallery - and to get one which has been executed as well as this makes him a must-have.

MMC Score - 8 out of 10

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The Construction Set

BatCycle

The C3 construction set is the BatCycle, a smaller scale vehicle similar in size to the Mini Javelin. Whilst the various incarnations of Batman have had BatCycles before, this one seems to be a very different style of futuristic design to many of the other more realistic motorbikes seen in cartoons and comics. With its overall bulkiness and powerful-looking giant tyres, it's a design that some people will think is far removed from what a BatCycle should look like, and whilst I might broadly agree with that sentiment, it doesn't stop this from being a fun set to play with.

The BatCycle seemed to be slightly trickier to put together than the other sets in its class. The instruction book containing one or two inaccurate diagrams didn't help matters either.

The set is the usual Batman vehicle colours, being dark blue and black with some yellow trim. Regular readers will know that I'm a sucker for the giant fins that most of the C3 Batman vehicles feature, and the BatCycle rather improbably has two sets of fins, translucent to boot! The really nice feature on this set, however, is just how well Street Justice Batman's colours and detailing fit in with the vehicle itself. It's clear that when riding this beast of a bike the Street Justice outfit is the one he wears. To date, I don't think any Minimate has fit in as well thematically and stylistically with the C3 set its from, certainly if we're talking variants. I think this lends the whole set an unexpected air of completeness, in that it's not just another Batman with a vehicle.

The main action feature for the BatCycle, is of course a firing missile. The missile itself is big and red, much like the ones found in the larger Batmobile set, and the launcher is very reminiscent of the Batwing's missile launcher. It looks a bit silly mounted on the back of the BatCycle, and the vehicle looks much better without it. Just put it on another vehicle for added firepower.

Overall, despite appearing quite clunky, the BatCycle somehow manages to be quite sleek with it. A very unusual design coupled with 2 innovative Minimates make this a very attractive set.

MMC Score - 8 out of 10

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