C3 Minimates Batmobile

The Batmobile is in the first wave of C3 construction sets. It is a large set, at 186 pieces it is second only to the Batcave . It comes with a "Dark Knight" Batman.

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

Packaging | Dark Knight Batman | Batmobile


Packaging

The packaging is a large semi-window box. The Batman logo appears at the top left. The boxart shows off the set and the figure very well, the graphic of the Batmobile is very dynamic. To the right, you can see the lone Minimate in the window portion of the box.



The C3 pieces are all bagged up in the main part of the box, apart from the bottom/floor piece of the car which is strangely unbagged. It is a large piece, but you would have expected it to be bagged up. The Minimate is packaged in a tray on the right hand side and has twist-ties holding it in.


The back of the box shows the cross-sell of the other C3 sets and a "technical specification" type drawing to show off the set itself.


The Figure

Dark Knight Batman

The sole figure in this set is Batman, who is very similar to the Batman Minimate from the Mini-Batmobile set. The cowl's peak is more pronounced and the ears are ever so slightly longer. The face looks almost identical to previous Batman Minimates with the stern expression and blue eyes.

The costume detailing on the torso block is the same as on the Mini Batmobile Batman, but the belt is different. Also the cowl, cape and gloves on this Minimate are not made of the soft rubber, they are a lot less flimsy. The cape is curved nicely and looks good. It is removable at the back so that Batman can sit in the Batmobile.

Batman comes with a couple of accessories, one of which is a small, black, quarrel-like piece which I have no idea about. The other, more impressive accessory is another cape which drapes around the figure all the way to the floor. To use this second cape you have to take off Batman's arms because the cape fits completely around the torso block and legs. When this cape is used Batman looks very different, much more menacing. Some people have complained that the edge of the cape isn't low enough by about a couple of millimetres because the feet can be seen, but I think the edge of the cape has been raised to help the figure's C3 feet peg onto the blocks without the cape interfering.

Overall, this is a reasonable Batman Minimate. It's far too similar to other Batman Minimates but the addition of the second cape makes this one stand out a bit more.

MMC Score - 5 out of 10

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The Construction Set

Batmobile

The C3 construction set is the Batmobile. This is one of the biggest C3 sets available so it took a while to put together but it was very enjoyable. The instructions for the Batmobile are clear and easy-to-follow, and it's not too fiddly or frustrating as there are a lot of regular blocks and only a few unique pieces. This means it's quite clear where they go. Also it was quite clever how they engineered the pieces with the yellow stripe on - on some of them the stripe appears only on one side.

The Batmobile is a large vehicle - much larger than the Mini Batmobile and also larger than the Batwing which is sold at the same price point. Because of the amount of bricks to create it, there is a nice heft to it. It's very heavy and solid-looking whilst retaining some of the customary sleekness that a Batmobile should have. I don't know whether this design is based on any Batmobile in Batman canon (cartoon or comic), but it looks like it fits in. The big plus in the design for me are the two huge tail fins. I have liked the fins on every Batman vehicle so far, and these are definitely the biggest and coolest yet.

Two Minimates can fit inside the cockpit, which has two sets of instruments (a steering wheel on one side and some levers on the other) in it. The windscreen is yellow and only slightly see through, a lot less than on the stealth Batwing cockpit, for example. There are several other clear pieces on the Batmobile, noticibly the headlight setup at the front, but the bonnet is also a very dark clear grey so that you can see the engine underneath. The bonnet is hinged so that you can lift it up and see the engine block. There are also long flat bits that can pivot out from the sides of the car but I didn't really find a use for those. Maybe they are used to cut down fleeing villains, I don't know.

The other big gimmick in this set is the missile system. It is cleverly concealed at the back of the Batmobile to look like jet boosters or exhausts, but the whole dual unit flips out and around to become missile launchers. This was a great idea that adds a lot of playability.

Overall, this set fixes a lot of the problems I had with the Mini Batmobile, such as the lack of steering devices. It's large, looks great and has a ton of fun features.

MMC Score - 7 out of 10

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