PREVIEW: LEGO Batman Movie Summer 2017 sets

May 28, 2017 | 39

Continuing on from my LEGO City Jungle set preview, here’s a brief look at the upcoming LEGO Batman Movie sets that are due to be released in Summer (Winter here in Australia).

The sets are already loaded onto LEGO.com and have a release date of 1 June 2017, so it’s only a matter of days away now!

There are 5 new LEGO Batman Movie sets that will follow the massive run of sets from earlier this year. The remaining sets seek to fill in any gaps, whether they’re vehicle or characters that didn’t make into the first wave of LEGO Batman Movie sets.

It’s quite a small run of sets, but what they lack in quantity, they more than make up for in terms of price and piece count. With prices ranging from US$14.99 / AU$22.99 to US$139.99 / AU$229.99, there’s a pretty big variance in terms of how these sets are priced.

Here’s a rundown of all the new LEGO Batman Movie sets and some of my preliminary thoughts on them!

LEGO Batman Movie Summer 2017 Sets

70913 Scarcrow Fearful Face-off
Pieces: 141
Minifigures: 2- Batman, Scarecrow

Price/Buy:

• 70913 Scarecrow Fearful Face-off [US] – $14.99
• 70913 Scarecrow Fearful Face-off [UK] – £11.99
• 70913 Scarecrow Fearful Face-off [AUS] – AU$22.99

Team up with Batman™ to stop Scarecrow™ spreading fear in this action-packed THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE: Scarecrow™ Fearful Face-off set. The Gyro-Copter features 2 spinning rotors, an adjustable rudder and 2 bomb-drop functions to drop the included fear gas bomb elements. Attach Batman’s jetpack with Batwings and adjustable boosters, and arm him with the grappling gun to role-play an aerial battle. The set also features a power plant mini build with an explode function for added jeopardy, plus 2 minifigures.

Scarecrow Fearful Facce-off is the small, accessible set of the Summer wave and features Scarecrow in his proper costume, instead of the Pizza Delivery version that we got in the previous wave.

It’s a small set, so there doesn’t seem much here – there’s a small rickety-looking gyrocopter piloted by Scarecrow that drops poison gas bombs, but apart from that there isn’t anything particularly noteworthy.

We do get a small section of the power plant, which can be connected to the other power plant mini builds from 70910 Scarecrow Special Delivery, 70901 Mr Freeze Ice Attack and 70900 Joker Balloon Escape.

Personally, I’m not too excited by this one. Batman’s black batwings are a nice accessory and I do like Scarecrow’s minifigure design, but because it looks quite similar to the one from 76054 Scarecrow Harvest of Fear, it’s not that high on my priority list, especially with so many other great sets coming out.

Hype Score: 1/5 – Other than the Scarecrow minifigure, there’s nothing much that draws me into this set.

70914 Bane Toxic Truck Attack
Pieces: 366
Minifigures: 2- Batman, Mutant Leader
Bigfigs: 1 – Bane

Price/Buy:

• 70914 Bane Toxic Truck Attack [US] – $49.99
• 70914 Bane Toxic Truck Attack [UK] – £49.99
• 70914 Bane Toxic Truck Attack [AUS] – AU$89.99

Stop Bane™ and Mutant Leader’s toxic attacks with Batman™ in this exciting THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE: Bane™ Toxic Truck Attack set, including Bane’s Toxic Truck, Batman’s Whirly-Bat flyer and a toxic waste mini-build with explode function. The 6-wheel truck features rear 4-wheel suspension and a mounted 6-stud rapid shooter and detachable toxic tank element. Includes 2 minifigures, a big figure and assorted play-inspiring weapons and accessory elements including Batman’s Batarang, Mutant Leader’s torch and Bane’s Venom backpack.

70914 Bane Toxic Truck Attack is probably one of the more exciting sets in this wave, purely because of the Bane Bigfig, which has been a long time coming! The Bigfig looks terrific and as a LEGO DC Super Heroes fan, I cannot tell you how excited I am to finally have an appropriately sized Bane.

The Mutant Leader minifig is also a nice addition, especially for completionist DC fans but this set could really use another minifigure or two, especially for one that commands a relatively high price.

Bane’s Toxic Truck does look kinda neat, if a little undersized for a set that costs this much. Speaking of cost, I do expect a bit more out of a set that costs US$50/AU$90 – the other models in this set look pretty lacklustre.

Yes, I do know that Bigfigs cost a premium but this set’s incredibly high price is going to be hard to justify. I’m still going to begrudgingly buy it because I’m a sucker for BigFigs.

Hype Score: 3/5 – I’m very excited about the Bane Bigfig – he looks absolutely amazing. Shame that the set’s price is a little on the high side.

70915 Two-Face Double Demolition
Pieces: 564
Minifigures: 4 – Batman, Two-Face, 2x GCPD Officers

Price/Buy:

• 70915 Two-Face Double Demolition [US] – $59.99
• 70915 Two-Face Double Demolition [UK] – £49.99
• 70915 Two-Face Double Demolition [AUS] – AU$99.99

Stop the mighty Two-Face™ Excavator with Batman’s Batcycle in this thrilling THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE: Two-Face™ Double Demolition set. The Two-Face Excavator has a minifigure cabin, operational excavator arm and bucket, articulated design for smooth steering. It might look like a normal digger from one side, but check out the ‘bad side’ featuring spikes on the huge wheels and a 6-stud rapid shooter. The Batcycle features an opening minifigure cockpit, rotating double stud shooter and rotating flick missile shooter. The set includes 4 minifigures who are equipped with assorted weapons and accessories to inspire endless action-packed role-play scenarios.

70915 Two-Face Double Demolition is yet another awfully priced LEGO Batman Movie set that contains a coveted minifigure – this time, it’s Two-Face. Don’t get me wrong, the Two-Face minifigure design looks exceptional, but is it really worth paying US$60/AU$100 just to get him?

Probably not.

To be fair, the set does have a big more going for it than say the Bane Toxic Truck set. For one, I’m really fascinated by the Excavator, which has a fascinating two-sided design, much like Two-Face. It’s probably one of the most creative and unique vehicles in the entire LEGO Batman Movie theme and looks like the designers really put a lot of thought into its design.

We also get a very Tron Light Cycle-inspired Batvehicle, the “Bat Hawk”which does look pretty neat.

The other minifigures are a bit of a letdown, for a set that’s priced on the higher side of things. Two nameless GCPD Officers won’t really set the world on fire. The addition o Condiment King and/or Gentleman Ghost would’ve helped make this set’s high pricetag a lot more palatable.

Unless I can get this set at 40% off, I’ll probably just Bricklink Two-Face and be done with it.

Hype Score: 2/5 – I really like Two-Face’s design, but I don’t like him enough to drop $100 on him

70916 The Batwing
Pieces: 1053
Minifigures: 3 – Batman, Robin, Harley Quinn

Price/Buy:

• 70916 The Batwing [US] – $89.99
• 70916 The Batwing [UK] – £99.99
• 70916 The Batwing [AUS] – AU$169.99

Fly high above Gotham City in the Batwing and battle against Harley Quinn™ with Batman™ and Robin™ in this cool THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE: The Batwing set. The Batwing features an opening dual minifigure cockpit for Batman and Robin, rotating boosters, adjustable wings for flight and landing modes, 2 spring-loaded shooters, 2 disc shooters and an opening rear compartment with a car inside. Harley Quinn has a mobile cannon with a 6-stud rapid shooter. Includes 3 minifigures with weapons and accessory elements including Batman’s Batarang and Harley’s hammer.

I’m actually really excited about 70916 The Batwing because it looks absolutely massive. From what I’ve seen of this set online from the US where some stores have started selling this set early, the scale of this model is just unbelievable.

It measures about 53cm (20″) wide which is just insane when you think about it. The Batwing also had a lot of screentime in the LEGO Batman Movie, and the set’s design looks to stay very true to the on-screen version which is yet another plus.

The minifigure selection is probably the only disappointing department of this set – 3 minifigures for such a pricey set just seems odd. Sure, you get a fantastic and excusive Harley Quinn minifigure with her new two-tone tutu, but this set is just crying out for more villains such as Gentleman Ghost, Condiment King, or even some alternate Batman costumes.

That said, sets that are primarily designed to be great display pieces always get good scores in my books, so I’ll definitely be picking this one – preferably when it goes on sale.

Hype Score: 3/5 – The Batwing’s sheer scale and size is reason enough to pick this set up. I also think the price is quite fair for what you’re getting.

70917 The Ultimate Batmobile
Pieces: 1456
Minifigures: 8 – Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Alfred, 2x Flying Monkeys, Polka Dot Man, Wicked Witch of the West

Price/Buy:

• 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile [US] – $139.99
• 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile [UK] – £139.99
• 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile [AUS] – AU$229.99

Team up with THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE characters Batman™, Batgirl™, Robin™ and Alfred Pennyworth™ (in Batsuit) to give the Super-Villains quadruple trouble with The Ultimate Batmobile! This amazing model divides into 4 separate vehicles: the Batmobile, Batwing, Bat-Tank and Batcycle. The Batmobile features foldout boosters and 4 stud shooters, while the Batwing has foldout wings and 2 spring-loaded shooters. The Batcycle has foldable wheels and the heavily-armored Bat-Tank boasts 2 hidden 6-stud rapid shooters. The set also includes the rotating Bat-Signal with a LEGO® light brick, Polka-Dot Man’s flying disc, plus 8 minifigures with assorted weapons and accessories to inspire endless role-play action.

70917 The Ultimate Batmobile ventures into UCS-territory when it comes to pricing, but with a fantastic design and an army of minifigures, I believe that this set fully deserves its Ultimate title.

If you’ve read my post when The Ultimate Batmobile was first announced, my excitement for this set still stands and I think it’s more than deserving of being the flagship set of the entire LEGO Batman Movie theme.

After seeing more of this set in action, including the play feature where the Batmobile splits into 4 separate vehicles, this set well and truly combines great playability with a nice-looking design.

It’s also suitably large, which means that it’ll look fantastic on display and you get a really diverse cast of minifigures to further enhance The Ultimate Batmobile’s appeal.

I also think that given what you get, the set’s pricetag is not too crazy, although I will probably not buy this at full-price and wait for a suitable sale before pulling the trigger on this one.

It’s campy and looks like a lot of fun, which is all you can really ask for from a LEGO set.

Hype Score: 4/5 – The biggest, baddest Batmobile is going to be hard to resist. Plus, flying monkeys!

That’s it for my preview of the new LEGO Batman Movie sets that are going on sale on 1 June 2017!

Overall, outside of The Batwing and Ultimate Batmobile, I’m not overly impressed with the sets this time around – they all seem to be poor value for money, especially since they’re going to be competing with the likes of new Star Wars Ep 8 sets, Ninjago Movie, LEGO City Jungle  and lord knows what else LEGO have up their sleeves for 2017.

I have all the time in the world to wait for some good sales before springing on these sets, but I’ll most likely get some of them and Bricklink what I don’t have to save money.

I’d love to know what you think about the new Summer LEGO Batman Movie sets. Let me know in the comments if you’re particularly excited about any of these sets and if you’re going to be picking any of these up when they go on sale!

Thanks for reading!