76188 Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile.

If you may recall, there had been other Classic Batman sets released in the past but it is either rare (Comic Con Exclusive) or, the cost is too prohibitive (expensive D2C set). With this new set, it gives opportunity to all the Batman fans to get the classic Batmobile with 2 exclusive minifigures without costing an arm and a leg.

This is a regular box with regular box art, both front and back but next to the LEGO logo we can see the equal height of the  bright yellow and black Batman symbol. At the lower right corner, DC logo is present while the Classic Batman TV series logo can be found at the lower left corner. One can tell that it is a deliberate attempt to strike nostalgia to the potential customer. It is for the 7+ kids and kids at heart.

There is nothing much to say about the back of the box but it features some mechanical play features which we will get into more details later on.

One more look at the box at this angle and we’re set to begin the actual unboxing.

But before we begin, if you don’t know about the Na na na na na na Batman song, this is the series that introduced that. So na na na na now let’s get into it.

Three numbered plastic bags, 1 controversial sticker sheet (more about this later on), and 1 instruction booklet.

Out in the bag, here is the first bag which includes our Classic Batman minifigure.

Still contemplating if I should be putting on the stickers…

Here is bag number 2 with the parts required for the body of 8-stud wide Batmobile.

And right here at bag 2, we stumble upon a pair of uncommon 1×1 stickers for the faux parachute at the back of the Batmobile. I am not fully aware that 1×1 stickers exist outside the Shell promotional polybags back in 2011. Apparently, even to this day, there are sets that use 1×1 stickers. I understand if polybags get such stickers. For bigger and more expensive sets, the question is…why?

Moving on, we see the combined results of Bag 1 and 2 so far. Looking great and vintage.

As for Bag 3, it contains Joker and the parts required to finish the entire build. Now, let’s finish this

And here is the final result of the Batmobile sans a few stickers.

I opted for the style without the stud shooters as I do not want those sticking on top of the bonnet/hood…. Also, they don’t look good on display. You can see how the default option looks from the boxart.

Maybe kids would want the stud shooters on but older fans like me would likely choose the design without the stud shooters. It’s great to have options. The alternative parts can be stored inside the trunk, for convenience sake as seen in the picture above.

Just in case you are not familiar with the Batmobile parts. The huge grill on 1×1 gold clip is meant to be the Bat-beam. As the name suggests, it shoots a ray of beam for many uses — one of them is blasting through a secured gate. It’s just one of the many Batmobile quirks and features.

Remember those 1×1 plates that we did not put stickers on? It is supposed to be the Bat-chute that opens 2 parachutes, 1 from each side, for emergency stops, which usually aid Batman to do a comedic 180 degree turn, also known as the Bat-turn.

Also, I am not sure about the colour of the Bat-chute being medium nougat. I understand that the replicas had those colours, even the one in the official documentary, but when you see the archived footage of the actual episodes, they are either black or very dark grey.

The front grill design is very tough to pull off using LEGO parts, but I think it is a great representation at this scale.

On the overhead photo, you can see the Bat-phone in the middle of the centre console. One of the earliest “mobile phone” ever featured on TV.

Onto the minifigures. There are only 2 minifigures in the set but they are both exclusives.

You might think that they are exactly the same as the previous one; however, Joker has a slightly different print and Batman has the light bluish gray suit instead of the sand blue torso. Honestly, I prefer this over the one found in 76052. I am sure it will be a hit for collectors.

The facial expressions for both minifigures are also different and this time around, the skin tone of Batman appears to be lighter compared to the previous one, too.

I think that having these 2 exclusive minifigures in the set is an excellent choice.

Finally, to wrap it up, despite the little nitpicking, the technique used and the overall retro styling makes the building process of this 8-stud wide vehicle enjoyable. The inclusion of the stand and the nameplate was maybe a little extra since excluding them could have made this set even more affordable. Sure, this set is already way cheaper than the more expensive D2C back in 2016 but if there was no stand and nameplate, maybe we could have gotten another minifigure, such as Robin. Nevertheless, at £34.99 / $29.99 / 29.99€ with 345 pieces, this is an outstanding set overall for any Batman fan out there. Therefore, I will give this set a score of 4 out of 5.

This set will be available on the 26th of April 2021.

Comment below and share what you think about this set review. Take your time. This is Akira signing off.


The set used for this review was sent to us by The LEGO Group for the purpose of an honest review. Provision of sets do not in any way influence or guarantee a positive review.


 

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall

2 COMMENTS

  1. Great review! I was confused by the color of the parachute color too. On my own 1966 batmobile I built. For the parachutes I used those black 1×1 alphabet tiles with the X on it.

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