Set Review: ➟ 76139 The 1989 Batmobile
Those of us in our 40s have our teens marked by vehicles that are so iconic they have a name of their own, such as the Back to the Future DeLorean, Ghostbusters Ecto-1, or Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine.
And among all these vehicles, one of the most recognizable is undoubtedly the Batmobile, a discreet car where there are any, full of gadgets used by the Dark Knight, and now LEGO® launches a UCS reproduction of the version seen in Tim Burton’s 1989 film, to commemorate the film’s 30th anniversary.
The Set
The box is not very large considering this is a UCS. It is true that it is thick and somewhat heavy, but I dare say that it is one of the smallest UCS boxes. Inside the box there is a secondary white box with several bags of pieces, the instruction book and the sticker sheet (with 19 stickers), the rest of the bags with pieces, up to a total of 24, are inside the larger box of the set. The instructions are presented in a booklet without rings of just over 400 pages.
The Assembly
Obviously it’s a long assembly, as it’s a 3,300 piece UCS, but it’s a simple and fun. At first it may seem a bit tedious, given that as I said there are 24 bags of parts. But unlike other sets, in this case there is only one bag per number, and the parts are specific and make for a fast assembly of the Batmobile.
It begins by building the base of the chassis, and part of the front.
In this part of the construction the best thing is the assembly of the steering mechanism that allows you to turn the front wheels with the steering wheel. Also, the system to elevate the machine guns was really fun and entertaining to build.
It continues with part of the rear profile and the reinforcement of the interior, followed by part of the inside of the driver’s cabin. Then the structure that will support the upper part of the engine is mounted. Spoiler alert: there is no engine inside, it is simply structure.
After completing the assembly of the front, we continue with the sides, part of the rear, and the inside of the driver’s cabin.
This is where we find the exclusive piece of windshield made for this set, and the system designed to make it slide as in the film. It is remarkable the level of detail and the techniques used to achieve them, especially in the sides and curvatures of the vehicle.
Finally, we conclude by finishing the rear part, the rotating exhibition base and the stand for the three minifigs included in the set, Vicki Vale, a journalist from Gotham, Joker and Batman, with a new and surprising hardcover attached to the hood! A new piece that will delight many of us, and that puts honey on our lips thinking about future rigid layers for our minifigs…
Conclusion
In short, this is a set that if you are a fan of Batman you should really have-. It exceeds the previous Batmobile UCS 2006, the 7784. It’s bigger, but not by much, but it’s much better finished, without as many visible studs as the previous one, and therefore better profiled curves.
I must admit that I have enjoyed building the set very much, and especially the steering and lifting mechanisms of the weapons, which is controlled from the rear exhaust pipe. I also liked the techniques used to achieve the characteristic profile of the Batmobile. I especially enjoyed this version since it belongs to a film that is part of my teenage years and which, if I recall correctly, was one of the first superhero movies I enjoyed.
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