Matchbox Sky Busters Batman v Superman Batwing (with special guest star The Bat)

With the 'gotta know it now' attitude of the internet, and all the world's toy knowledge contained therein at my fingertips, few toy releases sneak up on me anymore these days. So imagine my shock to discover the Matchbox Sky Busters Batman v Superman Batwing the other day just chillaxing on the pegs at Toys R Us.

The Sky Busters line are larger than your standard Matchbox/Hotwheels vehicle. Scale is of course all over the place as the vehicles are generally the same size regardless of vehicle type (a 747 is about the same size as a Cessna) but if you were to set this Batwing next to the Hotwheels version of the Batman v Superman Batmobile, you're probably in a pretty close ballpark for matching scale of the two vehicles.

Not only did I have no idea this thing existed or was set for release, but I didn't learn about it before actually seeing it in the wild, which is a refreshing change of pace as it means I did not spend any sleepless nights praying to the toy Gods that I'd find it on my next toy hunt. Nor did I have to put out the TAPB (Toy All Points Bulletin) to my fellow toy collectors to be on the lookout for me!

Not a bad looking Batwing, it looks like an actual bat as it hangs from a cave ceiling.

The Batwing is only die-cast on the top of the fuselage. The rest is plastic. It feels lighter than I expected it to be, but it still makes for a sturdy feeling toy vehicle. I think Toys R Us is charging $3.99 (or was it $4.99?) for these things, which is a fair price given the scale. The Batwing has landing gear which is permanently extended but the wheels do roll.

The Batman v Superman Batwing is undeniably recognizable as a Bat-vehicle and a fun addition to any collection or for any fan of The Batman, regardless of their thoughts on the movie itself.

The last time I was caught so unawares by Matchbox was when they released The Bat from The Dark Knight Rises. So I couldn't resist busting out The Bat for this photo shoot.

The Bat was and is an ugly thing that looks nothing like any proper Bat-vehicle, but I suppose it's become an icon in it's own right at this point.

As dumb as it looks, I am glad I found The Bat on the pegs back when it was released and am especially glad that the Matchbox Sky Busters line has actually continued with the Bat theme. Would it be too bold of me to hope for an '89 Batwing, or perhaps a Batman Animated Batwing in the Sky Busters line-up sometime in the future?

More Decool Superhero BootLEGOs available now!

I discovered another sweet lot of Decool brand superhero BootLEGOs the other day that includes another Batman of Zur-En-Arrh as well as an Anne Hathaway The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman! Also included in the lot is a masked brown costume Wolverine, Storm, Magneto and TDKR Batman.

I ordered my set off eBay and they just arrived (I will do a more in depth post soon.) They can also be purchased from Aliexpress.

Like all other BootLEGOs they are not 100% LEGO quality but they are pretty close. Both Decool and Sheng Yuan are good bootlegs and I recommend them if you are looking for cheap alternatives to impossible to find or insanely expensive LEGO minifigures.

I was primarily sold on this set because of the TDKR Catwoman, a minifig you can't get in any official LEGO release. But having a masked brown costume Wolverine and yes, a second Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (because let's face it, who ever expected one official LEGO version, let alone a bootleg, let alone a SECOND BOOTLEG!!!!) pushed me right over to the Buy It Now button. Storm and Magneto and a Bale Batman are just icing on the cake at this point. And I got them all plus shipping for less than an official brown costume Wolverine LEGO minifigure would cost me!

We live in wonderful, interesting times indeed.

Back in Bat

I previously posted about the Hotwheels version of The Bat, the hideously ugly not-Batwing from The Dark Knight Rises. A surprise entry into the Hotwheels ranks I must admit, as it is neither Hot nor Wheeled.

Well hold on to your love of aesthetics, because Mattel continues to surprise by releasing a Matchbox version in their Sky Busters die-cast aircraft series!

As you can see, this Matchbox Sky Busters version is larger than it's Hotwheels counterpart, and probably closer to a true 1:64 scale. I found my Bat at Kohls and although it is listed at $3.99 it was on sale and I got it for around $1.50. (I don't think it's humanly possible to pay sticker price at Kohls. Their entire business model is jacking up prices so they can have a 'sale' every single flippin' day. Their price signs are digital, for heaven's sake!)

I've seen Sky Busters at Toys R Us and Target and they are probably available most anywhere Matchbox are sold.

Part of the 2012 Undercover Series, The Bat is just an odd inclusion into any sub-set that isn't Batman specific. But as ugly as it is, it is kind of fun to swoosh around the room and I know any kid (or adult) into aircraft and Batman would love to have it in their collection.

As you can see, the Matchbox Bat is quite a bit larger than the Hotwheels Bat. There are a few differences in sculpt as well, meaning this isn't just a larger scale of the same exact toy.

The positioning of the rear tailfins is the most obvious difference in physical design. Sky Buster Bat is also painted in a flat black while Hotwheels Bat is shiny. Matchbox wins for movie accuracy there.

The engine thingys up front are a little stubbier on Matchbox's Bat too.

It wasn't until I looked closely at Matchbox Bat underneath that I noticed both versions have the propellers sculpted into the undercarriage details. That's pretty neat!

If I could only have one, I'd say the Matchbox Sky Busters Bat is the better Bat. They're both Bat-Ugly but definitely fun, unique vehicles and a must have in any Bat vehicle collection!

Lego Batmobile and Target Holiday Batman

Thanksgiving is over and, if you haven't already been thinking about it since Halloween ended, it is time to start planning for Christmas (or your yuletide holiday of choice.)

Target has swept out the literal and figurative cobwebs of Halloween 2012 and now has their Christmas stuff all bunched up in the corner of their stores, including some great new stocking stuffers:

Up first is Lego set 30161 which is a polybagged mini-kit Batmobile!

Consisting of 45 pieces, this is a cute little Batmobile that sadly does not include a mini-figure.

You will just have to be content with a Batmobile.

And if you aren't content with a small Lego Batmobile that cost you $3.99 you have no soul.

It is interesting that there is no Bat indicia on this vehicle at all. That's rare for such a marketing juggernaut as Batman!

And speaking of marketing juggernaut:

Target has again released a holiday themed Dark Knight Rises Batman (just in time for us all to get the DVD or BluRay for Christmas!)

Like the Halloween Batman, this Holiday or Christmas or Winter Batman comes packaged to theme. Batman appears to be in a snow-globe and although more subtle than the pumpkin bubble of the previous Target exclusive, the look is both effective and fun.

Batman is garbed in his standard Dark Knight Rises costume but is cast in winter camouflage - white plastic with sparkly silver/grey splotches. Batman also sports a white cloth cape. I'll open him up when I start decorating the house for Christmas but until then he remains safely ensconced in his faux snow globe. In the meantime, he's $4.99 at Target and hopefully not too hard to find for those of you interested in this neat Target Exclusive variant!

Target Exclusive Halloween Batman :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

You've probably already seen this guy on other toy blogs by now. I found mine way back near the beginning of September, but I had to save him for the Halloween Countdown!

This is the Target Exclusive The Dark Knight Rises Halloween Batman that is (hopefully still) available in their Halloween section.

This Batman is a repainted version of the Stealth Vision Batman that was released with the Battle for Gotham City set (also a Target Exclusive.) The biggest difference, besides the color, is that this one comes with a cape while his Battle for Gotham City version is cape-less.

This is an all around nice Batman - better than most Kenner or Mattel repaints: his armor is cool and not over done, and this color scheme is very Halloweeny yet not too far from something Batman may actually wear. It has a very Batman Beyond vibe to it!  And the cloth cape really adds to this designa nd makes it a worthy costume variant for the Dark Knight to trick or treat in!

Or one could even imagine this is a Nolanverse Azrael or even...you know who...under that mask!

Here's the card back for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Selling for $4.99, this is a neat Batman variant figure and one I am glad to have added to the Toyriffic Treasure Chest.

Don't call it a Batwing

Thanks to Brian of Cool and Collected, I finally have my hands on The Bat!

Brian graciously gave me this 2012 Hot Wheels New Models #27 of 50 since he isn't a Hot Wheel collector and I am ;) (Yes, he found himself one too!)

I have to admit, The Bat is an odd one. An ugly vehicle by any standard, it flies (pun intended) in the face of Hot Wheel conventionality by...not having any wheels at all. In fact, as I sit here I cannot think of another Hot Wheel that has been released completely sans wheels. Even Hot Wheels airplanes have a couple wheels!

Anyone?

It is, at least, die-cast (the top part, anyways.)

This thing reminds me of a rolly-polly.

Wheel-less and ugly-as-sin or not, The Bat is a must have for me and most Batman fans (and Hot Wheels fans too!)

 A Bat vehicle is a Bat vehicle no matter how you slice it!

From the cardback:

Born: 2012
Birthplace: Gotham City
Designer: Wayne Industries
Specialty: The first flying vehicle in the Dark Knight's crime-fighting arsenal, THE BAT features twin mounted cannons. It's maneuverability allows BATMAN to engage in low-altitude pursuits amid the skyscrapers of downtown GOTHAM CITY.

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Win a TDKR Catwoman (plus some other Gothamites too!)

Hurry on over to The Batcave Toyroom to enter for your chance to win a Target Exclusive 'Battle for Gotham City' five action figure set...you know, the one that includes Anne Hathaway's Catwoman in 4" scale.

So the only way you can get this Catwoman figure is in this set, so don't miss your chance to win one for free! You have until August 31st 2012 to enter but why wait? Head over to The Batcave Toyroom now!

The Dark Knight Rises up to the Hotwheels aisle

Yes folks, that's 'The Bat,' a brand new Hotwheels release of the flying vehicle sans auto pilot flown by Batman in The Dark Knight Rises.

Looks like I need to start hitting the Hotwheels aisles again!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Thoughts on Hathaway's Catwoman

Careful, there may be minor spoilers ahead...

Probably the most comic-booky thing about The Dark Knight Rises was Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Selina Kyle (and her unnamed cat burgler alter ego known to all of us as Catwoman.)

Don't get me wrong; by 'comic-booky' I don't mean 'corny; or 'campy' or anything like that. I just mean that Hathaway's Selina Kyle/Catwoman scenes play like a true comic book movie, something that, it could be argued, Nolan's Batman movies are not.

Sans Catwoman, TDKR would have been a two hour and forty five minute uber-thriller with Batman in it for...oh about fifteen minutes.

Hathaway plays Selina and Catwoman better than anyone on screen has done to date. Sorry Julie and Eartha and Lee and Michelle; while your Catwomen were perfect (or, dare I say it...purrrfect) for their respective times, Nolan's universe demanded someone up the ante.

Hathaway does so in spades. (HAHA get it? Spade - spayed - Cat - HAHAHA!)

And unlike me, there are no ridiculous Cat puns with this Catwoman. There is however some serious butt whoopin skills, a sexy 'realistic' costume (except maybe those stilletto heels, but whadayagonnado?) and criminal motivation and skills straight out of the better Catwoman comic books of the past thirty or so years.

The 'team up' scenes with Batman and Catwoman were the most fun parts of TDKR, a film with little room for any kind of fun in it's bleak apocalyptic take on Gotham's darkest hour.

I was totally engrossed in the overarching story when I viewed TDKR for the first time; I look forward to viewing it again and soaking in the nuances, including paying more attention to Selina's scenes.

The Dark Knight Rises :: My (spoiler free) Thoughts

I was literally rendered speechless after viewing The Dark Knight Rises. I went to the midnight showing on Thursday night (technically Friday morning) with a group of friends, and since the movie let out at 3am I went straight home and went to bed.

Not that I would have been able to chat or discuss it at that time anyways.

People asked me the next day what I thought and I was still without words.

I liked it. Sometimes I felt I liked it in spite of myself. Can I explain that? Maybe not without spoilers. But that was my initial reaction.

As we know, TDKR deals with Bane as the main villain. Bane is relatively contemporary, at least he's a 'my generation' character, unlike the Joker and Catwoman and even Batman who began life in the golden age. But more surprisingly, the film felt like a 'my generation' film entirely, which is not necessarily the best thing or what I want in my Batman movies, especially since the contemporary world is so brutal and unforgiving (see the headlines and news stories of the past few days and you'll know what I mean.)

TDKR is brutal and unforgiving. Bane is brutal and unforgiving. Okay, maybe this last bit is a spoiler so highlight only if you have seen the movie:

I saw my hero beaten near to death and I didn't like it one single bit. The fact that Bane actually picked Batman up and smashed him over his knee literally shocked me to the core. I know, it's integral to the character, but so is 'venom' and they never mention that. I did not expect to see Nolan's Bane snap Batman like that. And when he did it had an impact on me. It hurt.

Yet there I was watching a mosaic made up of pieces of comics I read 'growing up,' that grew up with me, and I couldn't believe they were able to pull these bits off in a movie! It was as awesome as it was brutal.

I haven't had much chance to talk to my circle of IRL folks who have seen it yet (the price you pay for seeing it the second it's released!), but look forward to chatting with both deeply initiated Bat-friends and the uninitiated alike. I think their perspectives will help me digest the film better. I also know that I have to see it again; it was a thick, heavy film and I know I missed a lot in the first viewing, especially because so many moments my mind shifted as I sat there thinking 'I remember that from the comics!'

Bottom line: I liked the movie. I probably even loved the movie. There were some truly incredible moments that I never in a million years thought I'd see in a Batman movie.

It was the movie I deserved, but not the movie I needed. And now that the 'realism' of Batman has been looked at in a trilogy that will never be matched in tone and scope, I look forward to a more 'perfect' (read: less 'real') Batman once the inevitable reboot occurs. I don't want camp, I do want relatively serious, but I don't want to worry about Batman having kidneys full of scar tissue. Think Batman: Animated come to life. That's what I hope to see next time.

But from the bottom of my heart I thank Nolan et al for showing me this Batman and making the past seven years one of the best times in history to be a Bat-fan!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Inside the Catsuit

Or more accurately, a look at what goes on inside the mind of a costume designer (specifically Lindy Hemming) when designing a Catwoman costume for the Nolan Bat-universe.

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Kimberly Moore as TDKR Catwoman

Finishing off our Kimberly Moore double feature (and it is only a double feature because she has yet to cosplay as Poison Ivy!) today we bring you Kimberly Moore as The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman!

I'm sure this version of Catwoman cosplay will become ubiquitous within weeks but Kim's is the first I've seen and pretty damn good!

Those boots look deadly, and not just to walk in!

Kim cosplays many different characters, (see her bio on yesterday's Harley Qwednesday post) but her TDKR Catwoman may be my favorite.

There's just something about a gal in skin tight vinyl and stiletto heels. What can I say, I'm only human!

This guy's TDKR bane is pretty good too.

If you haven't already, be sure to follow Kimberly's Facebook page and look for her on the Convention circuit!

Thanks again, Kim!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Battle for Gotham City

When I saw the Target exclusive 'Battle for Gotham City' set of five The Dark Knight Rises action figures at The Batcave Toyroom, I knew I HAD to have it for Catwoman alone.

Although I scoured the local Targets and even put out an APB to my sister, a regular Targetaholic, I couldn't find the set anywhere near me. Thankfully The Batcave Toyroom's John (haha that sounds dirty) is awesome and offered to go back to his Target, where he found a set and even gifted it to me free of charge! Whatta guy!

See, dolly lovers aren't so bad after all ;)

The standout figure of the set is of course Catwoman. Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle is well represented here in appx. 4" of plastic. I am surprised however that they went with her 'ears down' look, as she looks less like a Catwoman in this version.

It also remains to be seen if this is set is the only way one can get their hands on this scale's Catwoman, but she has yet to appear in any other wave, so I bet it is. Especially since all the day-glo Batmen and dullsville Banes are likely to prevent this series from seeing a second wave.

That said, for the $21.99 asking price, this is a good set and worth the money. Read on:

In addition to Catwoman, you get four other figures in this set, so each figure comes to about $4.40 pre tax. That's a steal in today's market, although if you are an articulationazi (of which I am not,) you probably still feel slighted by the lack of articulation in these figures regardless of price.

Stealth Vision Batman is a neat figure for a Bat variant. His costume is acceptable as a comic variant and not gaudy or ridiculous. He also comes with two bladed weapons that actually look like they'd be more at home with Catwoman.

Ninja Bruce Wayne is also included. This figure saw release around Batman Begins I believe (at least in the 5" scale anyways,) so you may already have it. I don't, and it's a good representation of Bale as Bruce, so it's ok with me. Also, I suppose you could do a head swap with the Batman in this set and have a maskless version, which would be fun to have in this scale.

We've seen this Batman before as well, but I have a silvery variant so this all black version is also new to me. Not a spectacular figure, but for $4.40 I would not have a problem grabbing this set. Batman has a phaser type accessory that I believe showed up in a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, but I won't know what it 'does' until I see the film.

Bane should be a great figure - he's definitely new and unique and movie accurate, but he's just bland.  I know his color palette and costume design are partially responsible for that fact, but he's also limited in his paint apps and details and therefore does little for me except excite me because I have a Tom Hardy Bane, probably the only one I will own until all the TDKR toys hit clearance (or the flea market.)

Here's the back of the set. Even in the professional shots, Bane looks uber-dull.

'They call me Bruce.'

'Boogie fever!'

The set comes with a nice diorama background showing the Gotham sewers, skyline and alleyways. Nice illustration, and if I was still a kid who played with my toys, or if I displayed in this sort of manner, I would certainly have kept it.

Of course when you have a Bane and a Batman you have to do the 'I will BREAK YOU!' pose.

Back to Catwoman. The costume's 'fabric' variations are well represented - her body suit is textured and her belt compartments look metallic whilst her boots and gloves are shiny.

The goggles are cool and the limited paint apps work for Catwoman; with red lips and blue lights on her night vision specs.

I would have still preferred the goggles up for the 'cat ears' look, but I won't complain. I never expected a Catwoman in this scale at all, and I am fine that it came to us in a Target exclusive set. Had it been a Walmart exclusive, I probably would have been pissed, because I can never find those.

Is it July 20th yet?

HUGE thanks again to John of Batcave Toyroom fame for this set!