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WesternOutlaw

Review: 7783 Batman - Batcave

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I just picked up the Batcave today and although I see a previous image review, I thought I would post a second review with different images and my thoughts on the set.

Batman

The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion, set 7783

Piece Count: 1,075

Price in US Dollars: $89.99

Figs: 7

This set consists of seven different assemblies; four comprising the batcave, and three vehicles.

- Control/central batcave structure

- Batgun tower

- Jail structure

- Turnable bat sled platform

- Bat sled

- Penguin's submarine

- Robins' jet ski

(and three small armed penguins with just a few pieces each (I did not count as an assembly)

First, a shot of the entire set (without stickers):

01wholeset.jpg

The steps of the central/main control structure. The steps are held into place at the base and the top (although not completely tight):

23mainsteps.jpg

The control/bat computer level (probably the best part of the set). I'm not fond of stickers and the computer screen requires one large middle sticker and two smaller stickers on the sides. I'll probably scan first, print, then place the stickers on the set. The chairs turn 360 degrees. The sides of the computer screen turn slightly. And under the table with the glasses is a secret compartment were one can hide gunds, cuffs, and other bat assessories.

09control1.jpg

Just another angle. I like the chairs the best:

10control2.jpg

The gun tower on the left side of the main structure. Not much of interest other than the gun:

12batguntower.jpg

And the batgun. The gun has three parts, including the large spring-loaded batgun (like on the batmobile), a chair for batman to sit on (that radar/light piece is not a sticker), and the middle section that contains a net that can be ejected by folding and pushing tight within the compartment, and pushing the back piece causing the net to shoot out.

11batgun1.jpg

The jail section:

17jail1.jpg

This section was nicely designed. The back has a round section like a sewer or pipe leading out:

18jail2.jpg

A trap door on top opens by pulling a technic beam. Pushing it back in raises the trap door:

19jail3.jpg

On the top is also Batman's disguise chamber. It looks good, but I find that the hatches/doors are hard to open:

20disguisechamber.jpg

The last section of the Batcave is the front platform for the batsled. What is nice is that it turns 360 degrees by turning the technique beam, but it does turn rather slow.

22platform2.jpg

On to the vehicles. The largest is the batsled. Interesting choice of vehicles, but I suppose all the others were separate sets. It's not too sturdy, but looks rather neat:

02batsled.jpg

Robin's jet ski, the smallest of the vehicles contained in this set. Nothing too exciting:

14robinjetski.jpg

My favorite of the vehicles in this set, Penguin's submarine:

03penguinsub1.jpg

Both sides open to allow you to place Penguin in the sub. Inside is a periscope that does raise and lower, a gauge, and faucet piece:

05penguinsub3.jpg

And the figs starting with the good guys:

15goodguys.jpg

And the bad:

16badguys.jpg

Close up shot of Mr. Freeze- a very nice fig with freeze gun:

08mrfreeze2.jpg

The Penguin, among my favorites:

06penguin.jpg

And one of the best figs in the set, Robin. I've never been real fond of Robin but Lego did a very good job at designing this fig:

13robin.jpg

Summary

Pros

- As with all the Batman sets, the figs are superb (esp. Penguin, Freeze, and Robin).

- The set contains a number of mechanisms that add to the overall design of the set. The bat net gun moves up and down using a gear as well as the turnable vehicle platform. And I esp. like the trap door to the prison.

- Very good playability with numerous vehicles, figs, and separate batcave sections.

- Great assortment of unique pieces.

Cons

- This is a large set with over a thousand pieces. Having separate bags for each assembly would have made the build much more enjoyable and less timely. I found myself hunting for pieces to a point I was tired of building (the set probably took me around 3-4 hours to build) - and it doesn't seem like it would.

- I hate the need to place the large stickers on the bat computer screens. No more stickers Lego!

- Not too impressed with the bat sled. It's among my least favorite of the vehicles from all the Batman sets). It's flimsy.

- I'm not real impressed with how the two side sections (gun tower and jail) attach to the central/main structure. They attach with a short catwalk/walkway that does not sturdily hold the sections together.

- Almost one hundred US dollars which is pretty pricey.

I hope this review helps if you're considering buying this set. I would probably buy again.

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Tks Brickster for this neat review ;-)

The bottom of the "gun tower" really looks like a pier/dock to me 8-

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The bottom of the gun tower is definately some sort of dock.

Here's a shot of Mr. Freeze's back and those little penguins:

08mrfreezeback.jpg

24penguins.jpg

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Tks Brickster for those shots ;-)

I really can't wait to get this set !! Bloody TLC not sending the cave to my TRU >:-(

One more question though: are there any additional yellow teeth btw (as extra part) ?? just to make an extra pinguin without needing BL ;-)

*yoda*

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One more question though: are there any additional yellow teeth btw (as extra part) ?? just to make an extra pinguin without needing BL ;-)

There's a total of seven contained in the set. Three for the penguins and four on the back of Penguin's sub (as part of the back rudders). No extra.

I went to my local TRU yesterday and they had a large display of this set, the Sail Barge, and the Star Destroyer. I wasn't sure which set to buy, but to complete my Batman collection, I bought this.

Now I want a Lego minifig case to store all the Batman figs.

Oh, BTW, here's a shot of the stickers. One good thing is that they're not clear which makes them easier to scan and cut. I like to do this to keep the original sheet intact.

stickersheet.jpg

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Arghhh, me eyes fell on that horrendous DSS (Dreaded Sticker Sheet) and they do hurt now !! :-D

No extras then, that was anticipated !! Will need to BL those then ;-)

I love how they say "name unknown" for the Joker :-D Way to go TLC !! It seems they need to do something really stupid in each bigger set :-|

*yoda*

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I also wondered why they didn't have the numbered set bags. If they put them in a set like the batmobile, then why not the biggest set in the theme? BTW, the turntable is meant for the batmobile and the dock is meant for the batboat. It says that on lego.com at S@H.

A little extra that I added was this: I made a copy of the display case for the joker bomb and put the extra silver 1x1 circle in it for two faces coin.

-l2k-

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I also wondered why they didn't have the numbered set bags. If they put them in a set like the batmobile, A little extra that I added was this: I made a copy of the display case for the joker bomb and put the extra silver 1x1 circle in it for two faces coin.

-l2k-

Good idea l2k ;-) Will do it as well as soon as I have my cave hehe !!

*yoda*

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Great review Brickster, you have covered just about all the questions that i would of asked with your review and great pics.

Just one thing though is it possible for you to post a scanned copy of the sticker sheet??

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I love how they say "name unknown" for the Joker :-D Way to go TLC !! It seems they need to do something really stupid in each bigger set :-|

Where's the mistake? It says "Name: Unknown", "Alias: The Joker". A quick look at Wikipedia and you can see that his real name is unknown, so LEGO got it right ;-)

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Weird, so who is Jack Napier then *wacko* ??

Is there such a big difference between the comic (I never read) and the Burton movie ?

*yoda*

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Yes, Jack Napier was made up for the movie. The Joker's origin in the graphic novel 'The Killing Joke' was much different.

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Oh....now my caption for the contest makes no sense. I should look stuff up before just assuming the things that 'wise' Yoda over there are correct.

:-P

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Yes, Jack Napier was made up for the movie. The Joker's origin in the graphic novel 'The Killing Joke' was much different.

Actually, Joker's real name was never mentioned in the Killing Joke or anywhere in the comics for that matter.

The animated series also calls The Joker Jack Napier, which is an homage to Alan Napier, the actor that played Alfred in the 60's TV series.

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Actually, Joker's real name was never mentioned in the Killing Joke or anywhere in the comics for that matter.

I never said it was ;-)

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Great review...I hope we dont get bummed here (In the UK) for the price.

Hmm lets see $89.99

Sentai Fortress = $99.99 UK =

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