42239 Batmobile Tumbler

[Ngoc Nguyen]

 

[Auroralampinen]

New front tires:). 

[HydroWorld Outlook]

I'm actually very surprised to see this set reveal drop as I did not expect this. Another licensed but fictional DC Universe/Batman set for Technic, it seems, with Control+ this time, so that means the Batmobile set from a few years ago must have sold quite well.

That being said, the biggest, most obvious shocker here is the unexpected return of the LEGO Powered Up Control+ system, which most of the LEGO fan community has already agreed is being phased out, especially given the massive parental movements and unprecedented legislation seeking to limit and eliminate kids' screen time, which are happening all over the world right now.

LEGO's introduction of the Smart Play system at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year sent a clear signal to all of us that LEGO intends to cease requiring digital devices to interface with LEGO products, as was further reflected in the LEGO Education Science and AI Kit hardware. And therefore, it has been relatively easy and logical for us to arrive at the conclusion that the Powered Up electronics system—as a whole—is on its way out, and subsystems like Control+ are next on the chopping block.

However, could we have been wrong? I know that's a conversation for our speculation topic, and I don't mean to take us too far off the rails here, but I can't help but wonder why LEGO is still selling Powered Up in new Technic sets. 

Either way, back to the topic at hand, I am looking forward to seeing more pictures and watching the reviews for this new Tumbler set when they come out in the approaching months, as always. 

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Ngoc Nguyen]

11 minutes ago, HydroWorld Outlook said:

That being said, the biggest, most obvious shocker here is the unexpected return of the LEGO Powered Up Control+ system, which most of the LEGO fan community has already agreed is being phased out, especially given the massive parental movements and unprecedented legislation seeking to limit and eliminate kids' screen time, which are happening all over the world right now.

There's nothing surprising about this. What is actually phased out are dedicated Control+ sets with their own Power Up motor arrangements. Control+ still survives through the 2-in-1 car hub, which was first released in 2024 and still continued last year.

[HydroWorld Outlook]

14 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

There's nothing surprising about this. What is actually phased out are dedicated Control+ sets with their own Power Up motor arrangements. Control+ still survives through the 2-in-1 car hub, which was first released in 2024 and still continued last year.

That's true, but still, I was curious why LEGO is producing more of a unit (that is almost certainly being phased out) for a new set about to start its production run. I thought those components were next in line on the chopping block to be discontinued.

Like I said, I don't want to throw this topic off the rails too much—I just thought I should point that out because I thought there was a disconnect between Control+ reappearing and the message LEGO has already, officially sent through introducing the Smart Play system in early 2026.

All that being said, there's always a possibility that the Control+ system may have been simplified to just this one hub with the intention of continuing to exist as it's own standalone electronics system (like the old RC system used in LEGO Racers), isolated from whatever the new larger, mainline successor system of electronics (that hasn't been introduced yet outside of LEGO Education) will be. Again, however, like I stated earlier, that's another topic for another thread.

Returning to the topic of this Tumbler set, those small racing tires look awfully familiar. And I really appreciate how well LEGO used one of the halves from that large Technic joint piece for the rear thruster—that's good part usage! Simple but effective.

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Jurss]

39 minutes ago, Auroralampinen said:

New front tires

looks like rims too?

[HydroWorld Outlook]

2 minutes ago, Jurss said:

looks like rims too?

No, I don't think the rims are new. I believe those are the small racing rim pieces, which have been used in several past sets before. Just the tires, if anything. I'm still searching around, though—have we seen these tires appear anywhere else before?

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Jurss]

For me they look something like this, but with 6 pinholes

[HydroWorld Outlook]

8 minutes ago, Jurss said:

For me they look something like this, but with 6 pinholes

Yes, the wheels we're seeing are almost certainly the Technic small racing rims, which would be these pieces, molded in black:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=41896#T=C

The real question is whether or not the tires used in this set are also new, or if they took have appeared in any sets before.

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Arent the tires from the Bronco?

Also are the front wheel connectors the same hub as those in front wheels in 1:5 motorbikes?

[Jurss]

5 minutes ago, HydroWorld Outlook said:

Technic small racing rims

Arent those at the back? 

[HydroWorld Outlook]

2 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Arent the tires from the Bronco?

Also are the front wheel connectors the same hub as those in front wheels in 1:5 motorbikes?

No, actually, believe it or not. You're right that both the Bronco tires and these new Tumbler tires have similar designs and tread profiles, but these new tires are definitely slightly larger than the Bronco tires, because the Bronco SUV set uses a smaller rim size than this Tumbler set. The small racing rims are larger in diameter than the Bronco wheel rims.

[Jurss]

6 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Arent the tires from the Bronco?

Look very similar, but wider, fater

2 minutes ago, HydroWorld Outlook said:

because the Bronco SUV set uses a smaller rim size than this Tumbler set

I don't think so, those rims are the smaller size

[HydroWorld Outlook]

18 minutes ago, Jurss said:

Arent those at the back? 

I zoomed in on the images a bit closer, and yes, actually—you're right. The back rims are definitely the small racing rims, but the front rims are even smaller in diameter than that, which is very unusual given our current library of parts as of April / May 2026. And these smaller wheel rims appear to still have six holes and one central axle hole each—they must since they clearly connect to the existing three-pin wheel hub elements with ease. That rules out the 30mm 7-Hole Technic shroud piece 60208.

So yes, after considering all this evidence, it's very highly plausible that these smaller front wheel rim elements could be new parts—extra small racing rims, perhaps. We'll have to wait for LEGO to publish clearer pictures and lifestyle photos before we'll be able to know for sure.

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[Ngoc Nguyen]

24 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Also are the front wheel connectors the same hub as those in front wheels in 1:5 motorbikes?

I mean this part in black.

[HydroWorld Outlook]

5 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I mean this part in black.

Oh, sorry I misunderstood, I was thinking about the wheels. Yes, those wheel hub mount parts are definitely present here, recolored in black. However, these parts are overkill for driving wheel rims as small as those used for the front tires, which is probably exactly why TLG chose them—for their strength. This is the Tumbler after all, and since it's a Control+ vehicle, it has to be much more resilient in rough play environments. 

Edited May 1 by HydroWorld Outlook

[mpj]

Front tires look to be 58x28.

Rims are also new because they look like 30mm wheels but with pin holes.

[Satisfied]

I wonder how its steering mechanism works.

[aFrInaTi0n]

@Satisfied #2 :)

I am having a halfly finished / not yet well working bigger tumbler, I am using virtual pivot with a steering arm on each side - but I left the project 2yrs ago at exact that point... *sigh - might me a good motivation to got back into bricking :)

[R0Sch]

You would think it's made in Technic because it will feature some nice functions, but no, it's just another black car with ugly colors sticking out all over the place and that same overpriced motor+battery hub we all hate. Why not simply round it up to 200€, it's random anyway?

[mahjqa]

Somehow I think it's unlikely they squeezed the previous All-in-one control+ hub in there*, but they're not advertising separate components on the box. Frustrating. 

*rear wheels seem to be using a diff

[R0Sch]

13 minutes ago, mahjqa said:

Somehow I think it's unlikely they squeezed the previous All-in-one control+ hub in there*, but they're not advertising separate components on the box. Frustrating. 

*rear wheels seem to be using a diff

It's there, you can see the grey parts in the rear shot. It also has the 2 lights advertised so yeah, that explains the high price.
I also add the google translation of the official LEGO specification, it uses the rechargeable battery only found in that all-in-one hub:

REMOTE-CONTROLLED TOY CAR: The LEGO® Technic Batmobile™ Tumbler (42239) in this building set offers kids aged 12 and up tons of superhero action fun.
DYNAMIC PLAY EXPERIENCE: This set also includes the CONTROL+ app, which lets kids steer the car, turn on the lights, and test their driving skills in exciting races.
JET PROPULSION: Just like the car in the movie, this Batmobile™ Tumbler has a booster function that lights up and provides extra power for a successful chase.
RECHARGEABLE BATTERY: The battery can be recharged again and again using a USB-C cable (not included) to power the toy car.
GIFT IDEA FOR KIDS: This set makes a great birthday present for kids aged 12 and up who love Batman™ and cars.
DISCOVER OTHER SETS: Check out other LEGO® Technic CONTROL+ sets, sold separately, let kids activate fascinating driving functions and complete exciting challenges.
3D BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS: Discover the digital instructions in the LEGO® Builder app. In the app, kids can save sets, zoom and rotate 3D models, and see their progress.
DIMENSIONS: The Batmobile™ from this 719-piece set measures 11 cm high, 31 cm long, and 17 cm wide.

Edited May 1 by R0Sch
added specifications

[Jundis]

4 hours ago, mpj said:

Front tires look to be 58x28.

Rims are also new because they look like 30mm wheels but with pin holes.

My guess is, these front tires are also used in the 42231 Charger as rear tires.

Edited May 1 by Jundis

[gyenesvi]

Okay, even though the model itself is not interesting for me, there are some interesting developments here. The front tire looks like 56/58mm diameter, the rear one is probably the 68mm one on small racing rims. The more interesting is that it definitely seems to have a new small rim at the front with 3/6 pinholes so that it can be mounted on wheel hubs, which could mean new possibilities for front wheel drive in smaller scales. I assume it matches existing 56 mm tires (so the front tire may just be the Bronco tire). My guess would be that the upcoming Unimog has the same rim at the front, that's how all wheel drive is implemented!!

Other than that, the only mechanically interesting part of this set will be the implementation of the steering.

And yeah, we suspected for a while that this would probably be using the all-in-one hub for the RC part, so no surprise there. I think they still had stock of that, and this set is (hopefully) the last one using them up.

Edited May 1 by gyenesvi

[R0Sch]

On 5/1/2026 at 1:11 PM, Jundis said:

My guess is, these front tires are also used in the 42231 Charger as rear tires.

That is correct. The front tires and rear tires of the Charger are 58x28 56x26 according to this Tumbler image. 

Edited May 3 by R0Sch