[REVIEW] 5004939 - TLBM Minifigures (Bricktober 2017)

[makoy]

I did the review of the Ninjago Minifigures Bricktober 2017 set last week so if you have not read that, go ahead and read it. As a moderate fan of Superhero movies and comics, I like Batman. I can tell you upfront that I'm not the biggest fan but I can tell you right away that I really like this set when it was first announced. So, let's not waste more time and go straight to my 13th RA review, set # 5004939 The LEGO Batman Movie Minifigures (Bricktober 2017).

Overview

Name: 5004939 - The LEGO Batman Movie  Minifigures
Theme: Promotional \ Toys R Us (Bricktober)
Year: 2017 (2H)
Pieces: 27 pcs
Minifigures: 4
Price: free with purchase

USA: Free with purchase worth 50 USD or more 
Canada: Free with purchase worth 75 CAD or more 
Europe (i.e.Germany): available at 14.99 EUR initially then became free with purchase worth 40 EUR or more
Singapore: Free with purchase worth 60 SGD or more
Malaysia: Free with purchase 199 MYR or more
Hong Kong: Free with purchase 450 HKD or more

Offers vary per country. It could also vary in different stores in the USA.

 

Introduction

If you read my first review on this year's Bricktober, you'll know that this year has a lot of very interesting minifigures. I'm going to switch gear to my superhero thinking hat now so let's begin with the front panel of the packaging.

Front view

Just like the Ninjago set, the little box is protected with a slide-in plastic cover that is secured with seals at both ends. The TLBM set contains some small elements that may detach from the minifigure accidentally and could slip outside the case due to their small size. So when you get your copy, pay attention to the 1x2 money tile and gold sword. Ensure they are in the package.

Unlike the previous set that I got, these minifigures are snuggly fit inside their own chambers inside the packaging. I also noticed that this packaging has less words in front than the Ninjago package. Apart from the recommended age of "6+" and "Limited Edition Exclusively at Toys R Us" words, there is no other printed words.

 

Back view

There are 2 more corporate logos included at the back, reminding everyone that this is a licensed property of both DC and Warner Bros. Like the previous set, the packaging seal / batch number at the back of my set is 24GH7 even though there is one country missing in the source of components -- Hungary. Components were sourced from Denmark, the Czech Republic, Mexico and China. 

 

Side view

This is the 2nd set for Bricktober 2017 therefore the "minifigure #2" is highlighted in white at the top side of the box. This is true to my region as different markets may have different order of release. Again folks, this set is "Limited edition, Exclusively at Toys R Us" as seen from all sides of the packaging. As with the previous set, those words are translated from English to German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian and Mandarin (Chinese).

In Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, there is a free pop-up card laminated paper backdrop that comes free with each Bricktober set. I am not sure if the item below is also available in US/UK/EU because it really varies per market.

You can see the front of the card below. The information printed on the back is the same as the previous one.

Below is how the pop-up card looks like with the minifigures

Minifigures

I used a hobby knife to cut the seals from both ends and then I freed the minifigures out of the box. Voila!

We get 4 minifigures out of the box. From left to right, these Batman minifigures are officially named Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman, Easter Bunny Batman, Wizbat and Baturion. They all came pre-built so there is no building needed.

I reported the weak clutch power in the Ninjago set last week for which I was truly disappointed. For this set, I have a mixed result as far as my copy is concerned. Only the Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman has a much weaker clutch power. The Easter Bunny Batman has a weak clutch power due to the utility belt in the middle of the torso and legs assembly. When I remove the utility belt and put together the torso and legs assembly together, the clutch power is remarkably stronger than any of these Batman minifigures. The Wizbat is given to have a weaker clutch power because it is connected to a slope piece. However,  once I connect it to other legs assembly, a normal clutch power is there. Baturion is also weaker than typical but not as weak as the Dollar Bill Tuxedo batman.

 

Front view with all accessories and head gears / hair piece

There are a number of different batsuits that are yet to be released so when these four were announced I was really excited, specially for the blue bunny. The prints are all unique. Having Bunny headgear in a new colour alone is something to be excited about, at least to those who collect all the animal costumed characters.

Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman comes in green torso and legs assembly with dollar bill printed all over it - front, back and sides. He even has a gold necklace, a black undershirt and black necktie. A 100 bill 1x2 tile also comes as additional accessory. I think this tuxedo is something that a pimp will wear but I really don't know anyone in real life so who am I to speak. 

Next is the Easter Bunny Batman which comes in Bright Light Blue. LEGO officially calls this colour Light Royal Blue so there is something royal to this Blue Easter Bunny. It has pink basket (soft rubbery material), a dark azure egg, and a white utility belt (new colour).

Wizbat is a ridiculous rendition of a wizard Batman. He has a bat bling bling (amulet) and a bat staff. His bat robe has batman symbol printed in front of the dark blue torso and slope piece. It also comes with a dark blue cape and high round collar.

Last one is Baturion which is essentially a Centurion Batman, hence the name. I have to be blunt though. I don't like the ancient Roman army in general. I didn't collect the Roman soldier minifigures and I don't care much about them so my opinion on Baturion is just neutral. I do appreciate the design. It is an excellent minifigure. It has a curved rectangular shield in black with batman logo (new colour & print), a unique torso, new dual moulded legs with new printing, as well as a new roman soldier helmet in black with dark red plume fused together. It also comes with a gold sword. It's really a loaded minifigure and I can see why many people will like it.

 

Back view with all accessories and head gears / hair piece

The back view shows the back printing of the Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman and Easter Bunny Batman. The material used in Wizbat and Baturion cape is the spongy stretchable type, but there is also a classic cloth used for the high round collar of Wizbat. As you can see from the picture above, the capes were all creased because they were already inserted and worn onto the minifigure inside the packaging. I will talk more about these capes later on, but let's continue with the minifigure details first.

 

Side view

The side printing is quite generous in this set. Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman got both side arm and leg printing showing the same dollar print, while Baturion has side leg printing showing the pleated garment. 

 

Front view without the accessories and head gears / hair piece.

Let's remove the cowl of all these Batman minifigures so that we can see each different expressions. Spoiler: three of them got dual face prints.

First, Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman got an existing head with neutral / grin pattern.
Easter Bunny Batman has a new snobbish look with a headband pattern that covers the whole eyes area and not the usual kind that covers only the forehead. It's the only one with single face print while the rest have dual face print.
Wizbat got an existing stern / open mouth angry pattern
Lastly, Baturion seems to have a distinctly new pattern also because it has a different head band pattern that I cannot find in any other Batman minifigures.

 

Back view without the accessories and head gears / hair piece.

As mentioned earlier, only 1 of these minifigures has no dual face print and that is the Easter Bunny Batman.

You can check the alternate face with the cowl in my Flickr album.

 

Ok, now that we're done showcasing the minifigures from the set, I will proceed to the portion where I will showcase other minifigures and give you some ideas how they compare with other minifigures of the same type. Again, I cannot give Baturion justice because I don't have any Roman-related minifigures so just enjoy the pictures without it. 

 

Batman likes patterns

Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman enjoys company with Kiss Kiss Tuxedo Batman, Vacation Batman and Lobster Lovin' Batman. Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman probably has the most flamboyant look.

Money is not everything, but it is something

You can imagine different scenarios where you can use the dollar bill tuxedo torso and legs assembly. It's begging to parody any subject dealing with money and riches.

 

Exchanging groceries

Here's a picture of the Bunny Suit Guy being coerced to exchange his carrot for the blue easter egg. You can imagine this blue easter bunny torso as the alpha male bunny with its 6-pack muscles torso print. I could also imagine erasing the Batman logo to make this torso more versatile but it's silly to do that if you can just use a plain torso for replacement.

 

Drop your goods inside the basket!

Easter Bunny Batman showing the other costumed minifigs who is the boss.

 

Somewhere in the infinite inter-dimensional universe, Stitch is Batman

Stitch torso has a different shade of blue but due to the lighter printed shade on the chest, it seems to integrate well. 

 

Portrait of a Happy Bunny Family, or is it?

They say two is a company, three is a crowd. I say, two is a company, three is a family. 

Then it should follow the Fibonacci sequence... 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc. You know how quickly rabbits propagate.  

 

The sorcerer supreme

I don't really like the use of slopes to make a "skirt" or long robes but I guess they are fine when prints are done this good.

 

Parts

Here is a quick recap on what those 27 pieces are. You should count the head, torso and legs assembly separately (counted as 3 pieces per minifigure).

 

Ok, I said I will come back to talk about the capes.

Here is a quick tip on how to fix those creased cloth capes. You can just use a low setting on your steam iron, press them, and the creases will be gone in seconds. See the picture below after just one iron press.

Look 'ma, no creases!

Conclusion

As a regular minifigure collector, I am not really a fan of flesh-skin tone minifigures (unless it is Star Wars  ). I do appreciate this TLBM Bricktober set because of its highly desirable batsuits. There are a lot of batsuits in the comics as well as The LEGO Batman Movie universe; I don't think we are going to run out of batsuits soon as they keep on coming! 

This Bricktober set also earned a lot of interest from collectors and non-collectors. On the day I bought my copy, I even saw a buyer rushing and frantically getting a set to buy because he arrived late at TRU. I saw some getting a dozen (whether it is a group buy or just for reselling, I don't know). All I know is in my region there is a remarkable response to this Batman minifigures because all the stocks from my TRU Malaysia and Singapore are mostly gone by afternoon, on day 1!  

I really like this set, and I dare say I like this even more than the Ninjago Bricktober set.  If I will rank the minifigures based on my liking, it would be Easter Bunny Batman, Dollar Bill Tuxedo Batman, Wizbat and Baturion. Which one is your favourite? You can vote in the poll above.

Review summary

Playability: 7/10 - Yes, you can play with minifigures. That’s fun too. This is aimed at minifigure collectors  so if you want bricks, don't look here.
Design / Building Experience: N/A - Everything comes pre-assembled. Besides, there's no building blocks in this set so I’ll just leave it there.
Minifigures:  9.5/10 - Getting 4 batsuits is awesome but the weaker clutch power on some minifigures between torso and legs continues to bother me.
Price / Value for money: 10/10 - I got this for free so I don’t see any reason why I should not give a perfect score for value.
Overall: 9.5/10 - I'm bumping up the score higher than the average score because this is really an excellent set that I will recommended even to non-Batman fans. If you collected those rare Batman polybags and keychains, then you better get this, too, before you regret.

 

Once again, thank you for reading. 

[WhiteFang]

Thank you makoy. This is a very enjoyable and detailed review. I am very lucky to be able to acquire this amazing free gift on Day 1 and there's no second chance of getting it after end of Day 1. Whole of Singapore was completely given away. I had opened mine and enjoyed these four unique minifigures very much. Every single detail on the minifigure is just so enjoyable to look at. I am very thankful to be able to have it in my worthy collection. Your photos and additional bonuses are some nice touches in the review. 

[K_Tiger]

Gonna try to buy one of these today. Wizbat and Baturion are looking to be the stand-outs.

[WhiteFang]

Makoy, just wanted to add this photo which I had fun playing with the Baturion which is my favourite.  

[kaelthas]

Great review @makoy! Another nice read before sleep tonight. These bats are very nice for photography. Great printed details and the bunny suit is so cute! I really liked your photos. So clear and sharp. 

[DrasticPlastic]

Annoying when Lego skips the back printing, makes it that much harder to reuse the torso for MOCs...reusing bricks is kinda the point, right?

[KDog]

Do I stand any chance of walking into a TRU today or tomorrow and finding this? Or did they sell out immediately?

[Umbra-Manis]

Excellent review, I really need this pack!

[K_Tiger]

2 hours ago, KDog said:

Do I stand any chance of walking into a TRU today or tomorrow and finding this? Or did they sell out immediately?

Mine had some at the checkouts, and it looked like there was a display with several more over by the glass cases up front. Had a big cardboard bunny suit. I think where you live will dictate how fast they sell. The flyers around the store were pretty explicit about 1-per-customer and no rain checks.

Speaking of, I was able to buy my set out-right. Go forth and get you one of these packs!

[Don Neimoidte de la Mancha]

7 hours ago, makoy said:

 

Ok, I said I will come back to talk about the capes.

Here is a quick tip on how to fix those creased cloth capes. You can just use a low setting on your steam iron, press them, and the creases will be gone in seconds. See the picture below after just one iron press.

Look 'ma, no creases!

 

 

With respect to capes, I found that if you iron them between two sheets of paper, it reduces the risk of burning them, depending on your iron. When I ironed mine a while ago, they turned out like brand new.

[Catanas]

Thank you for you the clear and comprehensive review! Some lovely photos. :)

I really, really want to pick this up, but we're still waiting in the UK, and I don't live near a Toys R Us.... I need to work out a plan. 

[KDog]

4 hours ago, K_Tiger said:

Mine had some at the checkouts, and it looked like there was a display with several more over by the glass cases up front. Had a big cardboard bunny suit. I think where you live will dictate how fast they sell. The flyers around the store were pretty explicit about 1-per-customer and no rain checks.

Speaking of, I was able to buy my set out-right. Go forth and get you one of these packs!

I did go out today and my local store had some packs left! It did require a $50 purchase. So I finally bought that First Order TIE Fighter I've been drooling over for a long time. (The store even matched the online sale price.) The Batman minifig set is a thing of beauty. In love with this set, especially Easter Bunny Batman!

[Lego_Talk]

10 hours ago, makoy said:

 

I don't like how Batman minifigs have the black headband for the eyes, it's hard to use their normal face without a mask for other purposes. 

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I have loved these figures. Has anyone tried to put the Pink Power Batgirl cape on Easter Bunny Batman? I'd love to see how it would turn out.

[fordtruckin]

1 minute ago, BrickHat said:

I have loved these figures. Has anyone tried to put the Pink Power Batgirl cape on Easter Bunny Batman? I'd love to see how it would turn out.

Yes I did that as soon as I opened it.  Looks pretty good imo.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Just now, fordtruckin said:

Yes I did that as soon as I opened it.  Looks pretty good imo.

Could you show a picture? I'd love to see that!

[Mesabi]

These have some decent torsos and other minifig pieces, but I don't see any value in having 4 more batmans. 

[makoy]

10 hours ago, WhiteFang said:

Thank you makoy. This is a very enjoyable and detailed review. I am very lucky to be able to acquire this amazing free gift on Day 1 and there's no second chance of getting it after end of Day 1. Whole of Singapore was completely given away. I had opened mine and enjoyed these four unique minifigures very much. Every single detail on the minifigure is just so enjoyable to look at. I am very thankful to be able to have it in my worthy collection. Your photos and additional bonuses are some nice touches in the review. 

Thanks WhiteFang. They are indeed very enjoyable to look at. 

Also thanks for that Baturion pictute. He didn't get enough exposure in my pictures.

10 hours ago, kaelthas said:

Great review @makoy! Another nice read before sleep tonight. These bats are very nice for photography. Great printed details and the bunny suit is so cute! I really liked your photos. So clear and sharp. 

Thanks buddy. The photos are just the icing on the cake. The dough is the written content, which takes longer to create. Glad you like reading it, too.

6 hours ago, Umbra-Manis said:

Excellent review, I really need this pack!

Hope that your TRU got you covered. :)

6 hours ago, K_Tiger said:

Mine had some at the checkouts, and it looked like there was a display with several more over by the glass cases up front. Had a big cardboard bunny suit. I think where you live will dictate how fast they sell. The flyers around the store were pretty explicit about 1-per-customer and no rain checks.

Speaking of, I was able to buy my set out-right. Go forth and get you one of these packs!

Oh, there is a 1-per-customer policy in your area? It is a good policy to have specially his kind of promotions. Good that you got yours before they ran out of stocks.

3 hours ago, Don Neimoidte de la Mancha said:

With respect to capes, I found that if you iron them between two sheets of paper, it reduces the risk of burning them, depending on your iron. When I ironed mine a while ago, they turned out like brand new.

It's almost impossible to burn the capes when you use steam iron. They would burn if run out of steam or when you turn off the steam. If you're using a traditional  iron (the heavy kind) I would use a cloth garment to cover the top as a layer security... just in case I did something stupid.

3 hours ago, Catanas said:

Thank you for you the clear and comprehensive review! Some lovely photos. :)

I really, really want to pick this up, but we're still waiting in the UK, and I don't live near a Toys R Us.... I need to work out a plan. 

You're welcome. Hope get yours when it becomes available.

42 minutes ago, Lego_Talk said:

I don't like how Batman minifigs have the black headband for the eyes, it's hard to use their normal face without a mask for other purposes. 

True indeed. I think the headband covering the eyes is good for adding variety, in case you want that black band over the eyes similar to Baturion.

28 minutes ago, BrickHat said:

I have loved these figures. Has anyone tried to put the Pink Power Batgirl cape on Easter Bunny Batman? I'd love to see how it would turn out.

I did not take picture as I don't like to swap the pink hands. It looks odd with pink cape and then black hands. In the book, the blue bunny has pink hands.

5 minutes ago, Mesabi said:

These have some decent torsos and other minifig pieces, but I don't see any value in having 4 more batmans. 

Initially that's what I thought. But then I traded the other Batman minifigs to get more blue bunny. I don't mind having a lot of blue bunnies.

[Digger of Bricks]

Say, I didn't know that the Baturion figure had dual molded legs, that's pretty cool!  

For that matter, the printing on those legs have no Bat insignia on them, so why not utilize them on the S10 Roman Commander CMF for a flesh tone version of the archetype? You would have to also swap the arms and head for flesh tone versions too, so practically all that would be used would be the Roman Commander's armless torso and silver helmet.

Edit: Oh, by the way @makoy, will you be also doing review topics of this year's other two Bricktober packs?

Edited October 9, 2017 by Digger of Bricks

[fordtruckin]

1 hour ago, BrickHat said:

Could you show a picture? I'd love to see that!

[DuckBricks]

14 hours ago, makoy said:

Here is a quick tip on how to fix those creased cloth capes. You can just use a low setting on your steam iron, press them, and the creases will be gone in seconds. See the picture below after just one iron press.

Oh my.... Today I learned of this technique. Thanks so much! Now off to the ironing board with dozens of capes I go...

[makoy]

2 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Say, I didn't know that the Baturion figure had dual molded legs, that's pretty cool!  

For that matter, the printing on those legs have no Bat insignia on them, so why not utilize them on the S10 Roman Commander CMF for a flesh tone version of the archetype? You would have to also swap the arms and head for flesh tone versions too, so practically all that would be used would be the Roman Commander's armless torso and silver helmet.

Edit: Oh, by the way @makoy, will you be also doing review topics of this year's other two Bricktober packs?

I will likely skip the City set, unless someone will sponsor me on getting that set, I will likely not get it. If I will see an opportunity to get cheap then I may buy it.. Otherwise, I will just do the last Bricktober set on 4th week.

@fordtruckin Thanks for the blue bunny picture with pink cape

@legozebra that's something I learned from home economics 101.  There are many ways to remove creases from clothe piece. To me, steam iron is the fastest and easiest.

[MAB]

10 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Say, I didn't know that the Baturion figure had dual molded legs, that's pretty cool!  

For that matter, the printing on those legs have no Bat insignia on them, so why not utilize them on the S10 Roman Commander CMF for a flesh tone version of the archetype? You would have to also swap the arms and head for flesh tone versions too, so practically all that would be used would be the Roman Commander's armless torso and silver helmet.@makoy

1

They don't have bat-printing on them, but they do have the black semi circular detail that doesn't match up with other roman torsos. It is a shame, if they had just had a belt on them and didn't try to do a continuous print across two parts (that never looks good due to the gaps) these legs would have been so much more useful. Of course, you could pull the legs from the hips and just use those, although this can weaken them significantly).

 

Although the bats on the shield are not too Batman-like, which is quite nice.

Edited October 9, 2017 by MAB

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

@makoy thanks for the super detailed review and pictures! @fordtruckin That looks great and I'll definitely be getting one of those capes!

[HawkLord]

Fantastic review. With some hesitancy, I'm passing in this set primarily because I don't want to play the TRU mystery game of if the given store has it and the boxes are in good shape. 

I see this as almost generous on Lego's part to offer TRU such a great exclusive when I would bet Target and Walmart move more Lego than TRU.