Review 7781 The Batmobile: Two-Face's Escape

[The Penguin]

- Commissioner Gordon to Batman! Do you copy? Two-Face has stolen an armored bank truck! I’m following him on a chopper….

- Don’t worry, Commissioner, I’m following the truck.

- What? Where? I can’t see you…..

*BANG!*

- What the heck was that, Batman?!

- I blew up the truck.

- Sir, car 1356 reports that some lunatic has just blown up a cash transit truck near the docks.

- Dammit, Batman!

(The pic is an official box art one.)

Set Number: 7781

Name: The Batmobile: Two-Face's Escape

Theme: Batman

Year of Release: 2006

Pieces: 394

Minifigs: 3

Price: $30 USD

Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron parts inventory

All images can be found in my brickshelf folder.

The time has come for my third Batman review. Today I would like to present you easily one of the best sets of the whole line “The Batmobile: Two-Face's Escape”.

When the set came out it immediately became one of my most favorite not only because it featured my second favorite villain in Batman universe, but it also had the iconic Batmobile and some great scenery. But I fear I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. Let’s have a look…..

The Box

Despite the fact that the set is almost twice as big as the previously reviewed Croc one, the box is not much bigger. It’s 28,5 x 38,5 cm, which I find to be quite a reasonable size. Surprisingly, out of 7 sets I got back then, only two (!) were in undamaged boxes. One of which has been sold with a considerable profit, and the other was left to be reviewed for our glorious EB community. When I got 3 sets off Briclink later, again two were damaged!

The box art is done in a nice black-purple-gray color scheme, which doesn’t quite suit BTASesque Two-Face, but looks perfect, nevertheless. I guess making it black and white would’ve been better, but perhaps it wouldn’t catch the eye on the shelf that way.

Another thing which I’d like to draw your attention to is the road on the box art picture. It’s all wet as if after a heavy rain. For some reason I really liked such meaningless but lovely touches made by the artist.

In the top right corner(like in all previously reviewed sets) we see a 1989 Batman symbol. Though unlike Catwoman and Croc sets it actually corresponds with the one on Batman’s chest.

On the right bottom corner again we see a DC symbol.

The side of the box shows the minifigs in their actual size. Batman has some quite weird shape of his cape. Perhaps it just got battered in the fight.

Two-Face is obviously trying to shake your hand with his “good side” and holds an armed Tommy gun in his “bad” side hand. I can’t but point out that on the pic he looks quite peachy and healthy! The bank robbery was quite a success, it seems!

And as a bonus we get a generic Two-Face’s goon, wielding a uzi gun. I tend to think that all those goons in Batman theme are either brothers or go to the same stylist. TLC could’ve given us some different faces I guess, but did not for the sake of keeping them “generic”, so to say.

The back of the box shows us so-called playing features of the set. The standard set of guns and bat-gadgets is also included.

There are supposed to be two (yep, Two-Face would be happy!) major features: the opening cockpit and firing Batmobile’s engine cannon. Since I highly doubt that putting Batman in and out of the vehicle (meanwhile torturing his cape) is a playing feature, I’ll skip to the firing mechanism.

I sure hope that the size of the missile, flying from the Batmobile, is an exaggeration, since it could easily blast not only the back door of the truck but the whole truck with Two-Face and his goons to bits!

Ah, no! Here’s another playing feature: the opening missile hatches on each side of the truck. Though the designer thought it does not deserve its own picture. Perhaps, he’s right.

As in each and every Batman set we get a lovely comic story. This one tells us about Two-Face robbing a bank. The plot is pretty plain and standard (somewhat even cliché-like), but shows the characters quite well.

An interesting thing I noticed is that there’re two goons in the bank and only one in the set. Perhaps, Two-Face left the second one to cover his escape, or just shot him because the coin told him to do so. Who knows?

On the first pic Two-Face is laughing maniacally while throwing his coin up. I find quite dangerous, since he can easily lose the one, among all those lying all over the floor. The second pic shows us Batman jumping from Batwing to Batmobile, which indicates he’s having a pretty tough night. Robin must be on vacation or something….. The third pic shows us how cool it is to have the Batmobile, when Two-Face is trying to shoot Bats through the glass. The fourth pic shows us Two-Face flying “towards the camera”. I feel a bit sad for him, though it’s his own fault. If you want to rob a bank in Gotham, do it at daytime!

Interesting and unusual parts

The set provides us with a nice selection of interesting parts, such as the rare-in-2006 “tooth” bricks, silver stud for Two-Face’s coin, a pillar in dark gray and some nice pearl gold bricks.

Sticker sheet

The sticker sheet is perhaps the main disappointment in the set. Everything that could’ve been printed is stickered here! The glass, the roof, even the controls in Batmobile!

The second thing I find odd is the fact that Two-Face has his coin drawn on Gotham City Bank truck in three places: on the roof and on each side of it. Why would he do that, anyway!?

The sticker that is applied to the windscreen of the truck looks just awful and doesn’t give the impression of it being armored at all. Looks more like a decoy to me.

Instructions booklet

I got a slightly curved and battered booklet, but it’s really ok. Just the same box art on it. Nothing really special here.

He’s a random instructions page. The build may seem a bit boring for some, especially when it comes to Batmobile, but I really did not mind. The set itself is just so good, that you do not even notice such minor flaws.

As in every Batman set we get an alternative models page, which is definitely worth showing. Again, like Croc, Two-Face is attempting to shoot down some nice-looking Bat-flyer!

The Minifigs

As said in previous reviews, practically every Batman set has a unique minifigure in it. This set has two. (Have you noticed that the number two is constantly appearing in the review? )

Batman in this set finally appears not in his BTASesque outfit as in the Catwoman and Croc sets, but in his black leather costume, inspired obviously by 1989, 1993 Tim Burton films. Which I find to be a very nice variation for a change. However, I personally prefer the BTAS one.

Now, Two-Face is one masterpiece minifigure. No, really. I consider him to be one of the best and most accurate licensed figures so far. The figure back in 2006 was innovative in two ways: 1) the way it’s been painted, 2) the new hair mold.

Two-Face’s tricky costume was no doubt a hard task for the designer of the set. Not only should he have looked “split in two”, but his “good” and “evil” sides should’ve been strikingly different. And the task has been solved exemplary. He had not only his suit painted, but the back as well. Not to mention the minifig’s “belt”. And that was an extremely rare occasion back then.

The fig also had a new revolutionary hair mold. I’m no expert, but it’s been made using some different hard plastic, a very nice choice if we compare that with some Exo-Force ones. As far as I know it has been the first case of such a complicated new hair mold and its painting. And if you look carefully you’ll see that the “good side” hair looks pretty much like standard LEGO’s wig, as far as the “evil side” one, looks all messed up and even somewhat menacing.

His face(s) also look(s) revolutionary. Never before has a LEGO minifigure received such a complicated and gruesome head. Scarred, deformed and burned “evil” side has been very innovative. Not to mention the fact that it completely killed LEGO’s “non-violence” policy. It may sound odd, but I really find his face a bit scary even now. Just like in the comic stories and BTAS series. (Actually he’s been done exactly like his BTAS counterpart. You can see that on the fourth picture.)

Now to criticism. What I really don’t get about the figure is the hand. Why would he have a dark gray hand? Either he should have been given two flesh hands, or one black, one white, or something of this kind. Still, I’ve noticed that in the theme practically all villains got quite odd hands, so, I guess there must have been some logic behind that.

The second point is the coin. I agree that expecting a new mold of scarred coin would be too much to ask from LEGO, but I guess they’d better not given him any then. Because I really hate the silver stud that is meant to be used as his coin, I just pretend that it’s not there. Just some spare part. Though to be fair I should say that silver back then was a very rare color, so I guess TLC tried their best.

Well, the goon has no comic or animated counterpart, so I presume he’s just supposed to be some random Gotham mob without any interesting back-story or major role. The only interesting thing about him is his two-sided costume that may be used for some City or even Castle custom figures. I do not like the boring and generic face, so there’s really not much to say about him.

Two-Face’s armored truck

Earlier I have showed my doubts about the stickers, so the truck may look less imposing without them, but it’s still a very nice vehicle.

As said before Two-Face has painted it to match his duality, and I must say that was a very unreasonable thing to do. I mean, does he really expect to just take the van and be riding it all over Gotham City without being noticed? I mean, every cop or just ordinary citizen will recognize him, not to mention Batman. Perhaps there’s just no drama in my soul.

Interesting that the truck is actually not black and white but dark gray and white. I find that pretty nice, since I guess originally the bank truck was dark gray and half of it just got painted white. Very economically efficient!

For some reason the front lights are trans-neon green. I can’t really understand why not yellow or say, just transparent, but it still looks good.

Here’s one side of the truck. As you can see the truck has a rocket-launcher installed. (I wonder if it has been there before Two-Face stole it. Kind of a new Gotham Bank security system!)

For some reason unknown it has yellow cone cylinders, which I find pretty disturbing for the eye, if we take into consideration the general dark atmosphere of the set. Nevertheless it is not something you can’t easily mod.

What o really like about Batman sets is the fact that practically all vehicles are “compatible”, so to say, with the City theme. The truck is neither bigger nor smaller than the rest of the City vehicles, which I find a very nice and useful. I wish I could say the same about he Batmobile.

The back of the van looks really nice with that round plates attached there which give an impression of some round safe door. Unfortunately you can’t open it and put some money inside, but still it looks good for the shelf. And if you’re eager to replay some scenes from the game, you can always mod it and install some doors in the back.

Batmobile

The Batmobile is something that makes this set a must-buy. I have no doubts that the designer(s) spent hours on that model, but the result was definitely worth that. It’s just amazing how detailed the Batmobile is for a relatively small vehicle. Speaking of sizes….. One of the main grudges I used to have against the set, as well as some other fans, was the size of the Batmobile, and indeed if we compare it to the truck it looks huge. I don’t suppose that Batman has any complexes about sizes, it’s just the Batmobile that inspired the LEGO version. It’s obviously based on Tim Burton 1989, 1993 films version, which looked to me like a mixture of some BDSM tool and a steam engine. Not that I didn’t like that!

See what I mean? What? No!?

You can see that they look fairly the same and I must say that I really like the fact that this model has been chosen. It would have been much worse if they used, say, 60-s version. However in that case the Batmobile would be for two people, at least! Not like that one which seems to have been designed specifically for Batman, and him alone.

You can see that this Batmobile has some nice golden wheel discs. Pimp my Batmobile!

Here we can see the Batmobile’s open-fire engine, which burns oxygen and clowns as I’ve shown in Catwoman review. Apart from the engine you can see some nice red stop-signal lamps which are supposed to warn the drivers behind that the Batmobile is going to stop. As if it has ever been in a traffic jam or you'll be able to see anything apart from the flames at night time! But let us remember “the only true Batman” Adam West: “Safety first!”.

General view of the set

Here’s the usual general pic of the set, includig some of the surroundings elements. We’ll discuss them later.

What amazes me about the Batmobile is its maneuverability! I mean its somewhat twice as long as the truck and it can still move freely on high speeds without causing much damage:

Well, relatively, of course!

Play features

When at the beginning of the review I said that the set was one of the best in the whole theme, I meant first of all its playability.

Surprisingly, this set offers us not only one “right’ scenario, as shown on the back of the box, but also provides us with a lamppost, a toll gate and some spiky thing on a chain, the name of which I do not know in either of the four languages I speak, including the mother-tongue. (Actually, while the review was still in the Academy, I was told that it's called spike strip! Or ежи in Russian, which can be translated as "hedgehogs"! )

So there are at least three possible scenarios:

1) Batman pursuing the truck and firing his huge missile. (Damn you, Tim Burton with your perverted hints in Batman films! Those were my favorite ones when I was a kid! Look what you have done! )

2) Some policemen throwing a spiky thing and thus stopping the truck. (Or better Batmobile! Ha!)

3) The toll gate blocking the way, or on the contrary, being crushed by the truck as it is shown on the box art.

Apart from that we can see some pseudo-features such as opening cockpit of the Batmobile which is very comfortable and cosy-looking, like in the Batboat, and a very neat but somewhat small baggage compartment. You can’t even fit a person there! Bah, dilettantes!

Ratings

Design:5/5 Despite my slight grumbling about small design flaws and stickers it’s a great set from every point of view. The truck looks great with other City vehicles and the Batmobile is a great-looking vehicle on its own.

Build: 4/5 The build is somewhat interesting when it concerns the Batmobile. The truck is pretty simple, but in no way boring or repetitive.

Minifigs: 5/5 Perhaps adding another goon would have been better, but we get an awesome Two-Face. What else do we need?

Playability: 5/5 – Three playable scenarios? Lots of features and surroundings? That set is just made for playing!

Parts: 4/5 – A nice collection of useful parts, but the dreaded stickers spoil it all. And no really unusual or new parts apart from “tooth” bricks.

Price:5/5 – $30 for such a set is just ridiculously cheap. I mean look t $30 sets now. See what I mean?

Overall: 5/5 – This set is a must-buy for practically every LEGO fan. With the design of such a high level and price of such a low one, you should have bought at least one back then. If you don’t care for the set, get your Two-Face fig, which has been a revolutionary one in many kinds. If you care neither for the set, nor the fig….. Well….. What are you? A Megablocks fan!?

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[Vindice]

I really wish I'd been collecting when this set was out. I'm apalled when i see how people profit on these sets on ebay, it was a big mistake stopping the Batman sets in my opinion.

Fantastic set especially at the retail price and the review is outstanding Penguin.

10/10 for the review alone! Can't wait to read the others now.

[Wowplayer]

Great review The Penguin!

I love the batman theme, and really hope Lego releases more sets when The Dark Knight Rises comes out next year. I own almost the entire theme. I only missed out on the Tumbler and the Penguin's second sub (the one not included in with the batcave).

This is probably my favorite set from the series that Lego released. But I would love for them to release another redesigned Batmobile. This one is really cool, but I think Lego could have done better.

[buddy]

Excellent review for an excellent set! This set is well designed and detailed.

Extremely well done on the review.

~buddy~

[CMP]

I love this set. I only got 2 Batman sets, but personally thought the villains that came with them were the best. This is one of them. I recently underwent looking for Two and his henchman's pieces, and they're finally finished! If I could just find the damn purple hips for the Joker...

Nice review. I always liked both vehicles, they felt more complete than the other ground based vehicles in the other sets.

[Henchmen4Hire]

Doesn't Batman know burning money is a felony?

[prateek]

Great review! IMO, this is the best Batman set, but I unfortunately I missed out on it.

[XimenaPaulina]

Well done review ThePenguin! Thanks for sharing! Aside from the Tumbler set, this has got to be my second favorite set in the line. And how I deeply regret passing on the golden opportunity to buy this when it was on sale years ago. Now this goes for an insane ~US$180 online.

[the Inventor]

Nice review, The Penguin.

This is unfortunately my only Batman set, but I really liked this set, the stickers on the other hand weren't that great, a shame nothing was printed especially the controllers in the cockpit.

Al tough I wasn't that impressed with the cockpit of the Batmobile it is a really nice set. So last year I build my own Tim Burton's Batmobile. (look in my signature)

I like Two-Face bank truck, the only thing that bothers me is that you can't fit anything in that truck.

Fantastic set review The Penguin, it was a great set especially at the retail price.

the Inventor

[WhiteFang]

Thank you so much for doing this review. Till this day, I still regret of not buying it in stores, postpone my thoughts until one fine day, that set disappeared.

I always wanted to own this piece of beauty as it contains the iconic Batmobile with the traditional black original Batman outfit and an unique villain, Two-Face!

Now, this theme has gone so much expensive and it could be very hard to pick it up.

[1eyedjoker]

I love this set! The minifigs are just fantastic, as were the majority of Batman minifigs. Batman with the black costume is very cool, the batlogo inside the golden oval is really eye-catching. Two-Face is great, his scars look very creepy and the use of black and white on the body and hair is nicely done. I do agree with you about the hands and the coin, though.

As for the vehicles, Two-Face's van is okay but not what I was really interested in. That Batman is sleek and badass, I love it! Plus it's got a little compartment for Batman's sundries. The batwings are unnecessary, but I still like them. The street set-up is alright, but I don't find much occasion to use it. The street lamp is a prize, though.

[Jedd the Jedi]

Thanks for that review, Penguin! I have very fond memories of this set, as it was the first LEGO Batman set my parents bought me from the States back in the day, and I went home and built it after finishing a round of an inter-school speech competition. It was really rewarding. I do like Two-Face's van a lot, and all the stickers used in this set are really well-designed - but being stickers, they've mostly flaked off and peeled, especially more than four years after I first built the set. I really like the Batmobile here, it's a classic look that's designed pretty well, although the fins look a tad oversized. Two-Face only appeared in this set, right? Magnificent figure, especially love the hair piece. The "scarred" side of his face looks a little faded on mine now, though, as well as the white of his suit. At the moment, I've misplaced my lamppost piece, and am weeping in agony - gosh darn that's a good piece.

[Miss Kyle]

Awesome review, Mr. Penguin! Time to go brick-hunting, I guess...

I do like my Ultimate Batmobile, but the one in this sets looks even cooler. Especially since it doesn't have that stupid bat face at the front.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Miss Kyle

[The Penguin]

I really wish I'd been collecting when this set was out. I'm apalled when i see how people profit on these sets on ebay, it was a big mistake stopping the Batman sets in my opinion.

Fantastic set especially at the retail price and the review is outstanding Penguin.

10/10 for the review alone! Can't wait to read the others now.

What's so appauling about that? Isn't that what capitalism is about?

However, shutting down the theme was indeed a very hard blow to the fans, I'm sure the theme had much greater potential than vehicle vs vehicle sets.....

Thank you very much! Well, I have reviewed 3 sets so far, stay tuned for other Bat-review! )

Great review The Penguin!

I love the batman theme, and really hope Lego releases more sets when The Dark Knight Rises comes out next year. I own almost the entire theme. I only missed out on the Tumbler and the Penguin's second sub (the one not included in with the batcave).

This is probably my favorite set from the series that Lego released. But I would love for them to release another redesigned Batmobile. This one is really cool, but I think Lego could have done better.

Thank you very much! )

I doubt we'll see any Bat-sets soon, but we can keep the interest and thus the theme alive by making MOCs, reviewibg the sets, etc.

Excellent review for an excellent set! This set is well designed and detailed.

Extremely well done on the review.

Thank you! ) I'm glad you liked it. )

I love this set. I only got 2 Batman sets, but personally thought the villains that came with them were the best. This is one of them. I recently underwent looking for Two and his henchman's pieces, and they're finally finished! If I could just find the damn purple hips for the Joker...

Nice review. I always liked both vehicles, they felt more complete than the other ground based vehicles in the other sets.

Well, purple hips can be found in other sets, I guess. )

Thank you! )

Doesn't Batman know burning money is a felony?

I beg your pardon? )

Great review! IMO, this is the best Batman set, but I unfortunately I missed out on it.

Thank you! )

Well done review ThePenguin! Thanks for sharing! Aside from the Tumbler set, this has got to be my second favorite set in the line. And how I deeply regret passing on the golden opportunity to buy this when it was on sale years ago. Now this goes for an insane ~US$180 online.

Thanks a lot! )

Yes, the prices are indeed skyrocketing now! Well, that what often happens to excellent sets! )

Nice review, The Penguin.

This is unfortunately my only Batman set, but I really liked this set, the stickers on the other hand weren't that great, a shame nothing was printed especially the controllers in the cockpit.

Al tough I wasn't that impressed with the cockpit of the Batmobile it is a really nice set. So last year I build my own Tim Burton's Batmobile. (look in my signature)

I like Two-Face bank truck, the only thing that bothers me is that you can't fit anything in that truck.

Fantastic set review The Penguin, it was a great set especially at the retail price.

Thank you very much! )

Yes your model is far more advanced than this one. How big is it, though?

Thank you so much for doing this review. Till this day, I still regret of not buying it in stores, postpone my thoughts until one fine day, that set disappeared.

I always wanted to own this piece of beauty as it contains the iconic Batmobile with the traditional black original Batman outfit and an unique villain, Two-Face!

Now, this theme has gone so much expensive and it could be very hard to pick it up.

Thank you very much, WhiteFang! )

Yes, that's what happened to most people. I still regret not grabbing several Batcopters after buying my first one. They were present on the shelves in huge quantities, but one day I came to buy them and there were none!

I still hope that positive emotions I try to share via my reviews overwhelm the sadness from not getting this ot that set!

I love this set! The minifigs are just fantastic, as were the majority of Batman minifigs. Batman with the black costume is very cool, the batlogo inside the golden oval is really eye-catching. Two-Face is great, his scars look very creepy and the use of black and white on the body and hair is nicely done. I do agree with you about the hands and the coin, though.

As for the vehicles, Two-Face's van is okay but not what I was really interested in. That Batman is sleek and badass, I love it! Plus it's got a little compartment for Batman's sundries. The batwings are unnecessary, but I still like them. The street set-up is alright, but I don't find much occasion to use it. The street lamp is a prize, though.

Very nice summary! Thank you. )

Thanks for that review, Penguin! I have very fond memories of this set, as it was the first LEGO Batman set my parents bought me from the States back in the day, and I went home and built it after finishing a round of an inter-school speech competition. It was really rewarding. I do like Two-Face's van a lot, and all the stickers used in this set are really well-designed - but being stickers, they've mostly flaked off and peeled, especially more than four years after I first built the set. I really like the Batmobile here, it's a classic look that's designed pretty well, although the fins look a tad oversized. Two-Face only appeared in this set, right? Magnificent figure, especially love the hair piece. The "scarred" side of his face looks a little faded on mine now, though, as well as the white of his suit. At the moment, I've misplaced my lamppost piece, and am weeping in agony - gosh darn that's a good piece.

Yes and it's the only set it's been released in dark bluesh gray color. Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it! )

Awesome review, Mr. Penguin! Time to go brick-hunting, I guess...

I do like my Ultimate Batmobile, but the one in this sets looks even cooler. Especially since it doesn't have that stupid bat face at the front.

Ah, thank you, my dear! Praise from such a lovely cat makes a bird like me turn black white and red! )

Yes, I never understood Bat's addiction to putting his faces and emplems all over the vehicles! I mean penguin faces for my subs are ok, but bats?!

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[Miss Kyle]

Yes, I never understood Bat's addiction to putting his faces and emplems all over the vehicles! I mean penguin faces for my subs are ok, but bats?!

Penguins rule! And I don't just say that to impress you. I love penguins.

(hope I am allowed to post Youtube links) Edited February 11, 2011 by Miss Kyle

[The Penguin]

Penguins rule! And I don't just say that to impress you. I love penguins.

(hope I am allowed to post Youtube links)

Aw, that is just great! )

Why do you prefer Bats over me then?!

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[lightningtiger]

Thank you 'The Penguin' for this review.....sadly for me I missed the Batman theme, I was still in my dark times then.

I will say, what a cool playset....I can see why they are so popular and demand a high price.

Hopefully, two things come to be....one is that Lego shouldn't be so short-sighted in cancelling a cool theme and two.....Bat's makes a comeback.....well Spongebob is....and I know which theme my son and myself would want....and it ain't a sponge or starfish !

Keep on Bat-bricking !

[tfcrafter]

How come the rims of the Batmobile are different in some sets?

[MandaloretheLesser]

Great Review of what looks like a great set. Sadly i never picked up the Old Batman sets and i have been regretting it ever since. It's a nightmare trying to buy MISB Batman sets for a fair price or even used ones for that matter. Again thanks so much for the review and this along with any Mr. Freeze sets are right up their on my list of retired sets to pick up.

[zipper778]

Holy old thread Batman! (Had to say it)

This is a great set. Lego gave us the perfect Two-Face in it.