#burtward

Ok, so, full disclosure.

This will not be the last blog post about Batman or Batmobile’s. Not by a long shot. To say that I have a lot of Batman toys is like saying that we English kind of like football, so believe me, this is just the first of many.

Back in 2017, Funko, known for their vast array of vinyl Pop figures, begun releasing their line of toys based upon the iconic 1966 Batman TV show, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Anyone who has seen the documentary, Making Fun: The Story of Funko, would not be surprised by this move. Funko CEO, Brian Mariotti, has multiple life sized versions of the Adam West/Batman figure in his office! So, it’s safe to say that this version of the Bat is pretty sacred at the company and it shows.

The line is mainly made up of a variety of 3.75 inch figures depicting the various characters from the show. From the Dynamic duo themselves, to Batgirl, Catwoman and so on. The real giant notable exceptions are the Riddler and the clown price of crime himself, the Joker. Could be to do with likeness rights? I don’t know, but their absence is certainly hard to ignore. Rumour has it that they are to appear in the next wave of figures, but those rumours have been about for a couple of years now.

The figures I have here are of the Dynamic Duo themselves, Batman and Robin.

The 3.75 scale is a classic choice. It echo’s Kenner’s Star Wars line but it also really works well. These figures each have 9 points of articulation and are pretty solid. The likeness of the sculpts for both figures are pretty good too. I often give figures of this size a lot of leeway on likeness, especially if the goal of the figure is to create something a kid would play with. Let’s be honest, as kids, we don’t massively care if the figures aren’t photo realistic to the actor that plays the character, as long as we can see enough of them, we’re cool with it. These two figures come part of a set and as such don’t come with any accessories, however, if you buy Batman separately on his own, he does come with a Bat-radio. Robin, on the other hand, you cannot buy separately.

One major drawback, for me personally, are the capes. They’ve gone for moulded soft plastic and although it does have a lot of give it in, it’s never going to match up to the awesomeness of a good fabric cape. That’s just my opinion, but I’m sticking to it. Overall though, I’d say these figures are pretty darn good and a lot of fun.

Note: There is an awesome Variant Batman figure from this line that depicts Batman in the costume Adam West wore for the screen tests, it’s pretty cool and rare!

Of course, no Batman is complete without his iconic mode of transport and to many, this is the most iconic version of all.

The 1966 Batmoblie.

The Funko Batmobile comes complete with two figures, Batman and Robin. As I stated earlier, you can only get Robin as part of a set and this is that set. 

I have to say, I LOVE this Batmobile, it’s freaking amazing, but is it perfect? No, but it’s still pretty darn rad. They’ve taken some liberties with the size. The backend for example is a fair bit shorter than the actual ’66 Batmobile, but I don’t take points off for that because it’s clear that choice was made for the practicality of the toy. The detail is pretty cool too, from the steering wheel, to the Batphone inside the cockpit. It’s clear that a lot of love and care has gone into recreating this piece. It certainly feels like it balances on the line between show piece and actual practical kids too. It’s clear the goal was to great the toy that they all wished was out while the show was on air and I love that.

I do have a couple of issues with it though.

Firstly, the doors don’t open. That just sort of annoys me. I’m not a toymaker, I get that but I don’t really think it would’ve been too much of a stretch for them to make the doors open. Getting the figures into the seats with their soft plastic capes isn’t the easiest and being able to open the doors would’ve helped…a lot. Which leads me onto my second issue. Without the doors opening, this car is essentially one big piece of moulded painted plastic. It’s beautiful yes, but that’s it. It doesn’t fire anything; it doesn’t have any cool fire effect coming out of the afterburner. As a toy of the Batmobile, it’s pretty limited in what it can do. Taking that into consideration, the price feels a little bit overpriced, even for what I paid for it, which was about £30, which is a freaking steal compared to what it goes for now online. Now, of course, I get that this is a pretty rare desirable piece, which comes with an exclusive Robin figure, which then brings a higher price tag, but still, for what it is, I don’t think it justifies that price tag. To me, it’s pretty clear that’s why they linked Robin to the car.

And I’m just talking about the standard version, there are others. Go online and you’ll find the even more limited and expensive versions that come in different colours to reflect the Japanese craze with the show. Those versions though, only come with a variant Batman. No Robin.

Overall, I do love this line and I do love this Batmobile. It’s impossible to love Batman and not get excited at this toy line, even if the ’66 show isn’t your personal favourite version of the character. If the goal of this line was to honour the legacy of the ’66 TV show, then mission well and truly accomplished. Don’t take my issues with it as a sign that I don’t appreciate the work that’s gone into it. I’m glad that I have it in my collection, but I am also glad that I paid what I did for it, because I would not pay the going rate for it now. You can still get pretty much all of this line online pretty easily, bit it a various prices.

Toy line Score: 7.5/10

Highlight: The Batman and Robin figures IN the Batmobile.  

After note: It’s worth noting that because the Batmobile has been designed to carry 3.75 inch figures, it gives us the opportunity for, shall we say, crossovers.