Holy LEGO Batmobile!
My bag a day build of the 1966 "Classic" Batmobile
I played with LEGO bricks when I was a kid. I recall the first mini-figs I had - they had no face, police hats, their arms and legs didn’t move. They came with the Police Station set (Set 370). My last LEGO set I built as a kid was an attempt at one of the early Technic sets- LEGO Expert set 853 a car chassis which I never could get the motor to work. Being a kid, I gave up and moved on to other things.
When I was asked to be the STEM Magnet School Coordinator for my district one of the first things I thought about was using LEGO sets. I went to the Brickworld show in Fort Wayne and upon my return to Indianapolis I picked up my first Adult LEGO Set 10226 - the Sopwith Camel. From that point it has been a fall into the world of LEGO building, to the point where I currently work at the only LEGO Store in Indiana.
As a teacher I would bring sets into class to inspire the kids to think beyond basic towers and cars. I discovered that building a LEGO set was actually a stress reliever. At the end of the day (after the all important bus duty) or during lunch I would go into my room and build at a desk I had set up next to the floor to ceiling glass walls I had so the kids could see me as they walked down the hallway. I’d also bring in sets I had built at home. This led to the infamous bag a day rule.
The One Bag a Day Rule
One day I bought the Saturn V set (set 21309) and when I got home I started building it. At 10:30 that night and almost 1969 pieces later Sue asked me about dinner… My reply was “One more bag.” Since then the rule in the house is only one bag a day. I carried this over to my school builds. It isn’t set in stone, but it does make a LEGO set last- which with the current (pre-tariff) cost on a retirees budget is a good thing.
Around 17 days ago I started working on the “Classic Batmobile” Set 76328. I joke that I’m a Batman fan because “It’s a Bruce thing.” I don’t have every Batman set, but I do have a lot of them. One year I displayed at Brickworld Indy with a table that was just a Bat Cave and various bat vehicles. So on my Bluesky account I started posting my daily build along with witty commentary. I figured I’d post it here once I was done (sans witty commentary).
The Completed Batmobile (Bag 17)
A Short Review of LEGO Set 76328
Unlike some previous UCS (Ultimate Collectors Series) bat vehicles this one is not fragile and can be easily carried around if needed. While building it I noticed I would try to pick it up from the fenders and those were not as strong a connection- but I learned quickly to move it by picking up the chassis, not the fenders.
There are lots of amazing details in the set, but one thing that might drive some LEGO enthusiasts crazy is the number of stickers you need to put on. If you are not a fan of stickers, find someone else to put them on for you. Being the 1966 Batmobile everything is labeled which is cool, but also (for me) a slight headache especially in the early morning as my eyes are old and need some time to focus.
For the price point this is an amazing set. I’m not usually one to comment about the price of LEGO sets. I know there are those people who break it down to the cost per piece. For me it’s either I want the set, or I don’t. The cost might push or pull me in one direction, but usually if it is a set I really want, I’ll just take some time to save up what I need. $150 USD isn’t that bad especially for this iconic set. If you are a Bat Fan, I highly recommend it. Looking at the other recent UCS Batmobile sets… Hmmm… I would only have to say the “Tumbler” was a disappointment. Not that it isn’t a fantastic build, but it is a lot more fragile than the other two. Moving it up from the basement required me to rebuild or at least realign a bunch of it, dusting it caused some of the same issues. All those silly armor panels.
I’m not active in the local LEGO Community (AFOL- Adult Fans Of LEGO) - I tried, but found that like many communities it can get to be political and cliquish. Being an introvert and Lawful Good I finally had to step away. I don’t deal with bullying, especially from adults (which makes the current situation in the United States “fun”). There are some great people in the LEGO community- just at least for me, many are into having and holding onto power, not about inclusivity which is sad since that’s pretty much what the LEGO philosophy is all about. As you can tell, I still build- I just don’t display or deal with the drama of the LUG (LEGO User Group).