Although I haven't actually seen Tim Burton's Batman movies, I've always thought they had some of the most iconic Batman designs. This set recreates some of these designs nearly perfectly at minifigure scale.

The Batmobile build is about what you'd expect for a play-scale set. There are some interesting techniques used to create particular details and shapes, but for the most part it's a pretty straightforward build: suitable for children while remaining interesting for older fans. Once finished, the vehicle looks fantastic, accurately capturing the dramatic curves and striking features of the Burton Batmobile. All the details you expect are represented very well: the sharply sloped nose with turbine at the front; long, sweeping hood; aggressively curved windshield and cockpit; oversized side intakes with greebling underneath the panels (the hidden guns are visible here but integrate very well as part of the greebling); and curving rear end with "bat wing" fins and afterburner. It's hard to imagine a better design for this vehicle at this scale.

The amount of play features packed into the compact and detailed design is noteworthy as well. The spinning afterburner flame coupled to the rear wheels, detailed cockpit that fits Batman comfortably, and storage trunk for accessories add play value and are nicely integrated in the design. The standout play feature is the hidden guns that pop out by turning a gear on the side, ejecting two panels on the top of the hood. Apparently this is movie-accurate, which is always nice, and the panels pop off with an amusing amount of energy. I just really enjoy play features that send some pieces flying chaotically, so I found this extremely satisfying.

I do have a couple of complaints about the design. The top intake scoop above the cockpit seems too large, but this probably couldn't be done differently given the Lego elements available for this scale. A bigger issue for me is the visible corners of a grey plate around the turbine at the front. This breaks up the all-black design this Batmobile ought to have, and it could have easily been avoided with a black 1x4 plate in this place.

The included minifigures are excellent as well. Again, the Burton designs for Batman and the Joker were instantly iconic and the minifigure designs are spot-on representations. I enjoy how the contrasting colors of these characters symbolize the dynamic between them. Batman's all-black suit with the yellow logo is striking as always, and the dual-molded cowl is the perfect headgear for the Caped Crusader. Joker's purple, orange, and teal suit, white makeup, and green hair are as brilliant as ever, and the hairpiece and facial expression capture Nicholson's Joker wonderfully. Batman comes well-equipped with several accessories with 2 Batarangs and pairs of handcuffs, as well as a grapnel launcher made out of several small parts. The grapnel is very cool but perhaps a bit over-designed in my opinion; it seems perhaps oversized with so many pieces. I do wish there was an accessory included for Joker such as a weapon or some goofy device. Maybe he's meant to be wearing the handcuffs, but I think he should have something that he's brought to the party here.

Overall this Batmobile set is a great example of my favorite kind of Lego set. It's a minifigure scale set designed and priced for play that also wonderfully captures the important design elements of its reference material. It has plenty of opportunities for play but also looks great displayed on my desk. It also includes excellent minifigures of the two most iconic Batman characters. Aside from the one visible grey plate, I think the design of this set is just about perfect. At the MSRP of $48 I'd say it's slightly overpriced, but it seems to be on sale at many places now, making it a fantastic deal.