Preview: The Tumbler LEGO Ultimate Collector's Series (76023)

Yes, this is old news. The Tumbler (76023) Ultimate Collector's Series Super Heroes was announced almost a month ago, and was on display at Comic-Con International in San Diego on July 24-27. However the set is now (August 18) available for pre-order by LEGO VIPs, and will go on sale to the general public on September 1.

Christopher Nolan's take on the Batmobile, known as the Tumbler during the Dark Knight trilogy, will be recreated in a 1,869 piece LEGO set. Available for the retail price of $279.99 here in Australia, it will be the second time the Batmobile has appeared as part of LEGO's Ultimate Collector's Series (the previous set - 7784 Batmobile - only has 1,045 parts).

The model measures 40cm long, 24cm wide, and 15cm high. The set features an armoured exterior, adjustable top wings, and a highly-detailed interior. Super-serious LEGO collectors will be excited by the introduction of never-before-seen LEGO front wheels, that have been specially made for The Tumbler and are yet to appear elsewhere. They are based on the custom ones created for the real Tumbler by a company called Hoosier. Many of the parts in the set are rare or only in the model, and the range of colours is somewhat limited (mostly black, and "sometimes in very, very dark gray"). Phew, I'd been meaning to incorporate that line somewhere...

From what I've heard, it'll make for a very varied and enjoyable build, as it uses a wide variety of techniques (Technic, System, Studs-Not-On-Top, ball joints, hinge joints). While I've not got my hands on the set just yet, I'm already a little disappointed with the amount of stickers it supposedly has (we all prefer printed parts, and for the price, you'd kind of expect them).

I've never owned a UCS set before. Perhaps that's why I've found the display-stand with details and minifigure stand so appealing, and it enhances the "displayability" of the set. The set includes two minfigures (albeit the box quite clearly states that the set is not to minifigure scale, so they are just to enhance the exclusivity of the set). The two variants of Batman and The Joker found here, are not available elsewhere. Batman features an exclusive torso print based on the Dark Knight trilogy. The Joker, portrayed by Heath Ledger in the movies) is suitably sinister. Colours are very accurate and the details on the face are just brilliant. Both minifigures have a reversible head, with The Joker featuring a smile on one side and a smirk on the other. Expect to see them on eBay fetching exorbitant prices!

It's not the first time The Tumbler has appeared as a LEGO set (there has been sets released to align with each Dark Knight movie), but it's certainly the coolest and most detailed to date, and I'll definitely be making it my first DC Comics Super Heroes set.

LEGO designer Adam Grabowski talks about the new set on their YouTube channel
Buy the set via the LEGO online store