Many figures from the Kenner B:TAS line are dirt-cheap, especially the repaints. I know that Batman repaints are collector Kryptonite, but there are a few gems that are actually pretty awesome, like this Turbojet Batman.
Remember when we actually cut out and saved the Proof of Purchase?
Stats
Year Released: 1993
Company: Kenner
Size: 4" scale
Price: $6 (MIP) from eBay
Packaging: Carded
Looks: 4/5
This Batman is probably the most conservative of the repaints, with a costume that is a slightly darker gray than the Combat Belt figure. The other differences include the Turbojet backpack straps that are sculpted and painted on the figure, as well as other sculpted detailing on the boots and gloves. Without the Turbojet, this Batman looks like he's ready for parachuting or hang gliding, which adds a cool action-oriented element to the figure.
The paint and sculpt are pretty good for the time period. There's some sloppy paint around the straps and eyes, and the flesh-colored paint seems to obscure the facial details. But this was a more primitive time, and this Batman looks pretty sweet for a figure from 1993.
Posability: 2.5/5
Turbojet Batman has the standard Kenner articulation: swivel neck, soulders, and hips. Many figures from this time period had this limited articulation, but that's no excuse. Remember that the early 90's also saw the debut of the Star Trek: TNG figures, which had much better posability, adding swivel upper-arms/waist and hinge knees/elbows. A bit more articulation would have really helped the figure.
Accessories: 4/5
Not many B:TAS figures have cool accessories, but this is one of the few. The Turbojet backpack (with removable rocket launcher) has a really cool Art Deco look, and even features a Rocketeer helmet. The Turbojet captures the 30s-inspired B:TAS feel perfectly, and is probably one of the best accessories to come out of the line.
And of course Batman comes with his characteristic cape, which is removable (unlike recent Batmen).
Value: 5/5
Only $6 for a carded vintage 1993 figure is a steal. If you don't see it this cheap on eBay now, just be patient... like many B:TAS figures, you can score a great deal on this figure eventually.
Coolness: 4/5
I was looking for a basic Batman, but this is good enough. The coloration isn't freaky, and the paratrooper look is actually pretty cool. And that Turbojet backpack is as cool as B:TAS accessories get.
Overall: 4/5
This is a good, solid figure that doesn't venture too far from the costume design of the cartoon. The Turbojet backpack is fun, too. And with these early 90s Batman figures going for a song, they have great "bang for the buck", so it's a good time to pick up a few!
5 out of 5 - Simply incredible!
4 out of 5 - Pretty awesome!
3 out of 5 - Cool enough, I suppose.
2 out of 5 - Not quite good enough.
1 out of 5 - Pretty horrific!
0 out of 5 - No redeeming quality at all.
4 comments:
Yet another Great Figure Review of another Great Figure that I have had! I was a HUGE fan of the Animated series back in the 90's, and I'm pretty sure I watched it all the way up till the end of Batman Beyond, which was a great show itself. But the Animated Series was just wonderful! And almost all of the action figures associated with it were incredible and spot on! The villains especially. Turbo Jet Batman was a fun figure though, and my favorite part was his fold down helmet. I was alawys a sucker for figures with helmets back then.
It's great to go back and investigate older toy lines that have been, I guess you could say forgotten, or devalued maybe. All of the Batman figure sets in the early 90's were pretty great though At least up till the Batman & Robin movie line maybe..then they became gross suckfest in my opinion.
But the older Kenner toys are great examples of High quality and fun figures without all the extreme articulation and other nonsense.
3 of my favorite Animated Series figures were the Basic Robin, Mr. Freeze, and Ras'Al'Ghul. All of which I had and recommend you to get.
In Fact I think I have Ras somewhere, he's mint, and If your interested, I'd love to give him too you for another Retro Review! He is a Great figure in my opinion! Should still have his backer too.
But I think my all time favorites were some of the first Batman figures I ever got, Iron Winch Batman, and Artic Batman. Another few I also recommend. Especially Iron Winch, cause I know you like basic colored Bats, and he has a pseudo-classic look to him, PLUS A HUGE WINCH GUN! :D Artic was fun as crap though, with a water pressured missile launcher and Cold-Proof Body suit! :P Both had Removable capes too! I also had Laser Batman, but he wasn't that great.
This does look like a pretty sweet figure, i don't remember ever seeing it before.
I have a Batman figure from this line that's done in regular colors, but has a weird cape that's permanently swooshed to the side. He came with the Arkham Asylum box set from TRU way back when, along with Harley, Ivy, and Two-Face. A GREAT set if you can find it. I've also got a nice Ra's al Ghul, but not much else... this review makes me really wanna get back in on this line. :)
Thanks, URS! I agree that the older Kenner toys were more like toys than they were collector's items, like the collector-centric DC Universe figures nowadays. It's kind of fun to collect them. I might even try to get one of the gaudy-colored Batmen just for kicks.
Thanks for offering Ras, but I think I'll pass for now. I'll check out a few of the figures you mentioned, though. If I get any, I'll be sure to post a review here!
Scumdogg, it's not surprising that you don't remember this figure. The classic B:TAS line doesn't get much coverage on the Net. In fact, it seems like if a figure is not part of one of the big five (SW, TF, GI Joe, MOTU, or DCU), people don't think it's worth covering on the Internet. That's one of the main reasons I started with these retro toy reviews and toy tributes: to cover toylines that nobody pays any attention to.
No Problem!
I also agree, it's simply sad that so many GREAT toylines, even ones of Collector quality now, don't get the coverage they deserve. Too many collectors are sheep these days, and although most of us surely have some of the big five in our collections, I like to also pick up the forgotten lines...Really the prices on them are cheap, and for the price of a New figure you can sometimes clean up half of a set of forgotten figures, if not the whole set! :D
I think I mentioned already once, but I only paid $25 Bucks SHIPPED for a full set of MOC Bucky O'Hare figures! That's CRAZY!!!
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