6860 The Batcave: Ultimate Playset or Announced Failure?

The release of the photos of the set 6860 The Batcave from the range Lego superheroes expected for early 2012 brought its share of happy and disappointing. Some expected more, others are pleasantly surprised by this well-stocked playset.

So what should we think of this type of set considering our demanding AFOL position? Are we jaded or do we simply expect LEGO to amaze us with each new set at the risk of being necessarily disappointed?

For my part, each new image of this set, from the official image above published everywhere a few days ago to photos from New York Comic Con 2011, comforts me in the idea that this set will form a simply awesome playset and a source of minifigs all very attractive in their current versions.

Nostalgic for the Batman range of 2006 moan, thinking of the first Batcave marketed under the reference 7783 The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion. At the time, this set with its 7 minifigs and more than 1000 pieces was already a good example of a playset intended for children and packed with features, making it essential for any young fan but also for any older collector.

The Batcave and the Batmobile are to the Batman universe what the X-Wing and the Tie Fighter are to the Star Wars universe: Transgenerational symbols which have marked minds and which are used in each adaptation of these universes to the over the decades.  
To relaunch a range dedicated to super heroes, LEGO has chosen to reinterpret with current codes this Batcave which has made children and adults dream through the various films or cartoons released in recent years. This is the key to the success of this range, which must position LEGO in a credible and sustainable manner in a universe populated by amateurs at least as demanding as Star Wars fans.

The set offered by LEGO today is visibly designed while respecting many cost constraints: Production costs, with a limited number of parts and the widespread use of stickers, but also marketing.
According to the first unofficial price indications we have, this set should be sold around $ 70 in the USA but I would bet more readily on a price of around € 90 in France. For this price, the buyer will be entitled to 5 minifigs, and two vehicles. The distribution of the forces present will allow immediate playability without risk of frustration. The structure of the Batcave, although relatively more summary than the version of 2006, remains sufficient to locate the action resulting from the imagination of the smallest.

And this is the brilliant balance of this set: The youngest will see it as a complete and flexible playground when the older ones will find new minifigs or reinterpretations of characters whose historical minifigs have now become unaffordable. in the parallel market.

Let's not forget that a whole generation of kids is impatiently waiting to be able to send Batman and Robin to fight Bane and Poison Ivy without risking destroying minifigs whose current price often exceeds € 30 each and which their parents do not necessarily allow access to. understandable reasons.

On the side of collectors, enthusiasts or speculators, I cannot recommend the purchase of this set enough. It will inevitably take on significant value over the years for a simple reason: It is a playset, which means that most young buyers will not hesitate to put it together, handle it, and scatter it around. bottom of a toy box over time. The stickers do not support manipulation very well, we know that only too well. Minifigs also rarely survive handling by young children, and parts are easily lost.

In the end, the Batcave will always remain the Batcave, and buyers who have missed the opportunity to buy this set during its marketing period will sooner or later be ready to pay the price to satisfy their frustration. The 7783 set released in 2006 was marketed for $ 90 in the USA, it will cost you almost $ 400 today if you want to buy it. in new condition on Bricklink.

For my part, I am obviously attracted primarily by minifigs. They will join those of the previous range and my other super heroes, custom or not. I would acquire this set anyway, and probably others from the same range to feed my nostalgia for the time when I was reading comics, like Strange or Spidey in secret at night under my duvet for help. an electric lamp, or the one where I discovered in 1989 at the cinema the Batman by Tim Burton with Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Billy Dee Williams (And yes, he played the part of Harvey Dent) and the sublime Kim Basinger.