I tested for you: 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile

This is certainly the best find from The LEGO Batman Movie and I almost regret that LEGO did not take advantage of the general craze surrounding the film's release last February to bring this set to market. 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile. 1456 pieces, 8 minifigs and a public price set at 144.99 €.

This box arrives in my opinion a little late and it may go unnoticed or in any case not to be entitled to the commercial success it deserves. By the start of the school year, all "young" eyes will be on The LEGO Ninjago Movie and the slew of very successful sets planned to accompany its theatrical release.

As you already know, we're talking about a super Batmobile here that is actually made up of four separate vehicles. This assembly is at first glance not very aesthetic but we are here in the slightly crazy outbidding which is the hallmark of the film and it works.

In the film, the whole is built in the Bat Garage before heading off to face the baddies and split into three, then four separate vehicles in an epic streak. Enough to make fans want to replay the scene.

LEGO could almost have marketed the whole in four different sets for a mini-collection to be completed over the possibilities of its budget, just to make it more fun and above all more affordable for young fans who are offered sets on various occasions. (birthday, Christmas, ...).

The four vehicles that make one are in my opinion of very unequal interest. We go from very good (Batwing, Batmobile), at least good or even coarse (Bat-Tank) to really very basic (Bat-Moto). It all comes together perfectly to form the weird thing LEGO calls the Ultimate Batmobile. The super machine can be handled quite easily without the risk of breaking everything. It's heavy, 980 grams on the scale.

We therefore proceed in reverse by first removing Batgirl's Batwing which lands on the back of the super-assembly. Be careful not to lose the two lightsaber handles present at the end of the wings which have an annoying tendency to come off. Spacious cockpit with canopy in the inverted position, it is successful. Batgirl wanders around the cockpit a bit due to the lack of Studs fixing for the minifig. It's not that serious.

We therefore find ourselves with three vehicles still assembled: The Batmobile, the Bat-Tank and the Bat-Moto which is well hidden under the Batmobile. Lots of stickers, but here they help give the whole thing its techno-futuristic-crazy look.

We detach the Bat-Tank and we get a big, somewhat shapeless autonomous machine that Alfred can finally pilot in the right direction. The good man had hitherto been relegated to the rear of the building and in the opposite direction of travel.

Cannons on all floors, things that turn and can be oriented, hatch that conceals a few weapons and which also serves as a fixing to make the junction with the Batmobile, cockpit that can accommodate a minifigure without forcing, it's correct and playable . This tank is a weapon designed to sow plates 1x1 in the four corners of the living room.

So we have the Batmobile left, or Wreckreactional Vehicle, very successful with its aggressive look. Another inverted canopy for the cockpit, it's original. It is in my opinion the "real Batmobile" of the film, even if it makes only a very stealthy passage on the screen. It handles pretty well, be careful not to accidentally press the Stud Shooters located at the front, relatively well integrated into the overall design.

Well hidden under the Batmobile, the Bat-Moto is extracted from the rear and you then have to fold the axles to make it functional. Nothing exciting, but Robin at least has something to get around.

LEGO does not provide vehicles for the "bad guys". They all have the ability to fly anyway, the witch on her broomstick, the Flying monkeys with their wings and Polka-Dot Man with his flying disc. Economical and smart, even if at 145 €, we could hope for better.

As a bonus in this set, a very plush rotating Bat-Signal with light brick and pad-printed half-sphere with the Gotham vigilante logo.

In the dark, the thing is illusion, we get a nice projected Bat-logo. Too bad Commissioner Gordon is not in the box, it could have been used to activate this Bat-Signal.

The minifig endowment is correct for a set at this price, even if there are some characters already seen in other boxes of the range: Batgirl, Robin and Batman.

The witch of the Wizard of Oz is that of Fun Pack 71221 for the LEGO Dimensions video game. Both Flying Monkeys, identical except for their facial expression, leave me unmoved. They're cute minifigs, but I'm buying these boxes for the DC Comics universe, not the Wizard of Oz universe.

Polka-Dot Man and Alfred Pennyworth save the furniture even though the colored dot man minifig has the usual disease of pad-printed minifigures on the legs: The ink does not reach the area between the curvature of the thigh and lower leg. This will be a detail for many buyers, but collectors will notice this printing defect which is repeated on all the minifigs whose legs are pad printed on the offending area.

For Alfred, the minifigure is nice and it has the merit of being unique, one more in my collection. Pretty cap with logo, face with the false air of Zorro, pocket watch on the chest, discreet homage to the TV series of 1966 (RIP Adam West), it is successful.

If you are only planning to buy this set for the two really interesting and never-before-seen DC Comics minifigs it contains, you will probably choose to save a hundred dollars and go shopping in the aftermarket. And you will be right.

On the other hand, each of the vehicles is self-sufficient and the whole can be displayed in an "exploded" way rather than assembled. If you have kids, with just one box you will give them something to really have fun with.

Finally, as a good collector, I obviously do not miss this set, even if I would have preferred three "real" villains from the DC Comics universe seen in the film instead of the witch and the two monkeys.

If the thing tempts you, it will cost you so 144,99 € in the LEGO Shop.

Note: We do as usual, you have until June 21, 2017 at 23:59 p.m. to manifest yourself in the comments.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.
If I do not get a response from him to my request for contact details before June 25, a new winner will be drawn.