Review: LEGO DC Comics Batman 76159 Joker's Trike Chase

Today we are making a foray into the DC Comics universe with the set 76159 Joker's Trike Chase, one of the three boxes of the range marketed since the beginning of June 2020. Sold for 54.99 €, this small set of 440 pieces offers to assemble a new Batmobile, a three-wheeled motorcycle for the Joker and allows you to have fun without necessarily having to iron at the cash register to balance the forces involved.

The Batmobile provided here is a version no doubt vaguely inspired by the one seen in the video game Arkham Knight, ultra-simplified for the occasion. No steering or suspensions, but the result is quite interesting with an aggressive look and a really spacious cockpit.

The vehicle makes use of five examples of the transparent piece that has been used for years to close the cockpit of various rolling or flying machines. This element is here available in black and it dresses the wheels and the back of the Batmobile. This original use of a classic element is interesting even if the part only clips on one side and therefore does not really stay in place, especially at the level of the wheels. The vehicle could in the process almost do without the four stickers to stick on these wings with angular and smooth surfaces that make the machine truly photogenic.

Even if it has not been used for a few years in this color, the canopy of the cockpit is however not new, you have already seen it on the machine of the set 7067 Jet-Copter Encounter marketed in 2011 in the very successful but also very ephemeral Alien Conquest range. This coin is much more common in yellow, in Trans Red or Trans Orange, it is currently found in several Ninjago or Monkie Kid sets.

The cockpit is accessible enough to place Batman in it without having to call in someone with little fingers. It's up to you whether you want to let the cloth cape wrinkle behind the figure or if you prefer to remove it before installing the character behind the wheel of the machine.

Finally, the four wheels are dressed with pad-printed parts of the boss's logo already used in 2019 on the bat-vehicles of the sets. 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker et 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion.

Robin has to be content here with the red motorbike he shares with Spider-Man, Red Hood or the pizza delivery man from the Hidden Side range, or a scooter if you do not put in place the fairing on which it is necessary stick two stickers in the colors of Batman's young acolyte.

The other big machine of this box, the Trike (for three-wheeled motorcycle) of the Joker also seems to me sufficiently convincing to justify the purchase of this box. The designer has done tons of it so that you can guess at first glance who owns the device, but it is well in the spirit of the character.

The rear center wheel uses a steel rim Pearl Gold already seen in Silver in the set 76142 Avengers Speeder Bike Attack, on the Spider-Cycle of the set 76148 Spider-Man vs. Doc Ock and on the AIM machine of the set 76143 Avengers Truck Takedown.

The big function of this Trike, it is the opening of the mouth placed at the front when the vehicle is moving. It's well done and the effect is fun. The riding position is less whimsical than what LEGO recently offered us for Spider-Man or Black Panther on their respective contraptions and Harley Quinn can stand or sit right behind the Joker. You will have less chance than usual of losing the two small gray pistols of the Joker, they can be clipped on the sides of the saddle of the Trike.

Four characters are provided in this box and as often, the assortment mixes some new elements with a large ladle of pieces already seen in other sets.

Batman's torso and head are already delivered in 2019 in sets 76118 Mr. Freeze Batcycle Battle, 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker, 76120 Batwing and The Riddler Heist et 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion and this year in the set 76160 Mobile Bat Base which we will talk about shortly.

The character has three different cloaks here which allow her to change her appearance and make her a little more dynamic, but I find the initiative unconvincing and I would have gladly exchanged this set of rags for a single rigid cloak identical to the one seen in the set 76139 1989 Batmobile.

I note that, in accordance with what had been announced on the occasion of the conference on quality problems at LEGO, the content of which I summarized for you a few days ago, the pad printing of Batman's face is a little less pale than usual. It's not perfect with a skin tone that is still not at the level of the parts tinted in the mass, but there is progress.

Robin is also made up of elements already seen in other sets: the character's head and torso were present in the sets 76118 Mr. Freeze Batcycle Battle et 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion, these pieces are placed on a pair of legs Medium articulated often used in the Harry Potter range.

The Joker's torso and head are previously seen pieces in the set 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of the Joker, the head was also used in the sets 10753 The Joker Batcave Attack (2018) et 76138 Batman and The Joker Escape (2019)

Only Harley Quinn's minifig makes it possible to obtain new elements: the head and the hair were in the set 76138 Batman and The Joker Escape, but the torso and legs are new pieces without much artistic risk taking that remain in the spirit of what LEGO has already offered us in The LEGO Batman Movie range. The pad printing problem at the "knees" with a missing white ink area has still not been resolved at LEGO.

In short, this set will undoubtedly never become a great classic of the range but it puts us back in the mood for the film and the The LEGO Batman Movie range with two large vehicles sufficiently original to deserve our attention. and playability guaranteed by the balance of forces involved. Harley Quinn arguably deserved better than being relegated to the Joker's passenger rank, and a motorbike or simple tricycle would have been welcome.

The assortment of minifigs is a bit behind here with very little new for a lot of recycling and collectors will no doubt be disappointed. As usual, we will wait until this box is sold around 40 € before cracking.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at July 5, 2020 next at 23pm. 

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.