| Batwing Battle Over Gotham City (2 Reviews) | |
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| Item number | 6863 |
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| Number of pieces | 278 |
| Minifigures | Batman The Joker Joker Henchman |
| Price |  $34.99 £34.99 €39.99 $59.99Additional prices:  $69.99
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| Ages | 7-14 |
| Released | Late 2011 / January 1, 2012 (Official) |
| Theme | Super Heroes |
| Shop@Home Description: | |
| Stop The Joker™ from dropping ‘toxic laughing gas’ on Gotham City!
Hanging on a ladder below his helicopter, The Joker™ prepares to bomb the citizens of Gotham City with toxic laughing gas. Swoop Batman™ down in his ultra-fast batwing to save the day! Can the Caped Crusader use the flick missiles to send The Joker spinning off into the sunset? Or is all of Gotham City in peril? You decide! Includes 3 minifigures: Batman™, The Joker and a henchman.
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| Minifigure Gallery: | |
| View more information... | |
Reviews
Berrybrick
Country: USA Age Group: Irrelevant Gender: Male
Joined: February 27, 2010 
№ of Reviews: 26 
№ of Featured reviews: 1
Building Experience: Enough is enough
I wasn't a Batman fan back in 2006 when the original Batman line came out. It did leave an impression though. This set is essentially a remake of 7782 The Batwing: The Joker's Aerial Assault. I actually remember the first time I saw that set, which is pretty amazing as I can't think of too many other sets I recall the first time I saw them (well, with a span that long, it's toy fair season now). Joker's helicopter looked ugly then too, but the Batwing looked really nice I thought. A few years later I found out that it was supposed to resemble his logo, I was surpised. I could see the resemblence, but it was overdone. What about 6863 which costs fifteen dollars less?
Box/Instructions
Okay, I hate this part. The front looks nice. The back looks ugly. If you'd like a more in depth description about what's around the box (and not the art, what it has in common with the other DC sets), go look up one of my other reviews. I don't remember why I didn't take a picture of the back of the box, I might have deleted it accidentally.
There is one instruction booklet.
Parts
At 278 pieces for $35 this is probably the worst value in a set, especially because two of the three figures can be found in nicer sets. Originally, it was rumored that this set would cost only $30 (which isn't as bad), but they raised it, no doubt because The Joker is included.
These aren't parts I generally use, partly because I'm not into building spaceships and such, partly because many Star Wars sets have even worse Price per Piece Ratios than this set even. So, many of the pieces are fairly new to me, even though they've been around for years. There is some purple and green, the purple parts are different than the ones included in 6862, but not enought to buy the set for.
Minifigures
I wouldn't say that this is a set to buy for the minifigures either.
Batman
Please see here. I saved my self time by not taking/uploading photos of the same minifigure
The Joker
I'm not a Joker fan, but I still remember looking at that catalogue page back in 2006 and thinking how great Joker looked. I hate clowns (see more of that here) and almost never like a (serious) depiction of Joker, both his appearance and actions, I'm one of the few people you can find who didn't like The Dark Knight too much (because I didn't like the appearance or depiction). I like how Joker looks here though, I guess that I'm free to make him act how I like.
I haven't gotten 6857 yet, but other than that, I've collected all of the system DC sets (besides promotions), and so far, I think Joker is the best of the line. I'm not being biased because I'm not a Joker fan. The hair is nicer, and he doesn't look so cute (which is nice, because I'm convinced that all clowns are out to get me, (except for the eductational ones the school makes us watch who is just annoying…), so it's nice that he doesn't look as cute. I'm also glad that he scrapped the orange vest/undercoat, afterall, orange and purple are a horrible colorscheme. I like the hair too, even though it isn't very accurate (it reminds me of Cesar Romero, a Joker depiction I enjoy, but can't take seriously), it would be nice if he could have one that looks more like how it does on the stickers in this set and the funhouse.
Visually, the "BANG" gun looks better than before, but the old one made more sense, even though it didn't look like a gun, the flag came from a pole and not the end of the gun (I don't know the term). There is also the fact that the word BANG is missing from the flag. Both have their merits.
Joker Henchman
Another evil clown! Yay! This is a huge improvement over the last Joker Henchman, who is also famous for working for Mr. Freeze and Two-Face. Really not much to say. He's currently the only minifigure exclusive to this set, and I hope it doesn't stay that way, just to balance out the Joker/Harley Quinn duo (I think that there should be at least two generic henchmen per villain, if any, and Harley isn't really generic).
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| First Joker Henchman | Mr. Freeze Henchman | First Two-Face henchman | This Joker Henchman |
The Build
I enjoyed the build, it was pretty unique to me. I don't buy too much Star Wars, and when I do I'm not very pleased, but I'm sure I'm just unlucky when I do buy Star Wars. Not too much to say. I probably wouldn't have found building the Batwing itself if I was more accustomed to building Star Wars.
I have built helicopters before. I almost went into a dark age back in 2006, and if City sets hadn't started to get good, I don't know if I would be writing this. The helicopter is very different than the other small ones I've built, I haven't built many (or maybe not any) large ones, but I'm sure it's different from that. I did make a mistake when building the helicopter, the back is different than most other LEGO ones I've constructed.
The Completed Model
I said earlier that I felt the original Batwing was overdone, well, this one has a nicer shape I think, the only problem I have are two gray plates (which have been changed to black, I took these pictures before modding though) which mess up the view, from the top. The bottom is actrocious, being a mess of gray and black plates and just being flat. The wing pop-up feature is nice, but I don't think that two flick fire missiles are very intimidating. The four stickers (or so) work well, the yellow shows up nicely (unlike on the Batcycle and Bank sign where it was faded). I don't understand what the arrows are for, but they keep it from looking too plain. The batbomb on the bottom works fairly well too, but isn't very fun to reset, I don't get it either. Why/what would Batman bomb if he doesn't kill?
Tough to say which Batwing is better from just going by pictures, the old one was overdone, but had a nice bottom and some small details while this one needs a bottom. I managed to make the bottom actually look nice through modding, but still, it should of been there in the first place. I also wish that the gray was replaced with black. The old one also included a stand for the Batwing, which was nice.
Joker's helicopter on the other hand is great. It's unique from other helicopters I've build and isn't as ugly as the old one (the old one really is ugly). The use of the lattice tower on the back was really creative and sets it apart from other helicopters. I don't feel the need to mod this, which is pleasant, as the Batwing took a while. The Joker gas bomb is a nice touch too, and I love how it has Joker's face. The only thing I don't get is why it shoots forward, seems like it was mixed up with Batman's bomb (which would make more sense as a missile). But this works so well that I won't complain.
Summary
This set is one you can easily skip. Save five dollars and buy 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape where you not only get Batman and Joker, but also Harley Quinn, The Riddler, and Robin. Unless you need the Batwing for something, skip it. It isn't worth it for the price, and even then the Batwing feels unfinished. The last Batwing was $50 for 550 pieces. Sure, Joker's helicopter was ugly and the Batwing was overdone, but it wasn't a rip-off.
| Overall: |    3½ / 5 |
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| Building Experience: | 4 / 5 |
| Parts: | 3½ / 5 |
| Playability: | 4 / 5 |
| Minifigures: | 5 / 5 |
| Value for Money: | 3 / 5 |
| Sets: | 3661 Bank & Money Transfer | 3826 Build-A-Bob | 4428 City Advent Calendar 2012 | 4429 Helicopter Rescue | 4644 Marina | 4738 Hagrid's Hut | 4866 The Knight Bus | 6478 Fire Station | 7931 T-6 Jedi Shuttle | 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape | 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase | 6860 The Batcave | 6862 Superman vs. Power Armour Lex | 6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham City | 6864 Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase | 6866 Wolverine's Chopper Showdown | 6873 Spider-Man's Doc Ock Ambush | 8941 Rockoh T3 | 9464 The Vampyre Hearse | 30164 Lex Luthor |
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| Minifigures: | |
| Video Games: | LEGO Batman: The Videogame♦ | LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game | LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes |
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♦ indicates a Featured Review | |
Wertys761
Country: USA Age Group: TFOL Gender: Male
Joined: May 21, 2011 № of Reviews: 1 № of Featured reviews: 0
Building Experience: Plenty
This is a review of the 2012 Superheroes set: 6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham City.
Being a die-hard fan of DC's Batman, this LEGO DC Superheroes Set has great expectations. Being a remake of 7782 The Batwing: The Joker's Aerial Assault, this set has many flaws over the original.
7782 (Original) costs $49.99 and includes 550 pieces.
6863 (This set) costs $34.99 and includes 278 pieces.
Boxart and Instructions
The boxart on this set is relatively appealing to the eye. The front shows the Batwing chasing Joker's copter over Gotham with a flock of bats in the background. It shows the minifigures on the front, the Batman Logo on the front, and the features on the back. The one thing on this boxart that disgusts me is the image of Batman in the upper right-hand corner. It looks very cheesy, and kinda throws off the box design.
| Overall: | 3 / 5 |
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| Boxart: | 4 / 5 |
| Instructions: | 4 / 5 |
| Comic: | 3 / 5 |
Batwing
The Batwing is much smaller than the one found in 7782. But bigger isn't always better. This version of the Batwing is better than it's original. It's smaller, the wings look more polished, it has more features, and it resembles the Bat logo better.
Underneath the back wings are two blue flick-fires. If you lift up the cockpit, revealed is a very slick cockpit design with control sticks and a control panel. Underneath a hood in the back of the batwing is a lever that when pressed drops a Bat-shaped bomb. The back of the Batwing has a giant flame and a very awkward piece above it. This is a brand new piece that is half plastic, half rubber. I can't stand this piece. It feels weird to rub your finger down a plastic bricka and then suddenly transit to rubber. The colour scheme changes from plastic to rubber also. I wish this piece had simply been all plastic.
I really like this Batwing. The size is perfect, the features are pretty good, and the design is really polished. My only complaint, besides the plastic/rubber piece, is instead of stickers I'd like to see printed-on bricks...
Overall, here are my ratings for the Batwing:
| Overall: | 4 / 5 |
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| Building Experience: | 5 / 5 |
| Pieces: | 3½ / 5 |
| Playability: | 4 / 5 |
Joker's Helicopter
The Joker's Copter was a big upset in 7782. In my opinion, this set solved the upset. The design is much better, the color is much better, and the overall feel is much better.
The bottom portion of Joker's Helicopter is grey. The main portion is mostly green and purple though, a classic Joker feel. There is a very creatively designed white ladder hanging off of the copter. This is intended for the Joker to hang off of. The cockpit window is transparent, revealing the inside of the copter. The front missile is very awesome. It features an exclusive and PRINTED (not sticker :D) piece of a laughing clown face. Using a red R2 body for the main portion of the missile was a creative idea. The missile launches about as hard and far as your typical flick-fire. Speaking of flick-fires, this copter features four of them, two on each side. Above the flick-fires are two Joker faces. These are stickers. x( The back tail of the copter is very sturdy, and the fin with "J" on it is identical to that of 7782. Nothing too special about the copter's tail. But, it suits the overall design of the copter.
If I had to complain about the Joker's Helicopter, I guess I would say that NON-transparent stickers would be nice. Because the stickers are transparent, you can see fingerprints through the sticker. For example, the Joker face stickers are supposed to be stuck on a purple piece. Even if you handle the sticker minimally, you can still see fingerprints on it because it's transparent. This problem does not occur with the Batwing.
| Overall: | 4½ / 5 |
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| Building Experience: | 5 / 5 |
| Pieces: | 3½ / 5 |
| Playability: | 5 / 5 |
Minifigures
I am thoroughly impressed with the minifigures in this set. With Batman, there's nothing new. But, the other two are very great!
The Batman figure doesn't come with much new. He's the black design, so his legs, torso, hands, and mask are all black. The torso detailing is great, but we've seen it before. The mask has some great details on it also, but yet again nothing new. The face is double-sided. One face has a stern look, the other has a grin. Again, Batman has the weird white headband. xD
The Joker has a new design. And this design, is great. His hair is pretty average, but the face is terrific. Both the smile and grin fit The Joker well. His torso features his typical jacket and his legs are one solid color. A very great minifig, in my opinion.
The Joker Henchman stole the show for me. When I was at Walmart, he convinced me to buy this set over 6864 Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase. His face is the key of this fig. If I can get my hands on enough of that mask head, I promise I will make the opener to The Dark Knight in stop-motion. The jacket is also very awesome. The purple legs are basic, but give the classic Joker feel. Overall, this is an awesome minifigure that I desperately want more of. A great minifigure in the DC Universe line.
Summary
Well, what can I say? This set is great. Despite the other review of this set by Berrybrick, I love this set. In my opinion, it's one of the best Super Heroes sets. It really stands above 7782. The Batwing is better sized, better designed, and better shaped. The Helicopter is better colored, better designed, and better made. The minifigures are a bit better designed too. Even at 7.9 cents per brick, the set is completely worth while. I recommend this to any Batman fan, LEGO fan, or super hero admirer. Whether you buy sets to build and appreciate or whether you buy sets to play with and throw at the ground, this set is great. Yes, it could be better. Yes, it could've been $30. But, it boils down to a far above average Batman set. Thank you for reading my first ever review. :D
| Overall: | 5 / 5 |
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| Building Experience: | 4 / 5 |
| Parts: | 3½ / 5 |
| Playability: | 5 / 5 |
| Minifigures: | 5 / 5 |
| Value for Money: | 4 / 5 |