LEGO DC 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile review

It was only a matter of time before the LEGO Group turned back the clock to the 1960s and tackled one of the most iconic Batmobiles of all time at a larger scale, and it doesn’t disappoint… much.

This isn’t the LEGO Group’s first rodeo with the ‘60s Batmobile. It’s appeared twice before at minifigure scale, once in 76052 Batman Classic TV Series Batcave and on its own in 76188 Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile. But this third pass bumps up the size to match 76139 1989 Batmobile and 76240 Batmobile Tumbler, two supersized Bat-vehicles that debuted in 2019 and 2021 respectively – and have since been clamouring for a retro companion.

So here we are again, another year, another reason to bust out the Bat-credit card. But should you really BIFF! BAM! and BANG! your way to the LEGO Store on day one for 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile?

Release: October 1, 2024 Price: £129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99 Pieces: 1,822 Minifigures: 1 LEGO: Order now

CRAAACK! KAPOW! THUNK!

The point of going bigger with any LEGO vehicle, whether it’s a Millennium Falcon, AT-AT, DeLorean or Batmobile, is to narrow the (Bat-)gap between artistic interpretation and accurate recreation. Necessary compromises at the relatively low resolution of minifigure scale are swept away by greater detail and more room to manoeuvre within the same element library at a higher resolution. Ergo: 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile should be way more accurate than its minifigure-scale predecessors.

And the good news is that – for the most part – it is. Things start out with some relatively simple brick-stacking, but the build gets progressively more interesting and there’s enough here to keep you entertained even within the sea of predominantly black pieces. Interruptions to apply stickers are just that little bit too regular – although you can see why most of them are needed, especially all the one-off stickers that point out the car’s various Bat-gadgets – but otherwise this serves up a solid build experience even for those of us who have put together plenty of large-scale LEGO cars already.

The 1965 Lincoln Futura (the car on which Adam West’s Batmobile is based) has a lot more going on in the front than 76188 Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile would have you believe, and it’s here where 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile makes the best use of its bigger budget. There’s some pretty complex stuff around the bonnet, headlights and front bumper to achieve those particular angles, and while it often swings wildly between ‘artistic interpretation’ and ‘accurate recreation’, the overall effect is much more convincing than in the smaller Batmobiles – as it should be.

KLONK! RAKKK! BLURP!

The back of the car actually uses a relatively similar technique to its smaller sibling, tilting out the raised fins along a series of hinges. It just about gets away with it, but there are a couple of negative consequences you’d have hoped the designers might have been able to overcome at this scale: the red outline is staggered to pretty much the same degree at the beginning of the sloped fin, thanks to the use of actual LEGO slopes, and the hinges interrupt the otherwise sleek and rounded edges that run the length of the car, which are otherwise a major step up from the smaller versions.

New windscreen elements (each individually packaged to avoid scratches) bring a lot to the table, and while it’s always nice to see the designers solve these challenges with existing parts, many LEGO Icons vehicles require new pieces to realise certain curves or canopy shapes, so it’s easy to give 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile a pass there – not least because the two different windscreens fit the bill so perfectly. If there’s one critique, it’s the all-too-chunky grey borders that surround them, but that’s one problem to which the solution might only be an even bigger set (with an even higher resolution).

What’s less excusable here though are the Batmobile’s wheel arches. For reasons we can only contemplate, 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile features squared wheel arches, while its source material has rounded wheel arches. The LEGO DC team got this right on the smaller Batmobiles thanks to prefab wheel arch parts, even if the degree of their curve was too severe, and squaring them off entirely in the bigger set feels like a real step backwards. For some, it might just be a dealbreaker.

THWAPP! WHAMMM! KER-SPLOOSH!

All that said: even while 1,822 pieces isn’t necessarily enough to push the needle from artistic interpretation to accurate recreation as fully as you’d hope, you can’t say 76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile isn’t instantly recognisable. And its ability to conjure up a convincing replica of the 1960s Batmobile at this price point shouldn’t be overlooked, either: at £129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99, this feels like the most fairly priced large-scale car in years (that’s counting LEGO Icons, too). It’s so cheap that it’s almost difficult to grumble about the absence of Robin… almost.

76328 Batman: The Classic TV Series Batmobile includes just one minifigure, Adam West’s Batman, and between its dual-moulded legs and plastic cape it’s pretty much the best version of this Batsuit yet. But only one character is still another step down from 76139 1989 Batmobile’s three and 76240 Batmobile Tumbler’s two minifigures, and given we haven’t seen Burt Ward’s Robin since 2016, this would have been the perfect time to bring him back. The Batmobile has two seats, it’s anchored around the Dynamic Duo, and yet… poor old Bats has to fight crime as a solo superhero yet again.

This one definitely shouldn’t be a dealbreaker though, because this car isn’t minifigure scale and you’re not coming to it for the characters. You’re here instead for another welcome addition to the growing garage of large-scale Batmobiles, and a model that will slot very nicely into that collection with only a couple of compromises. Consider the Bat-gap narrowed.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Our honest opinion: Save for a couple of curious compromises, this is exactly what you’d want from a large-scale 1960s Batmobile, and an easy recommendation at its very favourable price tag.