Review – Batman: Blast Lane Batmobile

Slightly shorter than last year’s Power Attack Batman: Total Destruction Batmobile (review here), the new Blast Lane Batmobile* is now in stores and at $20 it’s a good deal if you’re planning to follow the Power Attack Batman 6-inch scale action figures as they drop the “Power Attack” part of the title and become simply the “Batman” line. I’m not sure why Mattel changed the name — I thought Power Attack Batman was a cool name for the line — but at least this new Batmobile is as fun as last year’s model, even if it doesn’t have gimmicks.

Charcoal and Red

I can’t really call this Batmobile black, but the dark gray has the same sort of shimmery, pearlescent finish as the Power Attack Batman: Total Destruction Batmobile (review here) and it looks great once you wipe off the fingerprints. That’s one danger of the open air packaging that Mattel has been using for this line, but the chance to feel the plastic and take a really close look at the toy before spending cash makes me quite happy.

Cockpit

Once you open the canopy on the Blast Lane Batmobile* you find one way in which Mattel kept their costs down on the toy: there’s no steering wheel! The Total Destruction Batmobile (review here) didn’t skimp on the steering wheel so losing one kinda feels like a negative to me. But it’s only an issue when I pop the canopy open and look inside so I’ll call this a weak spot and not a big deal that would keep me from recommending the toy to a Batman fan.

Rolls Great!

The Blast Lane Batmobile* has no problems when it comes to racing across the floor, with the big wheels rolling freely and the toy zooming quite nicely when you put some muscle into pushing it. I can totally see kids being quite happy with this toy but to be honest if the Total Destruction Batmobile (review here) is already in the toy box then this new design isn’t necessary.

Why a New Batmobile?

I’m not sure why Mattel needed another Batmobile less than a year after the first one for this line hit stores, but the Blast Lane Batmobile* makes a worthy successor to the Total Destruction Batmobile (review here) and looks great with last year’s Power Attack Batman action figures. But if the boys toys aisle is at the point that a toy as awesome as last year’s Batmobile has to be replaced in less than a year then there’s a larger problem in the toy industry than I realized; in my day a Batmobile would have gotten more than eight months on the market before being replaced.

Closing Thoughts

While targeted at kids, fans of the Batmobile will want to keep an eye on the Blast Lane Batmobile* since it’s a different design than last year’s Total Destruction Batmobile (review here) while still looking incredible. And if this one takes the same path that last year’s Batmobile did then we can expect to see the toy on clearance around Thanksgiving or Christmas; and that is a damned shame because toys that are this well-constructed deserve space on store shelves for at least a full year.