Review – Monogram Batman Figures

Run a search for “monogram batman figure” on Amazon.com* and you’ll find a lot of little toys, key chains, banks and assorted other Batman-themed oddities. But for a really great deal check your local dollar stores, because that’s where I found these three small Batman figures for $1/each.

Ranging in height from 2-inches to 3-inches tall, these three Batman micro-statues were well worth the $3 I paid for the trio. As soon as I finish studying them they’re going right on one of the Batman shelves in the dining room. Everyone has multiple Batman shelves in their dining room, right?

Packaging

Clean and effective, the packaging on these Batman figures is nothing exciting. If you check the above image then you can see the variety of toys offered in the line. The dollar store I visited had all of the toys, but all I grabbed were the three Batman designs. I think I saw a Joker not shown on the back of the card, but I’ll have to go back to the store and look at the selection to verify whether or not there is an unadvertised Joker in the line.

Soft Sculpts

While there’s nothing terrible about the sculpts, all three of the Batman figures are less defined than we get with most action figure sculpts. The details are decent, but those soft-faced features get a little blurry in spots. To be fair to Monogram and the designers, though, the softness is really only obvious in enlarged photos and if you place the toys under a microscope. For normal viewing with the naked eye these are just fine . . . especially when I remember that I paid $3 for all three of the figures.

Paint

Adequate and clean. The toys are molded in gray and black, with the yellow, white, flesh tones, and some of the black details painted on. “Masterful” isn’t the word I would use to describe the paintwork, but “functional” is quite fitting a description. Again, as display pieces that cost me $1/each I cannot complain. These little guys are going to look fantastic surrounded by Batman statues and toys.

Closing Thoughts

If these were $3 or more/each I couldn’t really recommend them, but at the $1 price I paid for each of the Batman figures I say “Yes, go buy these, now!” Running a search for “monogram batman figure” on Amazon.com* will reveal some of these toys, but the prices are too high and you should only buy the toys online if you’re a Batman fanatic and cannot find these locally.

Not exactly the greatest toys ever made, but they’re great little collectibles at a remarkable price. I have no idea how many of these Monogram had to sell to hit a $1 retail price, but it has to be in the tens of thousands. Seeing these makes me wish I could sit in on a few Monogram planning meetings; I’d love to learn their sales and manufacturing tricks. That’s probably not going to happen.