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LEGO Batman Movie sets review – part 8

by on March 28, 2017
in LEGO Super Heroes

There are a couple of sets related to The LEGO Batman Movie that we haven’t talked about yet – both vehicles, belonging to the badguys. So today we will discuss the #70903 LEGO Batman Movie The Riddler Riddle Racer, and the #70911 LEGO Batman Movie The Penguin Arctic Roller. If you are wondering where are the reviews of the other awesome badguy vehicles, like the #70906 LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Notorious Lowrider and the #70907 LEGO Batman Movie Killer Croc Tail Gator, you can find links at the end of this post. 🙂

➡ #70903 LEGO THE RIDDLER RIDDLE RACER: This set comes with a really nice vehicle and a fantastic collection of minifigures. The vehicle itself is like an old style racecar with nice curves, great colors, and a solid design. If you want, you could easily transform it into a generic car for your LEGO city. I think it would also look really good in red, as another option for colors. The main play-feature is a couple of tastefully hidden spring-loaded shooters, which you won’t even notice unless you flip-up the back. The arrangement of the lights at the front is particularly well done. A great car from every side and angle.

The set also includes five minifigures, four of which are exclusives. Batman appears in most of The LEGO Batman Movie sets, but The Riddler, Magpie, Calendar Man, and Kite Man only come in this set. That’s an amazing collection of unique characters! Calendar Man particularly stands out as an elaborately designed and decorated character, and I also like that the fancy armor piece on Magpie now comes in black (previously it only appeared in gold in a couple of sets).

Here is the official description: Take on four Super-Villains at once in The LEGO Batman Movie: The Riddler Riddle Racer set, featuring the Riddle Racer vehicle with two hidden flip-up spring-loaded shooters. Team up with Batman to defeat The Riddler, Kite Man, Magpie and Calendar Man. Also includes Kite Man’s detachable glider pack with posable wings, Batman’s Batarang, Magpie’s dynamite elements and other role-play-inspiring weapons and accessory elements. Includes five minifigures: Batman, The Riddler, Magpie, Calendar Man and Kite Man. 254 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

➡ #70911 LEGO THE PENGUIN ARCTIC ROLLER: This is the set I have been most excited about from The LEGO Batman Movie line, because of the gorgeous classic vehicle, similar to the Hispano-Suiza H6 (link to Wikipedia page) produced between 1919 and 1933. It is interesting to note that the H6 actually had a 6-wheeled version similar to the Arctic Roller, that was special ordered by the King of Greece, and is now in the Forney Museum in Denver.

The front fenders of the vehicle take advantage of the fairly new air-balloon pieces – an absolutely inspired solution to create the beautiful curves. Unfortunately, the shape and size of these large pieces also enforce grave limitation. Thus, while the vehicle looks beautiful from the front and the sides, it appears very strange from the top, because of the very long, but very narrow design. (The windshield and cabin are only four studs wide, and can accommodate just one minifigure.) So depending on from what angle you look at this car, you will love it or hate it. Fortunately, there are more good angles than bad ones, so it can be very impressive on display.

Just like the previous vehicle, this one also has some really well-hidden spring-loaded shooters, which can be used as a play-feature, or completely ignored. There is also a functioning (although very narrow) trunk, with a mini escape pod for The Penguin. The two minifigures in this set are The Penguin and Batman. The Penguin comes with a newly designed top hat, removable fur collar piece, and folder up umbrella – all very nice accessories.

Here is the official description: Join Batman’s pursuit of The Penguin in The LEGO Batman Movie: The Penguin Arctic Roller set. The Arctic Roller vehicle features a minifigure cockpit with removable roof, dual spring-loaded shooter and loads of quirky penguin details. Add an extra dimension to the chase by opening the trunk and placing The Penguin on his penguin mini escape pod. Includes two minifigures: Batman and The Penguin. 305 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

At least in my opinion, some of the most impressive sets in The LEGO Batman Movie collection are the ones with classic-style cars. The #70903 LEGO Batman Movie The Riddler Riddle Racer is a very solid vehicle that looks sweet and is fun to play with. The #70906 LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Notorious Lowrider is probably the most realistic amongst all the cars (except for the outrageous colors), and it comes with working suspension. The #70911 LEGO Batman Movie The Penguin Arctic Roller has beautiful colors and striking curves, but it doesn’t look good from all angles. Below I have included video-reviews of both sets from JANGBRiCKS so you see the vehicles and minifigs in more detail.

What do you think? How do you like The LEGO Batman Movie vehicles? Do you have a favorite? Have you gotten any of them already? Feel free to share your own review and thoughts in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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2016 LEGO Annual Report Highlights

by on March 27, 2017
in Community News

While the LEGO Group is not a publicly traded company, they do release a financial report every year with interesting facts, numbers and insights. According to the 2016 report, which was published at the beginning of March, last year produced the highest revenue in the company’s 85-year history. You can read the full report here, and below I have included some of the highlights, so we can discuss. 🙂

The total revenue for the company in 2016 was DKK 37.9 billion (approximately 5.4 billion USD), compared to DKK 35.8 billion for 2015. That’s a 5.5 increase (excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange). LEGO did make significant investments in 2016, most notably the LEGO House in Billund, and a new manufacturing facility in China. After all expenses, the net profit for the company was 9.4 billion DKK (approximately 1.35 billion USD), which is a slight increase from DKK 9.2 billion in 2015. LEGO paid DKK 3.0 billion in taxes on profit, which is unchanged from 2015. If you like numbers, you can get a more detailed breakdown in the 2016 Annual Report, and 2016 Financial Highlights Fact Sheet here.

CEO of the LEGO Group, Bali Padda said, “We are satisfied with our performance in 2016. We had a strong first half of the year, while consumer sales growth in the second half was at more sustainable levels than previous years. We were encouraged by our performance in mature markets in Europe and continue to see strong potential in China, which represents an attractive growth opportunity. In the US, consumer sales were flat year-on-year despite a significant increase in marketing spend in the second half of the year. We will continue to work closely with our retail partners to identify new opportunities to innovate, drive growth and engage children in this important market.”

It’s interesting to note that while most major LEGO markets experienced growth in 2016, the increase was very unevenly distributed. Sales in North America were slightly down in 2016, as were sales in Japan. All European markets saw healthy high single or double digit growth rates, and the Chinese market continued its strong double digit growth. Hopefully, the release of The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie in 2017 will improve those number for North America.

The top selling lines in 2016 were core themes like LEGO City, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Friends, LEGO Creator, and LEGO DUPLO. The new theme, LEGO Nexo Knights, that combines physical and digital play through building sets, digital gaming and inspirational storytelling, was also a contributor to growth. Notice that besides LEGO Star Wars, all other best-selling themes are LEGO’s own IPs.

The top five best-selling LEGO products (measured by consumer sales in DKK) are as follows: 1. LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon, 2. LEGO Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster, 3. LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 4. LEGO Disney Collectible Minifigures, 5. LEGO City Fire Station.

There are some other interesting facts included in the report as well. About 75 billion LEGO elements were sold in 2016 in 140 different countries. LEGO produced 730 million tires during 2016. The LEGO element produced in the largest numbers was the 1×2 plate – 2.7 billion were moulded in 2016. There were 67 colors and 3,700 different shapes in production during the year. LEGO.com has 18 million unique visitors per month, there are 4 million LEGO Club members, and 131 brand retail stores. During 2016, more than 600 LEGO products were available, including 335 new sets. There has been zero product recalls in both 2015 and 2016. A total of 16,836 employees worked for LEGO last year, representing 80 nationalities. This includes 250 set designers from 40 nationalities.

As you can see, LEGO has been doing quite well, even during less certain financial times in the already difficult toy market. As far as future plans, Padda said, “Our long-term ambition is to provide the opportunity for millions more children around the world to benefit from LEGO play experiences, especially in emerging markets. In 2016, we invested significantly in the talent and infrastructure to enable this sustainable, long-term growth.”

What do you think of LEGO’s annual report from last year? Did you notice any other interesting details? How do you think 2017 will turn out? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 🙂

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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