Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ultimate Armor Mr Freeze figure from Kenner

Getting close to completing the Batman & Robin toy line. These last few are becoming harder and harder to track down. I was lucky to find someone in Germany selling this and ended up paying a bit extra to get it posted to the UK.

This was totally worth it though. The figure is a villain version of those Batman and Robin figures where you snap on the armour and those types of figures are some of my favourite ones ever. 

This time it makes way more sense because Arnie's suit was big and bulky and he did have a sequence where he has to put it all on ("A laundry service that delivers!").

The paint work is still pretty minimal but I appreciate them going with something other than blue for the colour. The mint green undersuit looks kind of awesome.

Just a couple more Mr Freeze figures to go.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Attack Wing Robin figure from Kenner

Back to the Kenner reviews with Attack Wing Robin. There some heavy Marvel influences on this one.

His helmet looks like Ant-Man. His wings looks like Archangel. And his suit looks like Spider-man. Who knows if that's intentional or not? 

I actually really like the sculpt on this. I vener really noticed until now that although the paint work on the B&R figures is a bit lacklustre, the actually sculpts are really intricately detailed. 

This is definitely a fun one if you can find it.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Mr Freeze figure from McFarlane

Finally at the end of the McFarlane line. This episode looks at Batman (which I've already reviewed) and the Build a Figure Mr Freeze. I've got to say they did a great job with Mr Freeze. I wish we had a Jeep Swenson Bane figure as well but hey, maybe that was too much to ask for.

The Mr Freeze has a great head sculpt. Really good Arnold Schwarzenegger vibes. And I love that they used a semi-translucent blue for the see-through parts of the helmet.

The only criticism I really have are the colours of the suit. The blue parts of the suit feel a bit light and flat. Obviously these lit up on the real suit but that's impossible to do on this scale. I still feel they could have come with a brighter colour. 

I've had a look at other people's customs and I think I'm going to find some shiny pearlescent blue plastic to stick over the top of these bits.

The other issue is the grey suit which really should have been painted with chrome. I'm going to try and rectify this by using a "Molotow Liquid Chrome pen, 2.0 tip" as recommended by ace action figure customizer Les Walker.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Robin figure from McFarlane

Third in the McFarlane Batman & Robin wave is Chris O'Donnell's Robin. 

It's a pretty great figure. The likeness isn't as perfect as Poison Ivy but I think it's a solid effort. The pouty lips and big jawline are there.

I love that they added some accessories for this one. There are two ice pieces that can go over his head and arm so you can recreate the part of the movie where Mr Freeze blasts him with his freeze ray. That's a neat touch.

Hopefully if this line sells well, we'll get an Ice Suit Robin in the near future. If not, I'll just have to buy a duplicate and get out the old Chrome paint.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - George Clooney Batman figure from McFarlane

Thanks to an extremely generous fan I have the George Clooney Batman figure from the McFarlane Ultimate Batman Collection to review.

If you are a fan of the movie Batman & Robin this is the figure you've been waiting for. The sculpt is really spot on. Maybe not as much as the Val Kilmer one but it's recognizably Clooney's face. All the details are there - yep, even the nipples.

Articulation is excellent. The only one I didn't need is the neck. They should have kept it like the movie suit and not have him able to turn his head. 

The figure is also available as a solo release (as part of a 4 figure wave (with bonus build a Figure Mr Freeze). That one comes with a plastic cape. This one has the cloth cape which is nicer.

Anyway, what are you doing reading this review. Get out there and buy one. If this sells well, maybe we'll get a Batmobile!

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Snowtracker Batman figure from Kenner

This week we've got Snowtracker Batman - another cold themed Batman figure. That was basically the theme of all the Batman and Robin toy line. Hot or cold (...or plants).

Anyway it's got a hard white cape that folds into place and fires a missile out the back. And that's about it. I don't know, this one wasn't working for me. It feels a little bit basic.

The one bit of interest is the paintwork on the legs 😔

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Mr Freeze figure from Funko Pop

And so we reach the last remaining figure I needed to get for the Funko/Schumacher Batman figures. The Mighty Mr Freeze.

As with all Funkos the attention to detail is perfect. They've really captured the likeness really well. If you like Funkos and like Arnie's Mr Freeze this is well worth getting and eminently affordable (which not a lot of toys are!). 

As I mention in the video Funko have had a tough time recently and these aren't as plentiful in shops anymore so if you want one I wouldn't wait too long.

As for my sidenote about McFarlane making some Schumacher figures in the future, I seem to have willed this into being!

McFarlane Toys have just yesterday announced they will be making a line of Batman & Robin figures as well as an Ultimate 6 Pack of all the Movies Batmen (Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale, Affleck and Pattinson).

See my posts on www.1995batman.com here and here.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Frostbite figure from Kenner

Henchmen are an essential element of many Batman stories. Who can forget Jack Napier's "number one guy" Bob the goon? (Who got a figure from the Toybiz line). Or Two Face's hulking henchmen with their neon Tommy guns? (Who didn't get a figure but maybe show have).

Of course the Batman & Robin movie had the ultra silly idea to give Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr Freeze a "hockey team from hell". And we did at least get one figure named Frostbite. I'm not 100% sure he's meant to be the same character as Frosty (the henchman who get frozen by Freeze for interrupting the movie). 

Anyway, it's a decent sculpt. He's got his mask down and has this weird backpack/luge/armour thing that folds in lots of different directions. I've got to admit this one had me puzzled. There's no instructions for how this works.

But anyway, you can either fire the hockey sticks or put them in his hands as weapons. And that's enough for me. I'm glad we got a henchman and maybe if I get bored I'll buy a few of them, paint them slightly different colours and build a little army.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Deluxe Ice Terror Mr Freeze figure from Kenner

It's weird that considering how toyetic the Batman & Robin movie was that some elements of the film didn't become toys.

Mr Freeze's Freezemobile seems like an obvious candidate for a toy but sadly the closest we came was this Deluxe Ice Terror Mr Freeze that came with this three wheeled dragster.

It's a big step down. I know Kenner had a few of these three wheel vehicles across their various Batman toylines but I never felt they worked. They always felt really weedy compared to the massive batmobile and batbikes.

There's an attempt to make the vehicle more interesting by giving it the ability to transform but again, for me, it's very lacklustre. It just turns into a slightly lower, longer dragster. Why not make it turn into a plane or a sled?

The figure itself is okay. An interesting attempt at giving Mr Freeze a suit with lots of cooling pipes. I appreciate them trying to make a more colourful Mr Freeze.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Talon Strike Robin figure from Kenner

There's a lot of fun Robin figures in Kenner's movie line and this is definitely near the top. For once the Boy Wonder gets a huge backpack in the form of some bird/bat wings.

With his twirling axe and huge wings it's more than a little reminiscent of Hawkman. In fact I had to dig out my JLA Hawkman figure and check it wasn't a retool (it's not).

I also really like the detailing on the suit too. There's loads of Robin symbols on the hips and gloves. A lot of Batman & Robin figures suffer from having limited paint work but I think this is one of the few that works. The orange and metallic blue are really quite striking.

It actually reminded me a lot of the Night Fighter Robocop figure.

Definitely try and track this down.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Blade Batman figure from Kenner

With Batman & Robin coming out only two years after Batman Forever, Kenner were under pressure to get the figures made in time for the film's release. The timeline for designing, producing, and shipping out figures is usually a minimum of 18 months. So Kenner had to be smart, and one of the advantages they had was that they could repaint a few from the Batman Forever line.

Ice Blade Batman is one such example. A minor repaint and head replacement. I really liked this figure in the Forever line but this version feels like a bit of a downgrade. First off, there's no translucent elements to the figure. Secondly there's the weird purple and yellow colour scheme.

All in all I think this is one for just the diehard Kenner fans who want every figure.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Board Robin figure from Kenner

Following on from the Hover Board Batman figure, we have it's counterpart - Ice Board Robin. This is the one Robin figure that does a decent representation of the first costume Chris O'Donnell wears in the film with the dark blue suit and the red bird symbol on his chest. 

He comes with a little hover board that you can stick him on. Not a fan of that but the staff he comes with is pretty neat. You can split it in two and use one bit as a missile while the other spins on Robin's wrist. Very clever little accessory and it quite possible it was inspired by the Tim Drake Robin in the comics who also used a staff weapon.

As I always say if you just want the figures that look like they do in the film this is one of the ones to get.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Deluxe Glacier Battle Robin figure from Kenner

Looking at one of the Deluxe Robin figures this week based on the airboat-thingy that Chris O'Donnell pilots towards the end of the film. 

Like all the Robin costumes this is based on the Nightwing outfit from the comic books. I think the silver and blue lools pretty great and the cloth cape - a rarity for this line - is a nice touch. 

I particularly love that the vehicle has two modes and you can (admittedly awkwardly) put two figures on the vehicle. All in all a pretty great figure.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Deluxe Blast Wing Batman figure from Kenner

Hope you all had a good Christmas. Back to the Kenner reviews. This week we're looking at Blast Wing Batman - one of the six deluxe figures. 

It's a good Batman figure with a silver paint job and a typically giant backpack with spring out wings. Unlike previous figures that had spring out wings this one focuses more on the wings making a chopping motion. 

The backpack can also double as a hover board (which a lot of other accessories in this toyline could do). It's a nice attempt at adding some versatility but it's still only a middling figure in my view. Not bad but not great either.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Razor Skate Robin figure from Kenner

The suit up sequences were key elements of Schumacher's Batman movies so it's no surprise that Kenner made a couple of figures for both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin that allowed kids to dress up their figures.

Interestingly Razor Skate Robin - a companion figure to Battle Gear Bruce Wayne - goes for a very different approach than Batman Forever's Quick Change Dick Grayson. That figure had a colour changing mask while this one opts for a chunky visor that covers most of Dick's face. 

I think on balance this works best. Robin's mask is so tiny it would be too easily lost if it was smaller. What I can't figure out is why Kenner never tried to do a retractable head like the Batman/Bruce Wayne figures had.

Anyway, I like this figure a lot. For me it's a must have from the line. 

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ambush Assault Batman figure from Kenner

Given that Batman fights Mr Freeze in the film most of Kenner's figures were based around ice or heat. Far fewer were based around him battling Poison Ivy. 

Ambush Attack Batman is one of those rare exceptions. Batman is in some nifty looking green gear (so presumably he's fighting Poison Ivy). The cape pivots at the back of the waist allowing the whole thing to swing up and point two missiles forward.

This is a fun one, I like the cape missile thing - I've not seen that before - but this is maybe not a massively essential purchase... unless you're making a plant themed Batman figure collection and need something to go with Jungle Tracker Batman from the Batman Returns line.