Review of 1966 TV Batman mini-bust

Introduction

It's been a banner year for merchandise and collectibles based on the classic 60's Batman television show designs. Once upon a time not so very long ago this license was the holy grail, a license that everyone said was impossible to do...and now everyone and their sister's cousin has the rights to produce something based on the iconic Adam West Batman and his Rogue's Gallery.

The latest is a series of mini-busts from Diamond Select Toys. The first release is Batman of course, but they already have pre-orders for Joker and Robin, and we can always hope this line expands. While lots of companies have produced collectibles, very few have gotten past the basic Batman and Robin, and Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler and Joker have only made rare appearances. I'd love to see at least one of these lines take off strong enough to get some of the more obscure characters.

These guys have an SRP of $60, but you'll find them at many retailers in the $50 - $55 range. Batman is a limited edition of 3000.

Packaging - ***
The box is pretty average stuff, but I do like the colors and retro graphics. They've included a large Certificate of Authenticity that mirrors the design on the box.

My only major complaint is with the interior trays. They used that cheap, soft Styrofoam, the kind that ends up all over the place whenever you touch it.

Sculpting - **1/2
Most mini-busts in your collection will be around sixth scale, with the actual bust from the waist up or so running about 6" tall.  Bats is smaller than that, with the entire bust - including the tall base - running 6". That means he's closer to 1/9th scale, making him a bit of an odd ball on your shelf. Thankfully, he'll have at least Robin and the Joker to keep him company.

I do like the design and sculpting on the base. The Gotham skyline and bat signal wrap around, following the overall retro design theme.

The character himself is something of a hot mess though. The likeness is off, with the mouth set too high on a Leno-esque chin. The very pointy nose appears to fill out the mask in a weird, deformed way, and the upper body is too defined. Sorry Mr. West, but you know it's true.

It's not all bad - like I said, I like the base quite a bit, and the folds and layers of the cape look terrific. But overall, it's more of a cos-player wearing the outfit than Adam West.

Paint - **1/2
The quality of the paint work reminds me of something you'd see on a 'collectible' souvenir from your local zoo or tourist attraction.

The issues on the face are most noticeable, with the crooked, uneven eyebrows and nose highlights. The eyes are too large and flat, and there's plenty of slop where the skin tone creeps onto the cowl, the black of the mask slips onto the cowl, and just about every cut line is poor.

It's not just the face where you see these problems. The cut line between the cape and the costume around the neck line is pretty awful, with lots of the blue slopped onto the grey.

The highlight for this category is the nice use of a metallic fleck blue for the cape and cowl, but cool as it is, it can't make up for the overall poor quality of the rest of the paint.

As I mentioned earlier, he's a limited edition of 3000, and the size and edition number are printed on the bottom.

Value - **
Sixty bucks might not seem too bad for a bust, but remember - this guy is smaller than the average bear, er, bust. Fortunately, a lot of retailers have him in the $50 range, but that's still a smidge too high considering the quality of the paint work. Better paint ops and I'd be happy to go another half star to an average rating at $50.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - **1/2
I'd really like to see one of the '66 Batman lines take off, giving us more than just the 4 main villains. Of course, that means they have to get the rights to the actual show and not just the movie (remember, Penguin, Catwoman, Joker, and Riddler were all in the movie), but I have faith.

Unfortunately, the paint quality on this first release really hurts him. I can live with the sculpt being a bit off, but the paint doesn't do it any favors.  Being the bat freak that I am, I already have Robin and Joker on pre-order, and I'm hoping that these paint issues get corrected by the time they are released.

Now, let's hurry up and get the other three villains out there so we can move on to the good stuff! C'mon, Egghead!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - **1/2
Paint - **1/2
Value - **
Overall - **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is also at $50.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
This has been a big year for the 66 version, and I've covered the Batman and Robin by Hot Toys, the Batman prop replica utility belt, the very cool 1/4 scale Batman from NECA, and the Batmobile and action figures from Mattel, including the Batman and Robin two pack, the Joker,  and the first wave of figures that included Batman, Riddler, and the Penguin.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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