McFarlane Toys '66 Batman Wayne Manor Library Playset and Contaminated Cowl Batman Figure Review

Welcome to another Dan's ToyBox review. Today's find is the McFarlane Toys '66 Batman Series: Wayne Manor Library Playset and for a bonus, the '66 Batman "Contaminated Cowl" figure. As with the previous review on the Batcave set, this will be more of a discussion of the set itself, but we'll dive into the categories for the figure.

Once again, I saw this as a wonderful piece of nostalgia to add to the collection. When I found it at Target for $29.99, I snapped it up immediately. After seeing the set, I noticed the Batman figure, along with the Two Face figure. Though Two Face never appeared in the original series, he was introduced in cartoon form in 2017's "Batman vs. Two Face" animated film. Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar provided the voices for their famous characters: Batman, Robin, and Catwoman, while being joined by Lee Meriwether, who actually played Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie and William Shatner as the villainous Two Face. I have given thought to collecting the McFarlane '66 figures, but with the exception of three (which do not yet exist) I have decided against buying more. I'll explain more when we discuss the Batman figure.

The Wayne Manor Library set is very well done and is really nice to have on the shelf. I do need to rearrange a few things, as I'd like to have it above my Batcave set up. Anyhow, the set comes with several great pieces. There is an end table with lamp, a wall sconce, a globe, Bruce Wayne's desk, chair, red phone (hotline to Police HQ) and finally, the Shakespeare bust which opens to reveal the switch to activate the secret entrance to the Batcave. The bookshelves can also slide open to reveal the Bat Poles, clearly labelled for Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. What I find to be very nice about this set is the detail and care taken to try and replicate the set from the series. As with the Batcave, McFarlane does a great job capturing the look and feel of the television show. My one hope is to see figures of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson in civilian clothes and Alfred. Those are the three previously mentioned figures that don't yet exist, that I would be very happy to add to this collection. I'm going to go out on a limb and venture the opinion that they won't be long in coming to stores, why else make the library? For an overall grade, I think the set is very reasonably priced, looks great, and has some fantastic features, which leads me to give it 9 out of 10 ToyBoxes!

The "Contaminated Cowl" Batman figure, at first glance looks pretty cool. The episode this was based on involved the Mad Hatter's scheme to add Batman's cowl to his collection of hats. While in the process of stealing a precious Ruby, the Mad Hatter turns Batman's cowl pink, with a radioactive spray. He then, secretly, follows Batman to the Atomic Energy Laboratory where he manages to steal the cowl before it can be decontaminated. I will give McFarlane credit in that the '66 Batman figures are really rendered well. Even such small details as the gold bat on the utility belt buckle and the paint apps for the eyes are applied very cleanly. I'm not overly fond of the cape though as it doesn't hang very well on the figure, due to the cut and shape at the shoulders. I'm also disappointed by the extreme difference in the color of the cape and the blue of his gloves, trunks, and boots. The older '66 Batman figures I have, the blues all match so much better. There really isn't any reason that I can think of as to why the paint couldn't have been darker. Aside from that though, the figure does look good. I like the look of the pink cowl, especially with how it stands out so starkly against the rest of the figure. The bat symbol on his chest is painted very well and as I mentioned, the utility belt is sculpted and painted quite nicely. The articulation leaves a lot to be desired though. His head does turn left and right only. There is no tilt. The shoulders are on ball joints and though they can raise out to a nice T pose and rotate a full 360, the cut and design of the torso at the shoulders causes the arms to move at an odd angle. The elbow is a single joint with a fixed 90-degree flex and a pivot built in. There are two points of rotation for the forearm. There's a cut at the top of the glove and the wrists will rotate and hinge. There is no crunch, only a waist pivot which is a bit disappointing. The legs, though, are probably the worst feature. There is no split, only a forward kick action and single jointed knees that stop at a 90-degree bend. There is no ankle rotation or hinge. On the plus side, he does come with a batarang and his bat-radio/communicator. The price on this figure was $19.99 and I have to confess... is more than the figure is worth. This is an average figure at best, only earning 5 out of 10 ToyBoxes. If McFarlane makes the three figures I mentioned earlier, I'll get them, just to have in the library playset, but aside from those, I highly doubt I'll add any more of these figures to the collection.

Thanks again for visiting Dan's ToyBox! I'm looking forward to sharing my next series of reviews and until then... GEEK OUT!!!