Review:6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase
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$12.99
€14.99
£11.99
$24.99
$24.99
Reviews
Berrybrick
Country: America the Beautiful Gender: Male
Joined: February 2010 
№ of Reviews: 46 
№ of Featured reviews: 1
Building Experience: Enough is enough
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This is one of two Super Heroes sets I got for Christmas, the other being 6864 Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase (which hopefully I will review soon). This is currently (as of December 27, 2011) the smallest of the Super Heroes line, and pretty much a remake of 7779 The Batman Dragster: Catwoman Pursuit, which also featured Catwoman on a motorcycle fleeing from Batman.
This set
Box/Instructions
The dark blue box shows the scene of Batman chasing Catwoman down a street with newspapers flying, crates upturned, and a stoplight plunging perilously towards Catwoman. There is a 1:1 scale image of Batman without the jetpack at the top of the box. The back of the box gives pictures of how the stop-light drops and a less exciting image of the set. Both pictures are against a bright yellow backdrop, which I'm not so fond of, but it's not the front of the box at least. On the top of the box are the logos for LEGO and DC Universe as well as SUPER HEROES in large, golden letters. There is a cartoony picture of a blue suited Batman in the upper right hand corner.
The instruction book has the same image as the front. The inside has a nice light blue background, and you can easily tell between black and gray pieces now, black pieces have a white outline which makes a nice difference, not that there are too many pieces to mix up here. Even though a comic isn't included, there is a short comic in the back of the instructios, which I really don't understand. In the back, there are ads for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, the three DC Ultrabuilds, and for the LEGO Club.
Parts
The set includes 89 pieces which is okay for a licensed set of this size. Of the five molded parts I've noticed which are exclusive to sets in the DC Universe line, this set has two-Batman's "wings" and Catwoman's cowl (which has the eyes closer together than before). Besides the wings and cowl, Catwoman's new face and torso, as well as the two printed newspapers are included. As for rare parts, there is a Hassansin claw (as well as an extra), Catwoman's whip, the purple motorcycle (only the second set to include this), the new 1x1 round piece in silver (and another extra one), and the Transparent diamond is not so common for smaller sets.
There are no stickers included.
Minifigures
There are two minifigures included-Batman and Catwoman. The minifigures are probably the main draw, and both are great and very detailed.
Batman
This variation of Batman seems to be a cross between three previous ones from the original Batman line. Batman has an Earth Blue cowl, which was previously exclusive to the two Batman sets from 2007. The face is okay, but looks too much like Superman's, only younger and with a white headband. The head is double sided, with a scowl on one side and a large smirk on the other. If it wasn't for the smirk (which reminds me of the campy Adam West Batman), I would actually prefer the original face to this one. I like the torso more than the original, mostly because it has my favorite Batsymobol with the rounded appearance and yellow background and backprinting. The jet-pack is really spectacular with the batwings, I only wish we could get them in Black (for a Man-Bat I'm hoping to make) and uses some rare pieces like the new 1X1 round plate, a Hassassin claw, and an old SNOT piece which I've never had a lot of.
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| Batman Included | Batman from 7779 |
Catwoman
Catwoman was one of the first Super Heroes minifigures we saw back at Comic-con, and as many people pointed out, she hasn't changed too much. I both love and hate this Catwoman. First of all, the eyes on her cowl are closer together, so she can actually see out of the eye holes without her eyes being really far apart (when the side of the head with the normal eyes is looking out) and her feminine curves don't cut through her shoulders like the original, something I always hated. However, I don't like her face. I was excited that her visor would give her the appearance of having white Comic-book styled eyes, unlike the original's silver, but I was disappointed to find that they're light blue with white printing at the top, which gives a weird affect. I would of preffered either solid blue, or solid white. There is also the problem of her purple lips, which blend in too much. I would of liked red, like the original's. Also, Catwoman's smirking lips are the same as Poison Ivy's and [Harley Quinn]]'s (save for colour, and Harley's are mirrored). I really would of liked her to have a more unique expression.
Things to note about the new Catwoman:
- Double sided face (normal eyes and comic book eyes)
- The original also had a double sided face
- Backprinting
- Cowl with eyes closer together
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| Catwoman Included | Catwoman from 7779 |
The Build
First, you build Batman and his jet-pack, then Catwoman and her motorcycle, and the street corner lastly. There really isn't anything to be learned, and as you would probably expect, the build is easy. The mailbox, jetpack, and traffic light are all done really well though. This is not a set to get for building experience.
The Completed Model
This is one of those sets that you'd get for the minifigures, not so much to model. However, I'm sure younger children could have a blast having Batman chase Catwoman around in a circle. I like the motorcycle and jet-pack, and I'm sure that they'll find uses in the displays I'm planning. The street corner is a little less satisfying, it uses a large triangle piece rather than a couple 2xwhatever plates as I thought. If it wasn't for this triangle piece, it would of been easier to connect to a City, and it pretty much blows away my plan of connecting it to the bank in 6864 Batmobile and Two-Face Chase.
And before I forget, the falling trafic light is a very good idea for a playfeature in a small set, because it isn't something you see to often, but I don't really like it, Catwoman is really going to be hurt when that falls on her…
Summary
This is the kind of set that you'd get for the extremely well done figures (even though I have a few nit-picks about Catwoman), when I first built them, I couldn't believe how much detail was on minifigures, it pretty much blew away my Harry Potter minifigure collection which I thought was incredibly detailed. Now they are only detailed. If you already own 7779 The Batman Dragster: Catwoman Pursuit and are pleased with your Catwoman, I wouldn't recomend this set, unless you are after Batman's jet-pack and the newspapers. I would recomend this to somebody interested in the figures, newspapers, and jetpack and a Super Heroes completionist. Otherwise, skip it.
| Overall: |   4 / 5 |
|---|---|
| Building Experience: |  3½ / 5 |
| Parts: | 4½ / 5 |
| Playability: | 4½ / 5 |
| Minifigures: | 5 / 5 |
| Value for Money: | 4½ / 5 |
King of Nynrah
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Welcome to my review of 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase! I don't usually buy Batman sets, but when I do, I review them. What do I make of this scene of the Bat and the Cat leaving a trail of destruction? Read on to find out!
The box
Front
Back
The box, like the rest of the Batman sets, features the likeness of the Caped Crusader in LEGO artwork form to the right of the Super Heroes logo, and the Batlogo in the bottom-right hand corner. The main picture details Catwoman knocking over the top of a traffic light (goodness knows how, it extends far beyond the reach of her and her motorbike. Hang on... EGADS! Is it me or is it Batman who's sawn it off with his Batarang in order for it to fall on Catwoman? I think Bruce Wayne can be expecting a bill for criminal damage in the post this week).
The back of the box shows us the play features with their corresponding sound effects, most notably "FAZZZING! for the Batarang flying through the air. There's also an advert for LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
Instructions
The instructions are the expected size and there's nothing groundbreaking in them. It seems that although there's no extra comic included they've put a few panels into the instructions, Orient Expedition-style. The normal shouting kid is on the back and inside there are also adverts for LB2 and the DC Ultrabuilds.
The set
The street corner
Catwoman's motorbike
The crates
The set is solely comprised of a street corner (literally), five crates, Catwoman's motorbike, her and Batman. The street corner is built on a triangle-cut plate and as well as being the stand for the traffic light it includes an American mailbox and a newspaper stand. Catwoman's motorbike is the best Super Heroes motorbike so far IMO as it's the only one that has stands. It's a nice purple colour and has two clips on the back for holding her whip and a jewel. The crates don't contain any goodies, just two brown parts each.
Minifigures
Both minifigures included in this set are currently exclusive variations of the characters. It includes a redesigned Catwoman and Batman in a new jet-suit.
All parts of both are made of ABS plastic.
Batman's jet-suit includes a new wings part and a Hassassin claw. The studs on the back of the jet reach down to the same level as his feet, so you can stand him up on flat surfaces without much chance of him falling over.
Catwoman has purple 'curves' on the front and back of her suit and a redesigned cowl. She also has a double-sided head like the original version: one with the visor and one without.
Conclusion
Overall, this is a decent set but nowhere near worth the £12 cost, in terms of size or piececount. It's way below the average price-per-piece, and the set isn't very stable and comes in lots of separate parts. Due to its design the traffic light falls off especially when you don't want it to and you have lots of loose crates to do nothing with. Thus, I give it a 5/10. I'd say it's for hardcore Batfans and minifigure collectors only.
Feedback
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Joined: December 29, 2006 № of Reviews: 17 № of Featured reviews: 1
Ok set, terrible price
The Catcycle
This was a very underwhelming build for me. For some reason, I was expecting there to be more to the bike than there actually was- it's composed of an ordinary bicycle piece, with the purple part clipping on on top of it. Because of the purple piece, the front wheel also doesn't seem to be able to spin freely. That said, it is a nice-looking bike and the grey parts in the sides of the bike are good for keeping the bike standing up.
The Crates
Two brown crates and three brown bricks each with a smooth brown plate on top. Obiously very boring on their own, but combined with the rest of the set, they're a nice extra detail.
The Roadside Corner
This part of the set actually came as a bit of a nice surprise to me- I was always focussing on Catwoman, Batman and the bike, and just thought that this was an unsupported pole with traffic lights attached. In fact, it has a small grey plate, with what I think it meant to be a small newspaper stand (with two issues of volume 3 of The LEGO News) and a mailbox. The traffic lights also have the ability to fall off the pole, which can give some extra playability to the set.
The Minifigures
Batman really is a great-looking minifigure- I think he's got just the right amount of detail on the torso, and his wings are a nice piece to have. The jetpack attached to the wings, while small, is well-constructed, and is able to be easily removed from the wings if needed. The only thing I would say against this is that in the comic books which are included with other Super Heroes sets, this variant of Batman but with a cape is listed as being in this set, but no cape is included, which may be a bit misleading. However, I already knew this when I bought the set.
Catwoman is the main reason why I bought this set- I never collected any of the original Batman sets, so I wasn't going to let another opportunity to get Catwoman go by. This minfigure again to me has just the right amount of detail on the torso print, and it's good to see that the two-sided head has one side without the eyes for the mask, something that Batman is lacking. The mask piece is really well done, and the diamond for the accessoriy is a nice extra detail.
Pros
- Great minifigures
- Batman's jetpack well designed
- Playability and detail with the traffic light corner
Cons
- This is the main one, and the reason why I hesitated from buying it for so long- the price. This set has only 89 pieces- compare that to some Ninjago sets released at the same time (prices may vary depending on where you live)- 9440 is roughly half the price, yet it has only 3 less parts, 9441 is approximately the same price, yet it has over twice the number of parts. Of course, licensed themes cost more money, but I even purchased 9488 and 9489 from Star Wars for noticeably less (although I did buy them below the LEGO Shop's official retail price).
- Front wheel of bike does not spin very well
Ratings
| Overall Rating: | 3 / 5 |
| Play Experience: | 5 / 5 |
| Level of Difficulty: | 1 / 5 |
| Value for Money: | 2 / 5 |
Although I complain about the price, would I buy it again? Definitely. At the end of the day, what's money but potential LEGO sets anyway? However, if you're not set on getting Catwoman, and you just want to get a Super Heroes set, I would recommend waiting for a sale (if you can wait that long) or getting another one- the other sets may cost more, but they do seem to have more substance to them and be a bit more value for money.
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