"Holy Bootleg, Batman!" [Sheng Yuan Batman Set]

With the exception of Superman, Batman, and Zod, most of the Super Heroes sets we've seen so far in this small corner of the internet mostly contained Marvel characters. Whether that's indicative of bootleg makers' view of the market, in that they think they'd sell more units with Marvel characters than DC characters, is a good topic for discussion.

There's no doubt, though, that DC characters have a solid following, and their long and storied publication history means that at least some of DC's staples will resonate with people from all walks of life. Batman is one of those characters, and Sheng Yuan is looking to capitalize on that.

They've released this 8-piece Batman set (SY loves making sets with 8 pieces), and they kept the set title to just "Batman". Here's what you're getting from this set:

- Batman (1989 movie version - this is the same one from SY's previous Super Heroes set)
- Batman (Electro Suit)
- Batman (Arctic Suit)
- Batman (Dark Knight Rises version)
- Batman (Bruce Timm cartoons version)
- Batman (classic comics version)
- Robin
- Joker

I'll be skipping over the 1989 movie Batman since it's practically the same minifig from the Super Heroes set except for some new box art which also has the "Batman" set name. For reference, here's the box art you're getting:

As for the rest, these are all-new designs (at least for the three bootleg makers we've featured thus far), though they're cloned from official Lego designs. They're mostly decent copies, save for some cost-cutting/simplification moves on the part of the Dark Knight Rises Batman, where the gradient metallic paint detail was replaced with a plain, evenly-applied metallic paint.

There are some issues with chipped paint, and this leaves minifigs looking like they've been through years of play even though these are fresh out of the box.

Batman shows his 5-and-5/6ths-pack abs.

This is probably due to low quality control with the production lines, and you'll notice that while some exhibit paint flaws, there are figures that do exhibit decent paint jobs, as is the case with the classic comic book Batman.

Glorious.

This makes it a bit disappointing to see that SY is capable of putting out a decent, near perfect product, but probably the extra added cost to production to ensure a consistently high-quality product would leave them with thinner profit margins. At the price these minifigs are selling, there's probably not much margin to begin with.

I won't say that you get what you pay for, since you're getting a pretty good deal still, flaws and all. It's just that chipped paint comes with the territory when you go bootleg.

Another thing that comes with the territory is misaligned paint jobs. This is sometimes a problem with the torsos, but this is even more prevalent with the face pieces. Some of them have the face details painted slightly lower than it should be, so you sometimes have a figure whose eyes peek out of the cowl slightly.

Peek-a-boo! I see you!

 Another thing of note is that unlike Decool, SY still hasn't gone the extra length to include the alternate facial expressions where available. So this means that you're stuck with the lone facial expression they give you. For the Joker, it means a perpetual evil smile, which is fine. For Batman, it means that he's giving you a confident battle grin.

For Robin, though, it means that he's in perpetual shock and horrified.

"Aaaaaaahhh!"

I'm sure that comes in handy in some playing scenarios, no doubt, only that he's never happy otherwise. I actually laughed when I first opened the box and saw the perma-shock face. I'm not exactly complaining about it, but prospective buyers should know that ahead of time and factor that into their buying decisions.

SY has also saw it fit to outfit everyone with guns and chainsaws with this set. While this works for Joker, I'm not so sure they're all that appropriate for Batman and Robin. No, you're not getting a Batarang here. I'll also add that the leg pieces are still of the same SY-specific style (i.e. open at the bottom rear, and trapezoidal at the front feet), so that might also be of some concern if you're particular about getting the whole Lego experience for less.

Robin's face is even better when you make him hold the chainsaw.

To be fair, though, aside from the paint job issues, the single facial expressions, the inappropriate weapons, and the leg parts, the pieces themselves are pretty good, lock together nicely, and the joints have a solid feel to them. I personally am not that much bothered with the cons, and when I get a very good sample like the classic comic book Batman, it feels like I've hit some small jackpot.

I'd suggest that prospective buyers scale their expectations accordingly - these are still some ways off from the quality that Lego offers. What SY is offering in this case is affordability for kids and collectors who can't swing the money for an official Lego set just yet.

Recommended, just watch out for the caveats I've noted earlier.

Electro Suit Batman

Arctic Suit Batman

Dark Knight Rises Batman

Bruce Timm Batman (Animated Series)

Classic Batman

Robin

Joker