The Chemical Warehouse Battle is in the first wave of C3 construction sets. It is a small set, comprising 83 pieces and 2 Minimates, Batman and the Joker.
Packaging
The packaging is a small semi-window box. The Justice League logo appears at the top left, meaning these figures come from the Justice League cartoon rather than the Batman cartoon. The graphic shows off the set and the figures very well, even if you can’t actually put the Batman figure in the pose shown. To the right, you can see the Minimates in the window portion of the box. The first figure is totally visable but the second figure only has their head and shoulders shown.
The C3 pieces are all bagged up in the main part of the box, and the Minimates are packaged in a tray on the right hand side. Each figure also have twist-ties holding them in.
The back of the box shows the cross-sell of the other C3 sets and a “technical specification” type drawing to show off the set itself.
The Figures
Batman (Animated version)
The first figure in this set is Batman, recreated in a simpler animated style. This style is immediately evident in the face, which has a very simple design to it. The mouth is just a straight line, conveying Batman’s impassiveness. The cowl is removable, showing off Bruce Wayne’s blue eyes. Again there is not the kind of detail seen in other Minimates, who have details like cheekbones or ears or eyebrows. None of that here.
The costume has been very well done. The cowl is quite large, with the ears being 2-sided “L” shapes rather than spikes. The cape is superb, with special mention to the purple interior which adds so much to the overall look. Batman also has his yellow utility belt and a sparsely-detailed chest piece, with just the black Batsymbol on the grey and 4 lines suggesting muscular detailing. Instead of spiked glove pieces, this figure has the normal Minimate hand pieces coupled with spiked wrist pieces. Together they look very similar to the one-piece gloves.
Batman comes with one accessory, a purple Batarang. Whilst the colour is a bit loud, the sculpt of the Batarang is perfect and is an accessory that should see a lot of use against Batman’s rogue’s gallery.
Overall, this is a fantastic Batman Minimate. The simple animated look translates so well to Minimate form.
MMC Score – 8 out of 10
Joker (Animated version)
The second figure in the set is the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. This is the animated version and therefore is again quite simply detailed, but he definitely has more going on detailing-wise than Batman. Firstly the face, whilst not as detailed as someone like Ghost Rider, still has a great expression. The eyes and sinister yellow-toothed smile look superb. This is topped off with a black hairpiece (rather than the more usual green).
Joker has his customary purple suit on. This has been recreated well, with some nice detailing. The coat-tails that hang from the back are done by making the whole suit (or at least the torso part) a separate piece. The paint has been applied very well, even on the more difficult bits like the bow-tie. The green is not at all sloppy.
Joker comes with one accessory, his cane. This has been molded with a gold Jester on top of the cane. The detailing on such as small item is amazing. It looks really good and is something you do associate with the Joker.
Overall, the Joker stands out as a great evil Minimate.
MMC Score – 8 out of 10
The Construction Set
Chemical Warehouse
The C3 construction set is the Chemical Warehouse. It is a playset rather than a vehicle, and is something I think works really well with the Minimates. The instructions are fairly clear, and the set was fun to put together.
The Chemical Warehouse has some unique pieces that really add to the play value of the set. First off is the robot arm, which is positioned on a swiveling block and has two hinges to maximise the field of movement. The only slight letdown is on the claw piece. As it’s on a rod that isn’t held in place, if you use it to hold anything (a captured Minimate, for example), it will spin on it’s own.
The second unique piece is the vat. This is large enough to hold at least one Minimate, and probably more. It’s hinged so it can be tipped over, and again, the hinge is its flaw. If you put anything Minimate-figure sized in there it has a tendency to pivot and spill them out. It’s very hard to keep anything in there because of this. Still, these features will mean that kids have hours of fun with this playset. The multi-level structure also adds to the fun, and gives you some more space to put figures. The ladders are a great touch as the rungs are small enough for Minimates to hold on to.
This set works very well with the Minimates provided. Taken as a whole, you get a cool looking Batman, an excellent Joker, and a set that they can run around and chase each other in. Who could ask for more?
Review and pictures by Danny Mills
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