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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Mattel 2012 Hot Wheels #X4227 Batcycle

It's a never ending source of amazement that Bat-something-or-others are continuously hitting the market. They must be selling well enough because the toy business, being as brutal as it is, cannot afford to keep offering a certain theme of toys if they're not doing well in the marketplace. Mattel has been one of the major purveyors of Super-hero themed vehicles, most especially in their Hot Wheels line, for quite some time and last year they had some nice offerings like this Batcycle. The cycle itself rests on an integrally cast stand which allows the wheels to roll freely yet keeps the bike from falling over. The figure of Batman is a retro design with it's light blue cape, gloves, and boots and gray suit. Batman's torso is cast into the frame with the arms and head being add-on pieces.
The whole design is quite well done and an excellent addition to any Bat-vehicle collection, but there is a problem with the packaging. Somebody in the Mattel hierarchy has absolutely no clue in regards to scale as the package is clearly marked "1/64 scale" and this toy is clearly NOT 1/64 scale. The KIC (Knucklehead-in-charge) of packaging needs to pull their head out their heiny and get a clue because I've seen this same mistake on multiple Hot Wheels motorcycles. Why the rant? Well, let's just say this country is already facing, how shall I say? - an education dilemma. When you deliberately present grossly false information on the front of your packaging you do nothing to aid in kids overall general education. I know Mattel is cognizant of scales but this is just stupid. If one were able to extract the Batman figure from the bike, unfold him, and stand him upright he would probably work out to about 1/32 scale. There is absolutely no justification they could offer to explain this continuing lack of quality control and I wish that someday - before video games and the Internet put them out of business - that someone over there will wake up and correct this nonsense. Thank You.
Again, the toy is just fine, regardless of the error in packaging so - Enjoy!
The so-called "1/64 scale" Batcycle posed behind and actual 1/64 scale Batmobile.