Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Batman (2024)

       

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Made By:
Mattel
Scale:
1/24
MSRP:
US$12.99
Overview:
Packaging (Design):8/10
Packaging (Durability):9/10
Casting (Body):7/10
Casting (Interior):7/10
Casting (Chassis):7/10
Casting (Engine):7/10
Paint (Exterior):8/10
Paint (Interior):N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):N/A
Overall Panel Fit:9/10
Total Score:7.8/10

 
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Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman
Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman packaging Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman nose detail Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman chassis detail Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman engine Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman overhead view Hot Wheels 2024 Monster Trucks Batman rear

 
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Background

After a few years of Spin Master holding the license, Mattel regained it and dropped an all-new "Batman" for 2024 under their Hot Wheels Monster Trucks banner.

 

Packaging

The 2024 is an evolution of the packaging we first saw in 2010: large plastic blister with a folded cardboard base and separate cardboard backdrop that fits into a slot in the base. The base is simply printed with the classic Hot Wheels blue around the edge. A taller part of the front panel has the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks (Oversized) logo, and to the right of that is the space for the vehicle name. In this case, the "name" is simply the Bat symbol and "2024" set against a dark blue comic style scene of the Gotham skyline. These logos are flanked by the age and material callouts. The truck still sits on muddy terrain, but now with a large Hot Wheels logo in the center. The back panel is the same blue as the base, and has a large Hot Wheels Logo near the top left and an image of Batman and the DC logo at the top right. The back side is printed on brown cardboard (much like their traditional 1/64 vehicles), and has a profile image of the truck, the appropriate DC/Batman branding, and all of the legal information that couldn't fit on the underside of the base. The dome has been changed only so far as to fit Mattel's updated chassis and tire designs.

 

Casting/Paint

As with Spin Master, Mattel had to come up with their own design for Batman. Essentially, they took a chibified version of the Tumbler and plopped it on top of a monster truck chassis. The main body is diecast metal, which includes the mandibles, upper and lower fuselage, and engine compartment. Plastic is used for the diagonal strakes, upper control surfaces, and jet exhaust. Dark smoke tint translucent plastic is used for the glass. Most of the Tumbler's features are represented, but massively simplified. Control cylinders are half circles, the dorsal planes are a single stairstepped feature, and intakes lack any depth. I'm not counting these against the casting, though - see below.

The updated chassis is further simplified from the original design, now being a single piece that includes the suspension, driveline, steering, interior, and frame. Detail inevitably suffers a bit, especially the underside of the chassis, but it gets the point across. The engine is a separate piece, almost entirely hidden deep in the middle of the truck. Like the chassis, there's not a lot of detail but you get the gist of what's going on. The wheels are nicely done with beadlock, spider, and lugnut details. They carry a set of vinyl tires with Hot Wheels sidewall branding and nice sharp tread detail.

Only the metal section of the body and the engine block have been painted, both in gloss black. The finish is smooth and clean, and a tolerable match to the black plastic. The only parts of the truck that aren't cast in or painted black are the metal axles, which do stand out against their plastic housings.

 

Features/Accessories

As with the post-2009 Monster Jam chassis, this has angled slots for the axles to allow for steering and some suspension travel. Both work as well as they did before.

 

Accuracy

There is currently no Batman monster truck, so I assume this is an in-house design from Mattel. It's similar to the truck owned by the Australian company KC's Fireworks in the mid-2000s, but only in the broadest of strokes.

 

Overall

While it would be easy to dismiss the simplified body as the result of a toy company making a cheap and dirty representation of the Tumbler, I think there's more to it than that. The oversized side windows, reproportioned front cabin and rear engine, and the overall way the body has been interpreted suggest that this was designed as if it was a fully workable truck design. These aren't terribly complex bodies - they're fiberglass shells made to fit over a dedicated roll cage and look good in an arena setting. Individual cylinders, planes, vents, etc. would be lost at a distance and function as easily broken shrapnel in a rollover. This is a caricature of the Tumbler, and works quite well in that regard (stand back about 4-5 feet to look at this, and you're at roughly the equivalent distance you would be watching a 1:1 truck at a show).

 

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