Welcome back to another Dan's ToyBox Retro Review. Today we've dug deep into the ToyBox and come up with an oldie, but goody! The Neca 1966 Batman 7" classic figure. With Christmas on the way, I'm kind of "on hold" for new figures, unless pre-orders start shipping, so with that in mind, I figured that a Retro Review would be a fun way to wrap up November.
In 1966, sales of The Batman comic books received a huge boost as ABC began airing episodes of the new TV series: "Batman!" Adam West and Burt Ward were cast in the roles of Batman and Robin. Joining the duo were such comic book stalwarts as Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, along with Police Chief O'Hara and Aunt Harriet. The Dynamic Duo faced a multitude of their comic book villains such as The Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze as well as a number of recurring bad guys, such as King Tut, Egghead, and The Mad Hatter. The television show was designed as a campy, morals driven show, with emphasis on such topics as wearing seat belts (this notably led to a recurring scene of our heroes buckling up each time they enter the Batmobile,) doing homework, and even the importance of drinking milk. The series ran for three seasons and aired an astonishing 120 episodes! In fact, the series held the distinction of longest running live-action superhero series until 2011 when the Superman based series "Smallville" actually surpassed it, ending after 217 episodes! Since then, with the massive explosion of live action superhero movies and shows. several other series have passed 120 episodes, including "Arrow," "Supergirl," and "The Flash." For me, though "Batman" will always hold a special place in my heart as my grandfather and I used to watch it in reruns when I was younger. "Batman" debuted on ABC on January 12, 1966, and was almost taken over by NBC in 1968 until they learned that a number of very expensive sets had already been destroyed. Rather than spending the money to build new, NBC cancelled the deal and ABC cancelled the show.
As always, this review will focus on Accessories, Appearance, Articulation and Affordability. Once discussed, each category will receive a score and after consideration a final value will be assigned to the figure. Dan's ToyBox grades overall zero (don't waste your money) to ten (ya gotta get this!!!) toyboxes! To the Batcave!!!
Images © Dan's ToyBox 2022
ACCESSORIES
The Neca 1966 Batman comes with one batarang, one bat-communicator, a pair of fists, a batarang throwing hand, and a relaxed hand which can easily hold the communicator. There is also a nice cardboard background display of the Batcave as well. This was one of the few Neca figures I jumped on when I saw him and even with the few accessories, I liked this figure right from the start. That being said, it would have been nice to see maybe a can of Bat-Shark Repellant or even Batcuffs. The design of the batarang and communicator are spot on though and I'm ok with giving the accessories a score of 6 out of 10.
Images copyright Dan's ToyBox 2022
APPEARANCE
When I've spoken of Neca figures in the past, there has always been one common theme and that is the amazing accuracy that accompanies these toys. The 1966 Batman is certainly no exception to the rule either. The costume design is incredibly faithful to the source material and just impresses when viewing. Starting with the head... the cowl sculpt and paint applications could have just stepped off the television. The paint is applied very cleanly and the fact that they made sure to paint Adam West's eyes shows incredible attention to detail. Even the facial sculpt looks picture perfect. The grey portion of the costume even has texture to it, as well as sculpted wrinkles and seams, just as the live action costume did. The gloves, trunks, and boots are all detailed with care, including reinforced palms on the gloves and lighter blue seam lines on the boots. For me though, the best part is the utility belt. The pouches and belt buckle are done so well. There is a darker shade of yellow wash over the pouches and raised pieces and the metallic look to the buckle, including the gold bat symbol looks amazing. For a costume that is really very simplistic, Neca absolutely crushes the look and nails the replication of the design and look. As mentioned in the accessories section, the batarang and communicator could be considered "scaled down prop replicas" because of the accurate attention to detail in both. The cloth cape is nicely done, but without any wiring or reinforcement on the edges, you do have to be careful with it. The only real complaint I had was a bit of discoloration on his right leg, but aside from that this figure gets a 10 out of 10 for appearance!
Images copyright Dan's ToyBox 2022
ARTICULATION
Unfortunately, in spite of the amazing look of the figure, the ability to pose him is a significant downgrade. His head turns side to side easily enough but can only look down a small bit. The shoulders will raise out to a T pose and can rotate a full 360 degrees. There is no bicep swivel, but the single jointed elbow can swivel and bends just to about 90 degrees. The hands are on hinged pegs which swivel and rotate. He has a diaphragm joint at the waist which can swivel and will tilt both forward/backward and side to side to a small degree. The legs are very disappointing simply because of the design of the trunks. They can't split wide very well, will only kick forward slightly but they do have a relatively nice hidden thigh swivel. The knees are single joints and barely bend back at all. There is a knee joint swivel with decent motion and lastly, his ankles hinge and swivel. I understand that more joints will break up the look of the figure but man, this is disappointing. Articulation gets a meager 4 out of 10.
Images copyright Dan's ToyBox 2022
AFFORDABILITY
I picked this figure up a few years go at our local FYE for around $22.99 at the time. It really hasn't appreciated much in value as you can find it on eBay for anywhere from $25 to $35 so in terms of being affordable, if you are a fan of the '66 series or this figure in general, it's easily worth the price and gets a solid 8 out of 10 for affordability. I don't think it will ever really leap in value, which makes it pretty easy to grab.
Overall, this is a great piece if you're looking for a display figure that you really don't intend to pose or photograph much. The looks and price alone make it worthwhile and so leads me to give him an overall grade of
7 out of 10 toyboxes
Thanks, as always for spending some time out of your day over here in Dan's ToyBox. I appreciate your support and until next time... GEEK OUT!!!