Review: 70904 Clayface Splat Attack
Posted by Huw,
70904 Clayface Splat Attack is one of The LEGO Batman Movie sets due to be released on 1st January. When pictures first emerged it caught my eye due to it being different to the usual vehicle or play scene set, and also because of the predominant use of a rare colour: Medium Nougat (LEGO) / Medium Dark Flesh (BrickLink)
Clayface is an adversary that the LEGO version of Batman has not encountered before so let's see what kind of a supervillain he is...
Parts
First though, it's worth reiterating again that the set provides hundreds of medium nougat parts. It's a colour that's usually used for animals, hair and body parts and while there have been plates, slopes and tiles produced in the past they are few and far between.
There are 266 parts of the colour in this set, which is about half of the total. There are 81 1x1 round plates and 67 2x2s, which dominate the selection and which have not been available before, along with many others appearing here for the first time.
Minifigs
The set provides two minifigures including Batman who appears in virtually all of the TLBM sets. I believe that this black-suited version of him is identical in them all except possibly for variations in facial expression. Here he has a cocky scowl on one side and a look of horror on the other.
The second minifigure is Mayor McCaskill who is voiced by Mariah Carey in the film. The character is new: she's not based on anyone in comics or other material. I believe she's unique to this set.
Her blonde hairpiece is new, and is superb. She has a darker-than-usual flesh skin tone. I'm not entirely sure, but it might be nougat. She's wearing a very smart jacket and pearl necklace. Her legs are unprinted.
Like Batman she too has a look of horror on the other side of her head.
Construction
Parts are divided in to four numbered bags, with the first bag providing those for a clay splat and Clayface's core.
Clayface shoots lumps of clay to secure his victims so the splat provides a hole for the mayor to be ensnared.
Clayface's core has studs on all four sides upon which his sticky body can be formed.
The shoulder joints use rotating click-joints, 4225973 Brick 2X2 Ø4.85 Female, while the hips use large ball joints. These provide some degree of motion, allowing the legs to be twisted and the body to be tilted forward or back, but the scope for posing his short and stubby legs is limited.
The body is then covered front and back by 'clay pieces' (round tiles) which are angled using hinges.
His head and tops of arms are built next which again utilise round plates to give him a flowing-clay look. The hinge pieces used for his mouth, and the 1x2 curved slopes on the arms, are new in this colour. His eyes are printed.
Finally bag four provides parts for three forearms. Two have stud-shooters inside while the other is fashioned into a hammer. Clayface is constantly transforming his hands into weapons and the hammer is particularly common. He's sometimes seen with hands but none are provided here.
The figure can thus be fitted with two clay-shooting forearms, or...
...one can be switched out for the hammer, which I think looks better, if only because it's different to the other one.
Unlike many LEGO models of this ilk, the back is as detailed as the front. With the exception of the undersides of his arms, the villain's entire body is caked in gooey clay and it looks great.
Completed model
CapnRex101 tells me that this version of Clayface is probably based on Matt Hagen as he appears in Batman: The Animated Series, hence the stocky legs and down-turned mouth.
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5973400
If that's the case I guess the designers have captured its likeness pretty well, and for what it's supposed to be -- a villainous being made of clay, which is uneven, sticky and flowing -- they have produced something that looks suitably organic and menacing.
The model itself is fairly robust, certainly its arms and legs aren't going to fall out, and they stay in place when posed. However it does need to be handled with some care to prevent moving the hinged pieces on the chest and back and to stop bits falling off, particularly from the upper arms. The round 2x2 plates themselves are pretty secure, though, and unlikely to budge with normal play.
Verdict
This set makes a welcome change from the usual fare of vehicles and buildings and introduces another well known DC Comics' super villain to the LEGO universe.
I think the round plate- and curved slope-encrusted body conveys the appearance of something made from lumps of sticky clay very well. Coupled with his ominous facial expression he looks to be a worthy adversary for Batman. There's not a lot of playability, other than firing (and probably losing) the 1x1 round plates from the shooters but he can be posed in a variety of ways so makes great display model.
The inclusion of a third forearm is very welcome: the second stud-shooting one could have been omitted and nobody would have worried but having it provides for even more play and display opportunities. A version with hands (as shown here) would have been nice, though...
Several of the other TLBM sets have been criticised for being too expensive, particularly in the UK, but I don't think that's the case here. £29.99 / $34.99 for a 448-piece set seems reasonable, and even the exchange rate is not as outrageous as it is for some of them. Yes, a fifth or so of the parts are tiny 1x1s but they are new, never before seen in medium nougat.
In my view, this is definitely one of the better and more interesting Batman Movie sets and I look forward to seeing Clayface in the film.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. The review is an expression of my own opinions.
67 likes
46 comments on this article
I for one don't like this set only the Mayor in the set.
He looks a little bit like a Zelda Goron!
Glad to finally see Clayface represented in brick form. Kinda hope they'll make a minifigure version of him sometime, with a molded head. Think a design of such features in one of the previous games, correct me if I'm wrong.
Freakin' AWESOME!
Let's hope they price in the netherlands won't be too crazy. I like the look of it. Unlike the hulk buster this set has no bigfigs or secondary builds so I hope it will not be too expensive unlike that set (that mech is one of the smaller ones I have collected)
Great review! I think i will buy this set instead to buy the Detroit steel strike.
So excited for this set. Been waiting for Clayface since I played the original lego batman game.
Great review as usual @Huw! Agreed with your opinion and it seems to be a fun build. I'm sure it caught your eye for being something so different, the only other similar model I can think of is 8962 Crystal King.
yay for printed eyes! I will definitely pick this up when it is eventually discounted below $30
This set is brilliant. I've seen people say they'd prefer a bigfig, but a brick-built figure works much better for the LEGO Movie style of animation, not just because of its more creative look but also because it means they can make him "shapeshift" more naturally just by building him differently from frame to frame. This potential will make him just as enticing to people who make their own BrickFilms at home. Also, in general, I think a brick-built figure makes for a good set for this character. If he were a minifigure or bigfig they'd probably have needed to give either him or Batman a goofy vehicle just to get the building value in there, but here, Clayface IS the set's building value.
I'm glad to see that Clayface's head is attached by a ball joint. In the earliest pics of this set it was hard to tell if it'd be a ball joint or a turntable. While the stubby legs don't have a huge range of movement it's interesting to note that he has exactly as many points of articulation as a minifigure (seven). It is a bit of a bummer that he doesn't come with any actual hands, and to be honest I probably would have preferred if he had at least one hand instead of the second shooter. The shooter function's a great play feature for this set but I don't think he needs two of them.
I have mixed feelings on the mayor. I love that she doesn't just use Light Nougat skin, since Nougat is rarer and helps add to the theme's diversity (which is MUCH better than many past licensed themes). Her facial expressions and hair are fantastic. But her suit feels a little boring compared to other women's and men's suits we've seen in the City theme — no creases, shading, seams, or pinstriping to be seen. It's nice and versatile, but just not very exciting.
Batman, of course, is Batman. It'll be interesting when more of the sets are released to see just how many facial expressions Batman, the Joker, and other characters have between sets. The LEGO Movie sets did a good job giving characters like President Business, Benny, and Emmet a wide range of different facial expressions. In most cases they're not so different that a kid would feel like their collection's incomplete without every expression for every character, but like Clayface's design, it's a boon to Brickfilm makers.
Great review overall! While I haven't decided yet how deep I want to get into the LEGO Batman Movie theme, this set is definitely on my wish list!
Wow, this looks great! Can the hinged parts forming the scowl be moved to make any other expressions, however weird they may be? Or are they completely static? Either way, I would LOVE to get this guy, hope he's great in the film!
Besides Arkham, this might be the set I'm most excited for. Clayface is a long time coming, and I don't think this figure disappoints. While I do wish that he perhaps had been able to allow multiple facial expressions, I think overall he has tons of character and just an atmosphere of fun around him. Great set!
I'm wondering if the mayor is a perma-tanned orange politician. Can't imagine who might be an inspiration...
Ooh, missed the fact that his eyes are printed. I think that's the first time LEGO has ever printed that surface on a 1x2 slope.
I'm really liking the brick built Clayface, this will probably be one of the first sets I pick up from this range just to see how he is built.
No you can't make anything remotely looking like a facial expression just by moving the hinged parts.
The head's ball joint allows him to peer upwards but the range of sideways movement is limited buy the top of his back which hinders rotation.
I think I'm the only one in the world who thinks this is the worst TLBM set.
Really not impressed - the face should be able to do more, a wider open mouth would've been better. Little stubby legs don't help either.
Is it me or does one of the 1x1 studs on the clay splat look like it has no LEGO logo imprinted in it?
@Bricktofen: It's there (sort of oriented upside-down relative to the camera), but it's subtle. Could be that it's an old mold that needs to be replaced/retooled (as most molds do periodically). If so, it makes sense that sort of problem would first start showing up on a new recolor, rather than a color that LEGO already has a bunch of older stock of.
Great Review I like this set
Great parts for landscaping
I like the idea of a brick-built Clayface but his head is way too big and his legs are really stumpy.
Clayface looks fantastic.
This looks fantastic! I love Clayface from The Animated Series. He was one of several relatable villains that you kind of felt sorry for at first, especially since Batman tried to help him. But the inevitable descent into criminal madness occurs and it makes you wonder -could this happen to me?
Clayface looks awesome! One of my favorite villains from animated series.
Not digging the Mayer figure, I don't get the point of her character.
Also Batman's utility belt is too yellow, and it looks almost translucent.
I'm loving the excessive amounts of nougat (and a 'not-bonkers' price) but I can't have been the only one thinking this figure reminded me of Sandman in the Marvel comics?
@The Rancor - Clayface's first appearance precedes that of Sandman. It is one of many examples of a character appearing in Marvel or DC and a similar character then appearing in the rival comic soon after.
@Huw Can Clayface be posed in a gorilla-like stance?
^ "Someone is trying to impersonate me on a some LEGO fansite called Brickset, which I hear is highly overrated! Sad! Apologize!"
Love this set. All those pieces...
Cool set. Might have to get just for all those parts. Good value.
I suppose Clayface could've been a bigfig, but the character lends itself perfectly to being brick-built. Since he's a shape-shifter, it's perfect for kids to make him whatever they want him to be. Such a cool set!
TheBrickPal, I see you're commenting in yellow!
^ Thanks for noticing. ;-)
This is off-topic, but I just found a Joker Notorious Lowrider at a US Wal-Mart for $22.00. New. I have no idea why it was marked so low. They also had the Batmobile and the Batcave marked down, but not "66% off" marked down.
Has anyone else had this happen?
Yeah, Hillary Clinton hairpiece ;-)
Honestly, thanks for the great review of an interesting set. I'm not much into Superheros sets, but I might get me this for parts at least. Speaking of which, I had never seen that 2x3 plate with one hole in it before. Is this a new piece, or did I just miss it before?
I was just about to write that the Mayor reminds me of Hillary Clinton!
Nice review, it looks like a great set!
@AustinPowers. I suspect that part isn't a 2x3 plate but this piece: http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=11215T=C
Strangely, in the current "Rebirth" run of Detective Comics, Clayface is part of Batman's team (along with Batwoman, Red Robin, The Spoiler and Orphan). So this set provides some very interesting possibilities for anyone wanting to recreate any new storylines. (Still need minifigs for the other team members, though. And if we ever get a Stephanie Brown-based character -- in any of her heroic guises -- I'll be amazed. But quite pleased, nevertheless.)
I definitely want to modify one of the limbs into a reaching-hand, that would look epic.
@Brainslugged: d'oh! You might be onto something there. Hadn't thought about that piece as it is so built-in that I immediately thought "oh, new piece".
@Huw: some above thought the eyes were printed. Is that indeed the case? I thought I could make out the edges of stickers there. Plus wouldn't it be be strange for Lego to introduce two new printed pieces that could hardly be reused, especially on such a rare base colour? I'd expect them to use stickers for that.
@TheOriginalSimonB and @AustinPowers, Don't tell anyone, but Mayor McCaskill is Trump and Hilary's secret love-child!
I do think that Clayface should have come with optional hands. Does LEGO produce the medium nougat parts required to make articulated hands?
@AustinPowers: Huw's review specifically states that the eyes are printed. I missed this on my first read-through which is why I didn't mention it in my first comment — I wouldn't have realized it if it hadn't been pointed out!
Character faces are one thing that LEGO often tends to print even in sets that use stickers elsewhere. A good example is the Legend Beasts from LEGO Legends of Chima: http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Legends-of-Chima/subtheme-Legend-Beasts. Any parts with eye or mouth decorations are printed (even though those prints are not used in any other sets), while their armor and other details are stickered. Also consider Giant-Man in http://brickset.com/sets/76051-1/Super-Hero-Airport-Battle, who has a printed face but stickered legs and torso.
However, since this set doesn't use stickers elsewhere, printed eyes aren't really that much more expensive than stickered ones to begin with. The cost of printing a single piece is usually around the same as the cost of printing a sticker sheet, because both situations require using one printing machine and adding one new element to the company's inventory. The real difference in cost begins to show up with sets that need lots and lots of decorations, since you can get the same number of new decorations on one or two sticker sheets as on several dozen individual printed pieces.
@Zander: You might need to use a handful (no pun intended) of reddish brown parts, but if there weren't enough Medium Nougat pieces to make articulated hands for this figure before this set came out, there almost certainly are now.
Making hands just like the one he has in his appearance in the movie trailer would not yet be possible, though. The hands in the trailer use http://brickset.com/parts/design-75937 as their "palm", and that part doesn't exist in any shade of brown. Nor does the previous version, http://brickset.com/parts/design-30033.
@CCC: I'm not sure what you mean? How is it not LEGO-like when it's built mostly from basic bricks and plates and has over 200 exposed studs? If anything, it should feel more LEGO-like than a molded LEGO creature or bigfig would.
@Aanchir: thanks for the info. I had re-read the article twice before posting and I could have sworn that sentence about the eyes being printed wasn't there before. I must be getting senile ;-)
Still strange. They use stickers for so many things that would be far more reusable than those eyes. And two mirrored parts at that. Or are the slopes printed on both sides so that they are actually identical pieces?
And as for those parts you mentioned that are used as the "palm". What is the difference between the two designs? To me they look absolutely identical ???
^ Usually it would be me being senile for not mentioning the printed parts when I first wrote the article, but I did this time, so it must be you :-)
@AustinPowers: According to BrickLink, on 75937, the arms that connect the center column with the outer ring are thicker. Also, 75937 has completely round studs, while the studs of 30033 have the outside "corners" flattened out, like on a regular 2x2 round brick or plate. They're very subtle differences, though, and from my experience don't really change the functionality.
http://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/PL/30033.png
http://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/PL/75937.png
@Aanchir: wow, those are really subtle differences. Thanks for the info.
I just found out that I have all color variations of 75937, but only one of 30033 (from the set Big Bentley Bust Out).
Nice review of a good looking set! Clayface looks really nice. Unfortunately I cannot buy every set I like...