A few days ago, we brought you our hands-on review of The LEGO Batman Movie 71017 Collectible Minifigures. These 20 unique figures are due to release Jan. 1 for $3.99 each, but a few lucky fans are already starting to find them on store shelves. Like other Collectible Minifigures, the Batman Movie minifigs are packed in sealed bags so you don’t know which characters you’re buying — unless, that is, you use your dexterous digits to determine the contents by feel.
And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. We’ve stayed up late working our fingers numb sorting a whole case of blind packs, so our Feel Guide is based on actual experience finding and verifying figures. Not every piece is easy to determine by feel alone, and some pieces are easily confused with others, so use this guide to help you find a complete set of 20 figures, or to get extras of your favorite character.
The LEGO Batman Movie 71017 Collectible Minifigures are available now on Amazon and on the LEGO Shop Online.
Before we dive into the Feel Guide itself, let’s go over a few helpful tips.
Tip 1: Split a case if you’re able
Most Collectible Minifigures come in cases of 60, which fold open as the display units for stores. Unlike previous series, each case for The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures contains exactly 3 of each character, so if you’re able to snag a full case you’ll get 3 complete sets. This may be a great option if you have a few friends who also want the full series. Then you can sort all the packs at your leisure, instead of standing in the LEGO aisle of your local store, eyes staring listlessly into space as your fingers nimbly peruse plastic packs.
Tip 2: Feel the packs
As we mentioned in our review, each bag has tiny, almost imperceptible dots along the bottom, which can help decipher the contents. However, we’ve found this method is both too error-prone and too time-consuming to be of any use, and recommend using your hands rather than your eyes for accurate fig-finding.
Tip 3: Use a visual guide
As you search with your hands, it’s helpful to look at a picture of what you’re feeling for. Fortunately, each Collectible Minifigure comes with a paper sheet showing all of the characters on one side. If the store allows you, we recommend opening one minifigure right at the start of your hunt and removing the sheet to use as a visual guide. The sheet has check boxes, so bring a pen to check off characters as you identify them if you’re going for a complete set. Be sure to keep your phone handy with our Feel Guide too, and use the sheet below if you’d rather not open a package.
The back of the sheet has a giant link to LEGO’s Batman Movie site, as well as guides to constructing a few of the figures, from which you can extrapolate how to assemble the rest. We’re guessing that if you’re reading this guide, you probably already know how to assemble LEGO minifigures.
The sheet also includes a teaser for what we presume is an upcoming series of Collectible Minifigures emblazoned with the words May 2017. We don’t have any official word on what that series might be, but it sure looks to us like a minifigure wearing a classic tricorn hat, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is slated for a May 26, 2017 release. Coincidence? We’ll let you decide.
Tip 4: Smaller is often better
Although this rule is less useful for The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures than for some other CMF series, remember that often the most telling pieces are the smallest ones. Small pieces, which are often unique to each character, can be easily shaken to the corners of the bags, where they can be easily distinguished. Larger pieces catch on one another, making a jumble of imperceptible lumps. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule since some pieces are so large and unique that they stand out immediately. But don’t discount the tiniest pieces as the best keys for deciphering the contents. Don’t try to give a positive ID for a figure in this series based on finding a Batman cowl, since 6 different figures use them, and remember that all the minifigures contain a 3×4 minifigure stand plate.
Feel Guide for The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures
Vacation Batman
Key elements: Rubber ducky, Flippers
Vacation Batman has a large, distinctive rubber ducky. The duck will feel like a large disk about 4 studs in diameter. It’s hollow underneath, so it will feel like it has a large lip on the bottom, and one side will have a big knob where the duck’s head is. The disk is larger and thicker than the tutu or skirt pieces in other figures.
A more difficult way to ID the figure will be by finding the flippers. The flippers are small, very flat wedges with a stud on one end. Because they’re so flat, they will be hard to feel through the plastic pack, but if you find one you’ll know you’ve got Vacation Batman.
Commissioner Gordon
Key elements: Radio, Wanted Poster Tile
Commissioner Gordon is one of 3 characters to contain a 2×2 tile. The tile will fall quickly to a corner, so it will be easy to narrow it down to Gordon, Eraser, or Harley Quinn.
Search for the radio for a positive ID. The radio feels like a 1×2 plate with distinctive studs and a long, projecting antenna that will be easy to feel through the bag. If you find the radio first, you can immediately ID this figure as Commissioner Gordon.
Nurse Harley Quinn
Key elements: Hairpiece, Clipboard Tile
Like Commissioner Gordon, it will be easiest to search for the 2×2 flat tile first, narrowing your search immediately to Harley, Eraser, or Gordon.
Once you find the 2×2 tile, search for Harley’s hair. The large pigtails will be the giveaway, as the piece makes a very large W shape, and you should be able to feel the pigtail curls. Don’t confuse the hair piece with King Tut’s headdress, which has a thin ponytail down the back and flat surfaces to the sides. However, King Tut doesn’t have a 2×2 tile, so make sure you also find the tile to yield a positive ID of Harley.
Contrary to our Tip #4, don’t try to ID this figure based on Harley’s nurse hat. It’s simply too small, and the odd shape makes it indistinct through the packaging.
Glam Metal Batman
Key elements: Shoulder Pauldrons, Guitar
We found that the easiest piece to identify this character with is the Shoulder Pauldrons. They will feel like a flat tile, with large spiky pieces on each end. There’s just about enough room in the flat area for your thumb, giving the piece a subtle U shape. There’s nothing else similar to this in any of the other figures, so finding it gives a solid ID.
Alternatively, you can search for the guitar, which will feel like a long rod with a flattened end. Be sure you don’t confuse it with the Mime’s lightning, King Tut’s staff, or Fairy Batman’s wand. The large, pointed flat area on the guitar’s body should be enough to distinguish it.
Dick Grayson
Key elements: 1×1 Round Brick Shark Repellent Can, Tap
Dick Grayson only has 1 accessory, and it’s made of two elements. Both elements are very helpful in ID’ing this character. The yellow tap piece on top of the can is your best bet, since it’s very distinct and easy to feel through the bag. It will feel like a small L made of cylinders, and if you find it you know you’ve got Dick Grayson. Be sure to not confuse it with Red Hood’s pistols, but you should be able to tell the difference since the tap will be rounder with a large end on the bottom.
Alternatively, if you find a 1×1 round brick, you can narrow it down to Dick Grayson or the Eraser. Run a fingernail over the cylinder from top to bottom; if you feel any ridges it’s Eraser’s head. If it’s completely smooth, it’s the Shark Repellent can.
Don’t try to ID based on Dick’s hairpiece; it’s too similar to the hairpieces of many other characters and won’t provide a good ID.
Arkham Asylum Joker
Key elements: Handcuffs, Hairpiece, lack of 1×1 Plates or Tiles
The Joker can be a difficult figure to find. Search for the handcuffs first, since only the Joker and Barbara Gordon have them. The handcuffs will feel like a thin piece of plastic in a vaguely C shape. They’re made of a softer plastic, so they will be a bit flexible unlike most other accessories. Make sure that you don’t confuse the handcuffs for Zodiac’s crab. The crab is hard plastic with a large body between the pincer ends, while the handcuffs are flexible with only a thin chain connecting them.
Next, you can then feel for the hairpiece; it’s a large bulbous element, and the hair is rather spiky at the back. You should be able to feel the rough spikes through the packaging. Barbara Gordon’s hairpiece has a police hat attached to it, so it should be easy to tell those two apart even if you’re uncertain what the Joker’s hair feels like. If you feel a 1×1 plate or 1×1 round tile, you’ve got Barbara Gordon instead of the Joker.
Barbara Gordon
Key elements: 1×1 Plate, 1×1 Round Tile
Shake the bag at an angle while loosely holding the contents near the top. If you’re lucky, you’ll dislodge the 1×1 black plate or 1×1 round bat-logo tile which will fall to the bottom corner. If you feel a tiny square 1×1 round plate with its distinctive stud on one side, you can positively ID this as Barbara Gordon. Just make sure you feel the stud, since Calculator includes a square 1×1 tile. If you feel the 1×1 round tile, you can narrow it down to Eraser or Barbara Gordon.
Search for the 1×1 plate, handcuffs, head or hair to confirm. Eraser uses a special 1×1 round brick for a head, so if you feel a minifigure head (which is wider and rounder than Eraser’s head) or hair you can rule out Eraser. If you find the handcuffs first, you know you’ve got either Joker or Barbara Gordon; search for the 1×1 plate or tile pieces to confirm.
Catman
Key elements: Utility Belt, Claws
Shake the bag and try to get one of the claw pieces to fall to a corner. The claw will feel like a tiny fork, and the bar that the minifigure’s hand grasps will be quite distinctive.
Now, search for the utility belt to confirm. Despite this series providing 5 Batman minifigures, only the Catman villain contains a utility belt element. The utility belt is a flat, square piece slightly larger than a 1×2 plate, but thinner. The pouches create raised edges on the long sides, and there are two holes in the center for the leg pegs, though the holes may be difficult to feel. So, search for a rectangle with two slightly raised edges. Don’t confuse the utility belt for the 2×2 tiles in Commissioner Gordon, Eraser, or Harley Quinn; the 2×2 tiles are larger, thicker, and completely smooth on one side.
Orca
Key elements: Shark Body, Shark Fin Arms
Orca’s large shark body is a single, rigid plastic piece from the nose all the way to the tail. The piece is huge compared to most other elements in this lineup, so feeling an unusually large piece will be a giveaway right off. The most distinctive part of the body is the tail, which comes to a very easy-to-feel Y at the end. You should be easily able to grasp the Y-shaped tail through the plastic bag, and then feel the body up to the head, which is much fatter than the the rest of the body. If you find the distinctive tail you can make a positive ID on Orca.
Alternatively, if you happen to grasp the minifigure torso first, feel for the arms. Orca is the only figure with abnormal arms in this series, so feel for the flat, pointed fin arms. If you find them, you can make a positive ID with just that.
Fairy Batman
Key elements: Fairy Wings, Tutu
The most obvious element in Fairy Batman is the pink fairy wing element. The wings are a flat X shape with rounded edges, and a neck bracket protruding at a 90° angle from the intersection. If you find the fairy wings, you can positively ID your bag as Fairy Batman.
Another good indicator is the tutu element. The tutu is a flat oval disk of hard plastic with rippled edges. The middle of one side has a rectangular indentation. There are a few other similar elements, but you should be able to easily distinguish the tutu from the following: Lobster-Lovin’ Batman’s serving platter, which is perfectly round with smooth edges; Vacation Batman’s rubber ducky, which is perfectly round and much thicker; or Pink Power Batgirl’s skirt, which is more of a cone shape and not flat.
Red Hood
Key elements: Bell Jar, Pistols
The Red Hood’s most obvious element is, well, the Red Hood. This 2x2x2 bell jar element is a cylinder with one rounded end and one hollow end. While it’s broadly the same size as the Batman cowls, it’s completely smooth around and has just a single stud on top, not bat ears. You should have no issues distinguishing it from the cowls. If you find the bell jar, you’ll know you’ve found Red Hood.
Alternatively, you can shake the bag to get one of the pistols to drop to a corner. The pistols are a flattened L shape. You’ll be able to feel that the pistol bodies are flat, so you won’t confuse them with Dick Grayson’s Shark Repellent tap piece. Don’t confuse them, however, with March Harriet’s tommy gun. Although the butt of the guns is similar, the tommy gun has a much longer barrel as well as a barrel drum magazine.
Although Red Hood’s armor is unique to this character, it’s a lumpy shape that’s hard to distinguish through the bag, so it doesn’t make a good identifier.
Pink Power Batgirl
Key elements: Skirt, Batarang
Pink Power Batgirl’s skirt is going to be an easy giveaway for this character. The skirt is a hard plastic, wavy cone with a rectangular bottom. Because of its very obvious cone shape, you won’t easily mistake it for Vacation Batman’s rubber duck, which is completely round with smooth edges, Lobster-Lovin’ Batman’s server platter, which is completely round and much more flat, or Fairy Batman’s tutu, which is totally flat. If you feel a large cone-shaped element, you can be confident you’ve found Pink Power Batgirl.
Alternatively, shaking the bag may net you the pink batarang in one of the corners, and this character is the only one equipped with a batarang. It’s about 4 studs long, with flat pointy ends. It’s much shorter than King Tut’s staff, which is only flat on one end.
The hair is unique, but is a much more difficult way to identify this character than either the skirt or batarang.
Clan of the Cave Batman
Key elements: Club
Clan of the Cave Batman has only one accessory, but fortunately it’s quite distinctive and provides a solid ID by itself. Feel for the club, which is a drumstick shape with tiny spikes protruding. The club is 4 studs long, and the fat end is thicker than a minifigure head. Don’t confuse it with Zodiac’s fish, which is much smaller and has a flattened tail on the small end.
Zodiac
Key elements: Fish, Crab
Zodiac’s two animal accessories provide the key to finding this character. The fish will be the easier of the two to find. It’s about 3 studs long, and distinctly flat with a tapered shape. You’ll be able to feel the fins protruding from the flat edges, as well as the open stud mouth on the large end. If you’re confident you’ve found the fish, you can claim Zodiac.
Otherwise find the crab, but don’t confuse the claws with the wrist restraints on Barbara Gordon’s or the Joker’s handcuffs. The crab is hard plastic and rigid with a large body, and you should be able to feel the legs, while the handcuffs are flexible with only a thin chain between the wrist restraints. Also be sure to not confuse it with Lobster-Lovin’ Batman’s lobster. The lobster is longer than the crab, with claws much closer together and lacks a stud on the top. Find both the crab and fish to make certain you’ve got Zodiac.
The Calculator
Key elements: 1×1 Tile, Power Armor, Visor
Begin by shaking the bag to dislodge Calculator’s 1×1 chest tile. This small square will be perfectly flat on one side, and if you find it you don’t need anything else, though be sure not to confuse it with Eraser’s 1×1 round tile, or Barbara Gordon’s 1×1 plate and 1×1 round tile.
As you’re shaking the bag, you may instead find Calculator’s visor with its indecipherable number printing. The visor will be a flat, wide piece of hard plastic forming a C shape. No other characters have a visor, so if you find it, you can also positively ID Calculator.
Finally, you can search for the power armor, which is one of the larger elements in this series. The armor will have a distinct C-shaped ring on the top, and two jetpack nozzles facing down at the back. The nozzles are short rods, and they will be the key identifier, since Red Hood’s armor lacks them.
King Tut
Key elements: Staff, Snake
King Tut’s staff will likely be the easiest piece to find. It’s a thin textured rod about 6 studs long, with a flattened end for the cobra head. It’s by far the longest rod element in this series, so you should have no issue distinguishing it from Fairy Batman’s wand, which is much smaller and thinner, or Pink Power Batgirl’s batarang, which is flatter, shorter, and pointy on the ends. Once you find an element with a long, thin rod section, feel the flattened end to determine if it’s King Tut’s staff or Glam Metal Batman’s guitar. The guitar is much flatter, larger, and pointed.
Alternatively, you may encounter the snake first. The snake is basically a curvy rod. It’s slightly pointed on the tail end, and the tongue makes a small Y, though that may be hard to feel. The large S-shaped curve to the body will be easy to feel, however, so if you find the snake you can positively ID this as King Tut.
The headdress can be confused with Harley Quinn’s hair, so it doesn’t make a good ID element.
Eraser
Key elements: 1×1 Round Tile, Head Piece, 2×2 Notepad Tile
Shake the blind pack to get the 1×1 round tile to fall to a corner. If you find a small, round hockey puck element, you’ve got either Eraser or Barbara Gordon. Just be sure to not confuse the 1×1 round tile with Calculator’s 1×1 square tile, or Barbara Gordon’s 1×1 square plate.
Search for the 2×2 tile to confirm. Barbara Gordon doesn’t have a 2×2 tile, so the 2×2 plus the 1×1 round tile will yield a positive ID of Eraser. If you find the 2×2 tile first, you’ll know you’ve got either the Eraser, Commissioner Gordon, or Harley Quinn. Find one of the other key elements to confirm.
Finally, you can find the head. The head is essentially a specialized 1×1 round brick, and only Dick Grayson also has a 1×1 round brick. Eraser’s head has small rings around it, which you should be able to feel by running a fingernail along the length of the cylinder. If it’s totally smooth, it’s Dick Grayson’s Shark Repellent, but if you feel ridges, it’s Eraser’s head.
The Mime
Key elements: Lightning Bolts, Mohawk
The Mimi is one of the more difficult figures to determine, since the pieces aren’t particularly distinctive through the thick packaging. However, you can positively ID the Mime by carefully feeling for the lightning bolts. They’re flat with irregular edges, and about 4 studs long. The handle forms a bump on one end. The zigzagging edges will be the key feature you’ll feel for.
Find the Mohawk to confirm. It’s a rubber plastic element in a fat C shape. You’ll be able to feel the texture in the hair, and in cross-section the hair has a wedge shape. Find both the hair and the lightning bolts to make certain you’ve got the Mime.
Lobster-Lovin’ Batman
Key elements: Server Platter
The serving platter is your key to finding Lobster-Lovin’ Batman. The serving platter is perfectly round with a slight bowl shape. There’s an anti-stud centered on the bottom, which you’ll be able to feel. Because of its perfectly round, smooth shape, you won’t confuse it with Fairy Batman’s tutu, Vacation Batman’s rubber duck, or Pink Power Batgirl’s skirt. If you find a perfect round disk that doesn’t have a rubber duck head on one side, you can positively ID Lobster-Lovin Batman.
The lobster element is unique to this character, but it’s a much harder way to find this character than the serving platter. It’s difficult to ascertain its shape through the bag, and easy to confuse with Zodiac’s crab.
March Harriet
Key elements: Tommy Gun, Bunny Ears
March Harriet’s tommy gun make a great way to ID this character. The tommy gun has a flat body, and a long, thin rod for the barrel and a short thin rod for the handle. In between there’s a round barrel drum, the equivalent of a 1×1 round tile placed perpendicularly. Don’t confuse the tommy gun with Red Hood’s pistols, which have a much shorter barrel and lack the barrel drum. If you find the tommy gun, you’ll know you’ve got March Harriet.
Alternatively, you can search for March Harriet’s bunny ears. They will feel like a bulbous sphere hollow on one side, with two large, flat, rounded pieces protruding from the other side. The bunny ears are easy to feel through the packaging, but make sure you feel the “helmet” so that you don’t confuse them with Fairy Batman’s wings.
The LEGO Batman Movie 71017 Collectible Minifigures are available now on Amazon and on the LEGO Shop Online.
Be sure to read our review of The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures, and check out our reviews of other LEGO sets from The LEGO Batman Movie:
LEGO Batman Movie 70905 The Batmobile
LEGO Batman Movie 70906 The Joker Notorious Lowrider
LEGO Batman Movie 70907 Killer Croc Tail-Gator
LEGO Batman Movie 70911 The Penguin Arctic Roller
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick early copies of these minifigures for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
