The next entry in LEGO's "Helmet Collection" has been revealed by Barnes and Noble: 76182 Batman Cowl! This set contains 410 pieces and will retail for $59.99 USD when it releases at the end of April.
The helmet leaks have been coming thick and fast for the last few weeks, with Carnage, Venom, and the new Star Wars sets being revealed early by other retailers as well. This Batman one is my least favorite LEGO helmet to date, though. 75304 Darth Vader and 75305 Scout Trooper have changed up the base $60 pricing for these sets by costing $69.99 and $49.99 respectively. $50 is a much better price for most of the helmets, but Batman isn't even worth that. $60 becomes a more ridiculous ask than ever before with only 400 pieces, and while I felt this way with the Iron Man Helmet too, at least that set included a large amount of new drum-lacquered gold pieces.
I also dislike the design of the cowl in general. I think the ears are a strange height (not tall enough but not short enough either) and look too chunky, while the mouth area makes it look like Batman's disembodied mask is possessed and screaming into the void. I was curious about how cowls would work in the same style as the helmets, and I think the answer is that they simply don't. The mouth area would look so much better if there was a lighter color behind it, as the transparent black pieces blend in both too much and too little with the black of the rest of the set.
I'll still be picking this set up since I like collecting Marvel and DC display pieces and I'll probably appreciate it more in person, but there's no way I'll be paying the $60 retail price. Hopefully other non-Star Wars helmets are priced more fairly in the future!
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