The Dark Knight Races With Soap Studio’s New Remote Control Tumbler

Whatever your opinion of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, the Bat-vehicles of the series had an undeniable coolness. Seemingly practical and fantastical all at once, the Tumbler in particular invoked great envy in a number of fans. Where once owning a Tumbler of our own may have been nothing more than a pipe dream, Soap Studio has shrunk down the tactical transport to a more manageable size, in regards to both storage and, more importantly, price.

Instead of dumping millions of dollars into research and development, you can just drop a half-dozen Benjamins on a 1/12 scale remote controlled Tumbler filled with nearly as many bells, whistles and Batmen as the real thing.

Soap Studio's Dark Knight trilogy Tumbler made its formal debut at Toy Soul just a few weeks ago, and it's already making a strong case for the best toy of the new year. While I'd usually be reticent to talk about remote controlled cars, Soap Studio has gone well beyond the norms of what you'd normally equate with a licensed RC vehicle.

First of all, this car is controlled through a mobile app, and as you can see in the video above, features two distinct viewing modes thanks to an on-board camera. The camera records in 480p, can record or take photos, and offers night vision. There's also a voice intercom included, though it's not clear just how good of a speaker is included on the Tumbler. Still, that's already more than most of the previously released Tumblers could do out of the package, even if the video and audio fidelity isn't quite what you'd get from your iPhone.

Additionally, the cockpit opens and closes remotely, and features a fully lighted recreation of the interior. This is noteworthy, not just because you can remotely open and close the cockpit, but because one of the two versions being offered by Soda Studio includes a 1/12 scale (~six inches) Batman from Batman Begins, which you can stick inside to recreate all your favorite parts from the films, like the time Batman drove his car on the road, or that time he drove the car on the roofs of buildings.

While the main draw of the RC Tumbler is obviously the vehicle itself, Soap has spared no detail when it comes to this miniature Dark Knight. He'll have 36 points of articulation, eight different hands, two different capes, a grappling gun and Batarangs. If you happen to order the Tumbler from Soap itself, you'll also get a bonus ski mask head and safety harness to recreate the look of the first "Batsuit." This kind of figure alone would likely retail for around $60-70 based on similar figures from other companies.

There's a lot of nuance incorporated into the Tumbler that easily could have been left out. The vehicle features remote adjustable spoilers, 25 LED lights and an "app controllable Jet-Power mode to boost up speed by 30 percent with movie-like Red and Blue LED light and Jet-power sound effects" -- just in case you need to do some highway tactical evasion from the GCPD. The base model also includes a polyfoam bumper that fits the exterior, so as not to damage the delicate machine, and a 1.5 hour battery.

The Deluxe version includes a display that replicates part of a Gotham city street and bridgework. It houses motion detecting LEDs both above and below, and houses the charging cable beneath the manhole in the street. Should you not want the motion lights on, there's a Batarang replica that functions as a remote for the unique display base as well.

The only other Tumbler replica that comes close in size or price is the Hot Toys 1/6 scale version. When that arrived, it retailed for $470, and included working headlights and a cockpit you could open to insert the 1/6 scale Batman. Though it was twice as big, its function beyond being a display piece was severely limited. There's no telling at the moment just how road-ready Soap Studio's version is (without having one to mess around with anyway), but it certainly has just as much function as form, judging from its specs.

The Deluxe Pack ($642.42) and the Driver Pack ($513.42) are available now on Soap Studio's page. It's a hefty investment to be sure, but you'd definitely be the baddest dude in the parking lot at your job if you got one.

You know the Dark Knight pretty well, but do you know everything about Batman?