Eaglemoss Publications' latest additions to its wealth of Batman merchandise include two Batmobile sets (part of their new Batman Automobilia Collection) and an Alfred Pennyworth white pawn chess piece.

The Batman Automobilia Collection works on a format similar to other releases where a figurine is paired with a magazine detailing the (sometimes) rich history behind the character or item depicted. The Batmobiles are listed as being 1/43 scale and feature neat diorama displays replicating some of the scenery associated with that particular Batmobile. The first entry is the version seen in Tim Burton's 1989 blockbuster Batman and features a scaled figurine of the Dark Knight next to his car as explosions happen in the background. The second, and arguably cooler, Batmobile set features the version seen in the 1960s Adam West Batman series and is displayed in an environment resembling the Batcave.

While I've personally lost track of all the Batman chess pieces (Are we at a full set yet? Are we at a full set yet? Are we... oh, Eaglemoss just turned this collection around), the white pawn Alfred bulks the set out further and presumably brings us one step closer to completion... assuming that Eaglemoss does indeed have an exit strategy for the line. Not that I entirely mind, considering that making the usual figurines into chess pieces gives them additional purpose and I hope to see the practice more widely adopted. In other news, Batwoman was added as a white rook at some point.

The Batmobiles seem to be priced at a fairly reasonable (or unreasonable?) US$20 each while Alfred and Batwoman are US$16 apiece.

[ Pre-order Alfred | Batwoman | 1960s Batmobile | 1989 Batmobile from Big Bad Toy Store ]