Lego Tumbler

When Christopher Nolan decided to shoot a new Batman film in 2005, one of the most iconic components of the design was the Batmobile.  Over the years it’s been seen in all sorts of guises, and by today’s standards most have been cheesy and unbelievable.  The ‘Tumbler’ was different, having a back-story of its own, and was quite simply awesome.  Of course, it came with its own technical difficulties to overcome, most notably at the front wheels.  With no conventional axle to hold the wheels in place and provide steering, everything had to be reversed and miniaturised, whilst keeping it rugged enough to stand up to the rough treatment of jumping over things.  By all accounts the Tumbler was a fantastic machine, both in looks and performance.

One might think, then, that such technical achievements would not be possible on a smaller scale.  Think again.  Having reclaimed my Lego a couple of weekends ago, I set about creating my own Tumbler.  I had seen on another web site that other people had had the same idea, creating some stunning reconstructions of the iconic vehicle.  But almost all had static front wheels, providing no steering, and only a few sported suspension.  True, it’s no easy task, and it took a lot of thinking and experimenting to get it right.  But I did it, and I am pleased to reveal images of my very own working model of the Tumbler, completely constructed of Lego.

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