Release Date: January 2017 RRP: £14.99/$14.99 The LEGO Batman Movie has just been released in cinemas worldwide and it comes highly recommended, whether you're a LEGO fan, a Batman fan or someone with just a passing interest in either (or someone who's just into really good films). Of course being a LEGO movie there's also plenty of kits coming out to go with it, making 2017 truly the year of the bat. With the whole minifigure wave  under my belt, I'm now turning my attention towards some of the larger construction kits - starting with set 70900 The Joker Balloon Escape . Like most of the sets released so far this appears at the very beginning of the film, and has featured rather heavily in the trailers and promotional material so even if you haven't had a chance to catch it yet.

As was probably the case with many collectors reading this, my first real introduction into the world of toy buying and more importantly collecting was with LEGO. From age seven to about 14 I was truly LEGO obsessed, and counted the UFO, Aquanauts, Insectoids and original Bionicle  ranges among my favourites. While my LEGO buying has slowed down with age, the love for the brand never left. However the sheer variety of LEGO on offer these days - from the various movie and comic licenses to the LEGO Ideas sets and the wonderful LEGO Movie, have really ignited that dormant flame. With The LEGO Batman Movie 's release imminent, it was finally time to jump back on the LEGO wagon. The various sets from the movie are also accompanied by a new wave of blind-bagged minifigures , with a total of 20 different figures (including villains scoured from the history of DC Comics ) on offer.

There have been many different popular interpretations of the Joker in television and film over the years - Caesar Romero in the Adam West Batman series, Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 movie, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight , and a variety of different animated versions voiced by different actors. But when asked which of all of these versions is the best, it's fair to say that most fans will agree on the DC Animated Universe version voiced by Mark Hamill. Appearing in Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures all the way up into Batman Beyond and  Justice League , Hamill's Joker has even reached a new audience in the form of the Arkham series video games. So when DC Collectibles revealed they would be doing a new line of animated series figures based on Bruce Timm's iconic designs, it's unsurprising that the Joker was quickly among the planned lineup. However not being in the first wave of figures seems to have worked to the Joker's...

Who can have a Batman without a Joker? When I received the LEGO DC Universe Super Heroes Batman set (#4526), I was ecstatic to see I was also given his arch nemesis for him to be posed with/battle against. Like Batman, the DC Universe Super Heroes Joker set (#4527) can be combined with the Green Lantern set (#4528) to create a powered up Joker. The Joker is made up of slightly more parts than Batman - 57 as opposed to Batman's 40 (although there were a few spare pieces left over when I was finished building). Once you build the skeleton frame, armour pieces clip on to make out the bulk of the Joker. Save for the small orange spikes decorating the shoulders, there aren't any small pieces making up the Joker himself (there is however a bag of small pieces in the box for the weapon). One thing I have to commend on this kit is the head, they absolutely nailed it. From the rubbery hair to the glaring eyes and huge grin, LEGO couldn't have done any better in portr...