It’s never been a worse time for your wallet if you have a predilection for buying rad toys and pop culture merchandise. There are so many cool things around, we are starting Toy Aisle: a brand new weekly column of the best and newest toys and collectibles. We’re kicking off with a very fancy Spider-Gwen, Plush Lego, and more!
Revoltech Spider-Gwen
Joining Spider-Man in Revoltech’s line of ridiculously poseable toys will be Spider-Gwen. The six-inch figure — due out in June in Japan for around $US50 ($66) — will come with a bunch of accessories, including an unmasked face, various web attachments, and Gwen’s most useful tool of all, her mobile phone. The figure itself is cool, but my absolute favourite thing is the unintentional spelling error in her promo picture that says she’s talking to “Spider-Dig” rather than “Spider-Pig”. The next great spidey hero yet to come? [Toyark]
Batman Bat-Signal Prop Replica
If all the things that go bump in the night make it hard for you to fall asleep, you won’t find a more reassuring night light than this Batman Bat-Signal replica. It will beckon Batman all night long, and even though the Dark Knight will never actually come to your aid, the glowing Bat-Signal will at least let you spot the Scarecrow before he can sneak up on you. At $US300 ($395) this replica isn’t cheap, but it does come with three interchangeable Batman symbols so you can customise the projection. [DC Officially Licensed Store]
Star Wars Lightsaber Salt & Pepper Grinders
After 40 years you’d have assumed that Lucasfilm would have run out of kitchen gadgets to turn into lightsabers. But the company can now take advantage of the master marketers at Disney who saw another opportunity to squeeze $US40 ($53) out of Star Wars fans. This pair of salt and pepper mills is designed to look like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker’s elegant weapons — albeit with stunted blades. The other trade off? In lieu of the Force, you’ll need to cram four AA batteries into each one in order to spice up a meal. [Amazon via 7Gadgets]
Hot Toys Punisher
The next figure in Hot Toy’s line of Marvel Netflix characters is here! The pitch-perfect sculpt of Jon Bernthal is great, but Punisher also comes with more weapons than Frank Castle can even shake his giant minigun at — there’s a minigun, a sniper rifle, a revolver, a knife, and a cracked version of Daredevil’s mask or good measure. The only downside? He can’t wear the mask himself. It’d be hilarious if he could, though. [Hot Toys]
Lego Plushes
Ever looked at a Lego minifigure and wished that not only was it nearly 12 times the size, but also more huggable? Well, does Lego have a treat for you. The company is now doing a range of squidgy, plush versions of their classic minifigures, and it’s as weird and adorable an idea as it sounds. The first wave includes characters from The Lego Batman Movie and Ninjago , but as of now, Batman is the only one available, because duh, he’s Batman. [Lego Shop via The Brick Fan]
Lego Mosaic Maker Photo Booth
Back in 2009, Lego released a fun camera app that turned smartphone pics into single-stud Lego brick mosaics. At the company’s flagship Leicester Square store in London, Lego fans can go one step further with a photobooth that not only pixelates your selfie, it lets you order the mosaic as an actual 30cm-square Lego set! You can expect to pay around $US120 ($158) for the custom set that includes 4,502 single-stud pieces. Please note: You’ll have to assemble your giant Lego picture/photo/poster yourself, natch. [Lego Store Leicester Square via PetaPixel]
Heat-Changing Game Boy Mug
The new Nintendo Switch finally hits stores today, but those feeling nostalgic for the company’s original portable gaming console will want to appease their caffeine addictions using this boxy Game Boy mug that magically turns on when filled. For $US13 ($17) it doesn’t require four AA batteries like the real Game Boy did, just a piping hot liquid to activate its colour-changing inks. [ThinkGeek]