Welcome back to Toy Aisle, our regular round-up of all the shiny things we’ve wanted to spend our savings on recently. This week, we’ve got some very cool Voltron, Star Wars, and Batman Beyond toys heading to San Diego Comic-Con, a lovely little Pokémon pal, and a most impressive Sith Lord. Check it out!
Hasbro Marvel Spider-Man Gamerverse Figures
This week has seen E3 bring us tons of delightful video game announcements, and one of the biggest games at the show this year has been Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man game. To celebrate the webhead’s triumphant return to gaming, Hasbro has revealed not one, but two figure sets inspired by the game’s designs. Exclusive to Gamestop, the two sets — a two-pack featuring 3.75-inch scaled figures of the game’s bold Spider-Man suit design and one of its main villains, Mr. Negative, and then a 6-inch Marvel Legends-scale figure of Spider-Man — will launch later this year.
Hasbro Black Series Han Solo & Mynock and Rey & Kylo Ren Starkiller Base Figures
‘Tis the season for toy announcements that will only appeal to those lucky enough to attend the San Diego Comic-Con in July, because that’s one of the few places you’ll actually be able to get them. Hasbro’s second wave of SDCC exclusives features a couple of Black Series figure packs that include a Han Solo and mynock set ($US35 ($47)) that come packaged in a Millennium Falcon-themed box, and a Starkiller Base diorama featuring a Rey statue facing off against a highly-articulated Kylo Ren — a duel that hardly seems fair. AThe latter is certainly the more expensive collectible of the two, but it includes a glowing backdrop to set the scene, and a water mister to create atmospheric smoke and steam effects as the Starkiller Base begins to implode beneath the characters.
Bandai Shokugan Super Mini-Pla Voltron Figure
If you want a Voltron figure that actually transforms into the five heroic lions, you’re typically looking at a 30cm or larger figure to accommodate all the of the details and moving mechanisms. But Bandai has managed to create a fully-transforming Voltron set that stands just seven inches tall. Available first to San Diego Comic-Con attendees at the Bluefin Booth, it’s important to note that the set is a model, which means you’ll have to snap apart and assemble all of the pieces yourself. But there’s no glue required, which should make the build-it-yourself process a little less intimidating.
Mezco One:12 Collective Batman Beyond Six-Inch Figure
We’re not completely convinced that using actual fabrics to recreate Terry McGinnis’ high-tech Batman Beyond batsuit was the best choice for this six-inch figure — it ends up looking more like a crime-fighting Ken doll. But Batman Beyond toys and figures are hard to come by, so we’re happy that Mezco has decided to include this next-generation Caped Crusader in its One:12 Collective line. It’s got an impressive 28 points of articulation for a figure this size, as well as swappable heads and hands. It will be available closer to September, or you can pick one up in person at the Mezco San Diego Comic-Con booth (#3445) this July.
[Mezco]
Great Twins Terminator 2: Judgment Day T-800 Six-Inch Action Figure
“I need your clothes, your boots, and your bike,” and also this brilliant six-inch figure of Arnold as the T-800 in Terminator 2. I’ve never heard of Great Twins before, but the company has certainly impressed me with the amount of detail it’s squeezed into just six inches of plastic. That includes a faux leather get-up, a minigun with an ammo bag, a decent head sculpt of Arnold that magnetically attaches for posing flexibility, and 25 points of articulation. There are no pricing details yet, but availability is expected in November, later this year.
Lego Ghostbusters Peter Venkman and Slimer BrickHeadz
Give it about 10 months, and 75 per cent of the movie and TV characters listed on IMDB will be available as squat, deformed, collectible Lego figurines. Ghostbusters’ Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Slimer the ghost will be available starting July 1, and will be presumably priced similar to previous two-packs.
[Twitter]
Takara Tomy HelloPika Talking Pikachu Robot
Alexa? Google Assistant? Siri? Why waste your time talking to those boring virtual assistants when you can instead have Pikachu screaming, “Pika! Pika!” at you from across the room? Takara Tomy’s HelloPika responds to your voice and commands with Pikachu turning his head back and forth, his cheeks lighting up, and a non-sensible stream of pika-related sounds. He’s still not as useless and frustrating as Siri, but when available in Japan in early August, don’t expect him to help you turn your lights on, play music, or even battle a Charizard.
[YouTube via NintendoSoup]
Hot Toys Attack of the Clones Count Dooku
Ah, we’ve been looking forward to this! Hot Toys has slowly but surely been expanding its range of Star Wars 1:6 scale figures into the prequel trilogy lately, and the next figure in the line is a simply stunning recreation of Christopher Lee’s sinister, yet stately Sith Lord. Aside from the countenance of a Christopher Lee who looks very much done with your bullshit, Hot Toys’ Dooku figure will come with the prerequisite sets of hands to hold various accessories, including his lightsaber (which has a normal blade as well as a piece to recreate the blade in motion mid-duel); multiple handheld holograms including Darth Sidious, a Battle Droid, and even the Geonosian plans for the Death Star; and some force lightning for good measure. There’s no exact details on pricing or release, but you can expect him to release some time in late 2019. [Hot Toys]