Welcome back once again to Toy Aisle, where your responsible budgeting for the week all goes out the window. This week the Child gets a plastic brick makeover, Spider-Man suits up to take on Doc Ock, Hasbro channels the spirit of Kenner for a retro Marvel figure line, and more. Check it out!
Lego Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child
Lego left us a bit unsettled with its brick-built recreation of Jedi Master Yoda (the eyes… it’s always the eyes), but it’s given the same treatment to Baby Yoda and the results are infinitely more adorable. The 1,073-piece, $120 set is available for pre-order now and shipping on October 30; it includes the 7.5-inch (real) star of Star Wars: The Mandalorian with a posable head, movable mouth, and ears that can be repositioned to change his expression. The Child even comes with his favourite plaything: a gearshift knob from the Razor Crest that, if you ask us, doesn’t seem like the safest toy for a child to play with.
Retro Marvel Legends Action Figures
After finding success in evoking the Kenner spirit with its anniversary retro figures for Star Wars, Hasbro’s now turning the idea to its Marvel Legends line. Clocking in at 3.75″, these five-points-of-articulation figures are inspired by the classic Secret Wars action figures (that same line inspired a similar, but modernised retro line for the normal 6″ figures a few years ago). The first wave includes Black Panther, Electro, Spider-Man, Captain America, Cyclops, and Iron Man, but the figures will only be available as special two packs, despite being single-carded within. Electro is paired with Spidey, Iron Man with Cyclops, and Cap with Black Panther. The sets are available from Hasbro Pulse as of today (with stock coming to other stores later), for around $30 per two-pack for a release later in spring. [Toyark]
Hot Toys Marvel’s Spider-Man Spider-Man Anti-Ock Suit Sixth-Scale Figure
Marvel’s Spider-Man for the Sony PlayStation 4 is a font of alternate suits for Peter Parker, and Hot Toys seems intent on turning every last one into a sixth-scale figure. No complaints here. Its new Spider-Man Anti-Ock suit gives Spidey the armour and tools he needs to fend off those robotic tentacle arms, even if the figure is just 12 inches tall. Thirty points of articulation means you can put Parker into any heroic pose you can think of, while swappable eye pieces set the perfect expression. You can’t pre-order it just yet, and delivery isn’t expected until well into 2021, but Hot Toys will also release a deluxe version that includes a display stand with Doc Ock’s arms battling Spidey.
The Loyal Subjects Lord of the Rings Gandalf Action Figure
The Loyal Subjects’ weird line of cross-franchise action figures “BST AXN” offers up a peculiar mishmash of everything from Cowboy Bebop to KISS, which makes a random Gandalf the Grey in the first wave even stranger. We won’t complain at a little LOTR love in this day and age though, so it’s nice that our first proper look at these 5″ scale figures offers a visit from one of the chillest wizards around. The BST AXN Gandalf the Grey has 22 points of articulation and will come with alternate hands for posing, as well as both of his weapons: his iconic gnarly staff, and Glamdring, the legendary blade of Turgon, King of Gondolin, now in Gandalf’s hands. The figure and others in the line will cost $US16 ($23), and is set to hit Walmarts exclusively soon. Stay tuned for news of an Australian release. [Toyark]
Hasbro Nerf Halo Bulldog SG and Mangler Dart Blasters
It comes as no surprise that Nerf’s dart blaster-fication of the Halo arsenal isn’t stopping at the Halo: Infinite MA40 Assault Rifle, revealed earlier this year at Toy Fair 2020. Hasbro is following up with two new additions to the line: the $50-ish Nerf Halo Bulldog SG and the $30 Nerf Halo Mangler, both available starting in early 2021. Both blasters feature rotating drums that fire Nerf Elite darts, with Bulldog SG holding 10 and the Mangler holding six. Shots can be fired one at a time, or in quick succession using a pump-action with the SG.
Playmobil Back to the Future Advent Calendar
We’re still completely enamoured with Playmobil’s treatment of the Back to the Future franchise, but with three films to draw from the small collection of sets felt a little limited. To remedy that, Playmobil is releasing a BTTF themed advent calendar featuring 24 different accessories including characters like 1985 Jennifer Parker and 1955 Biff Tannen and even the sign from in front of Twin Pines Mall. On December 25, it all comes together with a Hill Valley diorama complete with the clock tower on city hall allowing the film’s climactic final scene to be recreated.
Lego Creator Expert Elf Club House
If you’ve been faithfully collecting Lego’s festive structures over the years, including the Winter Toy Shop, Gingerbread House, and the Winter Holiday Train, you’ve probably got enough to start a little Christmas village on your fireplace mantle with the newest addition for 2020: the Elf Club House. Designed by Chris McVeigh (who’s collaborated with Gizmodo in years past), the 1,197-piece set includes a festive tree, a “working” waffle making machine, lights hanging off the outside, and even a tiny PC the elves can use to check elf-mail before the bed, which has long been one of McVeigh’s specialties. The $150 is currently listed as “Coming Soon” on the Lego website, so hopefully it will arrive before the holidays come and go.
Spin Master Games Rubik’s Perplexus Hybrid
Despite 2020 already feeling like an impossible uphill battle for most, Spin Master has decided that people need even more challenges in their lives, and has combined its Perplexus maze toys with a Rubik’s Cube, resulting in the Rubik’s Perplexus Hybrid 2×2. Not only are players tasked with navigating a small metal ball through a complicated twisted maze, the entire puzzle also has to be shifted and rotated like a Rubik’s Cube to make it all the way to the end.