Welcome back to Toy Aisle, Gizmodo’s regular roundup of the coolest toy news on the Internet. This week, Hot Toys returns to The Empire Strikes Back’s climactic duel, Hasbro summons the might of Mighty Morphin’s power sword, Jurassic World gives you your own baby raptor, and… we all just want to hug Kirby, really. Check it out!
Hot Toys Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Bespin Luke Skywalker Sixth-Scale Figure
Hot Toys’ latest trip back into the galaxy far, far away prepares Luke Skywalker for the duel of his life. Recreating Luke’s look from the climax of Empire Strikes Back on Bespin, the 1:6 scale figure comes with Luke’s blaster, a light-up lightsaber to battle your daddy issues with, and two alternate heads with posable eyes: one depicting Luke’s standard look as he prepares to investigate Bespin’s carbon freezing chamber, and a second ruffled, sweat-slicked head to depict him mid-battle. There are, of course, also myriad hands to use for posing. And hey: you could just pop one off and say it’s after Vader attacked him! Bespin Luke is set to release in late 2023. [Hot Toys]
Wow! Stuff Jurassic World Dominion RealFX Baby Blue
The entire premise of the Jurassic series is how cool it would be to bring dinosaurs back (OK, there’s the running and the screaming too), and as Jurassic World Dominion prepares to introduce an adorable baby velociraptor, Wow! Stuff has come up with a much safer alternative for kids. The RealFX Baby Blue is a puppet that makes it look like someone is holding a real baby raptor, but hidden inside a fake handling glove is a “pistol grip and finger trigger controller” that can be covertly operated to bring the dino to life. In addition to lifelike movements, the puppet has over 20 sound effects borrowed from the Jurassic movies, and a price tag of about $US130 ($180).
Mattel Star Wars Galactic Pals Plush Assortment
If Star Wars: The Mandalorian taught us anything, it’s that fans are foaming at the mouth for infantilized versions of Star Wars characters. Presumably taking inspiration from the wildly popular Muppet Babies animated series in the ‘80s, Lucasfilm recently announced a new series of animated micro shorts called Star Wars: Galactic Pals, but can you really have a Star Wars show targeted at preschoolers without equally adorable toys in tow? Obviously not. Available this week from Target for $US30 ($42) each are four new 11-inch tall plush toys based on characters in the new series, including a Wookiee, a Rodian, an Ewok, and a Jawa. The details in each toy’s moulded plastic heads leave us a little unsettled, but for those who find them irresistibly cute, each character comes with a satchel that kids can use to carry them around like a baby. Aww or eww?
Hasbro Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Power Sword
The latest prop to join Hasbro’s Power Rangers lineup isn’t a helmet, but an iconic weapon from the original Mighty Morphin series, the Red Ranger’s power sword. The life-sized weapon features touch and motion-activated lights and sounds, including the ability for the blade to glow red with power (what other colour would it be, duh) as you swing it about, and for the moments you’re not pretending to be a Power Ranger, you can display it on an included stand, fashioned in the style of a rocky outcrop embedded with a power coin depicting the Red Ranger. The Power Sword is set to release in October this year, and will cost you a pretty power coin: $US225 ($312) worth of them, in fact. [Hasbro Pulse]
Star Trek x Kidrobot Borg Cube and Locutus of Borg Plush Plush
One of the most terrifying alien species in all of science fiction can finally cuddle up beside you at night and help you drift off to dreams of assimilation and hive minds with Kidrobot’s new Star Trek plush collectibles. Both are available for pre-order through the Kidrobot site right now with delivery expected later this year, but the 13-inch plush Borg Cube’s LED lights that make it glow an eery green from within push its price to $US40 ($56), while the eight-inch plush Locutus is considerably cheaper at just $US17 ($24).
Basic Fun Lite-Brite Stranger Things Collection
The first portable screen that kids obsessed over in the ‘80s is getting a suitably retro Stranger Things makeover ahead of the debut of the show’s fourth season. The Lite-Brite itself looks mostly unchanged from the original ‘80s version, although it now uses much safer cool-to-the-touch LEDs that facilitate flashing patterns to take creations to the next level. It still relies on plastic light-channeling pegs to be painstakingly stabbed through a black paper template, which are now themed based on imagery and monsters from the Netflix series. Four versions will be available with different Stranger Things themes, ranging in price from $US20 ($28) to $US30 ($42), with three of them being Walmart, Amazon, and Target exclusives.
Hallmark Lego Astronaut, Yeti, and Star Wars BB-8 Minifigure Ornaments
As spring starts to slowly give way to warmer summer months, there’s really only one thought on everyone’s minds: it’s time to start planning for decorating the Christmas tree in seven months. Hallmark’s got your back with some of its first 2022 Keepsake ornament reveals featuring hangable Lego minifigures. At 2.5-inches tall, the Astronaut, Yeti, and BB-8 are all slightly larger than a standard Lego minifigure, and appear to be locked into specific poses, with BB-8 gaining a festive Santa hat. But at $US17 ($24) each when available starting in early October, it might be cheaper to just take a drill to real minifigs and make your own ornaments.
Sanei Boeki 30th Anniversary Giant Kirby Plush
April 27 marks the 30th anniversary of Kirby’s very-much-not-pink first appearance in a video game when Kirby’s Dream Land was released for the original Game Boy. The character has since become a stalwart in Nintendo’s roster, the best character option for Super Smash Bros., and now an oversized plush measuring over two-feet across courtesy of Japan’s Sanei Boeki. The plush includes a smaller Kirby perched atop a removable wand, but those outside Japan will have to jump through hoops to order one, with pricing expected to be around $US260 ($361), before added import duties.
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.