Welcome back to Toy Aisle, Gizmodo’s regular roundup of the coolest toys we’ve seen on the internet over the past seven days. This week we’re rounding up some of the best stuff from Hasbro’s recent PulseCon virtual event, as well as the return of a classic ‘80s Ghostbusters toy and the re-appearance of a Star Wars villain we all assumed was dead when Obi-Wan sliced him in half. Check it out!
Bandai S.H. Figuarts Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Armorer
Despite a very solid supporting cast, the Child will always be the main reason most of us watch Star Wars: The Mandalorian. But if there was any character that could challenge Baby Yoda’s popularity, it’s the Armorer, who’s already low-key demonstrated herself to be a fierce warrior. Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line isn’t the best value when it comes to highly detailed action figures (Hasbro’s Black Series is a much better deal), but spending over $100 on a single six-inch figure is more appealing when it includes a laundry list of accessories like swappable hands, an interchangeable skirt, open and closed Camtono containers, a stack of Beskar, a hammer, and a smelting stick that’s even more useful when used on a Stormtrooper’s helmet. Pre-orders will start in Japan in October.
Hasbro Ghostbusters Kenner Classics Ghostpopper
Turning a movie, even a comedy squarely aimed at adults, into a profitable line of kids’ toys isn’t easy. It was a problem facing Ghostbusters until the kid-friendly animated series arrived, which allowed Kenner to produce one of the most memorable toy lines of the ‘80s. If you had any Ghostbusters toys as a kid, it was probably the Ghostpopper, which fired tiny foam projectiles like a Nerf blaster at whichever of your friends or siblings was playing the role of the ghost that day. Hasbro, which bought Kenner back in 1991, is bringing the toy back ahead of Ghostbusters: Afterlife hitting theatres in 2021, and starting in January you can relive your childhood for about $30. They are available exclusively at Walmart though, so you may have trouble getting one in Australia.
Star Wars The Black Series Ahsoka Tano Force FX Elite Lightsaber
If you’re a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, you’re probably sad the series has come to an end, but also happy that the final season brought with it some top-shelf merchandise. Hasbro is adding Ahsoka Tano’s lightsaber to its excellent Force FX Elite collection, and while yes, she technically wields two blades, it’s definitely better than nothing. For $499, shipping sometime in mid-2021 but available for pre-order now, you get the first tri-colour Force FX Elite lightsaber blade (blue, green, and yellow), a full metal hilt, a removable kyber cystal, and a display stand if you’re not already planning to carry this around on your belt everywhere.
Hasbro Avengers: Endgame Stormbreaker Role Play Item
What happens when a global pandemic makes it impossible to release a follow-up movie in the most profitable film franchise of all time? You squeeze every last drop of merchandising money you can out of Avengers: Endgame, starting with a pretty solid recreation of Thor’s Mjölnir replacement: the Stormbreaker Axe. Forged from plastic, electronics, and AAA batteries instead of other-worldly materials, the arm of a tree man and Asgardian magic, the Stormbreaker lights up and plays sound effects at the push of a button to assist in your role-playing, and will be available starting on December 15 for $240, but you can pre-order it now.
Hot Toys Star Wars: The Clone Wars Darth Maul Sixth-Scale Figure
Do you really need a working set of legs to be a feared villain in the Star Wars universe? As Jabba the Hutt demonstrated, they are not essential, a principle that allowed Darth Maul to return in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and later in the Solo movie. But Hot Toys is focusing on the character’s time spent with Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars for its most recent sixth-scale figure; it features a brand new head sculpt of Maul with a rolling eyeball system (creepy), mechanical legs, swappable double-bladed lightsaber blades including versions with them blurred in motion, multiple hands, and even a Mandalorian-inspired sarcophagus box designed to contain the former Sith Lord. Availability isn’t expected until late 2021 or early 2022, however, so take Yoda’s advice and “patience you must have.”
Lego 2-in-1 Christmas Wreath
Given Halloween is going to be especially challenging this year with social distancing rules, we might as well just skip right to Christmas and start decking the halls in early October. Lego’s already in the holiday spirit with its Elf Club House, but the company has also released a brick-built way to decorate your own home: a Lego Christmas wreath that’s guaranteed to never drop a single pine needle on your floor. The 510-piece, $55 set includes two different ways to built it: as a wreath with a large red bow to hang on a door, or as a tabletop centrepiece with four fake candles to adorn it.
Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series Ecto-1 1/18th-Scale Vehicle
It may rank behind the Batmobile and Back to the Future’s time-travelling DeLorean on a list of the best movie vehicles of all time, but come 2021 when Ghostbusters: Afterlife is released (hopefully?), everyone is going to be nostalgic and happy to see Ecto-1 cruising the streets again. Hasbro’s immortalising the vehicle (which in Afterlife is heavily rusted and worn, having spent years in a barn) with a 1/18th-scale replica featuring working doors and a remarkable level of detail, including all those mysterious doo-hickeys on the roof. It will be available starting in January for about $70.