Welcome back to Toy Aisle, Gizmodo’s regular round up of all things good and plastic. This week: Babies! So many babies! Baby Yoda is here, laser babies are here, and, well, what more could you want? Check it out!
Medicom MAFEX The Boys Billy Butcher Figure
With a neverending onslaught of goodie-goodie Marvel content across countless platforms, is it any surprise the public has embraced the anti-heroes of Amazon’s adaptation of The Boys graphic novel? A couple seasons in we’re finally getting action figures of the series’ more popular characters, including Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, courtesy of Medicom. For a six-inch figure, $130+ isn’t cheap, but when available starting in December the figure will include a fabric coat, two swappable head sculpts, a machine gun, crowbar, extra hands, and most important of all, a tiny laser baby replica he can wield as an extra weapon.
Mattel Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Child Collector Edition Plush with Hover Pram
Will the world’s thirst for Grogu merchandise every be quenched? Given fan-favourite Star Wars characters like R2-D2 are still popular 40 years after their debut, Baby Yoda won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Mattel’s latest version features a fully detailed plush body with coat and accessories like the Child’s favourite control knob and a Chowder Squid. What sets this new Grogu apart is that it comes with its protective Hover Pram that appears to float thanks to an included clear plastic base. At the push of a button the pram can also close itself up to protect Grogu from everyone trying to capture him. Pricing isn’t known yet, but availability starts on March 6 at 4 a.m. AEDT on Mattel Creations, but only for seven days.
Mattel Jurassic World Extreme Chompin’ Spinosaurus
Technically, the Spinosaurus was the main attraction for the 2001 Jurassic Park III sequel, so one could lament that Mattel including the dino in its Jurassic World series isn’t entirely accurate. But who in their right mind would actually complain about this new $40 Chompin’ Spinosaurus toy (available sometime in the spring), with its moving arms, legs, tail, and a button-activated jaw that exposes its teeth and its hunger for anyone accidentally paragliding onto its island home? This was the dinosaur that went toe-to-toe with the T.rex and won, who wouldn’t want one on their shelf?
Star Wars The Black Series First Order Stormtrooper Helmet and Bad Batch Deluxe Wrecker
Hasbro dropped news of two extra new Star Wars products coming to its Black Series toylines this week. On the prop replica front, the First Order Stormtrooper helmet is coming to the company’s line of light and sound helmets, including adjustable straps for wear, as well as an electronic voice distorter to mask your voice as well as your head.
On the action figure front, The Bad Batch’s heavy squadmate Wrecker is joining the 6″ line as a deluxe figure to compensate with the fact he’s quite a large amount of Clone Trooper. Featuring a removable helmet to show off his one-eyed, battle-damaged headsculpt, Wrecker also includes a detachable backpack, a large combat knife, and a blaster pistol. Both the helmet and Wrecker are set for spring and fall 2021 launches respectively — the helmet will be $130+, and Wrecker about $40.
Hasbro Transformers Bumblebee Movie Masterpiece Series MPM-12 Optimus Prime
Hopefully Hollywood realises there’s a good reason collectors are eagerly snatching up toys based on the Transformers Bumblebee movie. It’s because the filmmakers and visual effects artists stayed true to the designs of the original ‘80s toy line, with just enough updates to make them convincing as real-life alien robots. Hasbro has just revealed its latest figure based on the movie: the Movie Masterpiece Series MPM-12 Optimus Prime, with absolutely lovely detailing in both robot and truck modes, and the icing on the cake being Prime’s iconic blaster folding down and stowing on the back of his cab. Pricing isn’t known yet, but the figure will be available starting in August.
Mattel UNO Iconic Series
Everything and anything can be turned into a collectible, with varying degrees of success, but Mattel has done a better job than most with its recent series of stylishly themed UNO decks. The iconic card game actually turns 50 this year, and to mark the occasion Mattel is releasing five new versions of the game through Target reflecting the design sensibilities of the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, and 2010s. The new decks, available for $8 each (or in a five-pack bundle) starting this autumn, don’t feature the actual retro graphics of UNO available during those decades, but instead feature stereotypical artwork including retro colours and graphics.
Brio Battery-Operated Steaming Train
Brio’s wooden train sets have been a staple of childhoods for over 60 years, whether you had them at home or you made sure to always spend a few minutes at the Brio table during a toy store visit. They’re still made of wood, and still mostly powered by imagination, but have gained a few neat upgrades, including wireless interactivity with playsets. The latest upgrade is a new, battery-powered steam locomotive with tender that actually puffs out smoke as it rolls down the tracks. Kids don’t have to worry about getting covered in coal soot, however, as the $50 train, available soon, uses an ultrasonic transducer to turn water into a fine mist that’s cool and safe to touch.