Welcome back to Toy Aisle, Gizmodo’s regular round up of the coolest merchandise on the internet lately. This week: head back to Middle-earth’s Second Age, Lego strikes out on DC and Marvel with classic Batman and Venom sets, the perfect Star Trek Rubik’s Cube, and more. Check it out!
Asmus Toys Lord of the Rings Elven Warrior
Asmus’ Lord of the Rings 1:6 line continues with the most expensive army builder it can: a Noldor Elf Warrior, based on the warriors of the Last Alliance glimpsed in Fellowship of the Ring’s opening sequence. Coming in at around 12″ tall, the figure features fabric robe detailing around his golden armour, alternate posing hands, and three weapons: a long elven glaive, a two-handed sword, and a shield. You won’t be able to build your own Last Alliance without blowing out the bank account though; the figure costs $275, and is available to order now. [ToyArk]
Marvel Legends John Walker Captain America
Hot off him literally getting versions of this action figure to sign in episode two of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hasbro has given John Walker’s Captain America his own 6″ scaled toy. Released in special packaging based on the toy boxes briefly glimpsed in the show during Walker’s GMA interview, the figure comes with Cap’s shield as well as an unmasked alternate head featuring Wyatt Russell’s full likeness. You won’t be seeing him on shelves until July though.
Kid Robot The Simpsons Stupid Sexy Flanders Vinyl Figure
We tend to shy away from vinyl figures ‘round these parts, but there are always exceptions that must be shared with the world, and this week that is Kid Robot’s new 8-inch Stupid Sexy Flanders figure. Billed as a “premium vinyl art figure,” it figures Homer Simpson’s neighbour Ned Flanders showing off his form-fitting ski suit that leaves little to the the imagination. It’s available for pre-order now for $95 in the version pictured above, or a neon version, and both are expected to ship sometime in the third quarter of 2021.
Sentinel Fighting Armour Deadpool Figure
Sentinel continues to add to its line of alternate universe superheroes who’ve swapped their regular costumes for Iron Man armour, and we’re not tired of it yet. The latest Marvel antihero to get armoured up is Deadpool, and despite standing a little over six inches tall this detailed figure uses a combination of plastic and die-cast parts so it has a lovely heft in the hand. Accessories include swappable hands, two katana swords, pistols, shuriken, and a display stand. Availability is expected to be sometime in August later this year, with pre-orders starting soon for around $115.
Lego Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile
As much as we adore the lavishly detailed 3,306-piece Lego 1989 “Tim Burton” Batmobile, dropping $330 on a set that will demand many hours of your free time isn’t for everyone. For a cheaper, quicker Batmobile fix, Lego’s recreated the Batmobile that started it all from the 1966 Batman TV series. Built from just 345 pieces, it’s a fun afternoon project, and at $40 it’s almost an impulse purchase set — at least as far as Lego goes. The set even includes 1960s-style Adam West’s Batman and Cesar Romero’s the Joker minifigures, although leaving out Burt Ward’s Robin and Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman is a crime against Batmanity.
Lego Marvel Spider-Man Venom Bust
Just a couple weeks after Lego officially revealed a freakishly detailed 546-piece bust of Spider-Man baddie Carnage, we’re finally getting the Venom version, which, even with yellowed teeth and a slithering tongue, looks slightly less disturbing. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not sure why anyone would want this 565-piece replica staring at them from a shelf or display case all day, but when available on April 26 for $80, it does look like it would be a real fun build.
Toynk Star Trek: The Next Generation Borg Puzzle Cube
Humanity’s successfully sent astronauts to the moon and brought them back safely, but it’s taken this long for our greatest novelty toy makers to realise that the Borg Cubes from Star Trek: TNG and the Rubik’s Cube were a match made in the celestial heavens? This $18 puzzle cube (it’s officially licensed through Star Trek, but not Rubik’s Cube) is not only the perfect fidget toy for Star Trek fans, it’s also the ideal challenge for those who’d consider themselves puzzle cube-challenged. The Borg-themed tiles covering the cube don’t have any defining colours or patterns, which means that no matter how this cube gets scrambled, it’s already solved.
Jazwares & Hasbro Officially Licensed GM Micro Machines
Once a dominate feature of ‘90s toy and department stores shelves, Micro Machines disappeared for a while, and then reappeared last year thanks to a collaboration between Jazwares and Hasbro. The diminutive vehicles are slowly returning to shelves, with new World Packs en route featuring licensed vehicles from GM. The $15 World Packs will include two drag-race themed collections, but the GM Icons one is the one to get, as it not only includes a couple of Corvettes, but an Iroc-Z Camara and a Pontiac Trans AM complete with a Smokey and the Bandit black paint job featuring the golden firebird/phoenix on the hood.