Welcome back to Toy Aisle, Gizmodo’s weekly excuse to flop into a Gengar-shaped chair and read the latest toy and merchandise news. Don’t have a Gengarmchair, you bemoan? Well, good news: this is the week for you! Especially if you also like Mandalorian toys, pricey turtle vehicles, and more. Check it out!
S.H. Figuarts The Mandalorian Luke Skywalker and Moff Gideon
Previewed as part of Tamashii Nation’s 2021 online event, The Mandalorian’s presence in the Star Wars Figuarts line is getting a major boost in the form of not one, but two figures that aren’t in beskar armour! Rejoice, even if one of them still is a little bit armoured like what seems to be 90% of Bandai’s favourite choices for Star Wars figures as of late. That armoured option is, of course, Moff Gideon, who will come with the Darksaber as well as a blaster pistol and an articulated material cape. Joining him is Luke Skywalker as he appears in the shocking climatic scenes of the season, complete with a hooded and similarly articulated cloak, an updated headsculpt representing Luke’s appearance in The Mandalorian, and, of course, his lightsaber, complete with an action-effect blade to depict it in motion. No details about further accessories, pricing, or release window were made available for the figures, but expect them to drop sometime in 2022. [The Fwoosh]
Lego Black Panther, Wolverine, and Iron Man Mech Armour
It’s not Lego’s first Wolverine minifigure, but this time around the snikting Marvel hero is being upgraded with a robotic mech that includes some of the largest Adamantium claws we’ve ever seen. The 141-piece Wolverine Mech Armour set is being joined by a 124-piece Black Panther Mech Armour set and a 130-piece Iron Man Mech Armour set; all three will be available for $US10 (A$14) each starting on January 1 next year.
Super7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! Party Wagon
Cowabunga! Or should we say, wowabunga, because Super7 has finally given its Ultimates!-scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures the perfect ride with a matching scale Party Wagon van. At over 20 inches long and a foot wide, the vehicle can actually hold six Ultimates!-scale figures and includes all of the features and accessories it did in the classic TMNT animated series. The doors open, the windshield opens, the roof opens, and there’s a side door that swings out as a “Foot Tenderizer.” The oversized tires are all made of real rubber, and in addition to bombs and weapons, the Party Wagon even has a winch with a real steel chain. That helps explain why this thing is $US450 (A$620). Pre-orders are available now, but shipping is not happening until fall of 2022.
Star Wars Life Day Plush Chewbacca
There was a time when Lucasfilm used all its might to bury not only the Star Wars Holiday Special, but any indication the made-for-TV event even existed. You still can’t find it on any streaming services (although copies are not terribly hard to find online), but Disney has decided the special isn’t all bad, and is capitalising on its featured Life Day celebration with an official unofficial holiday — November 17 — and new Life Day merchandise. It’s all as forgettable as the holiday special was, but this $US23 (A$32) Life Day plush Chewbacca stands out with a grimacing face that deserves to be turned into a meme.
Lego Iron Man Figure
It’s now been over two years since Iron Man was killed off in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (spoiler alert: don’t read what you just read if you haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame), but you wouldn’t know the character was gone given Disney’s seemingly endless Iron Man marketing push. We’re still getting countless figures, video game appearances, and now a nine-inch buildable Lego model that arrives on January 1 for $US40 (A$55). The 381-piece set produces a figure with loads of articulation, but its best feature is an arc reactor in Stark’s chest that glows thanks to an LED Lego Light Brick implanted in Iron Man’s back.
DinoGlows: Reversible, Glow-in-the-Dark Dinosaur Plushies!
Everything we know about the dinosaurs comes from fossils, and as exciting as the prospect of one day visiting a real-life Jurassic Park might be, seeing towering dinosaur skeletons at museums is still a captivating experience for young and old. Womple Studios may have just come up with the perfect museum gift shop souvenir with its DinoGlows: plush dinosaur toys that turn inside out to reveal an as-anatomically-correct-as-a-plush-toy-can-be glowing skeleton version of the same dino. It’s another clever way to sneak some learning into playtime, and the triceratops version can be pre-ordered through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign with a $US35 (A$48) pledge, while shipping is expected to be as early as April 2022. Right now the campaign is a few thousand dollars shy of its $US12,000 (A$16,581) funding goal, but if it goes above and beyond that, a stegosaurus DinoGlow will be added at $US18,000 (A$24,871), and a T.rex at $US24,000 (A$33,162).
Pokémon Life-Size Plush Lucario
If you love Pokémon as much as you hate uncluttered living space, you can now add a life-size Lucario to your plush pocket monster collection. Standing around four feet tall, Lucario appears to include basic posability which appears limited to its arms pivoting at the shoulder. It is able to stand on its own two feet with the assistance of the Pokémon’s tail supporting it, and while pre-orders will be available until December 16, the ~$US400 (A$552) collectible won’t actually arrive until late May 2022, and only in Japan unless you find a way to import it to your country.
Pokémon Gengar Sofa
We’re starting to suspect the Pokémon Company might have its eyes on IKEA because following furniture pieces based on Ditto and Snorlax, tired trainers can now plop down in this Gengar Sofa that’s stuffed with a mix of polystyrene beads and urethane foam. In other words, it will swallow you up like a beanbag chair, but that’s assuming you’re either in Japan and willing to spend around $US230 (A$317), or can find someone willing to ship it outside of Japan, which will probably end up costing you a LOT more than $US230 (A$317).