Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular round up of all things good and plastic on the internet. This week, Lego dips into Lightyear, and Moon Knight swings into the merchandising world with new figures from Hot Toys and Hasbro. Plus, begun, the Lego Clone Wars have, and at last: a talking Pikachu you can squish. Check it out!
Hot Toys Marvel’s Loki Classic Loki Sixth-Scale Figure
If your toy shelf is missing a certain amount of Glorious Purpose or you just really need a distressingly accurate likeness of Richard E. Grant staring at you in bright yellow and green Spandex, Hot Toys has you covered with its latest Loki figure. Depicted as the “Classic” spin on the Marvel character glimpsed in the penultimate episode of the Disney+ streaming show, your Tiny Beloved Character Actor action figure comes with alternate hands, including some magical effects pieces, a small satchel, two swappable heads—one grinning, the other neutral, a damaged helmet to replicate Classic Loki’s final moments, and perhaps even the most exciting of all additions: a Hot Toys scale Alligator Loki. Hot Toys’ Alligator Loki with Bonus Richard E. Grant is due to be available in the middle of 2023. [Hot Toys]
Lego Lightyear Zyclops Chase, XL-15 Spaceship, and Zurg Battle Sets
We’re close enough to Lightyear’s June 17 release for Lego to reveal a handful of sets that will be released (starting April 24) a few months before the Pixar movie hits theaters. The $20, 87-piece Zyclops Chase set is mostly targeted at the four-years-old and up crowd with a streamlined build of the Zyclops itself. The $30, 261-piece Zurg Battle gives us a better look at Buzz Lightyear’s most feared foe, Emperor Zurg, but it’s the $50, 497-piece XL-15 Spaceship that we’ll be keeping an eye out for. It comes with three minifigures including Buzz himself not wearing his iconic spacesuit, and the XL-15 which is giving off series ‘80s Lego Space vibes with that yellow cockpit canopy. Benny would be proud.
Hasbro Marvel Legends and Hot Toys Moon Knight Figures
To celebrate this week’s launch of Moon Knight on Disney+, both Hasbro and Hot Toys have revealed early looks at their plans for takes on the titular hero. Hasbro’s Marvel Legends 6″ figure will come with alternate hands to grip an included moon crescent dagger (and sadly, it seems, no alternate Mark Spector/Steven Grant head), while the naturally much pricier Hot Toys figure includes at least two of the dagger accessories, what appears to be an LED light-up head, and an articulated cape. No price or release details for either have been confirmed yet, but Hasbro’s figure will go up for pre-order April 12. [Marvel]
Sideshow Collectibles Star Wars: The Clone Wars Yoda Sixth-Scale Figure
Sideshow Collectibles continues to deliver some of the best sixth-scale Star Wars figures based on the characters’ appearances in the excellent Clone Wars animated series. Obi-Wan and Anakin are now joined by Master Yoda himself, standing 5.5-inches tall and dressed in a full fabric getup that includes his Jedi robe with a wire reinforced hem for posability. Other accessories include six swappable hands, four swappable feet, a walking stick, and Yoda’s lightsaber, and while the $165 figure is available for pre-order now, shipping isn’t expected until December at the earliest, or March 2023 at the latest.
Jazwares’ Micro Machines Bumblebee Action Playset
At the peek of their popularity, Galoob’s original Micro Machines line had vehicles and playsets based on everything from Star Wars to Star Trek. Back in 2020, Hasbro and Jazwares revived Micro Machines, and the ever-growing collection of diminutive cars now includes vehicles and playsets based on the Transformers, another popular Hasbro property. The latest addition is the Micro Machines X Transformers Bumblebee Action Playset which, as the name implies, transforms from a yellow Camaro to a sprawling garage complex that’s also armed to the teeth with blasters on every level. The $38 playset includes a Micro Machine version of the Decepticon Barricade, but given its size, it doesn’t have an alternate robot mode it can transform into.
Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars Republic Fighter Tank
Despite ending an excellent 12-year run back in 2020, The Clone Wars is still getting lots of love on the toy front. Not only has Sideshow given us a new animated Yoda figure, but Lego just revealed a new $40, 262-piece Republic Fighter Tank based on a vehicle from the series. Despite being a relatively small set, the tank still comes with six minifigures: the 187th Legion Clone Commander, two 187th Legion Clone Troopers, two battle droids, and Mace Windu with his purple lightsaber. The set is available for pre-order now from Lego’s website, but won’t ship until April 26.
Takara Tomy Norinori Pikachu Talking Robot
Will the world ever run out of love for Pikachu products? We certainly hope not. In addition to video games, plush toys, and collectible cards, there’s surprisingly no shortage of animated electronic Pikachu toys. What sets Takara Tomy’s Norinori Pikachu Talking Robot apart is a squishy soft body that responds to having its belly poked with a quick “Pika!” The bot also responds to a handful of Japanese words with 60 different Japanese phrases of its own (apparently it’s not limited to just saying “Pika” with different inflections), and Pikachu will even sing a song and dance along to three different tunes. It’s available from the Japan Trend Shop, which will happily ship one overseas for a small fortune: $131.
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