Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular round up of the latest and greatest toys on the internet. This week things get chrome-y as Mattel revives a classic, Hot Toys and Hasbro revisit some Mandalorian artifacts, and we all celebrate a little robot that could. Check it out!
Premium Bandai Ultraman Z Shining! Rumbling! Special Airborne Armor 1 Sevenger
Sevenger is an Ultraman stalwart, having made his debut on Ultraman Leo in the ‘70s as a kaiju before being reborn as a mecha in the currently airing Ultraman Z. To celebrate his return, Bandai is releasing a fully articulated, metallic action figure that’s right in line with its range of classic Ultra Monster Series vinyl figures, but kitted out to the max.
This roughly 6" tall figure has lights and sounds—including over 50 sounds and snippets of dialogue from Ultraman Z, from Sevenger honks and boops to dialogue from its human pilots, Haruki and Yoko—as well as alternate hands, a firing rocket-fist feature, and even swappable “faces” to replicate various states of emotion. You know, the classics, like “slightly depressed but good to go,” “angry,” “oh no a kaiju totalled me I’m out of battery!”, and “I’m a robot but I’m sleeping.” Adorable little thing. The set is exclusive to Bandai’s premium webstore, where it’ll set you back around $90 to preorder ahead of its release in March next year. [Bandai]
Hasbro Star Wars: The Mandalorian Darksaber Electronic Lightsaber
The Mandalorian delivered one of the best Star Wars adventures of the past few years—right up until the surprising cliffhanger at the end of season one, where Moff Gideon revealed he was in possession of the black-bladed Darksaber, a much revered relic among the Mandalorians. You won’t be slicing your way out of a downed TIE Fighter with Hasbro’s new electronic Darksaber replica, but for just $30 (when it’s available early next year) you get the usual motion-activated sound effects and a glowing LED-powered blade, assuming you’ve stocked up on AAA batteries instead of Kyber crystals.
Mattel and Entertainment Earth Dino-Riders Rulon Warriors Battle Pack
On paper it sounds like the perfect toy line: dinosaurs upgraded with armor and weapons that can be ridden into battle. What more could a kid want? In reality, while Dino-Riders were far from a failure back in the ‘80s, they never enjoyed the monumental success of other lines like G.I. Joe or He-Man. Dino-Riders definitely had a loyal fanbase, however, so Mattel is picking up where Tyco left off in the late ‘80s and reviving the battle-hardened dinos with the Dino-Riders Rulon Warriors Battle Pack, available exclusively from Entertainment Earth early next year. Unlike the original Dino-Rider toys, which featured detailed, articulated action figures and thunder lizards, this revival takes a simpler approach, reimagining the Dino-Rider toys as classic monochromatic and static army men figures, in a $20 set featuring six dinos and 15 figures.
Hot Toys Star Wars: Attack of the Clones 1:6 Scale Jango Fett
Hot Toys is on a roll with announcing all these Mandalorians! This week, we return to the Fett family with a blast from the past in the form of Jango Fett, Boba’s soon-to-be-headless dad from Attack of the Clones. Just like you’d expect from a Mando Hot Toys figure, along with the shiny armor and the fancy jetpack, Jango comes with oodles of accessories, including a removable helmet that reveals an accurate facesculpt of Temuera Morrison, his trusty blasters, the blade-loaded and rope-firing gauntlets he used battling Obi-Wan on Kamino, various bounty hunter tools, a poncho, and even his piloting brace for when he’s flying Slave 1.
If that wasn’t enough, Jango even comes with a bunch of FX pieces, like a pyrotechnics effect for his flamethrower gauntlet, jets for his jetpack, and, most fun of all, an attachable rocket piece to depict his pack firing its payload-mid-flight. Jango will set you back $285 and he’s available to order now for a release in early 2022. Just in time to celebrate Attack of the Clones’ 20th anniversary! [Hot Toys]
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