Some of our favorite science fiction and fantasy franchises are defined by the weapons in them. Star Wars has its lightsabers. Zelda’s Link has his Master Sword. These are the touchstones of each property, and artist Matt Ritchie is reimagining them all in a beautiful, colorful new way.

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular weekly roundup of all the toys you’ll want to blow your paycheck on, instead of buying groceries, paying rent, or other more responsible purchases. This week we’ve got an Imperial entry in Sphero’s line of interactive droids, a cartoon version of Boba Fett, and a bunch of New…

In the United States, it’s illegal to interfere with any aircraft soaring over your property. So if your neighbor’s drone is caught spying on you, you can’t just shoot it out of the air. But apparently the laws are different in Sweden, where you can take down drones using impossibly dangerous weapons; like a…

They’re fun, but Nerf’s blasters, even the most powerful ones, aren’t known for their impeccable accuracy. So if you find yourself in the heat of battle surrounded by opponents, you’d be much better off with this Nerf grenade in your arsenal, which blasts foam darts in all directions.

Last week, an amateur drone pilot landed his DJI quadcopter on the deck of Britain’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. The incident was accidental, but highlights the irony of how difficult it is to neutralize threats from smaller aircraft like drones that are slowly filling the skies. But perhaps modifying a…

YouTube’s Giaco Whatever, who previously terrified us with a custom Nerf blaster capable of firing foam darts faster than the speed of sound, has now designed and built an automatic BB gun powered by a 4,000 PSI air tank that’s easily one of the most dangerous creations you’ll find online—so of course you want to see…

When Chicago software consultant Mac Dolan heard the screams of a friend being attacked, he knew he had to step in. So he grabbed his most fearsome weapon: a $100 sword he’d bought from Medieval Times.

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's weekly roundup of the fanciest toys that will have you even more upset you’re not able to make it to the San Diego Comic-Con this year. And if you’ve ever lamented not having an Arnold Schwarzenegger figure that looks like he just took the day off to visit Home Depot, you’ll find…

It’s only May, but there’s a good chance we’ve already found our song of the summer. Eclectic Method is back with another pop culture mashup, but this time he’s created an incredibly catchy Drum and Bass earworm by painstakingly assembling the sounds of video game weapons being fired and reloaded.

Joerg Sprave, the internet’s most famous slingshot-loving amateur super villain, has found ways to weaponize everything from foam Nerf darts, to those tiny Ikea pencils. His latest troubling achievement is a custom elastic-powered blaster that can turn Lego bricks into tiny projectiles.

YouTuber Giaco Whatever is on a quest to build a Nerf blaster that will do more than just leave a tiny welt on someone. He’s constructed an air-powered dart cannon that generates 400 PSI of pressure, and when cranked to full power, it can apparently send a Nerf dart flying at Mach 2.3, twice the speed of sound, or…

Even the most mild-mannered among us can’t spend an afternoon inside a sprawling IKEA warehouse without leaving full of rage. But if you want to drown your frustrations, do it in cheap hot dogs and soft serve ice cream instead of walking out the door, determined to weaponize those tiny IKEA pencils.

In what archaeologists are calling the “find of a lifetime,” a horde of Late Bronze Age weapons has been discovered at a Scottish construction site. Among the items found is a gold-decorated spearhead, and a 3,000-year-old bronze sword in remarkably good condition.

Despite being made of plastic, Nerf’s dart blasters look incredibly realistic and detailed—as long as you can ignore their garishly bright colors. Adam Savage apparently could not, however, so he spent an entire day giving the Nerf Longstrike CS-6 a fantastic facelift to make it look like a prop from of a scifi…

Some people take their Nerf dart blasters very seriously. There are entire leagues dedicated to running around and blasting fellow players with foam darts—essentially a less painful version of paintball. But what darts are worth arming yourself with? Nerf expert Frank Cooper breaks it down in this exhaustively…

Proving once again that the only toy any kid really needs is a giant box of Lego, YouTube’s Astonishing Studios has managed to recreate a working version of the classic Nerf Maverick REV-6 blaster using nothing but plastic bricks and a metal spring for power.