Welcome back to Toy Aisle, the regular round up of the latest and greatest in giant hunks of plastic to go on your shelf. This week: He-Man returns in a revelatory manner, Lego heads back to New York and the ‘90s for a retro Friends treat, and Odin smiles upon you… distressingly. Check it out!
Lego The Friends Apartments
Do we really need two giant Lego sets based on NBC’s Friends when sitcoms like Seinfeld, The Office, and Arrested Development have none? The answer is apparently yes because almost two years after the Lego Ideas Friends Central Perk set was announced, we’re getting a follow-up that uses almost twice the number of pieces — 2,048 — to recreate the two impossibly large NYC loft apartments featured in the series. The set includes various accessories inspired by the sitcom’s most memorable episodes, as well as new minifigure versions of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe, plus Chandler’s ex-girlfriend Janice. The $200 set doesn’t actually appear to be available for pre-order yet, so you’ll need to set a reminder for June 1 if you want to snag one.
Mattel Masters of the Universe: Masterverse Action Figures
Yesterday, Mattel and Netflix revealed that their new animated He-Man revival, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, will premiere its first five episodes starting July 23. Along with the announcement came another reveal: our first look at the accompanying line of Masters of the Universe: Masterverse seven-inch action figures featuring the reimagined characters. The initial lineup includes He-Man, Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Moss Man, and Battle Cat, and when available starting in June for $25 (or $50 for a deluxe version of Battle Cat) each figure will include up to 30 points of articulation, and at least one accessory like a weapon or an alternate swappable head.
Hasbro Marvel Legends Series Infinity Saga Figures
Hasbro’s latest wave of “Infinity Saga” releases brings us faces new and old (and very old) to the MCU toy line. First up is a bumper Endgame two-pack of Iron Man and Thanos engaging in the clickiest snap-battle this side of West Side Story. Coming in at $80, the deluxe set includes not just Thanos and Tony, but a bunch of cool accessories, whether it’s Thanos’ sword, suit weaponry and repulsor blasts for Tony, and yes, the suitably-gaunteted snapping hands for both. But maybe the coolest addition is the alternate heads: Tony gets helmeted, unhelmeted, and bloodied near-death ones, while Thanos has a stoic head, a grunting battle head, and an “oh no I’m being snapped!!!” mid-dissolve head.
If Asgard’s more your jam, releasing standalone for $35 alongside them is Anthony Hopkins’ Marvel Legends debut. Depicting Odin in full battle regalia, the figure comes with his trusty spear to ride into conflict with — but there’s also an unhelmeted head that depicts lil’ plastic Hopkins doing his best Hide Your Pain Harold impression. Both releases are set to hit shelves in September. [AFI]
Final Fantasy VII Remake Play Arts Kai Limited Colour Cloud Strife
Square-Enix’s Play Arts Kai line for Final Fantasy VII Remake has already given us multiple versions of Cloud, whether it’s the initial one based before he was slightly redesigned for the final game, or the game’s fancy SOLDIER 1st Class Release that put the Shinra-warrior-turned-mercenary-for-hire on his new bike from the game. This latest take is inspired by the tweaked “2.0” figure, but gives Cloud a stronger colour palette inspired by his appearance in the original Playstation 1 icon, with his purple-hued trousers and jumper, and a stronger blonde tint to his hair. Otherwise, all you get to mosey on with is a stand, some alternate hands, and, of course, his legendary Buster Sword. He’ll set you back around $200, and is set to ship in May.
Hot Toys Iron Man 2 Tony Stark Mark V Suit Up Deluxe Version Sixth-Scale Figure
The world needs another Tony Stark Iron Man action figure like the ozone layer needs another hole, but despite the movie version of the character actually being dead, Hot Toys is going to continue to churn these out until the end of time. That being said, it’s hard to be cynical when this time around the toymaker has recreated the “suitcase” suit version of Iron Man’s armour from the first sequel, arguably one of the coolest suits in Stark’s arsenal. As with all things Hot Toys you’re going to have to wait a while — until late 2022 — for this one to ship, but it definitely seems worth all the patience with a new Robert Downey Jr. face sculpt, a semi-assembled suit of armour, and exclusive to the deluxe version of the figure: a meticulously detailed metallic red Mark V suitcase with articulated features and an incredible amount of intricate detail.
Diamond Select Toys The Muppets Bunsen & Beaker San Diego Comic-Con 2021 Exclusive Deluxe Action Figure Set
If you needed further proof that the Muppets should never, ever have their full bodies revealed, Diamond Select Toys has already started announcing its SDCC 2021 exclusive collectibles, which will include an action figure set of Bunsen & Beaker, the mad scientist and his questionably willing test subject/assistant. The three to five-inch tall figures include several points of articulation and were briefly available for pre-order on the Big Bad Toy Store website for $40 for the pair, with shipping expected later this year, but have already sold out.
Mattel UNO Play with Pride Game
Mattel is in hot pursuit of the hundreds of versions of Monopoly available, releasing update after update to its classic card game UNO featuring pop culture brands, or just graphical facelifts. The newest version, announced this week, is UNO Play With Pride, released in partnership with the It Gets Better Project: a “nonprofit dedicated to uplifting, empowering and connecting to the LGBTQ+ community” around the world. Featuring a rainbow design on the back of each card, the deck will exclusively be available at Target’s brick and mortar stores in the U.S. and its website for about $8.
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