Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular round-up of the latest and greatest in nerdy merchandise. This week: Lego’s latest modular building brings some class to your display, The Book of Boba Fett opens up to a page of action figures, and Destiny’s most iconic rocket launcher is getting the Nerf treatment. Check it out!
If you’ve been slowly building out a miniature brick-built town with Lego’s Modular Building Collection, you’ve now got a place for tourists and visitors to stay with the new 3,066-piece Boutique Hotel set. This one looks especially appealing for fans of Lego architecture as the hotel features “opulent turn-of-the-century European architecture” and five different sections that include guest rooms, a swanky penthouse suite, a lobby, a terrace, and an art gallery next door. It comes with seven minifigures too, like a bellhop, a receptionist, a coffee vendor, and hotel guests to help boost the local Lego economy. The set will be available starting January 1 for $200.
Turn up the volume
The latest AirPods 3 and Pro are on sale, but Apple’s 2nd Generation AirPods—though getting older by the day—bring the heat with a 37% discount.
As part of a now very obvious plan to try to take over the world, Super7 has finally revealed the first wave of its Animaniacs Ultimates! figures, and it includes what are probably the only characters fans of the show actually care about. Available now for pre-order for $55 each are Yakko, Wakko, and Dot—the Warner siblings—plus Pinky and the Brain. That’s not cheap, but each figure includes loads of articulation, alternate swappable heads and hands, and accessories, such as the Brain’s giant electromagnet, Yakko’s map of the world, and Yakko’s map of America.
Following a collection of dart blasters inspired by weapons in the Halo video game series, Bungie has partnered with Nerf again to bring another fictional video game weapon to players IRL with the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher from Destiny. According to a description on the Bungie online store, the blaster will use a “first-of-its kind Mega shell by Nerf that blasts three darts at once from a shell” to replicate how the weapon actually works in the game. Pricing is set at $160 when the Gjallarhorn officially becomes available for pre-order in late 2022, but players who unlock the weapon in Destiny 2 will be able to pre-order it earlier than the general public, so expect this one to be hard to find.
We might just be weeks from The Book of Boba Fett, but you’re going to have to wait to get your own figures of the new show’s main characters. Fennec Shand will come out early next year, at least, and includes her sniper rifle and a removable helmet. Meanwhile, not only is Boba—referred to as “Throne Room Boba Fett” by Hasbro”—a deluxe figure, meaning he costs nearly $10 more than the standard Black Series figure, he’s not going to be available until fall 2022. At least he’s a bit fancy, with a detachable jetpack and helmet, and includes both his trusty blaster rifle and blaster pistol. But it’s a shame you’ll have to wait so long to get Fennec’s partner in crime after she’s set to release in spring.
The Autobots and Decepticons can change their forms to blend in with the locals as they hop from planet to planet throughout the galaxy, but fans of their original looks on Cybertron can now grab four new versions of classic Transformers characters with redesigned vehicle modes. Loosely based on the bots’ appearances in both the 1986 The Transformers: The Movie and the scene in the 2018 Bumblebee film where Cybertron falls, Brawn, Wheeljack, and Ratchet are all available for pre-order now for $23 each, while Soundwave is $32, with all the figures expected to ship in April of next year.
If you love the idea of hitting the open road with an engine between your legs but are less in love with the risks of wiping out on two wheels, Lego has just revealed a new BMW M 1000 RR motorcycle set featuring 1,920 Technic pieces. The 1:5-scale model is 17-inches long when fully assembled and includes detailed features like a chain transmission, a four-piston engine, working steering plus front and rear suspension, and a three-speed gearbox that includes neutral. The $230 set will officially be available starting on January 1.
If you happen to find yourself in San Francisco looking for something to do, swing by the Letterman Digital Arts Center, where you’ll find a solemn statue of Yoda perched atop a fountain. If you’re not keen on traveling, however, Sideshow has miniaturized the fountain that’s been a popular stop for Star Wars fans since 2005 with an 8.6-inch tall replica made from cold-cast porcelain, available for pre-order as part of Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary. Just 1,138 copies of the $270 replica are being produced, after which the molds will be destroyed to ensure the scarcity. While you can pre-order your copy now, shipping isn’t expected until August 2022 at the earliest.
