Welcome back to Important Toy News, the SYFY WIRE column that shows you an amazing weekly magic trick — how to turn money into glorious pieces of toys, collectibles, shelf decorations, and more pop culture delights than you'll ever know what to do with.
Join me, your resident toy journalist, as we take another dive right back into the toy box and ogle all of the collecting world's pretty, pretty things. Because what's old is new again this week, and every single "new" item this week is dedicated to those pretty rose-colored lenses called nostalgia.
Credit: Sideshow Collectibles
But before we get to nostalgia, let's lean in on the other emotion that we will happily have exploited for entertainment and toy purchasing purposes: cuteness. On Friday, Star Wars fans and viewers of The Mandalorian were greeted with a new figure of "The Child" (aka Baby Yoda), something we all need no matter how much we fight it.
Sideshow Collectibles has busted out a life-sized, wildly realistic statue of "The Child" that will be ready to ship October 2020. So now we all know officially that "life-sized" is 16.5 inches of cutesie bootsie little smooshy, baby-faced alien creature. You can order the adorable little stinker today for $350 from BigBadToyStore.
It's a shocker that this even exists, because we thought Hasbro whipped out the big-daddy guns when it came to "The Child" merchandise. I have only once thing to say about this freshly revealed figure from Sideshow Collectibles. I'll put it in layman's terms: DAMN SIDESHOW!
OK, now on to nostalgia! Blending '80s gaming with '90s virtual pet obsession means that older millennials and younger millennials can finally have something to talk about as they watch Netflix together and lament their student debt!
This Pac-Man Tamagotchi toy looks super fun, even if you can't raise an adorable little ghost. I originally wasn't sure if you, the pet parent, would be raising a Pac-Man or a creature, but it looks like the gimmick is that you have a virtual Tamagotchi pet, and the Pac-Man world just sort of periodically infiltrates it.
The Pac-Man Tamagotchi is available for preorder now on Amazon. It costs $24.99 and will ship in March 2020. According to the official description on Amazon, "You can feed your Tamagotchi rice or Pac-Man's favorite: cherries! Place your yellow and Pac-Man maze-styled device into your Pac-Man case. The Pac-Man Ghosts will go after your Tamagotchi character, so be ready to call Pac-Man in to help! If the bugs start to invade the screen, call Pac-Man to save your Tamagotchi character before it's too late!"
Credit: 52Toys
Based on the 1986 Alien sequel, the MegaBox MB-10 features the Alien Queen as a transformable figure. This Alien Queen figure can change from a menacing monster to a compact cube form. It costs $39.99, will be released first quarter 2020, and is available for preorder today.
This is a super cool idea from a company that doesn't frequently produce Aliens merchandise. The owners of the Aliens license have been especially generous with letting companies make toys from it, and honestly, it's only working in their favor. I love the translucent blue effect we have happening with this toy, and from someone who just adores transforming robots, the cube gimmick totally works for me.
Credit: Flame Toys
Speaking of transforming robots, I absolutely have to show you my newest model kit obsession.
It's Flame Toys' newest Transformers G1 Optimus Prime Furai Model Kit. I absolutely love these Transformers model kits from Flame Toys. They are clean and precise, but definitely feel different from the standard Bandai model kit, which are the most widely available kits on the market. He stands over 6 inches tall and has great articulation with over 40 moveable joints! Although from my experience, you really don't want to mess with them too much once the kits are put together. He costs $40, is available for preorder now, and will ship May 2020.
Credit: Prime 1 Studios
Okay, okay, one more robot before we move onto our next nostalgic toy.
Who here is a Robotech fan? Macross? Call it what you want, I won't fight you! But you still have to see the new VF-1J Battloid statue from Prime 1 Studios. It has that premium hefty price tag that pop culture collectors have come to expect from Prime 1 Studios, clocking in at $999.99 (preorder available now). But man, it's gorgeous.
It stands an enormous 21 inches tall with swap out parts to make regular VF-1J or Fastpack add-on version. It has swap out arm parts to make the standard VF-1J and LED lights included. It will ship October 2020.
Credit: Art Storm
Keep those wallets open, '80s kids, because the Samurai Pizza Cats are coming at you directly from Japan!
Just released this month, January 2020, these three figures (each sold separately) are so insanely beautiful. While pricey (clocking in at $95 each, oof), they come with tons of extra heads and accessories, plus they stand nearly 5 inches tall. You can buy them today from HobbyLink Japan which is a site that is typically very fair with its shipping prices.
Fans of the show can choose from one (or all) of the three main characters. We have Yattaro/Speedy, Pururun/Polly, and Sukashi/Guido and they are all in stock and ready for you!
Credit: NECA
We're reaching the end, my toy collecting friends, and we couldn't let nostalgic toy and cartoon franchises have all the fun.
Move over, Mr. Knish, because Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is on the scene at Shady Acres thanks to our buddies over at NECA. Ever-stylish, Ace is dressed in a short sleeve button up, plaid shorts, and a tutu. He stands 8" tall and is fully articulated. Additional contents include two brand new head sculpts and an accessory of Wiggles, the Yorkshire terrier.You can expect to find this figure, and hopefully not Captain Winkey, in stores where NECA products are sold (or right here from Entertainment Earth if you want to preorder) in June 2020.
