Our Five Favorite Toys from Force Friday
Force Friday was nothing short of spectacular for Star Wars fans. There were new t-shirts, mugs, [...]
Force Friday was nothing short of spectacular for Star Wars fans. There were new t-shirts, mugs, purses, posters, pins, and oh yeah, some toys, too.
An absolutely huge selection of action figures, masks, role play, building toys and so much more hit store shelves at Midnight on September 4, 2015, and fans ate them up.
Having seen many (nearly all) of these toys in person, and yes, bought a few myself, here are the five that stand out from the rest of the pack. Make no mistake, this list might as well be fifty to one hundred items and include everything that was released, but we'll stick to five for now.
LEGO Poe’s X-Wing Fighter
The entire LEGO lineup of Force Awakens sets is great, with their ever-increasing detail, a high number of pieces, and a signature style that never goes out. But Poe Dameron's newly colored X-Wing as a leader in the Resistance is something special. With moving parts, including S-foils that lock into attack position, an opening cockpit, and retractable landing gear, this is one fun toy. It also comes with an adorable BB-8 minifig. At over 700 pieces, the $79.99 price tag (about half the price of the also awesome Millennium Falcon) is actually remarkably reasonable.
prevnextStar Wars Micro Machines
Yes, all of them. This is certainly a bit of nostalgia talking, but there's some specific collector reasoning here, too. Maybe you can't afford to get every full size figure and vehicle for your kids, but you can certainly grab one of the Micro Machines 3-packs, or the 5-vehicle and two-figure Galactic Showdown pack. These small yet mighty toys give kids the chance to create their own Star Wars battles without breaking the bank. And for collectors, you can have a full set of Force Awakens on your desk while still having room for your laptop.
prevnextTalking Kylo Ren
The talking action figure is a classic, but the new line is especially cool for one major reason: it's the first time we're actually hearing some of these voices! It's weird to think about, with the level of anticipation as high as it is, but we haven't actually heard Finn, Rey, Kylo Ren, or Captain Phasma speak on camera yet! Kylo Ren narrowly edges out Finn and Phasma's talking toys because of a couple of things – the sculpt as actually pretty great for a toy whose focus is that it talks (the lightsaber even lights up). The big deal, though, is that it also gave us some very interesting and pertinent dialogue. In the slow burn of reveals, this figure's lines are full of fun speculation.
prevnextStar Wars Elite: Captain Phasma
When the Disney Store announced they'd have their own line of Star Wars figures, many people balked. After all, there's already Hasbro's popular Black series, so do we really need another mid-level action figure line? Yes, yes, we do, especially if they stay as high quality as the initial offerings. The standout is the imposing "chrometrooper" Captain Phasma. Her metallic armor and extra height (the figure is more than a head taller than the Rey from the same line) are gorgeously accentuated by the Die-cast cut. With just enough articulation to pose them and a detailed cape and rifle blaster, this is an amazing toy. At $25 a pop, most collectors can actually collect them all, too.
prevnextSphero BB-8
The undisputed champion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the new spherical astromech BB-8. When a crowd of 4500 saw the droid actually roll out live on stage at Celebration Anaheim (and taunt R2-D2 a bit), the place erupted. It's still a common topic of conversation, even amongst those closely connected to or at Lucasfilm. So it's no surprise that the BB-8 droid, controlled by a smartphone app with all sorts of extra features, is at the top of the wishlist for fans around the world. You, too, can recreate the iconic 15 seconds of BB-8 footage we've all seen a thousand times, for just $150. Being app based means the toy will actually get updates with new features, special story-based content like new holographic messages, and more.
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