The Toy Box: Heroes galore in brick and action figure form

Today’s Toy Box column is full of heroes, from a new campaign by Lego, to a new range of DC superhero toys from Mattel.

Lego celebrates a new kind of hero

The Lego Group is inviting children to celebrate a new kind of hero and build their own hero adventures with “What’s Your Hero Story?”, a currently-ongoing nationwide in-store activation.

The idea behind the campaign started from how children today are surrounded by traditional hero narratives through movies, games and digital content, but also need the freedom to create their own adventures and define what it means to be a hero.

It encourages them to move beyond familiar hero narratives and imagine adventures that are entirely their own.

The campaign encompasses Lego themes like City, Ninjago, Marvel and Star Wars, which spotlight the breadth of hero-themed play that Lego has to offer.

While the word ‘hero’ usually conjures up the thought of superheroes from the Marvel (or even the Ninjago) universes, Lego has chosen to focus their attention on everyday heroes as well, through sets such as the Pizza Delivery Experience, and even the Drive-Through Car Wash.

It sends a message that heroes are not just those with special powers, and that ordinary folk who help make our everyday lives better also deserve recognition.

Of course, it helps that these sets are pretty cool in the first place.

The Pizza Delivery Experience, for example, comprises a pizza parlour, a delivery scooter, a pizza delivery drone, and even a car that, er, shoots pizzas out from its front hood (We’re not sure how practical that is in real life, but in a Lego set, it’s one cool feature!).

With 494 pieces and five minifigures, it is a fairly simple build, and makes for a good set for parents to brick together with their kids.

The same goes for the 583-pieces Drive-Through Car Wash, which is slightly more complex, thanks to play features that release pellets of ‘water’ on the car, and also a rail that can be slid up and down to ‘wash’ the car.

For slightly older kids who are more into inter-galactic heroes, then you can check out the Star Wars sets featuring scenes from The Mandalorian and Grogu. 

The AT-RT Attack set (297 pieces) is a fun little set that has both lead characters (that Grogu mini baby figure is just the cutest), an AT-RT with posable legs, and a defense tower that opens up to reveal a weapon rack and storage space.

For a set with a more ‘Western’ feel, Cob Vance’s Speeder (207 pieces) has the hero facing off against the bounty hunter Cad Bane (which is a really cool minifigure as well).

The speeder is more complex than the smaller Mandalorian speeder set, and even has a little storage space for storing Boba Fett’s helmet (which Cob was wearing in the TV series before its rightful owner shows up for it).

In conjunction with the campaign, there is also a roving activation at Lego Certified Stores  where children are invited to take part in hands-on hero-building sessions, giving them the chance to build their own hero minifigure, happening from now until Oct 31.

For more information, visit the Lego Malaysia website.

Back in February, Mattel announced a global, multi-year licensing agreement for DC Comics entire library of characters and legendary storytelling.

Yes, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the gang are back at Mattel, with a full range of DC-themed action figures, playsets, accessories, role play products, and adult collectibles

The new products under this agreement have just started rolling out, and will span all DC stories and characters, and will cover stories and characters in comics, animation, TV, and film. 

We got a preview of some of the new figures courtesy of Mattel Malaysia, and we have to say, the new toys are looking really good. The core range of toys appear to be the DC Premier Series 6.5-inch (16.5cm) figures, which 22 points of articulation and are pretty posable as a result.

Based on the Batman figure we got, the toys manage to straddle the fine line between detailed, collector-friendly sculpts, and also fun, playable features.

We also got the Batman + Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) vs Mr Freeze 3-Action Figure Pack, all of which had their own battle accessories.

The 12-inch (30.4m) Action Figures are bigger in size, but with seven points of articulation instead.

Our favourite of the bunch, however, was the Crime Crusher Batman, a 12-inch sized figure with 16 points of articulation and a punching attack.

It also has a vocal feature, featuring 25 of Batman’s most intimidating phrases, and four metallic-detailed weapons (Spinning Batarang, ElectroBlade Katana, Bat-shaped Knuckle Duster and Nunchaku).

While these figures are more kid-focused, adult collectors can look forward to the upcoming “DC Premium” line.

The first figure in the line was recently unveiled at the New York comic con – the DC Premium Batman: Hush Rooftop Bat-Signal Diorama Set, which is inspired by the 2003-2004 story Batman: Hush, with art by the legendary Jim Lee, and

The 6.5-inch figure has around 34 points of articulation, and comes with a rooftop diorama base that has a water tower that can even produce mist, for a more Batman-y vibe!

Based on what we’ve seen so far with the kid-focused range and the images from NYCC, it looks like DC fans will have plenty of great toys to look forward to thanks to Mattel.