Being a Pokémon fan can get pricey, so when sales like Amazon's Prime Day come a-knockin', we always pay attention. And the good news is that 2026 has some pretty decent savings across Pokémon merch, games, booster packs, and more.

So whether you are an avid player of the best Pokémon games, are after some Kanto-inspired home decor, or want to expand your TCG collection, you've come to the right place. Below are the top 17 Pokémon Prime Day deals that we've spotted so far. We've made sure to try to include something for every type of Pokémon fan here, whether you're a gamer or just an enjoyer of cute critters. Unfortunately, there are no deals for Pokémon Pokopia or Scarlet and Violet, but I'm keeping my eye out in case any do drop. In the meantime, there is still plenty to hold you over before Pokémon Winds and Waves releases below.

Grab your Poké Balls and your wallets, fellow trainers, because these are the Prime Day deals that you won't want to miss.

For more savings, check out our guides of the best Prime Day gaming deals and the best Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals.

As you might be able to tell from the title of this site, we love gaming Lego sets. Whether it's Fortnite display pieces, Super Mario models, or Minecraft playsets, they celebrate the things we love best about these franchises and let us keep a snippet of that nostalgia on our shelf. And as luck would have it, this year's Prime Day Lego deals have slashed the price of most kits based on video games.

I've not been able to find any gaming Lego ranges that haven't been hit by the Prime Day sale, and it's getting to the point that I can't list all of the discounted set here. As an example, I'm seeing major cuts on everything from Fortnite's floating Battle Bus (with its army of minifigures in tow) to the retro-fuelled Super Mario World display model which actually moves. Indeed, the latter gaming Lego set hasn't ever been cheaper than it is now - and because it arguably deserves a place amongst the best Lego sets for how cleverly-designed and nostalgic it is, I'd say that's good news.

To save you time trawling the Amazon Prime Day sales pages, I've listed all of my favorite gaming Lego set offers here. These are either the cream of the crop or sport savings that truly stand out.

Lego Super Mario deals

Lego Fortnite deals

Lego Minecraft deals

Lego Animal Crossing deals

Lego Sonic the Hedgehog deals

We've collected and built a ton of Lego sets over the years, so we can confidently say that some of the greatest are the ones that bring our favorite movies to life. However, Lego that lets you decorate your home with iconic film locations and characters is pricey. Luckily for all our wallets, I've spotted 15 deals that I recommend all UK Lego fans pay attention to this Prime Day season.

I regularly track prices for the best Lego sets, and right now, UK readers are spoiled for choice. From The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars and more a ton of typically pricey offerings have been reduced. Now, to be clear, there are more movie-based Lego sets for sale beyond the ones I've listed below. However, I've been covering Prime Day for years now, and these are the discounts that are worth your cash instead of holding off until Black Friday. It's also worth mentioning again that US readers won't find the deals they are after here; instead, you'll need to head over to our complete round-up of all the top Prime Day Lego deals.

So with all that out of the way, read on to discover the best UK Lego deals for all those expensive movie sets!

For more deals, check out the best Prime Day PS5 deals and best Prime Day Nintendo Switch deals we've found so far.

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  Squishmallows

  Squishmallows Original Sonic the Hedgehog 14-Inch Sonic Plush - Large Ultrasoft Official Jazwares Plush

  $17.99$24.99
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  Loungefly Sega Sonic the Hedgehog Mini Backpack

  $79.99
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  Sonic the Hedgehog Giant Eggman Robot Battle Set With Catapult

  $41.99
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  Pez Sonic Candy Dispenser - Amy Rose Pez Candy Dispenser Party Favor With 2 Pez Candy Refills | Sonic Party Favors, Gift Bags

  $7.90

The Sonic the Hedgehog 35th Anniversary has landed, as it's been 35 years since the first game launched on June 23 in the US way back in 1991. That means we'd had almost four decades spent on this planet with the blue blur, chilli dogs, cheesy quips, and the iconic Green Hill Zone, whose 16-bit music still remains in my head rent-free.

I don't want to linger on Sonic's age too much, as that'd mean coming to terms with my own old age. But the series' longevity means that plenty of the best toys out there are based on Sonic and friends, should you want to start collecting them. There's everything from official Squishmallow plushies featuring Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, to PEZ dispensers, game controllers, and cookbooks. An order up of Chili Dogs, anyone?

To help get you started, I've gathered together a Death Egg-sized lot of some of my favorite Sonic the Hedgehog collectibles out there today, including plenty of pieces I own myself. Everything I've included is officially licensed by SEGA, too, so you can feel assured that you won't find a faker. Y'know, unless you're looking for Shadow the Hedgehog merch in particular, of course.

Check out our round-up of the best Lego sets and the best Nintendo gifts for more radical video game toys and collectibles.

Star Fox is landing on the Nintendo Switch 2 this week, but I'm far more excited over the prospect of new merch starring Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy.

That's not to say I haven't had my Switch 2 Star Fox pre-order secured faster than you can say "do a barrel roll," but this new release has the opportunity to boost the sincere lack of Star Fox merch out there. Before today, the amount of merch available was abysmal, with just amiibo and the Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Pack that includes a detailed Arwing figure to rely on. There were lovely, detailed World of Nintendo figures of the entire team released before that, but they now fetch a hefty price on eBay. Someone is currently trying to sell all four for £14,999.99 (eBay), and I wish I were kidding.

While it's still slim pickings out there, new merchandise has been slowly rolling out, so you don't have to spend the equivalent of a house deposit to have some Fox representation in your collection. On Amazon, there's a range of Star Fox designs inspired by Fox's cameo in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and in the UK, you can pre-order adorable plushies of the entire team. There's still not a lot to go around, but I've made sure to gather those goodies and more down below, and I'll be adding to this list the more Nintendo releases after the new game's launch on June 25, 2026.

UK

Check out our guide to the best Nintendo gifts for even more Ninty-themed merch and collectibles.

Despite it being from any Lord of the Rings fan's dreams, I'm not allowed to buy the new Lego Minas Tirith set. Not only does it cost over half my monthly rent, but it's two feet tall and even wider. I'm about to move apartments and I have been banned, in no uncertain terms, from buying a set that'd take up a big chunk of my new shared living room.

Luckily for me, a Lord of the Rings set that's designed to be space efficient has seen a timely discount. The Lego Balrog Book Nook set is now $108.99 at Amazon, and since it's named after its bookshelf-sized frame, I'm optimistic that my future flatmate will have zero complaints about its size. Especially when I told him I picked it up in a deal! It's certainly one of the better Prime Day Lego deals I've seen.

To give it its full title, this set is called Lego Icons The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook. Phew. It's one of several themed sets designed to fill spaces on a bookshelf, with Sherlock Holmes and multiple Harry Potter options too.

It has 1,201 pieces, including a model Gandalf, and it also has a little plaque saying "You shall not pass!" in case you forget the dialogue from the movie.

Should you buy the Balrog Book Nook?

If you're in my position, and the Lego Minas Tirith is just far too big and expensive to reasonably justify, you've probably bounced off some other sets for the same reason. Rivendell, The Shire and Barad-dur are all quite large, and far from cheap.

This Balrog Book Nook isn't exactly a budget set, but the deal makes it less than half the price of the Shire, and it's certainly smaller too. It's roughly a third of the height of Minas Tirith, and when opened up, two-thirds of the width of the Tower of the Sun. You can fold it down to fit better on a bookshelf too, really helping with that 'space efficiency' argument.

Now, there's no pretending that this is anywhere as iconic a part of the Lord of the Rings story as the various Minas Tirith scenes are; you're getting a sole minifig instead of ten and, crucially, there's no adorable chicken. But if the iconic Lego Lord of the Rings sets are all going to be incredibly expensive, a Balrog will do just fine.

It probably goes without saying, but the Lego Minas Tirith set isn't going to see a discount any time soon. It's not even due to ship in the UK until August, and in the US, there's no shipping date available due to backorders. If you can't even buy it yet, it won't see a reduction for a long time.

So that's another point in favor of the Book Nook. Other Lord of the Rings sets could see discounts during Prime Day, from June 23, especially Rivendell which always feels like it's enjoying 10% off. But Minas Tirith? No chance.

• Lego Star Wars Millennium Flacon 25th anniversary | $84.99 $67.99 at Amazon
• Lego Botanicals Bonsai Tree | $49.99 $39.99 at Amazon
• Lego Dancing Groot | $44.99 $35.99 at Amazon

The discounts are only starting, and we're collecting all the best early Prime Day Lego deals on all kinds of sets, and for suggestions of what to buy, we've rounded up the best Lego sets overall. We'll also collect all the important Prime Day gaming deals worth knowing about.

Display models or playsets that just sit there looking cool are so last year, because a Lego pinball machine that actually works is on the way.

Due to launch on July 4, the space-themed Arcade Pinball Machine is a fully-functioning toy as well as something cool to put on your shelf. Rather than simply looking the part, it has a "spring-powered launcher, dual flippers, spinning bumpers and an up-and-over ramp bridge" that allows you to really play. Plus, there's a moving 'progress bar' which is an astronaut minifig slowly being reunited with an astronaut baby (?!). Is that a bit weird? Yes. But at the same time, I don't see any of the other best Lego sets including a working game.

While it certainly looks the part (and our resident retro expert Phil Hayton pointed out that the space theme could be a nod to the Microsoft 3D Pinball Space Cadet game), the simple fact that this is a playable pinball machine is the selling point here. Unlike so many other nostalgic kits like the NES or Lego Pac-Man Arcade, it isn't just a facsimile; rather than merely aping the gameplay it's inspired by, this one is a game in its own right.

Fans seem to agree. On a Reddit thread discussing the set simply titled "i am in love," responses have been near-universally positive… and there are more than a few folks hoping to recreate that old Space Pinball game. Indeed, the most upvoted comment comes from LightMyFirebird with "I’d be so tempted to make it look like 3D Pinball: Space Cadet layout."

Regardless, this working Lego pinball machine certainly fits the trend of the Big 26 so far. What with Smart Play promising to change everything and the new Smart Play Pokemon range delighting our inner 10 year-olds, it feels like "interactive" is Lego's word of 2026.

For more cool retro collectibles, why not see the best retro consoles or the best retro handhelds?

With the England now entering the fray, Fifa fever has officially set in and it's time to break out the best World Cup 2026 merch to show your support. The trouble is, there's a crap ton of... well, crap out there. That's why the GamesRadar+ team have rounded up what we think are the best official goodies from the event.

Personally speaking, I don't think you can go far wrong with the branded adidas ball to kick about during downtime between matches or on your lunchbreak... but honestly? I think the very best World Cup 2026 merch would have to be Lego's range of play and display kits. Some of these rival the best Lego sets in terms of creativity, and because of this month's Prime Day Lego deals, a few are on offer too.

Anyway, you can decide for yourself by kicking off with the best World Cup 2026 merch below.

For more goodies and gift ideas, be sure to check out the best Lego sets or the best Legend of Zelda merch.

The best water guns make our old Super Soakers look stupid. And I don't mean from a vibes standpoint. No; even the most basic water pistols are head and shoulders above what we used to muck about with in the backyard. Dunk-fill, auto-fill, electronic firing modes… phew. Then Spyra enters the picture, and oh lordy.

If you've not encountered the water guns brand before, I'll put it this way: imagine a Super Soaker by way of Star Trek. These things are sci-fi marvels; rather than firing piddly streams of H20 when you pump the priming mechanism, they're electronically powered and shoot individual rounds of water at stupidly high speed (which means they're incredibly accurate). They also track your 'ammo' with an LED HUD, some fill up automatically in seconds when you dunk them in water, and many have alternate firing modes to suit your needs. Basically, they blow everything else out of the water. And in the case of the Spyra water bomb thrower, I mean that quite literally.

I've been lucky enough to mess with most of the Spyra range, and they never fail to make my jaw drop. The SpyraThree is downright magic, for example. It shows off every trick in the book; it fills up the tank within seconds when you dunk it into water, has an LED HUD for tracking how much ammo you have left, and sports multiple fire modes ranging from automatic to single shot. But what's really impressive is when you line up a shot and squeeze the trigger. This thing is absurdly accurate, to the point that I was able to hit my mark most of the time – not something that's usually possible with standard water pistols. (And no, it doesn't hurt to get hit; you feel the shot, but not so much that you'll be bowing out of the game.)

The cheaper SpyraGo is similar, albeit without some of the same bells and whistles. Even though it removes some of the fancier effects like auto-fill and multiple fire modes to reduce cost, it's still accurate enough to put Super Soakers to shame.

The downside to all this is obviously expense. Even though the SpyraGo is the least expensive option, it's still pricier than many Super Soakers combined. But my goodness, is it worth it – particularly if you can get them on offer during sales like the upcoming Prime Day event.

More are on the way, too. The flagship model is being updated with the SpyraFour, which is packing a far larger capacity, more shots per refill, and five firing modes. Next is the SpyraDash, which doesn't have any electronics at all. It relies on pressure instead and is far cheaper as a result, but still claims to have a high degree of accuracy. In other words, there should be something to suit everyone in the Spyra range.

Is any of this necessary? Of course not. But wow, is it fun; none of the other water pistols I've used can even come close to these. Besides making the Super Soakers I had growing up feel like pea-shooters, they also make pretty much everything else on the market right now look silly too. Considering how far things have come in recent years, that's no mean feat.

• See today's best water gun deals at Amazon

For the best price cuts on collectibles, don't miss the best Prime Day Lego deals over the next week or so!

Following a Golden tease at the beginning of the year, we've finally gotten our first look at Lego KPop Demon Hunters - and honestly, it's kinda perfect.

As suggested in the initial reveal, the first Lego KPop Demon Hunters set is Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird. Rather than being a smaller playset, this is a large, palm-sized model with lots of articulation for posing. Indeed, it reminds me of Lego Eevee (AKA one of the best Lego sets) in terms of size and functionality.

Besides being a pretty spry chap with movable legs, feet, and head, Derpy Tiger also has two expressions - it can be grinning or have its tongue hanging out. It comes with a handful of accessories too, from love notes to a flowerpot that's begging to be knocked over. Oh, and don't forget Sussie Bird too.

So, what's next for Lego KPop Demon Hunters? We've not seen hide nor hair of any other sets yet, but you can bet on them arriving before long. Lego's announcement page for the collab promises that "this is just the beginning," so I think it's safe to say more will follow.

What would you like to see from the range?

For more cool collectibles, don't miss the best toys. If you want to save a little money on your collection, it's also worth dropping in on the upcoming Prime Day Lego deals.

It's still notoriously hard to get your hands on NeeDoh, so you're gonna be tempted to dive on whatever offer you see when the viral toy comes back into stock - but woah there, cowboy. I'd proceed with some serious caution before hitting checkout.

I appreciate that it's popular enough to give the best toys a run for their money. I know it's everywhere on social media. But the thing is, the NeeDoh offers you'll be able to find online are, for the most part, horrendously bad value. I've been tracking where to buy NeeDoh for a little while now, so have a good idea of what makes a decent price... and honestly, today's the first time I've stopped and gone "huh, that ain't bad."

Honestly, I'm surprised that these haven't been snapped up yet. NeeDoh has proven so popular that finding any in stock at all is a minor miracle - never mind at a price that isn't going to make you want to gag. eBay is riddled with resellers slapping ludicrous markups on stock, for instance; many items start at around $30, and even if the cost seems initially reasonable, you're then hit with a $10 postage fee on top of it.

Again, I'm not saying that the prices listed above are good - just that they're better than I'm used to seeing, and arguably more reasonable than you'll find elsewhere.

Will we ever get back to 'normal' pricing for NeeDoh? Absolutely, but not until the craze is over. For now, there's too much money to be made by unscrupulous resellers... and the best thing you can do is avoid playing into their hands. The best defence you have is using a site like Camelcamelcamel to check price history. This will give you a good idea of what costs used to be.

Honestly, I'm just glad we don't have to deal with this nonsense for other hot toys - this month's Prime Day Lego deals should be a lot more reasonable.

• Check NeeDoh stock at Amazon

For more cool collectibles, why not check out the best Lego sets or the best water guns?

A Lego Great Deku Tree is the kind of project I'm still pinching myself over. Getting a Legend of Zelda kit felt impossible a few years ago; Nintendo is famously protective of its franchises, and any fan-made designs submitted to the Lego Ideas initiative were shut down with the speed of a kicked cucco. Then Super Mario sets began to appear, followed by an Animal Crossing range. Something had changed – a dam broke. This caused rumors to swirl, and now here we are. Link is finally a minifigure.

It's been worth the wait. The Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 model is, in a word, magnificent. If you're a fan of the more recent Switch games or the Nintendo 64's Ocarina of Time, you'll find plenty to delight you. I can't deny that it's a lot of rupees, but building the model demonstrates where all that money has gone. This is one of the best Lego sets around and shows off everything a premium kit should be, no questions asked.

The downside? It's being retired soon. If you're new to the process, Lego does this on the regular; it sends older kits (or young ones, in this case) off into the sunset to make room for new models, and that means they stop being made. In other words, you're gonna have to grab the Great Deku Tree sooner than later if you want to avoid missing out on some of the best Legend of Zelda merch – before long, it'll become unavailable to buy. And man oh man, but that's a crying shame. This is something of a masterpiece.

Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 features

• A 2-in-1 design (Breath of the Wild/Ocarina of Time)
• Includes mini-builds that can be displayed separately
• Features three different Link minifigures & one Zelda design

As a "2-in-1" build, the Lego Great Deku Tree allows you to make either the Breath of the Wild version or the one seen in Ocarina of Time. Unfortunately, you can't have both; because the two designs use the same skeleton, you'll need to choose between them. They're very different to look at as well, so it's not like you can swap bits in and out depending on your mood.

Still, Lego seems to have thought of this. You get a couple of separate mini-builds within the box that can be displayed regardless of what tree you choose. That includes Link's treehouse from Ocarina of Time (complete with a box of items from the game, such as the iconic Hylian shield) and the Master Sword plinth from Breath of the Wild.

In addition, Lego has included multiple minifigure versions of Link rather than forcing you to mix and match. There's Child Link and Adult Link from Ocarina to go with Breath of the Wild's Link and Princess Zelda.

Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 build

• Takes between 4 - 10 hours
• Not overly complex, despite size
• Some fun asides in the instructions

Although mileage obviously varies from person to person, I suspect this project will take most people anywhere between four and 10 hours to complete. I was somewhere in the middle; I tackled the build in chunks, and it ended up taking me around six hours spread across multiple days.

This was a very pleasant experience, on the whole. There weren't any fiddly bits to speak of, and you'll spend a lot of time filling in the scene with flora and fauna. It's all rather zen.

The thing I appreciated most was the many asides in the instruction booklet. Just like in Lego Rivendell, you'll get titbits about the build as you go. These range from info about fairies to the many mushrooms you can cook up for stat bonuses in Breath of the Wild (many of which are scattered across the kit's base). This gives more of a premium feel, and it's less rote.

Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 design

• BotW version has more going on
• The mini-builds are an excellent touch
• BotW version is very deep, so is harder to display

Once they're made, both of these Deku Trees are handsome display pieces – but for my money, the Breath of the Wild version is downright stunning. The mix of vivid greens with pink and peach makes it truly pop on a shelf, and there's an impressive level of intricacy to the base. Ferns, flowers, mushrooms, and more festoon the area surrounding the tree's roots, so it feels very 'alive' in a way other sets don't. Throw in scattered koroks (including Hestu and his maracas, of course) for a very lively scene.

Honestly, it's more vibrant than the Ocarina equivalent… to the point that I wonder whether it was the 'original' design, with the Ocarina of Time variant being something of a bonus. I could be off-base here, and I'm not saying the Ocarina version is bad by any means; it's excellently done. It's just that the Breath of the Wild model seems more detailed. More extravagant.

Either way, the mini-builds included alongside the tree are an excellent touch. Because they're built and can be displayed separately from the main model, you still get to enjoy nods to both games no matter what tree you choose to make. Young Link's treehouse sits on my desk even though I made the Breath of the Wild Deku Tree, for example, and it's cool enough that I probably would have bought it separately.

It's a similar story for the minifigs. Lego could have used the same head and swapped out bodies, but instead it provides three versions of Link with accessories to match. Considering how much the Lego Great Deku Tree costs, that's a welcome concession.

The one criticism I have for the Breath of the Wild model is that it's very deep once you add the Master Sword shrine to the front. It'll stick out a bit unless you have a deep shelf or table to display it on, so bear that in mind when deciding where your version will go.

Should you buy the Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1?

If you're a fan of the Zelda series, this kit should definitely be on your radar. It's the ultimate piece of fan-service to gamers that have grown up with the franchise. Even though folks who adore Breath of the Wild and/or Ocarina of Time will be best served here, all Zelda aficionados are likely to find something to love in this mystical forest set.

Want something more contained and easier to display? Keep on steppin', because this is quite a large model that isn't the easiest to display (it's quite deep as well as tall). There's no denying the price either, but in my eyes, it's a treasure worth the price of admission.

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested the Lego Great Deku Tree 2-in-1

This review was conducted using a sample provided by the manufacturer.

I put together this model over the course of a week or two, with multiple short stints building it a bag at a time. This allowed me to carefully analyze the instructions, build experience, and overall design as I went. I made sure to compare it with Lego sets of a similar size (like Rivendell), too.

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  Evercade Data East Super Pocket

  £43.99£49.99
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  Lego Super Mario Game Boy Building Set for Adults - Nintendo Display Model Kit With 2 Cartridges Incl. Zelda, Plus Lenticular Screens - Father's Day Treat - Gaming Gift Idea - 72046

  £41.99£54.99
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  Lego Star Wars 75440 At-At Building Set for Adults - Display Model Kit W/snowspeeder, Stand & Nameplate - Shelf Decor Idea - Collectible Father's Day Treat - Gift for the Empire Strikes Back Fans

  £42.99£59.99
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  Magic: the Gathering - Final Fantasy Starter Kit - Learn Magic With 2 Ready-To-Play Decks (2-Player Card Game for Ages 13+)

  £15.99£25.92
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  Official Legend of Zelda Metal Shield Badge Bi-Fold Wallet - Boxed

  £25.98
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  Mcfarlane Fallout Vault Boy (version 2) 5in Posed Figure Toys

  £19.99

If you're struggling come up with Father's Day gifts for gamers, don't worry; I've got plenty of inspiration for you right here. I'm a card-carrying nerd and a father myself, so have put that knowledge to good use suggesting must-have that I'm pretty sure my fellow geeky dads are gonna love.

Because there's no one-size-fits-all present when it comes to Father's Day gifts for gamers, I've tried to provide a broad sweep of ideas that should cater to a range of interests. No matter whether your loved one adores Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, D&D, or something else entirely, you should find something to suit them here. These cover a range of budgets as well, so don't worry about breaking the bank.

Personally speaking, I'd make a beeline for Paladone at Amazon. They make incredible, officially-licenced merch for everything from Batman to Super Mario, and none of it is overly expensive. You're likely to find something to suit dad there. I don't think you can go wrong with Lego either; there are countless nerdy sets for display (as you can see for yourself via the Lego store), and most interests are represented here. Star Wars, Marvel, retro gaming... you name it.

For more goodies and gift ideas, be sure to check out the best Lego sets or the best Legend of Zelda merch.

A potential Marvel LEGO leak might have revealed a new look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.

In the pictures, which you can see below, we see Doom's silver and green suit. He has that cape and hood from the Fantastic Four post-credits scene, as well as his long, armored boots, and silver detailing on the chest plates.

New Lego leak shows off Doom's design for Doomsday! from r/marvelstudios

However, this leak is far from official, so take it with a pinch of salt. For one thing, LEGO rarely uses stands like the one in the picture, so this could be a fake. But if this leak was real, we'd wager a guess that this minifigure could accompany a rumored Doom bust, or the unannounced $109.99 set.

A Hasbro toy leak has also given us a good look at the Doom suit, too, along with accompanying red energy accessories, which could be a hint at Doom's powerset in the movie.

Despite anticipation for Doom only getting higher every day, we still don't have a very good look at him in live-action. So far, four trailers have been released for Doomsday, but none of them featured Doom himself. We saw him from the side in the Fantastic Four post-credits, so hopefully a full look isn't far away.

A new trailer for Doomsday screened behind closed doors at CinemaCon, though it still hasn't hit the internet. Sadly, a teased announcement from the Russo Brothers that raised hopes the trailer would debut at SXSW London turned out to simply be coffee beans.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows for everything else the MCU has in store. You can also get up to speed on the best Lego sets via our guide.

As a kid, there were few job titles more appealing than ‘Pokemon Trainer’. Thanks to Pikachu and pals, tufts of tall grass quickly became an all-consuming obsession for me in the ‘90s. Whether roaming the Essex countryside on family walks, or peering wistfully out of car windows, my synapses sparked with imagination whenever I saw flashes of foliage, picturing weird and wonderful creatures scuttling just out of sight. Yet, while I partially lived out that fantasy by battling monsters on my monochromatic Game Boy screen, I still secretly dreamed of one day befriending my very own Pokémon.

25 years later, Lego has made my childhood wish come true. Unlike the purely collectible adult-focused recent Kanto models (one of which made its way onto our list of the best Lego sets overall), the next wave of brick-tastic Pokémon sees the cutesy creatures roaring to life. Infused with Lego’s new Smart Brick, slotting one of the tech-stuffed bricks inside your chosen ‘mon - one of 19 - suddenly turns these static toys into gurgling creatures. As Pikachu greets me with an enthusiastic ‘Pika!’ before chowing down on a berry-shaped brick I place in front of him, it elicits an immediate grin from this grumpy 35 year old.

When it was first unveiled in January, I struggled to understand what a Smart Brick actually did. It turns out, this shiny tech transforms your grandad’s Lego brick into a toy that detects motion, has flashing LEDs, and a speaker. Part Buzz Lightyear, part Tamagotchi, these build-able buddies respond whether you rub their belly or decide to train them for battle. However, I quickly discovered that Pikachu wasn’t mine to rope into adventures just yet - I’d have to catch him. After chucking a tiny lego Pokéball at a target built into the playset - hidden behind lego-made tall grass, of course - my yellow friend was ready to journey alongside me. Yet I’m surprised to learn that initially, forming this kind of bond with your Legomon wasn’t actually on the cards - until some kids steered Lego’s designers in the right direction.

“We spent a lot of time with children…they come in for play tests… and they give us input and feedback,” explains Siddharth Muthyala, Lego Pokémon designer, “The biggest thing they've been telling us about is about the Pokémon trainer journey, they want to catch Pokémon, they want to nurture them, train them, battle them. That's something we've heard over and over again. ”

Each Smart Brick recognises the individual Pokémon you've connected it to, embodying their unique personality. When you move Charizard through the air he soars with an authentic ‘wooshing’ sound. Place three Pokémon next to each other and they all begin to chat, vocalising enthusiastically in grin-inducing Poké gibberish. You can feed them either berries or sandwiches, with each ‘mon having their own meal time preferences. Place a Pokémon on their side and they even begin to snore in their own specific way. It’s a surprisingly fun magic trick,.

Still, this is Pokémon after all - and it wasn’t long before these creatures were made to do battle. Once you’ve got your new bricky buddy on side, you can have them hit a target built into the background of the Lego environment that comes with your chosen ‘mon, and their stats will slowly increase, making them stronger for their next battle.

Despite clearly being made for children, I’m surprised to learn that they’ve also catered to the Pokemon nerds out there. Each Pokémon’s stats are based on the video games, with Pokedex-accurate numbers powering their Lego counterparts, even using Type weaknesses to determine attack damage. I’m told that initially, each Pokémon’s digital criteria were far more basic, with this extra depth coming - once again - as a request from young trainers.

“We noticed the kids actually being very, very knowledgeable about the stats,” explains Mike Anderson, smart brick interaction design lead. “They had this social currency system going of 'I know a tonne about this, and I'm gonna tell you everything I know,' and that was really cool! So, we wanted to build that in. I would say it's not 100% one to one with the Pokédex, but we are very inspired by it and the video games.”

As my bricky ‘mon roars to life powered by a microchip, I can’t help but be reminded of yet another sacred artifact of my ‘90s childhood - Small Soldiers. Yet mercifully when Lego’s tech-powered toys do battle, nothing around me erupts into flames. Battling with these Lego ‘mon is simple, but super effective. To trigger a Pokémon battle, trainers need to shake two Smart Brick-powered Pokémon next to each other, and the classic Pokémon battle sound indicates the fight’s begun.

Players can then take on their foe with a fast attack or a charged attack (triggered by a small or large wobble) and then you can dodge and defend by pulling your ‘mon out of the reach of your foes’ attacks. Pokémon's strengths are derived from their stats in the games - meaning that if you have a Mewtwo you’re likely to wipe the floor with Pikachu. The exception is if players have trained the mon, with type weaknesses also being taken into account. As the battle escalates, led lights on their protruding smart bricks indicate their health via three colours. As I soon learn, If you over-shake your Pokemon while attempting to do a charged attack, it can also backfire, stunning your Pokémon and leaving them defenceless. It’s fun, silly stuff - but almost ends in tears. During my first battle, our two Pokemon accidentally collide, with several chunks of poor Pikachu sent flying during the ruckus.

“It’s why these sets are a bit more durable…” says Muthyala, “ the design team spends a lot of time stress-testing to ensure that if they do break, they break in chunks, so for kids it should always be fairly easy to put back together and get back to playing.”

It helps that Lego's second attempt at recreating these iconic creatures look far closer to their original designs. While the chunky, oddly square-looking previous set of Pokemon looked oddly uncanny - we’re looking at you, swollen Pikachu - these 21 new kid-focused bricks look a lot rounder and closer to their cutesy counterparts. Weirdly elongated Umbreon aside, the designs of this new range are far stronger.

The Smart Brick then, makes a great first impression. I’m told that its battery lasts for 45 minutes of intense play, with each stat boost from training reset after each play session, and that these smart bricks will be regularly updated, offering improvements- and potentially new features - in the future. An obvious update would of course be dual Pokémon battles. At launch, battles are limited to 1v1, but I’m told that this is not a technical limitation, but a current design choice.

Of course, this is Lego, and each toy can simply be played with, the old fashioned way. Squirtle comes with a water-projectile firing car, for example, and Gengar’s tongue can be waggled as he defends a spooky forest. Yet it’s the way that the analogue Lego of old and this new found tech collide that the company believes will really inspire a new generation of children.

“I think it's been amazing to see how for children, this smart tech is seamless,” says Muthyala, “ it's not a digital experience or an analogue experience, it's just 'yes, of course the toy comes to life'. For us unlocking that has been really fun…there's been no questions from kids of ‘why?’ it's more like, ‘what more can it do?’”

The tech and Pokémon are undoubtedly a perfect match, and if I had this when I was ten, you can better believe that I would have taken my Lego Pokémon with me absolutely everywhere.

For more collectibles, don't miss the best toys or the best Pokemon merch.

Atari announced Barbie Rewind on June 6, 2026, a game that lets you design her iconic Dreamhouse while playing through a range of classic games, from her 1991 NES adventure to even the previously unreleased Barbie Vacation Adventure for the Genesis (Mega Drive) and SNES. But what drew me to the collection was not that I could re-live some childhood nostalgia, but the fact that it comes packaged with a genuine doll.

If you grab the Barbie Rewind Deluxe Edition for the Nintendo Switch and only the Nintendo Switch for $59.99 at Best Buy, you get a Barbie doll, wearing a pink-styled Atari shirt with matching pink streaks in her hair. This version also includes a poster and is numbered out of 20,000, but who cares about that when there's a special limited edition Barbie up for grabs.

I may be a 30-something-year-old adult, but I have a soft spot for Barbie dolls. Right at this moment, I have a version of Ken in his movie beach get-up, and a Barbie version of the singer Ella Fitzgerald sitting on my desk staring up at me, but this Atari-shirt-wearing version is calling out to me more.

Back in 2016, Mattel released 'Game Developer Barbie', but I regretfully didn't pick it up. Ever since, I've felt remorse that I didn't get to add a game-themed doll to my collection. So it feels serendipitous that I now have the opportunity to add a game-themed Barbie that's not only wearing an Atari t-shirt, but that comes with a physical Switch game that's full of 16 classic Barbie games from over the decades.

Unfortunately, the doll itself isn't fully articulated like more premium Barbie dolls, which is a bit of a bummer. I also can't find the Switch Deluxe Edition in stock at UK retailers besides directly from Atari. Currently, the Amazon product listing is listed as "currently unavailable", but you can bet I'm keeping it bookmarked and updating this piece to give you more buying options if and when they become available.
In case you didn't know, Barbie Rewind is one of the few games to be brave enough to launch on November 12, the same month as Grand Theft Auto 6. As much as I love the GTA series, only one game comes with a doll, so I know which one I'm pre-ordering as soon as I can. Rockstar needs to step up their game.

• View all Nintendo Switch game deals at Best Buy

Check out our guides to the best Lego sets for more game-themed toys and collectibles.

Mattel has just dropped a brand-new doll to its Skullector line-up, and I'm afraid I may have to add to my Monster High collection faster than you say, "Who ya gonna call?"

To commemorate Ghostbusters Day (typically held on June 8 to mark the anniversary of the film's original release in 1984), the doll is based on the iconic baddie from the end of the original Ghostbusters film, and features everything from her iconic pompadour flat-top hairdo to her white bodysuit, but all in a stylised Monster High aesthetic.

The spookily film-accurate doll is available to Fang Club subscribers first, a digital membership that gives doll and fans of the best toys a chance to get access ahead of everyone else. You can add the membership to your basket for £10 alongside the doll, which is available for £79 at Mattel Creations, or wait a few hours until it goes on general sale. Honestly, the extra £10 suits me fine, as I'm prepared to cross streams to add this 10.5 inches tall posable Gozer to my collection.

I grew up on Ghostbusters, and collect Monster High dolls, so you can bet my mouth was as agape as Slimer's in shock when I first laid my eyes on this Gozer doll. Even before I clocked eyes at the name of the latest Skullector release, I instantly knew it was meant to be Gozer from the sparkly bubble detailing across the bodysuit, to that unmistakable heavy eye-shadow and pair of leering red eyes.

When I first caught wind of this new doll, I couldn't contemplate what detail I adored the most. The doll not only recreates the outfit worn by Slavitza Jovan in the 1984 movie, but it comes with adorably small versions of Zuul and Vinz Clortho, and there are even little replicas of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on her heels. Hey Mattel, can you make those human adult-sized, please?

Like all Skullector dolls, even the box packaging is entirely on theme, to the point where I'm not sure I'd want to take her out of it. The background features a replica of the Temple of Gozer as it's shown looming above the streets of New York City in the film, and it's depicted in a style that feels unmistakably '80s in the best possible way.

Now, if only Mattel were to release a Skullector doll of Ghostbuster's HQ's finest secretary, Janine, my Ghostbusters merch dreams would be complete.

• View all Monster High deals at Amazon

Want more toys and collectibles? Check out the best Prime Day Lego deals to keep track of the earliest bargains.

Even with the new Star Fox game barreling its way to the Nintendo Switch 2, Star Fox merch is few and far between.

If and when fans ask me for merch recommendations, I'm not bringing their attention to the official Nintendo store, but Starlink Battle for Atlas Starter Pack, which is now 8 years old and difficult to find new in stock.

That's why I was surprised to find the pack brand new and available for £14.58 at Amazon in the UK this week. If you want one of the only official ways to get a wonderfully detailed replica of the Arwing ship (and a tiny Fox McCloud to put in it), you need to warp speed your way to checkout. I suspect with the new wave of fans generated from Fox's Super Mario Galaxy Movie cameo and the new game launching soon on the Switch 2, that this won't be around for much longer.

Besides the new Star Fox plushies that have dropped in the lead-up to the new game, there hasn't been much in the way of new collectibles featuring the crew for a while now. That's why I always bring in this Battle for Atlas Starter Pack in conversation with other fans, even though I've never actually played the game that's packed inside.

Instead, I'm all about that Arwing toy included in the box, as it's a beauty. I currently have mine sitting amongst my SNES game collection (naturally, as close to the original Starwing as possible), and it looks fantastic - like the ship flew out of Lylat Wars and onto my shelf.

Sure, I'd much prefer to have a modern version of the ship on display, especially one that doesn't feature black sections on the wings intended for equipping it with the weapon add-ons that are included in the pack. However, this is pretty much all there is to Arwing replicas, unless you have 3D printers at hand.

At just £15, this is more than a bargain. Even if it was purely the ship alone, I'd recommend it, but you get the ship, a tiny and adorable Fox which you could put in the cockpit, and a copy of the actual Starlink Battle for Atlas game, which our team's own Sam Loveridge said was, "a fantastic space exploration game, with solid flights, fights and enemies."

With the new Star Fox game heading to Switch 2, I can only assume Nintendo has new merch plans up its sleeves, which will hopefully include new versions of the team's ships. But until then, this starter pack is a great way to get some Star Fox toy rep besides picking up the amiibo or forking out three digits for those over-priced World of Nintendo figures on eBay. Trust me, it's not worth it.

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo gifts and the best Lego sets if you're hunting for more Ninty toys for your collection.

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  Lego Editions Lionel Messi – Football Highlights

  £19.99£24.99
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  Lego Editions Cristiano Ronaldo – Football Highlights

  £24.99
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  Lego Editions Vini Jr. – Football Highlights Toy - 3d Display Model Kit W/collectible Minifigure - Kids' Room Decor - Gift for 10+ Year Old Boys, Girls & Adult Sports Fans - 43027

  £19.99£24.99

With kickoff imminent, World Cup 2026 merch is everywhere. And to be blunt, it's not all created equal. That's why Lego's new football range caught my eye; these are such cleverly creative display pieces, and I can't think of a better way to spend half-time than putting one of them together.

I think the reason I've fallen for these so hard is the fact that they aren't just quick and dirty tie-ins to make the most of FIFA fever. As an example, the 'Football Highlights' collection turns some of today's most beloved players into minifigures shooting goals on display pieces that show off their homelands, laid out on their initials. They look classy enough to give the best Lego sets a run for their money, and better yet, they're pretty cheap - or at least, cheaper than a lot of World Cup 2026 merch.

I've listed my favorite Lego World Cup sets from the range below, but you can check out the full line at Lego's official store. Although there's a chance these get a bigger discount during this year's Prime Day Lego deals, some of the kits are already on offer, so I'd be tempted to suggest diving in now.

For more goodies, why not check out our guide to the best toys?

If you're trying to buy Lego Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition on Switch 2 for that sweet retro minifigure, you'll need detective skills of your own. He is vengeance, he is the night, he is... not always in stock? It may not have the same ring as the Caped Crusader's famous saying, but the point stands.

That's why I've put my own Detective Vision to work trying to find where you can buy Lego Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition on Switch 2. That involves searching high and low across every retailer I can think of, all so you don't have to. If you're hoping to add the Retro Video Game Batman minifigure to your collection of the best Lego sets, this is you best shot. As an example, the only in-stock listing I can find in the US right now is Walmart for $89.99.

I'll be updating this page on the regular with any updates too (especially if it happens to go on offer for this month's Prime Day Lego deals), so don't lose heart if there's no stock available now.

Where to buy Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition in the US

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Deluxe Edition Switch 2 FAQ

Want a quick rundown on everything you need to know about this special edition? Not a problem.

For more real-life collectibles, why not check out the best toys? As for what to do in Lego Batman, be sure to see our Lego Batman coverage for a full rundown of cheats, secrets, and more.

We might still be half the year away from Avengers: Doomsday, but the best look yet at Doctor Doom's suit has arrived.

The glimpse at Doom's villainous attire hasn't arrived via a new trailer, however. Instead, it comes thanks to a toy leak. Images of upcoming Hasbro action figures have hit the internet (H/T Comic Basics), and they reveal Doom's green and silver get up. Check the pictures out below.

The outfit looks pretty similar to what Doom was sporting in the Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits scene, though we only got a sidelong look at him then. On the action figure, we can see that Robert Downey Jr.'s Doom has metal boots, gauntlets, and plating on his chest, along with that swishy green cape, and a black belt of some kind. Of course, he also has that distinctive silver mask, too. All in all, he looks fairly ominous, which is nothing less than we expect from the MCU debut of one of the best Marvel villains ever.

One figure also seems to be accompanied by red fists sizzling with energy, which might hint at Doom's capabilities and power set in the movie.

The leak also reveals a slightly new look for Anthony Mackie's Captain America, too. It looks like he'll have longer red gloves in the Marvel Phase 6 movie compared to his Captain America: Brave New World suit, and the detailing on his shoulders and goggles will be more white than silver.

As for Thor, he already appeared in a short trailer for the film, which revealed he has returned to his Infinity War-era haircut. This action figure also includes his comic-accurate helmet.

Images of action figures for The Thing, Human Torch, and Beast have also surfaced online, though there are no huge surprises about the way they look.

A new trailer for Doomsday debuted behind closed doors at CinemaCon, but it hasn't been released to the public yet. Recently, a teased announcement from the Russo Brothers stirred up hope the trailer would debut at SXSW London… but it turned out to just be coffee beans.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives this December 18. While you wait, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows for everything else the MCU has in store.

I don't think it's an understatement to say that the Bricks and Minifigs controversy has set the community on fire. Actually, a better description might be "poured gasoline over the whole lot before taking a flamethrower to what's left." Usually, fans are kept busy chatting over new kits or the best Lego sets. Now, they're embroiled in discussions about whether a company stole a man's $200,000 Lego Star Wars collection via a YouTuber's documentary that started as a stunt-filled investigation and has ended in an international run from the law involving Utah State Police.

The Bricks and Minifigs controversy is one of the wildest stories I've seen in a while. Because there's so much to get your head around, with multiple conflicting reports and legal shenanigans snarling things up, I've tried to break it all down into bitesize pieces so you can at least get a vague grasp of what's going on. And don't worry, I've got receipts – if you want a more detailed report, I've linked to a few deep dives further down the page.

How it started

• Back in 2023, 83 year-old Ed Mansell (who was suffering from health issues) asked his son Bryan to sell his extensive Lego Star Wars collection, with the money going toward college fees for Bryan's children.
• Bryan makes a contract with a Bricks and Minifigs store in Keizer, Oregon to sell them under consignment (e.g. they sell the kits but take a cut of the sale). The contract states that the kits still belong to Mansell.
• The collection is estimated to be worth $200,000 (that's been brought into question since).
• The Bricks and Minfigs (BaM) store advertises these kits extensively on social media, and begins to sell them.

The issue

• The owners of the Keizer store seek to close or sell their store, though what is said remains disputed.
• A Bricks and Minifigs associate arrives soon after, demands the keys, and kicks out the previous owners. (BaM claims that the owners had threatened to shutter the store, something the owners dispute. It also states that the store owners had violated their franchise agreement, but the owners respond that this is because of a failure on the part of BaM.)
• During the takeover, the previous owners explain about Mansell's consignment and say that they owe him money. (This is caught on the store security camera.) Bricks and Minifigs corporate state that they will "take on the consignment liability."
• When Bryan later asks for his payment or for any unsold sets to be returned, the store's new owners refuse and/or claim there are no sets in-store.
• Bryan challenges this, but says that store employees essentially threaten to bury him with expensive legal fees if he takes it to court.

Influencer backup

• Bryan approaches YouTube influencers with the problem, who document it online and set up a campaign to get the Mansells their Lego – and money – back.
• The YouTubers are apparently hit with threats of legal action, presumably from BaM, so take down their videos.
• Bryan approaches another influencer, Ben Schneider (AKA Reckless Ben), who decides to investigate. Schneider creates an extensive video on the issue called "I tracked down the thief who stole $200,000 of LEGO." It's racked up well over four million views so far.

• During the video, Schneider comes into conflict with the current Keizer Bricks and Minifigs store manager and company CEO when he requests to collect Lego for his "friend" Bryan. (He is then trespassed from the store for life, meaning he can't return.)
• After being trespassed, Schneider engages in a variety of stunts to promote awareness like:
  • Creating fake Lego fan clubs to promote the issue
  • Putting up signs at the store to promote his investigation
  • Submitting numerous small claims against Bricks and Minifigs/the new store owners
  • Creating a company called "We Steal from Old People" with a franchise structure similar to BaM
• Upon Schneider trying to serve court papers to the store owner, the Utah Police Department are regularly called to the owner's property on grounds of stalking and harassment, appearing to side with the store owner in Schneider's footage.
• Schneider also reports that he is stopped by the police after being accused of carrying heroin in his car (found untrue at the scene).
• In addition, Schneider's AirBnB is raided by police, allegedly following tip offs that he was the one who stole the Lego sets.
• Schneider's small claims default in his favor. The Keizer store then shuts down.

The fallout

• Schneider goes on to set up a GoFundMe for Bryan that has currently raised over $444K.
• Bricks and Minfigs launches its response (and follow-up) with claims that:
  • The original consignment was unauthorized (which is disputed)
  • The sets were only worth $60K-$80K
  • It did not formally agree to take on the consignment despite acknowledging a verbal agreement
  • The whereabouts of Mansell's remaining sets is unknown
• Bricks and Minifigs issues a lawsuit against Schneider and Bryan Mansell for what it calls a coordinated campaign of "false accusations, fabricated claims, deceptive practices and manufactured confrontations to extort money, racketeer, profiteer and damage" BaM.
• Bricks and Minifigs sends a cease-and-desist letter to Patreon, with the request that they remove Schneider's Patreon page. Patreon refuses.

• The police post a response of their own that defends their actions. Schneider accesses and posts about body-cam footage which calls this assessment into question.
• Schneider flees to Mexico after a no-bail arrest warrant for him is issued.
• Controversy rages around Mansell and Schneider's claim of a partnership between the store owner and the police based on their reportedly shared affiliation with the Mormon Church. (This has not been confirmed.)
  • Schneider claims to have investigated the officers he says treated him "unfairly" and suggests that they are all practising Mormons. (Again, this is unverified.) This theory becomes referred to on social media as the 'Mormon Mafia.'
• Bricks and Minifigs releases a new post with a multitude of claims, including:
  • The new owners of the Kaizer store have parted ways with BaM apparently because of "a devastating social media campaign"
  • Bryan Mansell and the original store owners supposedly valued his collection at $95K-$100K, not the $200K previously suggested
  • The $200K amount "was never a documented value, simply the promotional value they used to bring excitement for the public viewing"
  • Suggestions of gross negligence against the previous owners
  • An offer from BaM's CEO to meet with Mansell "to discuss dropping the lawsuit" and "ensure you are made whole monetarily"
  • An offer from BaM's CEO to Mansell that "whatever Star Wars LEGO was or remains in the Salem store, whether you identify as yours or not, you can have it"
  • Claims of "significant discrepancies" between point of sale data and what the original owners paid Mansell (the collection apparently earned over $52K at that point, which is "significantly more than was reported")
• Schneider claims in a new post that he has been served with court papers that stop him from talking about Bricks and Minifigs in videos, or he will "go to jail, and not only that, immediately lose my lawsuit." In addition, he suggests that proceeds for Mansell's GoFundMe page would go direct to BaM if he continued to discuss the company.
  • This doesn't permanently silence Schneider on the matter; as explained in this helpful video, it simply stops him until he gets into court to give his side of the story.
• Schneider, Mansell, the original Keizer store owners, and Bricks and Minifigs remain engaged in legal action at the time of writing.

Since this article was first published, Bricks and Minfigs has reached out with the following statement:

"We have worked diligently to resolve the Mansell collection issue. This is an isolated and unfortunate incident related to a single former franchisee and does not reflect the integrity of more than 300 other franchisees.

Much of the reporting on this issue includes inaccurate information, most notably the collection’s value, which is far less than the reported $200,000. Also, at no point did we make any legal attempt to seize the Mansell family GoFundMe account or any other GoFundMe account, nor did we ever approve consignments as an authorized sales process.

Following a thorough legal investigation of this matter, we have determined this former franchisee operated in contrast to corporate’s procedures and expectations for franchisees. As a result, we have enhanced the following procedures across all of our locations, including:

• More rigorous record keeping and inventory management
• Transparency in the buy, sell and trade process
• Comprehensive staff training on professional conduct and corporate protocols"

And there we go – take a deep breath, everyone.

This is a very brief rundown of the issue. If you want to dive deeper into the issue, I'd highly recommend a few different sources: there's Relentless Ben's full investigation on YouTube, 404 Media's roundup of the problem, and Techdirt's massive breakdown. The latter two were tremendously helpful in me making sense of all this, and they go into far greater detail.

As a reminder, everything unproven remains alleged, with the entire story pretty much unfolding through Ben Schneider's own lens.

Want a break from all this? Chill out with the best toys, including the best water guns, or check out the best new Lego sets in June 2026.

It's one of those months where I wish I could win the lottery, because there are so many great new Lego sets in June 2026 to choose from. A Lord of the Rings icon, Shrek, the Sega Genesis... the list goes on. Actually, there are just over 80 models hitting shelves this month, and I'd love to have at least half of them on my shelf.

That's why I've narrowed that lineup down to just three. If you want the very best new Lego sets in June 2026, these are the ones I'd prioritize over everything else. Besides being stunning renditions of pop-culture icons that will draw every eye, they do something a little different so stand out from the crowd. If you ask me, they're also contenders for out list of the best Lego sets - especially Minas Tirith. The community's gone wild for this one, and with good reason. It's absolutely stunning, and I think the only other model that comes close this month is the Disneyland Main Steet model.

I've also listed every single new Lego set coming out in June 2026 further down the page. There are some real gems coming our way, so enjoy doing a bit of window shopping just to see what's out there.

Editor's choice

New Lego sets June 2026

Hoping to get a full and comprehensive breakdown of every new Lego set dropping in June? Your wish is my command. I've rounded up all of the kits arriving this month, ordered alphabetically by theme.

Architecture

Bluey

Botanicals

BrickHeadz

City

Creator 3-in-1

Disney

Fortnite

Friends

Harry Potter

Icons

Ideas

Jurassic World

Marvel

Minecraft

Speed Champions

Shrek

Star Wars

Technic

Other

The pixel Pikachu plush that we collectively lost our minds over earlier this year is now available to buy. I expect nothing less than a stampede to grab one, so brace yourself - or join the queue before it's gone, I guess.

Following its reveal at a Pokemon 30th Anniversary merch event, the 'Pikachu 1996 Style Plush' just became available for $29.99 at the Pokemon Center (or £24.99 if you're based in the UK). Considering how positively feral the community, including me, went for this thing, I feel honor-bound to let you know that it's now up for grabs.

Because there's so much anticipation surrounding this little guy, I have absolutely no doubt that it'll sell out quickly. If you want to guarantee one for your own collection, I'd suggest running - no, sprinting - to the Pokemon Center as soon as you can. I don't mean to sound alarmist, but I've spent a long time tracking both the best Pokemon merch and the card game, and gear as cool as this almost never stays in stock for long; they get snapped up alarmingly fast. I may be wrong, but I suspect the same will be true here.

If you want to grab a nostalgic Pikachu plushie of your own, I'll keep my fingers crossed you get through. Good luck, trainers.

• See today's Pokemon merch deals at Amazon

For more collectibles, why not check out the best toys?

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  God of War t-shirt

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  10-Inch Kratos Plush Toy

  $24.31
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  6” Atreus Action Figure

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  God of War: 20th Anniversary Retrospective

  $65.97$99.99

Kratos is out and Faye is in. The God of War series is shifting away from our titular hero and his boy over to the Everywhen, where Faye is fighting through her own story within the wider Norse narrative. Until God of War Laufey officially hits the shelves, though, merch is still very much limited to Kratos himself.

It's been four years since God of War Ragnarok released, so if you're using the next few months to catch up on all the action before Faye returns to the big screen you might want to do so with a few companions on your side. I've journeyed across the airwaves to bring the best God of War merch to Kratos-ify your setup as you relive the 50-odd hours of newer releases.

From plush toys to PlayStation's own figures, t-shirts to recipe books, there's no shortage of God of War collectibles to aid you on your quest. You'll find all my top picks just below.

We're also rounding up all the best Hideo Kojima merch and the top Resident Evil merch as well.

Lego has produced many massive kits over the years, but now it's outdone them all with its largest ever set.

The Lego Sagrada Família, due to launch on November 1, is an eye-watering 12,000+ pieces strong. That officially makes it 1,000 pieces larger than the previous record holder, the now-retired Lego Art World Map, and bigger than most of the best Lego sets combined. It's around 4K pieces bigger than Lego Minas Tirith as well, which until now was the most impressive Lego model I'd ever seen.

As a result, it also has a price tag to match; the model is $800 from Lego, or £649.99 in the UK. While that's not as expensive as last year's enormous Lego Death Star, it's still on the upper end of the scale in terms of cost. Considering how huge this thing is (it's 24 inches tall and over 18 inches wide), I don't suppose that should come as a surprise.

Recreating one of Barcelona's most iconic buildings, the Lego Sagrada Família is built just like the real thing was; you start on the Apse with Crypt before moving onto the Nativity façade, the Passion façade, the naves, Western Sacristy, and then the six towers. Hopefully it won't take as long to finish as the real basilica, but I think we can safely assume you'll need a big chunk of time set aside to complete this behemoth.

The thing I find the most impressive about this kit isn't its size, or the amount of pieces putting it together. Rather, it's the interior detail. I've been to the real Sagrada Família, and while the exterior is amazing, the inside is breathtaking. A lot of that comes down to the stained glass windows which bathe it with red, orange, blue, purple, and green hues, and that's been recreated here perfectly. It's legitimately impressive, even by Lego's usually high standard.

The kit will arrive on November 1, 2026, but you can pre-order it now. Will you be giving it a try, or would you rather hold that money back for a kit like the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon or Lego Rivendell?

The Tamagotchi was one of the best toys from the '90s. That's not just the nostalgia in me talking as 30 years later, Bandai is still dishing out versions of the iconic digital pet. You can pick up everything from officially licensed versions featuring characters like Star Wars' Grogu to the newer Tamagotchi Paradise, which includes a full-color display, and now, there's an official smartphone collab out there to collect too.

Bandai Namco teamed up with phone accessories brand Casetify to launch a new Tamagotchi range of products, which includes vivid and nostalgia-fueled Y2K-themed phone cases, phone straps, and even collector cards. But most importantly, this collab, which launched on May 29, includes a bona fide limited edition Casetify Tamagotchi, that's exclusive to the brand.

Casetify's accessories are known for not being on the cheap side, and that includes its new Limited Edition Tamagotchi. It's £43 (Casetify), which is more than double the typical £20 MSRP you can expect to pay for a version of the toy based on the original 1996 design. However, it does include a matching translucent blue plastic protective case, which you won't get if you pick up one of the cheaper retro-inspired toys off the supermarket shelf - much to my chagrin.

You're also paying more for the "limited" aspect of it all. The digital pet is decked out in Casetify branding that you can only pick up as part of this collab. Thankfully, that added bit of branding doesn't affect its design too much, as Casetify thought cleverly to change up their logo to make it better tie in with the tiny versions of characters Mametchi (yes, the Tamagotchi pets have names), Ginjirotchi, and Kuchipatchi dotted alongside it and the tiny LCD display.

Sadly, by the time the Casetify Tamagotchi arrived at my door, and I had some time to see how it matched up to the rest of my digital pet collection, it has since sold out. It was available to pick up separately, and as part of two accessory bundles, including a Tamagotchi UFO Bundle Set for £118 (Casetify) and a Tamagotchi Collector Bundle Set for a whopping £703 (Casetify), but as of typing you cannot add it to your online shopping basket.

Which is a shame, because as someone who has amassed a small collection of digital friends, this is one of the best looking I own so far. Its translucent plastic chassis and "whimsical sticker-style design" feels like a design I would have seen lining up the toy shelves back in my late 1990 childhood, and it plays exactly as the toy did then.

You can select from the options to feed, play with, bathe and discipline your egg-pet, and everything from the three-button layout to the handy dandy reset button at the back are all present. The toy will also scream at you in an entirely authentic way, though you can set sounds off if you want a bit of freedom from your nostalgic parental duties.

While that's disappointing that it's sold out, there is more to this collab than just a toy. There's a range of Tamagotchi-themed phone cases, which feature the original '90s characters and even art of the digital pet itself. My favorite add-on from the lot is undoubtedly the Mametchi Phone Strap, which includes a tiny plush version of the pet that you can dangle from your phone, and the Mametchi Plush Earbuds Pouch available for £33 at Casetify, which looks ideal to store a pair of SteelSeries Arctis Game Buds.

The phone cases and accessories are available for a wide variety of gaming phones, including the Samsung Galaxy line, and start from £33 at Casetify. Sure, if you're reading this from a toy-collector standpoint they mustn't sound as exciting, but when you order a case, for example, you can not only pick your phone of choice, but even customize the design. The Egg Phone Case allows you to select from your choice of sprite art to feature on the printed image of the Tamagotchi, which is a unique gimmick that I can't help but appreciate as a '90s toy fan.

Check out the best Nintendo gifts and best Lego sets for more nostalgia-fueled toys and collectibles.

The Lego Pokemon range is evolving, with an impressive 12 new sets due to arrive in August. Crucially, they're all Smart Play – Lego's interactive initiative that "plays back."

Unveiled in a London hands-on attended by GamesRadar+ and available to pre-order now direct from Lego, the Lego Pokemon Smart Play sets include fan-favorites ranging from Gengar to Mewtwo that interact with users. Unlike previous kits such as Lego Pikachu and Poke Ball, they aren't necessarily for display either; unlike these mind-blowing Lego Pokemon cards, they're younger-leaning playsets with a lower price-tag.

"The range allows children to build, train, nurture and battle their Pokémon through interactive, screen-free play," Lego writes in its press release. "Powered by LEGO SMART Play™, the sets respond to how children play through light, sound, motion and sensing technology, bringing Pokémon adventures to life in entirely new ways." This puts them in a similar position to the Super Mario interactive figure range – AKA some of the best Lego sets for kids. Bring them into contact with items or other Pokemon to hear them react.

Two sets feature the Smart Bricks and charger you need to make it all work; the Training House with Pikachu and Charizard vs. Jolteon Ultimate Battle All-in-One packs. The remaining 10 sets feature Smart Tags that interact with Smart Bricks, but no the Smart Bricks themselves.

Here are all the different Lego Pokemon Smart Play sets launching on August 1, 2026.

This is the second wave of Smart Play kits; before now, they were only available as part of the Lego Star Wars range. While fan response has been mixed up until now (with criticisms emerging over cost, accuracy of designs, and generated sound rather than audio clips from the source material), Lego representatives told me at the London Toy Fair earlier this year that children's response to the range had been positive. I have a strong suspicion that the same thing will be true here – and to be honest, I think what the kids feel is more important in this case. After all, this is very much for them.

What do you think of the new range?

• See all Lego Pokemon sets at Lego

For more cool collectibles, don't miss the best toys or the best Pokemon merch.

The beacons are lit and Gondor has put in a polite request for your assistance, because Lego Minas Tirith is now available. Well, for some lucky sausages it is.

Following an impressive reveal last month that had fans ready to ride for ruin and the world's ending (I certainly was, as this may beat my number-one Lego set of all time), there's been a lot of anticipation for the massive Lord of the Rings set. However, considering how quickly other premium kits have gone onto backorder, I suspect the same thing might happen here with Lego Minas Tirith. Fortunately, there's an easy way to get around any scarcity.

While most people have to wait until June 4 to grab the White City, Lego Insiders can dive in now; they're able to grab the model from June 1, AKA right this minute. And because you can become a Lego Insider for free with minimum effort, it's well worth doing if you want to guarantee your copy of Lego Minas Tirith. Essentially, the 'Insider' program is a fancy name for Lego's on-site sign in. Sign up with an account and you're automatically an Insider, no questions asked. You can then add this kit to your bag.

I've been busily building Lego Minas Tirith for review, and it's just as impressive in person as it is online. The scale of this thing is ridiculous; it comes in a massive chest with multiple boxes of parts and two chunky instruction booklets (that I've found so far, anyway). I'm already in love with the attention to detail, so while I'll hold off a final judgement until I've placed the final brick, signs so far are very good. This could easily be up there with the best Lego sets like Lego Rivendell and the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon.

• See all Lego Lord of the Rings sets at Lego

Looking for more cool collectibles? Be sure not to miss our guide to the best toys.

Just a few months after the toy company put out a call for fan-made Lego Pokemon card submissions, the finalists are in – and honestly, I can't decide which one I love more. They certainly give the best Lego sets a run for their money in terms of creativity.

Although more than 750 designs have been submitted so far, only five have been put into the fan vote by Lego. Their popularity will help determine which one becomes an official kit in the not-so-distant future (Lego makes the final call, but takes community preference into consideration), so make sure you get your vote in before the June 11 cutoff if you want your favorite to become a real model you can buy.

The five contenders all take a very different approach, with some creating a 2.5D scene while others opt to have their Pokemon literally leaping through the card. The 'Joltik Charges Up!' set has the electric bug smashing through the top of a card and sending electricity blasting off to the sides, for example, while 'The Mythical Arceus' has the Legendary pocket monster cantering through a hoop in the middle of the card like a prize show dog. The advantage to this latter approach is that both Pokemon can be removed from the frame and displayed separately.

While these are very, very cool (I'm a particular fan of Rowlet leaping out from a riverside scene in 'Rowlet Razor Leaf'), I think my vote has to go to 'Gyarados: Sunset Splash.' It may not be as imaginative as Joltik or as cute as 'A Mew Soaring High,' but it's the one that most looks like a Pokemon card and would likely be the most practical to both make and display.

No matter what's chosen, they'll make a very different kind of model compared to the existing range. The current kits are all supersized figures (even the smallest, Lego Eevee, is several inches long) that sit alone or come with a display stand like the one seen with Lego Pikachu and Poke Ball. By contrast, these feel more at home in Lego's Art range.

Which one are you going to vote for?

• See all Lego Pokemon sets at Lego

For more cool collectibles, don't miss our guides to the best toys or the best Pokemon merch.

Summer is knocking on the door with heatwaves and scorching weather, so everyone's scrambling to find good but cheap water guns. But here's the thing; not all Super Soakers or water pistols are created equal. Some provide more of a disappointing dribble than a deluge.

That's why I've trawled through countless user reviews and called upon our knowledge here covering the best water guns to bring you the ultimate summer selection of Super Soakers and water pistols. If you want cheap but high-quality water guns that are going to delight rather than dampen spirits, the internet seems to agree that these are the ones to get.

Personally speaking, I'm a big fan of the Super Soaker Hydro Frenzy. Although I prefer the sci-fi SpyraGo overall, the Frenzy is far cheaper and ups the fun-factor with two flexible tubes that can be locked into place for traditional firing or let loose to soak everyone in your path. That's what water guns should be, to me; a whole lot of silly fun. As it so happens, these other recommendations have that in spades.

Cheap water guns in the US

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to take a look for yourself, simply head to this Amazon list; it's arranged by bestseller status, meaning you'll only see options that customers have flocked to.

Cheap water guns in the UK

Looking forward to breaking out water guns for the heatwave? No problem. I've got UK-specific suggestions for you too, though it's worth noting that the lineup is a little different. Here are the blasters that fellow shoppers and our experts have fallen in love with!

• See all water gun deals at Amazon

For more ways to enjoy the summer, don't miss our guide to the best toys or the best Nerf blasters.

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  Otaku Mode

  Dragon Quest Smile Slime Plushie L Slime: Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary Ver.

  $36/99
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  Square Enix

  Smile Slime Mug

  $32.98 $37.98
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  Square Enix Dragon Quest Metallic Monsters Gallery Goldman

  $31.88
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  Good Smile Dragon Quest: the Legend of Dai: Dai Nendoroid Action Figure, Multicolor

  $60.88

The Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary draws near. With four decades to its name, this Square Enix-owned franchise has no shortage of merchandise for fans to collect, including everything from plushies, action figures, and even homeware - and you can bet there's plenty of Slimes to be found across the lot.

You can grab Slime mugs, Slime plushies, and even a Slime model kit so you can create your own. To celebrate the game's big birthday, Square Enix has even created a special 40th anniversary Slime plush. The big, blue guy is wearing a crown and a 40th rosette to celebrate the momentous anniversary that kicks off on May 27 2026, and is expected to release in July later this year.

If the spawn rate for Slime merch is a bit overbearing, don't fret. There are plenty of other toys available, including a Nendoroid figure of Dai from the Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai anime series, and the Dragon Quest Illustrations artbook featuring a round-up of Akira Toriyama's best art that was released for the last major anniversary. To suit all manner of collections, I've gathered some of the best Dragon Quest merch below. If you don't see something you like, there's bound to be plenty more where they came from once the anniversary celebrations get going.

Check out the best Nintendo gifts and the best Lego sets for more collectibles inspired by the best and longest game franchises.

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  Amazon

  Lego Batman Tumbler Vs. Two-Face & the Joker

  $47.99 $59.99
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  Lego Batman Logo

  $79.95
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  Lego Batman Arkham Asylum

  $299.99

Do you have an urge to build Lego Batman sets for real now that Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has swooped onto shelves? Same here. And as it happens, the open-world adventure inspired by the Arkham Asylum series is far from the only cool Lego property based on the Caped Crusader.

I've been reviewing the best Lego sets for GamesRadar+ for years now, so have put that experience to good use in recommending what I think are the best Lego Batman sets currently on shelves. A few are hot off the presses, while others are a bit older and harder to find these days - but still well worth checking out. Each one should be the perfect complement to Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.

There are plenty of alternatives available, of course, and Lego's currently making a brick-based version of each movie Batmobile. But for me, these are the most compelling options available right now for fans of the Dark Knight. I'm particularly keen on Arkham Asylum, for example; besides being the kind of grand diorama that draws every eye to it, it's chock-full of references and features most of the iconic rogues' gallery. It's the ultimate Bat-set, if you ask me.

Naturally, there are so many other kits that you can grab based on the Batman mythos, and you'll find the majority of them at Amazon.

As for the new video game, be sure to check in on our hub for the Legacy of the Dark Knight; you 'll find guides on hard-to-find collectibles, costumes, locations, and more.

• See all Lego Batman deals at Amazon

For more cool collectibles, don't miss our guide to the best toys or the best Nerf blasters. It's also worth dropping in on the best water guns!

Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship might not be as familiar to the masses as the X-Wing, TIE Fighter or Millennium Falcon, but among Star Wars fans, the bounty hunting vessel that spanned both the original and prequel trilogies is just as iconic. And yet, up until 2025, the ship’s striking-blue Attack of the Clones guise had only ever featured as a mainline set way back in 2002.

Lego was much more dedicated to delivering the vessel under the proprietorship of fan-favorite, Boba Fett, going so far as to release the UCS Slave I (75060) back in 2015. This representation of the starship as it appeared in The Empire Strikes Back has become a coveted UCS classic and one of the best Lego sets ever released. So much so, I found it hard to believe that the formula could be improved upon.

Still, as a self-confessed Fett superfan, I jumped at the chance to add Jango’s infamous ship to my personal collection. If you haven’t built a UCS set before, the Ultimate Collector Series is Lego Star Wars’ premium range, boasting its largest and most prototypically accurate sets. As such, I won’t hold back my judgment. After all, Lego has set the bar exceedingly high.

Lego UCS Jango Fett’s Starship (75409) Features

• 2,970 pieces
• 18+ age rating
• One exclusive minifigure

The Lego Star Wars UCS Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409) retails for $299.99 / £259.99, which sits at the lower end of the price-per-piece average. Compare this set to, say, the UCS Lego Star Wars AT-ST Walker (75417) at £179.99 / $199.99, for roughly half the number of pieces, and it’s not a bad price for a Lego set in 2026.

It’s also worth remembering that Lego sets get discounted more frequently nowadays, and indeed, I picked this set up for a healthy discount, making it extremely good value. I’m a big fan of these mid-range UCS sets, because they’re big enough to be a real show-stopping centerpiece, while avoiding the extremely expensive price tags of giants such as the UCS Millennium Falcon (75192) and UCS Jabba’s Sail Barge (75397).

Lego Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409) build

• 10-hour build
• A challenge to put together
• 25 stickers

If you’ve built the original UCS Slave I (75060) then Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409) will feel somewhat familiar, but maybe not quite as familiar as you’d expect. While the protruding central structures are similar in concept, this latest incarnation’s ovular rear is much more accurate, and to achieve this almost perfect curvature, the designers have taken a noticeably different route.

What I can’t get my head around is that despite this set being roughly the same size as its predecessor, its piece count is increased by nearly 50%. That’s 2,970 pieces spread across 23 paper-bagged sections as opposed to just 1,996 pieces. When you pick this thing up, you suddenly realize where those extra pieces have gone – it’s heavy.

Unlike the UCS X-Wing Starfighter (75355), which is largely dominated by its gangly S-foils and the UCS AT-ST Walker (75417) with its large, hollow interior, Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship is dense. The hull is built by layer upon layer of Lego bricks and Technic pieces and don’t you know it when you attempt to pick this hefty lump of a set up.

Not to take anything away from Lego’s incredible designers here, but usually, when you build a Lego set, you at least know where it’s going. Most pieces slowly reveal the bigger picture, like a comic-book artist’s sketch. But building this UCS set is a little like watching Bob Ross splotch seemingly random blobs of paint all over the canvas, before the picture reveals itself later down the line.

I spent a good portion of this build marvelling as abstract collections of pieces slowly revealed themselves, which built anticipation, but would certainly struggle to hold the attention of Lego padawans. Speaking of, this set certainly earns its 18+ moniker. I’ve built a lot of Lego sets in my time, and this sits right up there with the UCS Republic Gunship (75309) as one of the hardest I’ve built.

The odd, questionable instructions diagram doesn’t help, but this is an advanced build nonetheless. It relies on a lot of Technic pieces to achieve some very tricky angles, as well as to securely hold sections together. As any Lego fan will know, Technic pieces don’t always play ball, so be prepared for a little trial and error when trying to get multiple axles to clip into place.

The often abstract nature of this build makes it easy to miss pieces, too. On several occasions, I had to backtrack because I ended up with a piece that was simply too large to be a spare at the end of a bag (one was buried very deep!). And yet, this is the kind of challenge you want with a UCS build. I was a model maker in a past life and Lego is never that challenging (I wouldn’t want it to be), but this set is utterly deserving of its UCS moniker, and I had a blast putting it together.

As far as fun build techniques go, this set makes great use of clips to subtly change a section’s orientation so you can get the perfect angle. There are a few creative instances where studs don’t actually connect and a piece is slotted into a position where it’s secured but not physically bound.

A lovely example of the designers’ ingenuity is two light green, triangular plates on either side of the ship’s entry ramp. You wouldn’t know it, but this crazy angle is achieved by pressing each plate onto a rod connected to a ball joint, which you can then angle into the desired position.

The entry ramp itself deserves a mention, too. Press it down, and the entrance to the ship is automatically raised, thanks to a hidden mechanism built using various Technic beams and pins. It’s a simple mechanism, but it works beautifully and is a step up from the hinged flap on the previous incarnation.

What I don’t enjoy when building a Lego set is stickers. I know they’re a necessary evil, but when it comes to the Ultimate Collector Series, I feel very strongly that stickers should be kept to a minimum and we should be treated to more printed pieces. There are very few printed pieces in this set. In fact, beyond the two minifigures and the plaque, I think that’s about it.

I can understand that exterior stickers are necessary to replicate the paint job – take care when applying two very long stickers, either side of the canopy – but I’m not impressed that all of the cockpit panels are stickers. I also really dislike having to add minuscule stickers to two-studded tiles. These are arguably the most challenging to apply neatly, and when the Lego Ideas Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (21360) gets five exquisitely printed golden tickets, I can’t understand why this set can’t get three printed Aurebesh tiles.

But the most egregious sticker faux pas regard that huge (and admittedly delightful) cockpit canopy and the seismic charge on the ship's rear. I thought cockpit canopy stickers were a remnant of the dark times. The UCS X-Wing has a printed canopy, the UCS Razor Crest (75331) has a printed canopy, heck, even the Dark Falcon (75389) playset has a one-off, gorgeous red-and-black printed canopy.

So you can imagine my surprise when I was faced with two (albeit small) stickers to place on the huge centrepiece cockpit canopy of Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship. And guess what? I was so focused on getting them lined up perfectly, I put them in the wrong place! Thankfully, I was able to carefully peel them both off and reposition them, but if I hadn’t been able to, it would have ruined this glorious-looking ship.

As for the seismic charge, it’s barely two inches long, and it features five stickers. Four of these stickers wrap around the pair of 2x2 domes. I applied them all on my first attempt (they weren’t stuck down and then reapplied), but a week later, I spun the ship around and found that each end of all four stickers had lifted. This simply isn’t good enough for an Ultimate Collector Series set.

Lego UCS Jango Fett’s Starship (75409) design

• Incredible accuracy
• Slide-out interior
• Premium Jango Fett Minifigure

This set looks fantastic. Despite the UCS Slave I being over a decade old, I really didn’t think that Boba Fett’s iconic ship needed to be revisited any time soon due to its incredible accuracy. The Attack of the Clones variant clearly gave Lego an excuse to return to the bounty hunters’ modded Firespray under Jango’s ownership and now that I’ve built it, it’s a definite step up.

The original UCS Slave I still looks incredible, but it’s not nearly as refined. I can liken it to already impressive last-gen graphics that have just been treated to a modern remaster. It’s only when you go back to the original that you realise how much has been improved.

The OG ship was always a bit of an outlier in regards to other Original Trilogy vehicles such as the X-Wing, AT-AT and Star Destroyer. Get past the battered paint job and you’re left with a sleek and curvaceous vehicle that’s more in line with prequel designs such as the Republic Gunship and Naboo Starfighter than the lived-in rust buckets of Star Wars' ‘70s and ‘80s roots.

This isn’t an angular AT-AT, it’s a very difficult ship to replicate in Lego form, and the designers have gone beyond what I thought possible. Gaps are minimal and curves are accurate, surely it can’t get any better than this? Even the rear of this ship is a real treat, showcasing just how well Lego has nailed the ovular shape.

The ship is full of lovely details, too. I particularly like the stabilizer fins on either side of the ship. Not only do they look fantastic, but they freely rotate depending on whether the ship is displayed upright or landed. The twin blaster canons at the base of the ship can be rotated by hand and share a fixed axle, so they spin in unison.

The back of the ship is almost as detailed as the front, with particular care and attention paid to the sublight engines, which feature a fluorescent-yellow coloring that really pops. An often overlooked touch is the transparent 1x1 square panels and 1x1 circular tiles that are evenly spread across 11 places on the ship’s rear. These subtly raise the ship when it’s in a landed position to give the impression that it’s hovering slightly, as per the movies.

The seismic charge can be hidden behind a pair of panels or the panels can be moved aside to reveal the weapon. Unfortunately, you have to physically move the panels by pulling them off and reattaching them. It’s easy to remove them when the hatch is open, but when it’s closed, you really need to pull down the flap beneath the hatch to prise off the doors.

I can’t imagine it would have been too hard to introduce a sliding door mechanism here, and indeed, there are mods out there that do just that. The charge itself is fiddly to remove, and if you’re not careful, it will fall into the belly of the ship. I can only assume that’s why Lego included the aforementioned flap, since you can open that up and tip the ship to retrieve a lost charge.

While I love building UCS sets, I’m a sucker for a good playset, and what I really like about Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship is that it has the rare distinction of being a UCS set that’s roughly minifigure scale. This means that both Jango and Boba fit neatly into the cockpit, and what a fantastic little cockpit it is. And while I stand by wanting more printed pieces, I do like the sticker that contains a yellow outline of the ship, this is actually seen off to Jango’s right in the movie, although I kind of wish the other sticker featured Obi-Wan’s Jedi starfighter, as per the movie, too.

You can fit three minifigures in the main bridge and below, there’s passenger seating for two more. A lovely touch is that the bridge slides out so you can easily add/remove figures. This does mean that it doesn’t rotate, like the Boba Fett UCS set, so that the cockpit is properly orientated depending on whether the ship is displayed on its stand or lying flat. But I think both the easier access and the passenger seating are a fair tradeoff.

You also gain access to a hidden back panel when the cockpit is removed, which features a small bacta tank and storage for Jango’s pistols and jetpack. There’s no official storage for the helmet, but I’ve found that you can slide it neatly onto the back of one of the seats and it’ll stay put.

I was initially concerned about how stable the ship would feel on the comparatively small stand, given its hefty weight. However, the stand does seem to be plenty sturdy. You do have to be careful when handling the ship itself, as there’s really no obvious way to grip it. I generally hold the protruding body of the ship while supporting the rear with my other hand.

When it comes to attaching the stand, there are two not-so-obvious gaps on the rear of the ship, where the stand slots in. I find it’s best to bring the stand to the ship (as opposed to the other way around). Once slotted in place, you can carefully rest both the ship and the stand on a flat surface.

As for the stability of the ship itself, I think it’s fine. I have seen complaints online of bits falling off, but I really haven’t experienced that. Despite the minifigure scale, it’s important to remember that this is first and foremost a set for display. It’s not built to be flown around the room like a playset.

You won’t find me complaining about the number of minifigures included in this UCS set. Jango and Boba are all we needed and they’re both here. But when it comes to quality, it’s a tale of two halves. I firmly believe that UCS sets should include definitive versions of each minifigure and while Jango is the best version of the Mandalorian yet, Boba is a downgrade in quality from the minifigure that was included in 2017’s Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive (75191).

Lego has never gotten the color of Boba or Jango’s purple-hued fabrics quite right, but the lighter sleeves on this latest incarnation of young Boba simply don’t look as good as the previous generation’s darker sleeves. I also preferred the predecessor’s mischievous face print, but perhaps the most egregious change is the young clone’s hairpiece. The 2017 figure’s medium-length middle parting was spot on, but for some reason, Lego has swapped this out for a messy side-swept fringe that makes Boba look more like the sixth member of My Chemical Romance than a Mandalorian clone…

Thankfully, Jango is everything you could ask for from a modern Lego Star Wars minifigure. He’s essentially the same excellent figure that featured in the Jango Fett’s Starship (75433) playset, but with one key difference: printed arms. If you know anything about Star Wars minifigures, you’ll know that the Fetts have a bit of history when it comes to printed arms, *ahem* Cloud City (10123), and already this minifigure is fetching a pretty price online.

You get exquisite printing throughout, face (front and back), torso (front and back), hips, legs and feet are all printed, and the helmet is beautiful. My only real critique comes from the Obi-Wan Kenobi minifigure in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi Starfighter (75333). Kenobi’s face print features the headset that he wears in the cockpit, and it really would have been the icing on the cake if Lego had treated Jango in a similar fashion.

Should you buy the Lego UCS Jango Fett’s Starship (75409)?

I was ready to award this set five stars, something it deserves on so many levels. But I cannot get away from the fact that awkward sticker placements, a below-par Boba Fett minifigure, and the occasionally frustrating instructional diagram prevent a perfect score. And I don’t Force push that half a star away lightly. I’m always more critical of Ultimate Collector Series sets because of the investment in time and money, and also the incredibly high bar that Lego has set for itself.

Despite all that, this is still one of the most impressive UCS sets Lego has ever released. The UCS Slave I (75060) was supposed to be as good as it gets and it boggles my mind that Lego’s designers were able to go one better. Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship is a marvel of modern building techniques and is one of the most advanced models Billund has ever produced.

Other plus points include a sublime Jango Fett minifigure, a relatively reasonable price point, and a stunning little interior. Prequel-era UCS sets don’t come along often. If you’re a fan of Attack of the Clones, Jango or the prequels in general, this is one set you don’t want to miss. Jango might have been just a simple man, trying to make his way in the universe, but his starship is as complicated as it gets (in Lego form at least...).

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Lego Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409)

This review sample was purchased by me for my personal collection.

I built the Lego Star Wars UCS Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship (75409) in multiple sittings over the course of a week. I then displayed it in my study before photographing it – this gave me a chance to move the set around to test its stability and play features.

I’ve been a hardcore Star Wars fan since the late ‘90s, and have been collecting Lego since the beginning of the decade. From Pirates to Bionicle and beyond, you can rest assured that I’ve got the brick-building experience and Jedi training to critique Lego’s latest.

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

For more from a galaxy far, far away, don't miss the best Star Wars toys.

I can understand why Lego Pokemon hasn't gelled with some fans. While I'd argue that some deserve a spot on our list of the best Lego sets (like the adorable Lego Eevee), others… well, they've proven a little controversial. Did you know that there were some genuinely great alternatives, though?

Enter Mega. This Lego rival has been creating Pokemon sets for a long time, and you know what? They're pretty great, and reasonably priced. Especially today. There's currently a mega-sale on toys at Woot, and you can save a lot of cash on everything from plushies to the aforementioned Mega Pokemon sets. While some of the best toys are included in the lineup, my eyes were drawn to these blocky versions of the pocket monsters; they're boasting some of the biggest reductions.

So, which ones should you get? I've listed a few of my favorites from the sale below.

Of course, there are plenty more offers where they came from. Just remember to be quick; these discounts may not last long.

• See all today's toy offers at Woot

For more cool toys, why not check out the best Nerf blasters or the best water guns?

Last week, I arrived home from a funeral and decided to pop into my home office to make sure everything was prepared for the return to work day ahead. As I sat down to log-in my laptop, still feeling a bit wobbly from the day I had, I was greeted by the Nintendo Talking Flower toy informing me that "wasn't life great."

That was the point where I decided it was time to take its batteries out.

Why not just turn it off, you say? Well, you see, for some bizarre reason, Nintendo didn't think to include an off switch with this toy. You can mute it by holding down the large oval button in its plant pot, where it'll hushly reply, "I'll keep quiet for a while." But unlike plenty of the best toys out there, there is no way to power it down without getting a screwdriver out and having at that AA battery compartment. And trust me, I looked.

I spent a good hour or so trying to find any semblance of an off switch, until I did the thing I moan at my mum to do with every tech issue "just Google it." That's where I discovered that the official Nintendo Support page has a whole section dedicated the toy, and one of the prepared questions is "is there a way to turn off the Talking Flower?". That leads me to believe that many more people, hopefully those who came to the realisation way before I did, have reached out in attempts to shut the flower up for good, and were as bemused by the talk of an off switch as I was.

The underside of the plant pot reveals a series of buttons, so I just assumed one relating to the power would be around somewhere - but alas, you can adjust the time, language, and how loud this thing talks, but not stop it from talking altogether.

To actually get the Talking Flower to "remain silent for an extended period" Nintendo states you have to remove the batteries, which is more easily said than done. The battery compartment requires a screwdriver to access, and despite being the GamesRadar+ hardware best SSDs for gaming reviewer, I don't keep mine at arms length. Yet once I finally did look it out and remove the batteries from their chatty prison, I was greeted by a welcome silence. That fear that the Talking Flower would sound off during a work meeting was finally no more, and I was happy to hear it - or should I say, unhear it.

In all fairness to the Talking Flower, it's not its fault that it just so happened to sound off at the worst possible time. It's a plastic version of a Super Mario toy. How was it supposed to know I'd just come back from a day saying goodbye to a friend? You could also place blame on myself, as I very easily could have placed the toy on silent mode before I left the house to avoid the awkward situation, it just wasn't the predominant thing on my mind, funnily enough.

I had sooner expected it to rattle through its wealth of other sound bites that would have been more appropriate for the day. While the thing does repeat itself a lot, I imagine hearing "let's take a breath" would have been far more comforting in the moment. But in all honestly, the Talking Flower's days have been numbered for a while now, so there was bound to be one moment that'd push me over the edge.

Every and every morning, I instinctively wait for it to wake up and hold its button to make it quiet. The only times it's on and talking is usually on at the weekend, a time when I don't have much reason to be in my office. For weeks now, every time I press and hold that big brown button, I knew it'd make more sense just to turn the thing off for good, it was just a matter of when I'd actually get the motivation to do just that.

I was also warned by our team's toy and merch expert, Benjamin Abbot, who when first describing the toy, said it had a "penchant for chaos." Despite knowing how much I adore Super Mario merch, he did iterate that it would get annoying fast, and sure enough, I should have listened. I only lasted 69 days from its March 12 release date until enough was enough. If I headed Benjiamin's warnings, I could have saved myself the annoyance and £24.99 to put towards a Super Mario toy that doesn't talk back.

But I entirely understand if you actually quite like the Talking Flower while we may not, especially if you recently completed Super Mario Wonder for the first time. I recently picked up the Meetup in Bellabel Park Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack and forgot how funny the character is in the context of the actual game. Replaying through some courses almost made me feel pretty bad for the guy and reach for those batteries, but I fortunately stopped myself.

If you do want some plastic representation of the Talking Flower, I'd much rather recommend you grab the Captain Toad & Talking Flower amiibo available for $34.99 at Amazon instead. It's not as large as the talking toy, but you still get a plastic representation of the flora without the fear that it'll talk back and make an already bad day that much worse.

For merch that doesn't talk back, check out the best Nintendo gifts.

As an total Disney Parks nerd, the reveal of the new Lego Main Street USA set made my day. Besides recreating the first thing visitors see when they arrive at Disneyland or Disney World, it's filled to the brim with references - some obvious, others less so.

Natrurally, that means I'm honor-bound to rustle up a list of all the Disney Parks references I've been able to find in the Lego Main Street USA set so far. Because we deserve something nice today, yeah? There's certainly enough to be going with; if initial impressions are anything to judge by, this kit (which is based on the original Disneyland in Anaheim) challenges some of the best Lego sets in terms of how much there is to see.

Want to skip ahead and check the model out for yourself? While it's not up for pre-order just yet, you can get a good look via the official Lego store.

Walt Disney family apartment

One of the most notable references would have to be the Disney family's apartment, positioned above the fire station just like in Disneyland. This cozy space - complete with red carpet and fittings, as in the real thing - is based on Walt's personal home away from home in the parks. He and his family would stay and/or entertain guests here when in Disneyland, and he'd always leave the lamp in the window on to tell visitors he was around.

Fun fact: the apartment is still there, and its lamp now stays permanently lit as a tribute to Walt.

Sneaky nods to other attractions

Look closely and you'll find that the top part of the Lego Emporium store is dedicated to other Disney Parks attractions. There's the Disneyland Railroad and the Snow White castle, of course, but the Haunted Mansion is also in there on the left.

Reference-geddon in the Disneyland Emporium

The Disneyland Emporium is crammed with merch in real-life, and the Lego version is just as busy; I've spotted teeny posters on merch stands dedicated to Star Wars (a la Grogu), Marvel's Groot, and Tangled. There are also 'toy' versions of iconic characters on display just as they are in the Disney Parks, like Wall-E, the Up house, and boxed action figures for everyone from Woody and Buzz to Captain America and Iron Man.

Dapper Dans

You'll find Disneyland's own barbershop quartet (the ones in the multicolored waistcoats pictured above) ready to sing their hearts out in this set, and that's only right; they hang out on real-world Main Street USA.

Minnie ears

I might be wrong, but I don't think we've seen this Disney Parks staple in Lego form before. There are multiple versions of the mouse ear headbands on display in the shops and on various minifigures, along with the Mickey Mouse ear hat equivalent.

Main Street staples

Alongside the old-timey popcorn stand that you'll always find on Main Street USA in the parks, one of the guests is clutching a churro (another Disneyland favorite). In addition, you'll be able to see the Main Street trash can design dotted along the road. This is a surprisingly iconic fixture (with merch of its own, no less), so it's cool to see in Lego form.

There's also a green bench visible beside the firestation. The Main Street benches are normally brown, so I'd like to think this could be a reference to the green bench from Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round that Walt Disney is meant to have dreamt up Disneyland on - it was on display in Main Street at one point, after all.

• See all Disney sets at Lego

For other collectibles worth putting on your shelf, don't miss the best toys.

Prepare yourselves, Disney parks fans, because an official Lego Main Street USA set is on the way.

While you'll find a Main Street USA at the entrance of almost every Disney park (be it Walt Disney World or overseas resorts like Disneyland Paris), this miniature version is inspired by the original Disneyland in California. Besides including beloved locations and mainstays like the Dapper Dan barbershop quartet, this model is littered with references. With nearly 4,000 pieces, it's also big enough to challenge some of the best Lego sets. That means it's also full of hidden references to Disneyland and beyond.

While it'll be a delight for any Disney parks fan (it recreates sights seen around the world, from the window displays laden with movie references to the Emporium shop and popcorn stands), this version is specifically based on the Disneyland Anaheim site. That means it's got the Disney family's apartment above the fire station (complete with the lamp in the window that'd always be on when Walt was staying there) and the Crystal Arcade.

Because Main Street classically leads up to the castle (the focal point of the main Disney parks), and a Lego version of the Disney World castle exists too, fans can now theoretically recreate that portion of the happiest place on earth at home. Add in the now-retired Disney Train and Station for the ultimate Main Street setup.

Now we just need a Lego take on the original Snow White Castle...

• See all Disney sets at Lego

For more cool collectibles, don't miss the best toys.

Resident Evil Requiem has come and gone. I'm still having nightmares of being stalked down barely-lit corridors by monstrous, mutated creators, but I'd be willing to dive back into the horrors with the amiibo in my arsenal.

The Resident Evil Requiem amiibo were first unveiled during a Nintendo Direct showcase earlier this year, but it wasn't until May 18 that pre-orders finally dropped online. The tiny plastic versions of Grace Ashcroft and Leon appeared for $29.99 at GameStop each, but subsequently sold out minutes later.

These figures are GameStop exclusives in the US, so if you weren't quick to secure your amiibo, your chances now are pretty slim. In the UK, the situation is even worse. The NFC-collectibles haven't appeared at any retailer to date. Even the official Nintendo UK store has yet to list them, which is the best place to find all the latest 2026 amiibo releases. They are, at least, available to import from Amazon Japan for £14.80 (Amazon) each (about $20), but that comes with the likelihood of customs fees and long shipping times.

As a big amiibo fan who's eager to try and grab these figures for my own collection, I've been keeping an eye on stock across US and UK retailers. While things look bleak, I haven't given up hope just yet, especially as users of the r/residentevil subreddit shared that they were back on the shelves shortly after the initial sellout. There's every chance this could happen again, and so to be prepared, I've gathered all the links you should be bookmarking down below and will be checking back in to help you secure your Resi toys too, spaghetti-looking plastic hair included.

Where to buy Resident Evil amiibo in the US

Where to buy Resident Evil amiibo in the UK

Resident Evil Requiem Amiibo FAQ

• Join GamesRadar+ Deals on WhatsApp for our top daily discounts

Check out these 12 Resident Evil collectibles if you're hunting down the best survival horror merch.

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  Amazon

  Star Wars The Black Series Mandalorian & Grogu Action Figures

  $34.97
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  Amazon

  Joffrey's Coffee - Star Wars Precious Cargo Blend (ground, 11oz)

  $19.99
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  Amazon

  Squishmallows Original 8in Star Wars Grogu Plush

  $15.90
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  Loungefly Star Wars The Mandalorian Grogu & Anzellan Bucket Crossbody Bag

  $61.49 $75.00
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  Lego Star Wars Razor Crest

  $149.95

I'm sorry to say that the epidemic 'Baby Yoda' fever is back now that the movie is Force-jumping onto theater screens, and there's a lot of Mandalorian and Grogu merch floating around as a result. However, not all of it is created equal.

To help you sort the beskar from rubbish, I'm doing my best bounty hunter impression and bringing in the best Mandalorian and Grogu merch. I've trawled through almost all the collectibles out there, so am bringing you recommendations based on a mix of personal experience, user reviews, best-sellers, and the coolest-looking gear. As an example, I'd always suggest looking at Black Series action figures; they're always phenomenally detailed and surprisingly affordable, which puts them high on our list of the best toys. Similarly, Loungefly bags are never less than... so they've earned a place here too.

You'll find goodies across a range of prices, too. No matter your budget, you should be able to find something to delight you on this list of the best Mandalorian and Grogu merch. This is the way.

For more from a galaxy far, far away, don't miss the best Star Wars toys or the best Lego sets.

I think the biggest problem with being a nerd in this day and age is that there are too many cool things vying for our attention... and with the arrival of a whole batch of new Lego sets in May 2026, that struggle's not getting any easier. Premium Star Wars models, Toy Story sets, and soccer kits are now winging our way, attacking wallets across a range of fandoms.

So, which of the new Lego sets in May 2026 should you consider? Are any of them contenders for our list of the best Lego sets? For me, three rise above the rest... including one that is, in my professional opinion, bloody gorgeous. If you can only buy one or two models this month, or feel a bit overwhelmed by the amount of choice on offer, I'd prioritize the following models.

Editor's choice

New Lego sets May 2026

Want a full rundown of all the new Lego sets for May 2026? Not a problem - I've listed the month's complete release schedule below. All of these models are available from May 1, and they're displayed by range (which are organized alphabetically).

Botanicals

Disney

Editions

Jurassic World

Minifigures

Star Wars

For more collectables, don't forget to check out our guide to the best toys.

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  Kojima Productions

  Kojima Productions White Video Gaming Merch Pullover Hoodie

  $39.99
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  Metal Gear Solid: Solid Snake Nendoroid Action Figure

  $68.95
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  Kotobukiya Kojima Productions_ludens Black Ver., Multicolor

  $68.07
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  Tubbz Amazon Exclusive: Metal Gear Solid - Stealth Camoflage Solid Snake Rubber Duck Vinyl Figure

  $26.16

Hideo Kojima is one of the most major figures in the gaming biz - I mean, after all, his genius mind (and past teams at both Konami and Kojima Productions) did bring us the likes of Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, to name but a few, which makes him worth putting on a pedestal.

Being behind so many major gaming franchises means that there's plenty of merch out there with his name on it, and quite literally too. If you're a die-hard Kojima fan and want to show off your fandom for the man who's brought you countless hours of entertainment (and countless head scratches), then you can pick up everything from Kojima Productions shirts to an official Metal Gear solid mouse mats, and even cute chibi figures of Sam and Higgs from Death Stranding 2 that can sit on your monitor.

While Kojima doesn't have his hand in Konami releases these days, I've still gathered a fair share of merchandise spanning his projects past and present, so there's a little something for every type of Kojima fan. I even found an official anime model of the Kojima Productions lumens mascot by Kotobukiya, because of course that exists.

Check out our guides to the best Nintendo gifts and the best Lego sets if you're after more gaming merch to add to your growing collection.

Now that the dust is settling on Lego Minas Tirith and its impressive reveal, I have to ask: what comes next? I know it may sound premature seeing as the kit isn't due to launch until June, but there's a method to my madness. Indeed, each kit so far has hidden a reference to what comes next within its many accessories – and I'd be amazed if the White City of Gondor doesn't pull the same thing.

But what could it be? The next entry certainly has big boots to fill; many in the Lord of the Rings range (which you can see on the Lego store if you want a refresher) have been contenders for our best Lego sets guide, and Rivendell still holds the crown in my opinion… though that may be about to change. So, please join this LotR nerd as we ponder our Palantir and try to discern – in no particular order – what might come next after Lego Minas Tirith.

Edoras

I appreciate that this is a left-field choice to kick off with, but it feels increasingly plausible the more I think things over. I don't believe we've ever had a Lego version of the Rohirrim capital before, and unlike some of the other options here, it'd be a very different flavor to what we've seen before. That's what makes me think it could be a likely option.

Practically speaking, I imagine it'd be like Lego Rivendell, with a larger facade littered with smaller individual scenes. I'm picturing the Golden Hall of Meduseld, e.g. the one at the top of the city. That's where most of the action happens, has plenty of side-spaces to fill with secrets, and would allow the inclusion of minifigs we've not seen before, so it feels as though it could be a prime candidate.

A quick glance online will show what that might look like, because plenty of fans have created mock versions of Lego Edoras... including Castlebuilder19, who submitted the above design to Lego Ideas back in 2022.

Helm's Deep

I think we can guarantee a version of the Rohirrim fortress at some point in the future, and it's been a long time since we last saw it in Lego form (the Battle of Helm's Deep kit launched in 2012, seen above). What would it actually look like, though? The trouble with this one is its width. The main keep of the Hornburg should be easily done, presumably in the style of Minas Tirith with forced perspective making it start big at the bottom and end small near the top towers, but the Deeping Wall that stretches out to the left (e.g. the one which blows up in the film) would make the model unreasonably big unless you only include a portion of it. Short of making it all a micro-scale figure, I think that's the most likely option… especially because you could use a similar technique to the one seen on the Lego Stranger Things Creel House to 'explode' a portion of said wall without needing to rebuild it all manually.

Lothlorien

A major location we've yet to see in Lego form is the wood elf settlement of Lothlorien – and the more I think about it, the more excited I get at the thought of a model recreating this gorgeous location.

Besides making good use of the many sweeping, curved 'elven' pieces seen in Rivendell along with its many autumnal trees, this kit would have the unique challenge of being an elevated treehouse, which isn't something Lego often does. I can imagine that being a challenge the Lego design team would relish, because they always seem eager to push themselves with every build.

You can see an example of what Lego Lothlorien could look like with this fan-submitted Lego Ideas design by Martin_Studios, pictured above.

Isengard

Saruman's home is another set I think we can assume will arrive at some point, especially because Barad-dur has already shown how such a vertical building could be done. Actually, I'd be amazed if it wasn't one of the next sets in the range; it's too iconic not to be.

The downside to this theory? It's arguably too similar to Barad-dur. Both are spiky black towers that you'll presumably flip round to reveal interior chambers like Saruman's throne room or study. Plus, we've already had a comprehensive Isengard set, as seen in the 2013 model pictured above, so I don't know if it'd be a priority.

Perhaps Lego could sidestep these comparisons altogether and go for a smaller, microscale model that includes the surrounding grounds? Another alternative would be to follow the example set by Lego Gringott's Bank and go down as well as up. Besides the tower, we could plunge beneath the earth to see Saruman's Uruk-hai birthing pits.

Balin's Tomb/Moria

If the team wanted to make a smaller, more affordable display piece (or even a larger book nook), a revamp of the old Balin's Tomb/Mines of Moria kit from 2012 would fit the bill. This is the scene where Pippin accidentally drops a skeleton down a well in Balin's gravesite, which summons a horde of goblins alongside a cave troll. It's one of the most memorable moments from the first movie, and would make for a killer model with the entire Fellowship together again alongside some iconic foes. That'd help differentiate it from the previous set as well, which only featured a handful of the adventuring party.

Osgiliath

We're starting to move into 'less likely' territory here so far as I'm concerned. The ruined city seen at the end of Two Towers and beginning of Return of the King is cool enough to deserve a model, and there's so much the team could do with it thanks to multi-level buildings, broken architecture, makeshift camp-sites, and the river running through the middle (presumably with those orcish landing craft in tow). I think this would make an interesting challenge for the designer, but there are bigger fish to fry in the meantime.

You can get a glimpse of what it could look like thanks to SergeantStableWakz's fan-submitted design on Lego Ideas.

The Prancing Pony

OK, this is probably the least likely option – but it'd be fun, right? The tavern where the hobbits meet Aragorn (and where Gandalf caught up with Thorin Oakenshield in the Hobbit films) is an iconic but often forgotten location ripe for turning into a Lego set. Lego's already proven that it can nail old-timey facades via the D&D kit or its many medieval models, and there's an opportunity for a multi-floor kit with the main common room and the bedrooms upstairs… as proven in the fan-submitted Lego Ideas design from ErockBrick.

• See all Lord of the Rings kits at Lego

For more cool collectibles, why not check out our guide to the best toys?

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  Redbubble

  GabeCube t-shirt

  $16.79 $23.99
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  Redbubble

  GabeN Inside sticker

  $2.58 $2.86
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  Teepublic

  Steam Sale long sleeved t-shirt

  $24
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  Redbubble

  Gabe Gear sticker

  $2.69 $2.99

Oh Gabe my Gabe, Valve's overlord, our Steam Summer Sale wallet ripper. There's no shortage of memes, parodies, and myths surrounding his online presence, but I'm taking things a step further this weekend, kitting out in full Newell. I'm talking wall to wall Gabe, and I'm taking you on the sweep with me.

Understandably, there isn't a lot of official Gabe Newell merch floating around, so I've turned to the realm of community art. I'm talking stickers, t-shirts, cushions, duvet covers - all sporting the face of our lord Gaben.

You'll find all my top picks below, running the full gamut of strange and strangely vibey.

Nintendo Japan has confirmed that the upcoming Switch 2 Star Fox is compatible with amiibo. According to the official Japanese Star Fox website, tapping any of the existing Fox, Falco, and Wolf NFC accessories on the Switch 2 Joy-Con will allow players to unlock a series of exclusive emblems and banners for multiplayer.

Originally discovered by Nintendo Life, these cosmetic exclusives will be viewable by friends or strangers that you choose to battle online. You will need the trio of amiibo to unlock these in-game goodies, but fortunately, unlike plenty of other older figures, they aren't that difficult to find in stock. If you have yet to pick up Fox McCloud, Falco, and Wolf, I've gathered them down below so you can add them to your collection before Switch 2 Star Fox comes in for a landing on June 25.

The simplest way to collect all three is via GameStop, which is a pretty good resource for older amiibo releases. The US retailer currently has both Fox and Falco available for $14.99 (GameStop) and $12.99 (GameStop), respectively. Wolf is another story, as he tends to be a bit trickier to get hold of.

That feels entirely fitting for the guy, given how annoying the Venom Team Wolf fight is in the original Star Fox 64 game (I still have nightmares about it). If you don't mind paying for a minor inflated price, you can grab him for $24.99 at GameStop, allowing you to complete the set for $52.97 all-in. These amiibo are available at other US retailers like Amazon, but availability differs per figure, and all are listed far above their original MSRP. Falco is out of action entirely, so GameStop is still your best resource.

UK Star Fox fans have an easier option. All three amiibo are back in stock at the official Nintendo online store. As of typing, you can pick up Fox, Falco, and Wolf for £12.99 (Nintendo) each, which is most definitely going to be my plan of action. I only have Falco in my possession, and I want to ensure I can collect all three before any resellers get up to any big ideas.

As a little heads up before you follow suit, these amiibo are not depictions of the characters in the upcoming Switch 2 game. Instead, they're based on their appearance in Super Smash Bros for WiiU, as they originally launched in 2014. They're still highly detailed toys, but if you were hoping to see the new character models in toy form, you'll have to wait for the new Star Fox plushies to be released instead.

Nintendo has gone ham like Pigma Dengar when it comes to launching new amiibo alongside games like Resident Evil Requiem and Splatoon Raiders as of late, so here's hoping we will get more Star Fox amiibo in the future. It'd at least be nice to see Peppy and Slippy get the NFC-toy treatment to complete the team.

• View all Nintendo Switch amiibo at GameStop

The best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories, including the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers and the best Nintendo Switch headsets are full of our team's favorite accessories that will help you complete and accomplish your upcoming Star Fox adventures.

I don't say this lightly, but I think Lego Minas Tirith could dethrone what I – and more than a few fans – think might be one of the best Lego sets ever made.

Let's rewind for a second. I've been covering the Bricks from Billund on GamesRadar+ for years now, but one kit has remained my favorite throughout: another Lord of the Rings set, Lego Rivendell. It's incredibly popular amongst the community as well, and tops many other best lists I've seen. Yet with the reveal of (the very impressive) Lego Minas Tirith, it could have met its match.

If you're not familiar with the last homely house of the elves, Lego Rivendell is a sprawling 6K-piece kit with 15 minifigures and multiple secrets tucked away in its many distinct areas. It's the kind of set you'll find something new to see every time you look at it, be that the blacksmith's forge, the trinkets in Bilbo's room, or a hidden Eye of Sauron under the Council Chamber. There's a frankly stunning attention to detail here… but Lego Minas Tirith may be giving it a good run for its money.

To start with, the capital of Gondor is far bigger than Rivendell in many respects. Although it only has 10 minifigures, it's packing 8,278 pieces and is an enormous 23.5in (59 cm) tall. Sure, that isn't going to challenge the biggest Lord of the Rings set of them all – the absurdly massive Barad-dur, which is 33in high. But it's a chunky beast, and does something none of the other kits (let alone other Lego sets) manage: forced perspective.

This clever trick makes something look smaller and/or further away than it actually is. If you've ever been to a theme park like Disneyland or Universal Studios, you'll have seen this optical illusion a lot without realizing it; it's an easy way of making buildings such as the iconic Disney World castle feel larger than they actually are by messing with your depth perception. It was also famously used to great effect in the Lord of the Rings movies, particularly where the hobbits are concerned.

Lego Minas Tirith does this by starting off at minifigure scale for the base level walls, then using progressively smaller parts as we go up the city. That means you eventually wind up with a micro-scale top, but it all looks seamless. Because a full minifig-scale city would be impractically big, and a full micro-scale one would lack a certain gravitas, this is the best of both worlds.

That's especially true because of how it's a clever facade. Despite being a full replica of the city as it appears on film, flip it round to discover a minifigure-scale version of the throne room alongside a few other fun references like the chamber where Gandalf researches the One Ring. When combined with its list of evocative (not to mention exclusive) minifigs such as King Aragorn, Denethor (with tomatoes, of course), Gandalf the White with Shadowfax the horse, and Arwen as she appears during Aragorn's coronation, it's a fitting tribute to the trilogy's award-winning finale.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying my love for Lego Rivendell is over. It's still a magnificent kit that I think is the pinnacle of everything Lego can be. Much like the Lego UCS Millennium Falcon, it'll rightfully remain a coveted collector's item for years to come too. But Lego Minas Tirith is certainly trying to steal its lunch.

We'll have to wait until the June release date to see if it succeeds, of course. However, it's looking as though this will be a return to form after some fans were disappointed by the smaller (but still expensive) Shire model... and it could well dethrone my beloved Rivendell. The Return of the King, then? Maybe.

• See all Lego Lord of the Rings sets at Lego

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