The ‘80s were the golden age of the action figure, but not all ’80s toylines were gold. For every He-Man or Transformers, there are a dozen series that will never return — either because they’ve been forgotten, or they’ve been outclassed, or just because they sucked in the first place. Here are 15 toylines whose relaunch is forever aborted.
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What you’re looking at is not a real fighter plane. It’s a scale model that photographer Dan Ledesma shot to look like a real, full-sized jet. Badass.
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If there’s one thing kids like more than toys, it’s toys small enough to sneak and bring wherever they go. And while RC cars and choppers have gotten remarkably small over the years, this particularly tiny helicopter from Docooler one-ups them all with a clever folding design that lets you store and transport it in its own wireless controller.
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Forget about tongue twisters – whenever you are getting on in age, it would be a whole lot better to make sure that your mental prowess is able to keep up with your physical prowess. It would not really benefit you if you were to sit in front of the TV and flip channels all day long, as all of the passive entertainment is not going to make that grey matter of yours get enough exercise. The $29.99 Brain Cube might seem rather odd at first, but it is a true blue brain twister.
Touted to be the “ultimate brain-bending puzzle cube”, the Brain Cube happens to be made out of Kraton, which more or less delivers a rather squishy brain feel. Not only that, the entire shebang looks even more authentic as it comes in a cool glass display jar. This is one brain challenge that is made out of a brain, where the entire goal is to match all the folds. It might sound rather easy at first, but actually, it can be rather tricky simply because it is not too easy to spot just what goes where.
[ Brain Cube offers some puzzlers to keep your brain occupied copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
As Voyager makes its bold journey
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The notion that less is more has no place in the world of action figures
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We do know that in Japan, that is where one is able to find some weird and quirky USB-powered gizmos and toys. However, these toys can sometimes be purchased online, such as the $19.99 Muscle Wire USB Powered Moving Butterfly. The name of this particular gizmo gives itself away, where it will be powered by your USB port and flap its wings slowly, as though a butterfly is flitting in a stationary position right there and then on your desk. If you want to mesmerize new job applicants in your office, then this would be better than some of those kinetic sculptures. Available in three beautiful species, I guess you can also say that this is some form of stress relief device worth having.
The three species that you can choose from would be available in monarch, blue morpho, or swallowtail, and it flaps its wings not at a preset speed, but rather, deliver realistic random patterns and speeds so that it is as lifelike as possible. The movements are made possible courtesy of the application of electrical current to a Flexinol actuator wire. Do you think that this is worth a purchase if your desk looks pretty bare?
[ Muscle Wire USB Powered Moving Butterfly does not sting your wallet like a bee copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
The trick to make a paper airplane fly forever isn’t in the quality of the paper or the intricacy of the folding, it’s in using an electric stove to keep the paper airplane afloat in constant motion. Just watch the video above, the paper airplane keeps going in circles and circles and circles over the stove. Of course you may end up accidentally burning something but imagine the awesome points your childhood self would give your current day self. [ViralVideoLab]
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They’re undeniably fun, but all remote control toys—particularly those that fly—have one very unfortunate downside in common: they all run out of power too quickly. Whether it’s gas or batteries, they’ll all be grounded before you’re done having fun. But not this tiny flying propeller.
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Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! Today, we’re talking fun stuff. Head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as we add them throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back; in early September, we’ll be giving away a ton of gear, including some of the picks in our guides.
If we may paraphrase a tried-and-true saying, all work and no play makes one a very dull boy or girl. While laptops, tablets and smartphones are all essential pieces of study-time equipment, it’s important to remember to cut loose and have a little fun every once in a while. To beat the midterm blues, check out top gadget picks below the break.
Filed under: Misc
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