NECA 1989 Batman Grapnel Launcher: Ever Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight?

When Tim Burton’s Batman came out in 1989, I thought it was the best version of Batman yet. Michael Keaton made a great Bruce Wayne, Jack Nicholson was an awesome Joker, and Burton’s dark vision of Gotham was a fresh take compared to the campy 1960s Batman I grew up with on TV. Plus, a soundtrack by Danny Elfman, with songs by Prince? C’mon. The movie had lots of quotable lines, too, like Joker’s “Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?” Well, in the case of Batman’s Grapnel Launcher, the answer is NECA, who is now making a screen-accurate replica of the Dark Knight’s handy gadget.

The plastic Grapnel Launcher toy can launch its shiny gold grappling hook and makes sound effects and would look great as part of your Batman cosplay. Ixnine posted an unboxing and demo video which shows off its basic functionality:

It looks really cool, and for just $15 I think it’s a steal. But given its flimsy string attachment, I wouldn’t recommend using this to scale buildings or to wrap up criminals and toss them off of catwalks. At the moment, these are hard to find, but if you poke around your local Target or Best Buy store, you might be able to find one.

[via Toy People]

Life-Size Ghostbusters Slimer Foam Replicas: It’s Right Here, Ray

Created from the same molds as the prop for the original 1984 Ghostbusters movie, this is the life-size foam rubber and latex Slimer replica from NECA (the National Entertainment Collectibles Association – an awfully official-sounding name for a collectibles manufacturer). Obviously, he will be the focal point of all my Halloween decorations this year, and every year from now on.

Standing 3-feet tall, each Slimer is hand-painted and weighs approximately 34-pounds, which, I think we can all agree, sounds suspiciously heavy for a ghost. And he costs $550 from Entertainment Earth and $600 from the Big Bad Toy Store, which sounds suspiciously expensive for a ghost. Just buy an old house and you can get a whole bunch for free.

Do you know what would be even cooler than a replica of Slimer from the original Ghostbusters? A replica of the librarian ghost from the very beginning of the movie. And by cooler, I meant more terrifying. You know she’s the reason when I wake up in the middle of the night and have to go to the bathroom I convince myself to just hold it until morning instead.

Floating Fireball in Hand Props: Cosplaying with Fire

Created by the cosplay and propmaker at GiveWave Studios, the Floating Fireball Prop 2.0 is an illuminated fireball that appears to float above the palm of a person’s hand, as if by magic. Which is exactly the point. No word what Floating Fireball Prop 1.0 was, but in my mind, it was an actual burning wad of crumpled paper.

Held to the hand with a transparent plastic band, the fireball is illuminated by a string of wire LED ‘fairy lights’ inside, and is available in a variety of colors ($68 to $86) to suit your current fireball needs. Me? I want a large blue one but with the head of the fireball facing away from the palm like I’m performing a Street Fighter Hadouken. This year’s Halloween costume contest will be mine.

Get one for each hand and pretend you’re dual-wielding magical fireballs. Just a friendly word of advice: make sure to extinguish your flames (read: take them off) before attempting to go to the bathroom. The horrifying stories Merlin used to tell!

DIY Captain America Shield Can Bounce Back: Fibers, Assembled

There are a thousand replicas and scale models of Captain America’s iconic shield, from action figure accessories and cheap children’s toys to full-on display pieces. But none of them actually work like Cap’s weapon – you can throw them, but that’s like playing catch with a cat. That thing isn’t coming back. Unless you’re YouTuber JLaservideo, who cobbled together a fairly simple but surprisingly effective life-size toy that can bounce back near you.

JLaservideo used fiberglass to create an elastic ring, allowing the shield to deform and bounce back. He then molded the rest of the shield out of carbon fiber to keep it light while still being durable. The key factor that JLaservideo figured out was that he couldn’t directly connect the carbon fiber plate to the fiberglass ring. That version wasn’t elastic enough, and the stress from being thrown on walls even just a few times would damage the plate. So he made a smaller carbon fiber plate, then used latex strips to connect the plate to the ring, creating a buffer between the two main pieces. He also wrapped the ring in carbon fiber for added durability.

You can skip to around 5:12 in the video for the build and about 15:23 for the final demo:

Obviously, JLaservideo’s toy doesn’t bounce back perfectly, but it works well enough that you can mimic Cap’s double wall bounces with it and have to rush only a few steps to have the shield float back to your arms. Speaking of which, he also used small pieces of neodymium magnets to strap the shield to his wrist. If Disney can make a retractable lightsaber, I don’t see why they couldn’t make a more polished version of this toy.

Fortnite’s Rainbow Smash Pickaxe Replica Will Harvest Your Money

Fortnite fans will want to get out their wallets and fork over the cash for this colorful Rainbow Smash pickaxe replica which looks just like the version from the game that you use for harvesting resources. Cosplayers can whip up a great costume with this prop from McFarlane Toys.

The unicorn pickaxe is 39-inches long and looks like a toy every 4-year-old girl would love. The stick has spinning wheels on its bottom, so you can ride it around if you want to. Those who like to keep their toys sealed safely in the package because they will damn well will be worth big money someday will appreciate the “premium glossy Fortnite-themed package,” which we have yet to see.

The Rainbow Smash pickaxe replica  will set you back $49.99 and will ship starting this December. Pre-orders are underway now over at ThinkGeek.

This Original Back to the Future II Sneaker Needs to Go Back to the Past

Time marches on and in the end, it gets us all. Back To The Future II’s sneakers, like the rest of us, are at time’s mercy. Currently offered on eBay is a single shoe (the left one) of one of the pairs of Nike Air Mags used in the production of the classic 1989 sci-fi comedy.

The back heelcup is just crumbs and the outsole completely separates from the rest of the shoe if you try and pick it up. Regardless of its distressed state, the auction has reached over $86,000 so far… for a single shoe… that is disintegrating.

You need to handle this thing like a sacred relic or it may fall apart further. It’s sad, but time gets us all in the end. Are you as depressed as I am?

[via Kotaku]

Star Wars Luke Skywalker Pilot Helmet Replica: Red Five, Standing By!

Star Wars fans looking to add to their collection will want to save up their loot to get hands on this awesome Luke Skywalker rebel pilot helmet prop replica. The helmet is a dead ringer for the one Luke wore during the trench run in Episode IV, and was created based on scans and measurements from an original screen-worn prop.

Priced at $399, this isn’t a cheap kid’s toy. The outer shell is made from ABS plastic, and handpainted to duplicate the look of the real thing. It even has the mic boom sticking in front of the mouth so you can talk to Jek Porkins. The helmet can be adjusted to fit up to a us hat size 8.

Entertainment Earth will have the helmet in stock for shipment come January 2019, but pre-orders are open now.

Show Them What You Got with This Rick Sanchez Costume Head

If you and your pal are thinking of dressing up as Rick and Morty this Halloween, the guys at GearProps have got one of you covered. You’ll be the life of any party with this handmade Rick Sanchez costume head.

The full head mask offers up a 3-dimensional version of everyone’s favorite alcoholic granddad, complete with a little bit of green vomit dripping from his mouth, and spiky blue hair. It’s sculpted from polyurethane plastic, along with a foam interior for comfort and fit, and then hand-painted to complete the look.

According to the image, it’s a pre-order, plus it has to ship all the way from Russia, so I’m not sure if you can have it in time for this Halloween, but at least you’ll be ready for 2018. Of course, if you had a portal gun, you could just head over to GearProps’ HQ and grab this one right now.

This Tauntaun Head Wall Trophy Will Dress up Any Space

So you’ve been freezing to death on the surface of Hoth, and spent the night sleeping inside of the smelly guts of your tauntaun pal to keep warm. Now that you’re done with your near-death experience, you’ve got to do something with that carcass, right? I’m not sure if tauntaun meat tastes good, but you could at least take its head and mount it on your wall to remember your frozen night in the belly of the beast.

The guys at prop shop Imagemotor make this epic life-size replica of a tauntaun’s head, ready to mount over your mantle piece. The furry guy measures in at a whopping 34″ tall by 19″ wide by 19″ deep, but weighs just 30 pounds. It’s made from cast high density foam, wrapped in faux fur, cast resin horns, and comes topped off with fake snow. While that might not be what a real tauntaun is made from, this one definitely won’t stink up the place.

All of this tauntaun goodness doesn’t come cheap, though. You’re looking at $1999.95 if you want to hang one on your wall. That may be expensive, but it’s way less expensive than a flight to Hoth – at least the last time I checked Travelocity.

Make Your Own Spider-Man Web Shooters

If you aim to become your city’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, you are going to need a few thing – a costume and a web-shooter for instance. Well, here’s one way to make your own web-slinging gear, even if you don’t have a wealthy benefactor like Tony Stark.

On this episode of Odin Makes, host Odin Abbott shows us how to make Spider-Man‘s web shooters based on the design from Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. This was a very highly requested DIY prop from his viewers. Things are gonna get sticky. You are going to need some floor mats, foam, contact cement and a few other common items that are easily found.

Try it yourself and go protect your neighborhood from bad guys. Now the question is where you can get some web fluid around here?

[via The Awesomer via Laughing Squid]