Star Wars: The Force Awakens had some of the coolest merchandise ever. We are referring to the BB-8 droid that you can still pick up for about a hundred bucks. But there are much, much weirder things out there, like this Stormtrooper truck from Japan.
I remember when I was a child and saw toys like this. Because headlights look like eyes, all kids naturally presume cars must have faces and trucks too. And we are talking about an era way before the movie Cars.
But why would you make a truck with the cabin shaped like the helmet of a Stormtrooper? Not only is it weird, but everybody knows they can't shoot for shi...
Takama Tomy is the company responsible for this atrocity of a toy. We've dug a little deeper and found the same company makes a Chewbacca truck and a car that looks like the silver Stormtrooper, Captain Phasma.
Meanwhile, Kylo Ren and master Yoda are available as regular cars. The force is weird with this one!
As strange as they are, Star Wars cars are nothing new. Hot Wheels' versions are so popular that they had to commission a real-life Darth Vader based on a Corvette. If you are interested in that one, check out this Jay Leno review.
Anyway, have you heard the latest Star Wars rumor? Rey, everybody's sweetheart, is said to be Palpatine's granddaughter. In a way, it makes sense, from both the plot twist and storyline perspectives. It's a good thing they can't make her into a car, right?
While the new movie made over $500 million in its opening week last year, Walt Disney is said to make between 3 and 5 billion dollars from toys and licensing per year.
Since its introduction in the late ’70s, Star Wars has been one of the biggest franchises for licensed products in the entertainment business. From Lego to makeup and sex toys, this is one big cash cow. The famous toy company Hasbro paid $225 million in licensing in 2013 alone. So these Japanese toy trucks are just the tip of the iceberg.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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