Here are my favorite things from Toy Fair 2026

Toy Fair 2026 just wrapped earlier this week and while I would have liked to spend even more time there, I have my own kids (and all their toys and trinkets) to look after.

That said, there were a ton of cool new products on display at the Javits Center in New York City that set the stage for the rest of the year, so here's a quick look at some of the most interesting releases from the largest toy show in the Western Hemisphere.  Transformers: The Movie 40th anniversary figures ($28 to $60) To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie , Hasbro is launching an apology tour to make up for traumatizing theatergoers with the death of the most beloved Autobot back in 1986.

To kick things off, Hasbro is releasing a handful of new figures alongside re-releases for some popular bots including Astrotrain , Skywarp , Snarl and Shockwave . I want to give a special shout-out to the model for Kranix , which looks incredibly accurate, as if he just leapt off the movie screen.

And even though his duck-billed spaceship alt-mode might look a bit awkward, I wouldn't have it any other way.  The crown jewel of the line might be a near-life-size version of The Matrix of Leadership, which measures more than 15 inches wide and even plays Stan Bush's iconic song "The Touch" with the push of a button.

Unfortunately, the appeal of the Matrix is so powerful that it's already sold out, including at third-party retailers like Big Bad Toy Store , which thankfully is still taking pre-orders for the rest of the lineup after the initial stock from Hasbro dried up. F1 Hot Wheels A collection of some of the new F1 Hot Wheels cars for 2026.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget Hot Wheels has big plans for 2026 including a new line of Pantone-colored cars , Brick Shop models like the Elite Series Aston Martin (which comes with its own 1:64 scale car) and a Monster Truck Mutant Chaos set with actual slime . However, I'd argue the company's new F1 offerings are the cream of the crop.

Not only are there a bunch of incredibly detailed 1:64 scale racecars with metal bodies, real rubber tires and accurate livery for all the big teams, there's also a new Downhill Circuit Race course that comes with three official vehicles (Mercedes, Haas and Ferrari) featuring multiple levels and the ability to overtake or crash into other cars.

If you're like a lot of Americans who have recently fallen down the F1 rabbit hole due to Netflix's Drive to Survive , these new officially licensed miniatures are sure to hit the spot.  The first five-pack set of cars is available now, with more arriving later this spring before the Downhill Circuit Race course drives by sometime this fall.  Lego Star Wars with Smart Bricks ($40 to $160) Darth Vader's TIE fighter is an all-in-one set, which means it comes included with one of Lego's Smart Bricks, which isn't true for every kit.

Lego We've been eagerly awaiting the first batch of playsets featuring Lego's nifty Smart Brick after it debuted at CES. But now that the company has detailed eight new sets featuring its latest innovation, we're even more intrigued.

For me, the three standout kits are the Millennium Falcon , Luke's Red Five X-Wing and Darth Vader's TIE fighter because acting out the Death Star trench run complete with reactive lights and sounds will never get old. I also have a soft spot for the Ewok minifigs that come with the AT-ST set .