The Joker isn’t the obvious choice for calming home decor, especially when his head appears to dissolve into bats. LEGO recreates that unsettling comic cover in three dimensions, with facial features pushing outward and scattered shapes escaping the frame. Even contained in bricks, he refuses to stay neatly within the lines.
Batman’s Arkham ride looks built to drive through trouble, and LEGO gives its miniature version working suspension to help with the journey. The armored Batmobile also follows the Batman Returns set in offering a video game bonus, letting owners take a little of their building experience into LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.
LEGO’s Wednesday sets have been giving fans mini-dolls, but the Nevermore Academy changes that with her first classic minifigure. The school itself takes the opposite approach, shrinking into a microscale build with tiny Wednesday and Enid figures. There’s even a secret drawer beneath the academy to stash them away.
A gondola and canal-side buildings are expected in a LEGO Venice. A street piano that plays real notes is a lovely surprise. The Venetian Neighborhood fills its waterfront with glassblowing, carnival costumes, and a moving astronomical calendar, while early buyers can add a water taxi to the scene as a gift.
Leaving your keys behind sounds convenient until your smart lock runs out of battery. Ring’s first smart lock gives you a way back in without finding a spare key or charging cable: turn its built-in power dial a few times. Your hand supplies the electricity needed to get the lock working again.
A smart home shouldn’t need a different app for every room. Apple’s Home Collection brings cameras, a door lock, and climate controls into the Home app. Among the more appealing touches: a lock that recognizes your approach and an indoor camera that looks away when someone gets home.
If you miss the iMac G4, Apple has something familiar-looking for your kitchen counter. HomeView puts a tilting screen above a domed speaker base, giving the household a place for FaceTime calls, music, and smart home controls. It even recognizes who’s looking, so the shared screen can feel a little more personal.
A Lamborghini badge would have been the easy option. Montegrappa went further, recreating the Miura’s distinctive headlight in rock crystal and giving it a working push-button mechanism. The anniversary pen borrows plenty from the car, but that moving cap detail may prove more distracting than whatever you were supposed to write.
You’d think adding a second wheel would settle things for the makers of Onewheel. Their Antic electric mini-bike has other ideas, with a system that helps hold a wheelie once you lift the front end. The ’70s-inspired ride keeps the styling simple and leaves room for taller riders, too.
Software updates usually promise to fix something. Rivian’s latest gives you Slimer to look for and Ghostbusters sound effects to greet trick-or-treaters. Its Halloween collaboration turns compatible vehicles into interactive paranormal playgrounds, complete with an Ecto Control Panel. And yes, somewhere beneath all that, it is still a car.
Grand Theft Auto VI hardly needs another introduction, but Rockstar has another trailer to keep it on your mind. With PlayStation branding and footage captured entirely in-game on PS5, the cinematic showcase feels as much like a pitch for Sony’s hardware as a reminder of the game’s approaching release.