Petronix Defenders - EMMA & KITT-10!

Petronix Defenders - Emma's Pet Mobile and Kitt-10 - Giochi Preziosi 2022

Petronix Defenders is a French animated series from 2022 featuring four friends with technologically advanced backpacks that can transform into robotic pets. They go on adventures helping various animals with heavy-handed educational lessons throughout. The token female of the group is Emma (sometimes known as Bridgette, depending on your location). I had noticed this toy for several years on European toysites, but just picked her up while travelling abroad this past Summer. I love cat-themed characters and I'm always fascinated by the token female heroes in preschool properties, but buying this figure was a no-brainer. Luckily, she is significantly more interesting in person than in her solicit photos. Most of the images I was seeing online didn't ever have her pigtails showing (as seen on the cardback). She has a simple design with a minimal color palette, so little details like that make a huge difference. She makes a fun new addition to my preschool shelf. Let's check out Emma below!

Gormiti The New Era - SKYE!

Gormiti The New Era - 12" Scion Series - Skye (Air) - Giochi Preziosi 2024

One great thing about larger 12" action figures is that if they happen to have removable armor, they tend to be scaled better and fit the body in a more natural way. Small figures with armor accessories like that can quickly looks bulky and robotic. The 12" Skye figure from the Gormiti: The New Era toy line is a perfect example. All her armor fits snugly and doesn't even immediately look like it's removable. The helmet looks a smidge oversized, but I'll take it in order to have a properly-proportioned unmasked head and hair. Of the five new Gormiti figures I recently purchased, I expected this one to be the biggest dud. I thought her articulation would be awkward (it kind of is) and given that her armor is off in the packaging, I never expected it to look good on. But I was thankfully wrong, and I like her just as much as the (arguably more dynamic) Windel and General Audra. I haven't seen this show yet, but I hope it's a success and spawns more toys. They're very fun. Let's check out Skye below!

Gormiti The New Era - WINDEL!

Gormiti The New Era - 12" Gormita Series - Windel (Air) - Giochi Preziosi 2024

Nine years ago, almost to the day, I purchased my first 12" action figure. As an adult toy enthusiast, I always assumed I would stick to the smaller collector-friendly lines. But when I purchased that first figure (a Batman Unlimited Wonder Woman), I was instantly hooked. Flash forward to 2025 and I have over sixty 12" ladies in their own special display. The last few years, however, have been a bit redundant and predictable. Hasbro and Mattel or Spinmaster would push out a few sparse figures for each Marvel or DC theatrical release. And as much as I appreciate them, I can admit it was getting a bit boring. But then this winter I discovered the Gormiti The New Era toy assortment from Giochi Preziosi and I was thrilled to see a ton of interesting 12" figures included. My favorite by a longshot was this 12" light-up Windel, the Gormita of the Air Clan, figure. Her design looks like some otherworldly deity and completely captures my imagination. She's so cool. Let's check out the 12" Windel below!

Gormiti The New Era - SKYE!

Gormiti The New Era - 6" Scion Series - Skye (Air Clan) - Giochi Preziosi 2024

Gormiti: the New Era is the newest iteration of the long-running Italian franchise featuring numerous toylines, television series, and games. This version is the first live-action show and suddenly features elements very similar to the popular Super Sentai series. The four teens chosen to be scions to the elemental Gormita now feature very Power-Ranger-like helmeted costumes and transformation sequences. These costumes are probably my least favorite part about The New Era. But that is because the Gormita and villains have such surprisingly cool designs that overshadow everything else. The funny thing is, what I just said is true for the toys, but opposite on the show. In the show, the Gormita and villains are all CGI and look a little clunky (but the toys look incredible), and meanwhile the live-action Scion costumes are real and look pretty great. Skye is the Scion of the Air Clan, but honestly doesn't exhibit any design traits to represent that (she looks like the Scion of Sunflowers). Let's check out Skye below!

Gormiti The New Era - WINDEL!

Gormiti The New Era - 6" Gormita Series - Windel (Air Clan) - Giochi Preziosi 2024

My favorite thing about the new Gormiti: The New Era show is the character design for the for the elemental Gormita characters. The token female is Windel, the Gormita of the Air Clan. With her gold armor and wings, she looks like a futuristic angel warrior and immediately drew me toward this toy line. In the past Gormiti (animated) iterations, these Gormita have been very organic/beastly looking characters, with no female characters beyond the first or second season. So this is a stark change, but a cool one. It's only a shame that Giochi Prezio seems to have their product confined to the European continent now. Once upon a time, you could find Gormiti toys on North American toy shelves, but those days seem like a distant memory now as they've only been available in Europe for many years. I bet if these toys showed up in the US, they would sell very well. In the meantime, I'm awaiting news about a potential second wave. These are too fun to be one-and-done. Let's check our Windel below!

Gormiti The New Era - GENERAL AUDRA!

Gormiti The New Era - 6" Villain Series - General Audra - Giochi Preziosi 2024

Gormiti:The New Era is the most recent iteration of the long-running toy and animation Gormiti franchise, and notable for being the first live-action interpretation. The premise is essentially the same as the previous animated series, with several young civilians being selected to have a connection to different elemental deities in order to combat hidden threats and save the world. The design for The New Era is very different and is suddenly very reminiscent of the Super Sentai genre. The four teen scions look like an alternate universe version of the Power Rangers and the villains look just like the Evil Mutants. General Audra is the first female villain merchandised in the entire Gormiti franchise, and I think she's amazing. As first glance, she reminds me of Scorpia from Sectaurs (unfortunately she's too short to pair with Stellara). I haven't watched this show yet, but it's my understanding that Audra is a former Gormita of the Air Clan who is now one of Graven's evil Generals. Let's check out Audra below!

Gormiti - JESSICA THE AIR LORD!

Gormiti: Elemental Fusion - Jessica (The Air Lord) - Giochi Preziosi 2008

Gormiti is one of those properties that is a perfect recipe for great action figures. The characters are brightly-colored, creatively-designed, and nature-themed with great elemental factions. The television portion of the franchise essentially reboots every few years with a new assortments of characters, and I always scour the internet to check out the new toys. The main distribution is in Italy with availability across Europe, but here in the US we barely see any. I always wish for more female characters that can get merchandised, but it would also be a double-edged sword because they're really hard to get. As for now, there is only one merchandised female character, Jessica the Air Lord, who got three action figures between 2008-2010. This Elemental Fusion version is a repaint of her first figure with less (no) accessories but with an added voice feature. She was exceptionally hard to get (not because she's valuable, but because overseas shipping is out of control). Let's check out Jessica below!

Gormiti - JESSICA THE AIR LORD!

Gormiti: Lords of Nature Return - Jessica (The Air Lord) - Giochi Preziosi 2008

This toyline has been an obsession of mine for 15 years now and I'm finally getting around to posting in the last few figures. Gormiti was a 2005 toyline featuring small nature-themed beasts divided into elemental factions (similar in spirit to Battle Beasts). But by 2008, there was an animated series created and there was a conceptual shift introducing four human characters who could transform into the Lords of Nature. Jessica, the token female of the group, turns into the Lord of Air with control over all beasts in the Air faction. She had several different forms across several seasons and this toy represents her original look (with faery wings as opposed to later feathered wings). As far as I know, the only Gormiti toys released in the US were the small 2-3" unarticulated beast figures. But in Europe there have been several larger-scale articulated toylines over the years by Giochi Preziosi (including some as recent as 2020). These toys are always colorful and extremely fun. Let's check out Jessica below!

Tree Fu Tom - AREILA!

Tree Fu Tom: Deluxe Series - Ariela with Ladybugs - Giochi Preziosi 2013

Tree Fu Tom is a CGI animated show on BBC/CBeebies featuring a live-action human boy (Tom) who uses his "Tree Fu" magic to shrink down and have adventures in the miniature world of Treetopolis. The show was created in conjunction with the Dyspraxia Foundation and features many 4th-wall-breaking movement exercises for children. Tom has many interesting friends in Treetopolis including a tree frog, an acorn sprite, some spiders, mushroom creatures, and of course a variety of insects. Ariela is the main female of the group.  She is a butterfly rancher (with a cowgirl motif) at the Branch Ranch. Certain insects in the series are anthropomorphic, but others take on a more cattle-like role: like the ladybugs, aphids, and big lumbering beetles. Giochi Preziosi is an Italian-based toy company that makes a lot of action figures based on European animated shows. When this review is posted I will be travelling around Spain and hopefully finding lots of cool European toys to review. Let's check out Ariela below!

Gormiti: Supreme Eclipse Era - LORD OF THE AIR!

Gormiti: The Supreme Eclipse Era - Jessica (Lord of the Air) - Giochi Preziosi 2010

Gormiti is a popular Italian toy line created in 2005 by toy company Giochi Preziosi. The original incarnation of Gormiti was small 2-3" monster figures very reminiscent of 1987's Battle Beasts. The figures were split into good and evil factions and themed after four natural elements: Water, Earth, Forest, and Air. These toys were very popular and have really interesting color-themed designs. By 2008 there was an animated series. The major new development in the cartoon was the introduction of four young characters who gained the ability to transform into the Lords of Nature. The young Jessica Herleins could now become the Lord of the Air and rule over all the Air creatures. These human characters led to larger-scale (true) action figures. There were three iterations of the show and each featured an evolution of the character design. This feathered version of Jessica is from the second series (the Supreme Eclipse Era). In the first series she looked more like a Faerie. Let's check out Jessica below!

The Ladies of MAYA THE BEE!

Maya the Bee - Articulated 3.5" Figures - IMC Toys/Giochi Preziosi 2012

Welcome to my third Bee Week review!  When started to plan this series of reviews earlier this summer, the first "bee" girl I thought of was Maya.  She was originally presented in a German children's book from 1912 but really became the iconic character she is now when the animated series was created in 1975 (and was subsequently aired all over the globe for decades). These action figures are from her newest incarnation, the Studio 100 CGI animated series from 2012.  Maya is an inquisitive and adventurous little bee struggling to reign in her curiosities in a rigid and protected hive. She sneaks out of the hive to explore, makes friends, and often get into trouble.  It's a classic recipe for good children's storytelling a'la Curious George and Fraggle Rock.  I never thought I would find actual action figures for Maya.  Everything I've seen previously has been either plush or PVC.  I hit the Jackpot with these guys though.  Let's check them out in detail below!