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There's a ton of other
electronic versions this time around, including
talking Woody and a cool iDance version of Buzz. Much like the iDance
Wall-E, Buzz will bust a move to your favorite tunes on your MP3 player!
You
can pick this guy up right now at most major retailers, like Target or
Toys R Us, for around $50 - $60. While I wouldn't expect the kind of
sell
outs we saw back in the day (Disney was caught completely off guard
that time), I do expect these to be a solid holiday performer, so pick
it up early to avoid any frustration.
Packaging - ****
Generally, you only get truly cool packaging with high end collectible
figures. Hot Toys always gives us something cool, and Go Hero went
crazy with the wooden box included with their Buck Rogers. But these
are figures that cost $150 - $200 each, not the kind of thing you find
at Toys R Us.
Buzz
is at Toys R Us, and Target, and some other stores, and yet he comes in
one of the coolest boxes I've seen this year. It's a reproduction of
the box he came was packaged in on screen, complete with the movie
inspired graphics on the back.
You can also remove Buzz without
damaging the box (there's a lot of twisties and tape, but you can do
it), so you can display it behind him on the shelf.
There are small wings included inside too, and these can be attached to
the sides, completing his spaceship!
Also unusual for a mass market
toy
is the inclusion of a Certificate of Authenticity. It's a nice touch,
but this is not a numbered limited edition.
Finally, the
included instructions are fairly clear and easy to follow, which is
always an important plus with a toy that has lots of sound and light up
features.
Sculpting - ***1/2
It's not like we haven't gotten a ton
of Buzz Lightyear figures over the last decade, but not every one has
been perfectly on model. The most popular, the original 12" talking
version that you might mistake for this one, had some truly pathetic
wings. I always felt sorry for the guy.
But this time around,
they have everything just about perfect. Proportions are excellent, and
there's just about the right amount of sculpt detail. I'm surprised
they managed to do so well, because they had to take into consideration
all the electronics, which could have easily caused them issues with
proportions. Clearly, they know and love this license, and this toy is
about as screen accurate as you're going to get.
That includes
much better wings, which snap out in two sections for extra span.
Nothing wimpy about them this time, and yet they fold up and fit inside
a very screen accurate backpack.
He stands about 12" tall, much
like the previous version. There's a huge 16" Ultimate version out
there too - think Ultimate Wall-E and ultimate price point at around
$150 or more - but I think this Toy Story Collection version is the
best looking of the bunch.
Paint - ***1/2
Most of the pieces are cast in the proper color, and it's very
consistent and clean. Smaller details that are painted, like the eyes
and small curly on his chin, are just about perfect.
Many
of the details are actually stickers. Areas like the inside of the
communicator, the various patches, and labels. Most of these are good,
but a few are off center, and a couple are starting to come loose.
All
of the green you see is actually glow in the dark paint as well.
Sometimes you can tell GITD paint because of the texture or color, but
not this time - it just looks like the rest of the figure, until you
turn the lights out. It's hard to get a photo of, but I gave it a shot.
It looks a little uneven in the photo, but I didn't have a chance to
'charge' up the paint for more than a few minutes before I shot the
photo. Once it's fully charged, it's much more even.
Articulation - ***
Most
of the joints are ratchet or click style, including the elbows, waist,
hips, ankles and knees. This is important, since the backpack is fairly
heavy, and the ankles, waist and knees in particular need this type of
joint to keep from wilting from the weight.
He has very similar
articulation to the old version, with a couple notable additions. The
neck is part of the mechanical feature, so you don't want to mess with
it while it's turning on it's own. However, it did seem that you could
move it a bit when it was stationary.
The ball shoulders and cut
biceps work well, as do the ratchet elbows and cut wrists. However, you
won't be able to turn the shoulders far enough to allow the arms to
hang naturally at his side. It's the one big negative in this category,
and why I dropped him a little bit.
He does look great with the
hands on his hips though, and the hands is where the articulation has
improved a bit. Each of the fingers (not the thumb) has a joint, so
they can now be posed independently.
The waist also works
extremely well, and you can tilt side to side, front to back, and even
turn slightly, without the rubber pelvis interfering.
Accessories - Bupkis
There's no accessories here, although that's probably not a surprise. I
won't be deducting anything from my overall score because of it,
because I didn't expect anything additional other than the figure, but
you may have a different expectation.
Sound Feature - ****
Now we're talking! And so is Buzz...
In fact, this time around he
says over 65 sayings, all in Tim Allen's voice, all clear, crisp, and
hilarious.
Like
past models, the three smaller buttons on the right side of his chest
activate all the sound and light features. Pressing them at certain
times, in certain combinations, or when other features are activated
(like the helmet open, or the communicator open) will effect what is
said.
In addition to these buttons
controlling lights and sounds,
other actions can activate various appropriate noises. For example,
opening and shutting the helmet makes the obligatory corresponding
noise, and also plays a ton of different lines and activates the head
movement. Opening and shutting the communicator also activates
appropriate sounds, as does snapping out the wings, or putting them
back in place.
There's
even a movement sensor inside, so that when you tilt him side to side
and front to back doing 'flight' movements, he makes cool swooshing
noises. If the body is horizontal, it makes flying noises, but when you
stand him up again, he makes a landing noise - how cool is that!
There
are two modes - 'toy' and 'space ranger'. In Toy mode, he sounds very
much like a toy, with a tinny timber to his voice. The head doesn't
move, and the spoken lines aren't tied to various actions. For example,
opening the helmet just makes the swooshing noise, no head movement or
spoken line. It's intended to recreate the toy version in the film that
Andy would see.
The Space Ranger mode is where
you get all the
additional features, and where he really shines. The voice is much
cleaner and louder too - as if he were really alive!
There's also
a small microphone up front that can pick up noises in the room,
allowing Buzz to be more interactive. It's mostly a 'hear a noise and
say something' sort of thing, but the best part is when you're quiet
for awhile, and he starts wondering if you're still there.
There's
more sounds here than I could ever list, and my favorite is when you
open his helmet and he reminds you that it's dangerous to do so on an
uncharted planet - his eyeballs could be sucked right out of his head!
Light and Movement Feature - ****
Like
the Sound Feature, the Light and Movement is just about perfect. It's
not as complex, or as extreme, but it works perfectly.
For
movement, there's just his head. It turns side to side in time with his
voice, usually in a manner that matches up with what he's saying. It's
pretty impressive!
The light up feature includes
his laser -
which flashes, and also sounds just like it did in the movie, another
correction from the previous version.
The other light up feature
is the ends of the wings, where there is one green light and one red
light. Just like on a plane, the lights flash off and on oppositely of
each other. When you pop the wings back in - again, complete with sound
- the lights stop flashing.
Fun Factor - ****
Now this is a fantastic toy! He's made to survive play, and yet he
looks great on the shelf of a collector. If you're an adult who is a
big fan of the films, you'll love having such an accurate reproduction
of the toy for your own to display and play the sounds. If you're a kid
just getting into the films, there's no better version of Buzz to have.
Value - ***
At $50, he's not cheap, but the level of electronic integration is very
high, even at this price point. There are two cheaper versions at
around $25 and $35 each, but this version is easily worth kicking in
the $15 or so.
Things to Watch Out For -
Zippo.
Overall - ***1/2
This is a sweet toy, easily my favorite Buzz in my collection at this
point. My kids had a ton of fun playing with him last week, and yet I'd
be happy to have him on the shelf as a 'collectible' too. He looks just
like the on screen version, and has a ton of cool sound, light and
movement features.
You
could pick up one of the cheaper versions, but I think that for the
extra $15 or so, you get far more with this version. There's also a Toy
Story Collection Woody, as well as an RC Car and a set of the Martians.
From what I've seen, these are all the top of the line.
Score Recap:
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***
Accessories - Bupkis
Sound Feature - ****
Light/Movement Up Feature - ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy -
You should be able to pick this guy
up at your local Target or Toys R Us, although he's been pretty
popular. I suspect he'll get more so as the holiday approaches,
although we shouldn't see any problems like we did back in
'95.
Related
Links -
Other reviews to check include:
- Thinkway has lent their
talents to the iDance and
Interactive Wall-E, the UCommand
Wall-E, and both the small
and large Wall-E
action figures.
- Thinkway also produced the
cool Spider-man
room guards.
- And if you're looking for more
Buzz and Woody, check out the Mattel action figures in the larger and smaller sizes.
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