To Infinity And Beyond in Buzz's Spaceship!
Written: Apr 06 '04 (Updated Oct 19 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some neat-o features
Cons: Some cheap-o features
The Bottom Line: My son is nuts for it. It does have some cool features, but appears to be made a bit cheaply in parts.
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Hasbro Toy Story Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Sp... |
In the past few months my 2½ year old son has become a Toy Story fanatic. He carries his 12" Buzz Lightyear and 16" Woody figures around with him everywhere (much to my chagrin, because they are rather large and Buzz is quite heavy, and there are times when I would like to take my son somewhere without Woody and Buzz coming along too). We were perusing the toy store aisles the other day when my son had the most happy/excited fit I've ever seen. What had he spied on the shelf? The Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Spaceship. Having never seen such a breathlessly excited reaction out of my little guy, how could I possibly say no? I think it nearly killed him to wait for us to get home to open his new toy.
Product Description:
The Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Spaceship is a small playset featuring characters from Pixar's Toy Story movies. The figures in this toy line are roughly 3 inches tall, and the accessories fit that tiny scale. The figures included with this set are Buzz Lightyear and one of the squeaky alien toys.
The most impressive part of the set, the spaceship, is 9½ inches long and (at its widest point) almost 9 inches wide. It is made of a metallic-looking white plastic and has green, blue, and red metallic-ish accents. Space ship's clear (with a bluish tint) plastic windshield opens to allow access to the cockpit. You can also open the back/lower part of the ship via 2 hatch-doors, which causes a satellite dish to pop up and allow access to the "command center". The cockpit's window is hinged in the front, whereas the command center's doors are hinged on the sides, so the whole thing opens up somewhat like a flower to reveal a nice-sized play area. The interior play area is approximately 6 inches long and at its widest point it is 6 inches wide.
There is a trap-door/access hatch in the floor of the command center. I have yet to find a way to open it from the outside of the ship -- it is much easier to just push down on the floor from inside the ship to pop the hatch open. As it is, I'm fine with the hatch being a bit difficult to open, otherwise it might pop open while my son is "flying" the spaceship around the house, which would probably result in the "cargo" falling out and bonking him on the head.
There is also a blunt-tipped missile that you can load into the front of the ship and fire with the press of a large blue button on top of the ship. I like the blunt shape of the missile, so I don't have to worry about my boy putting out an eye. I must admit that firing the missile is one of his favorite ways to play with the toy.
The Buzz figure is fairly nicely detailed. His arms can rotate at the shoulders, and he can swivel at the hips (which also turns his head within his clear-domed helmet. The detail work on his suit has the appropriate buttons in the right places, but they don't actually work (something that used to bother my son, but now he's fine with it). Because his legs aren't articulated he cannot "sit" in the cockpit chairs -- something that upsets my son from time-to-time.
For those familiar with the movie, the little green alien is one of the squeaky "prizes" you could win by playing the "claw" game at Pizza Planet. His face is the same as the aliens from the movie, but this alien is wearing a little silver space suit. He isn't articulated at all. Buzz and the alien also come with a little blue backpack that can be plugged into Buzz's back so he can "rescue" the alien and carry him around.
Getting the toy out of the box is quite an ordeal. There were a few twist-ties (which are always annoying), and there were TONS of little clear rubber bands that kept surprising us as we explored the ins and outs of the ship for the first time. I think we've found them all by now (finally).
There are no batteries required. The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 4 and up.
Our Experiences:
My son is crazy for this little spaceship, and has been playing with it practically non-stop for a few weeks now (in fact, he sneaks it into his bed each night after we tuck him in). Overall, I'm really impressed with some of the cool features on the toy, however there are some areas where I am disappointed and think that things could have been done a bit better.
There are some surprisingly nice features. The decals all come pre-applied (if there is anything I hate on kid's toys, it's applying stickers), and there are some nice molded-in details and painted-on accents as well.
The ship can be played with while lying flat on the ground (this is best for accessing the ship's interior), but it is also able to stand up in an upright, blast-off position, which is the way my son prefers to leave the ship when he's not actively playing with it.
The plastic command center doors are made of a rather thin plastic, and I do worry that my none-too-gentle son is going to snap them right off. Fortunately, he hasn't managed to break them yet, and he has really spent a lot of time with this ship. One thing he did break in two was Buzz's blue backpack. Usually when my boy is trying to remove the backpack from Buzz's back he ends up removing just half of the backpack instead. Fortunately, you can just snap the backpack right back together, so it isn't a major problem. I don't mind it when things break if they break well, meaning it snaps right back together and is none the worse for wear.
The backpack is configured a bit strangely -- it is hinged at the top, so as soon as you open it the alien is going to fall out of the bottom. It took a little while for my son to get the hang of putting the alien into the backpack (that is a bit strange as well -- there is a hole at the top for the alien's antennae to stick out, and he must be back-to-back with Buzz for his arms to stick out of the arm-holes properly). It is definitely not the most intuitive configuration, but I'm impressed when my son manages to get it right.
I do love the fact that the interior-play area is so roomy. Not only does my son have a blast playing with his figures in it, but I can also store additional figures from his other little Toy Story sets in the cockpit (on the rare occasions when my son isn't actively playing with it).
Those flimsy command center doors can be a bit tricky for my little guy. The best way to close them is to push down on both doors on a little tab at the back/bottom (where the catch is that holds the doors shut) -- but my son's hands are so small it is hard for him to push both tabs down together with the right amount of pressure to get them to catch. He tends to go with a more brutal approach (pushing both doors down with all his might) which sometimes works, but not as efficiently as the manufacturer was intending, I'm sure.
On the underside of the ship you can see where they've molded-in and painted 3 black wheels, however they are just for decoration and do not actually turn. I originally thought this was just another sign of some "cheapness" on the part of the manufacturer, but now I understand that having wheels (and the infrastructure that would allow them to turn) would have taken up space that is currently dedicated to the "play area" in the interior of the ship. I'm fine with the wheels being fake, since my son prefers "flying" the ship anyway (in fact, when I scooted the ship across the floor my son got after me, exclaiming "It's a spaceship, not a car!").
I should mention that, at 2½, my son is well below the 4-and-up age limit. I'm guessing it is so-rated due to the small size of the alien figure and backpack (which could pose a choking hazard -- especially when the backpack breaks) as well as the flying-projectile. My son doesn't tend to put toys in his mouth anymore, so we feel fairly okay letting him have this set. He has also been very careful to not lose any pieces (probably because he loves it so much he is downright obsessive over it).
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) 2 figures included (Buzz and an alien)
+) Fairly large interior play-area
+) Lots of doors/accesses to interior
+) Lots of nice details (via decals, paint, and molded-in accents)
+) Ship can be played with while lying flat or in an upright "blast-off" position
+) Blunt-tipped red missile can be fired from the front of the ship
+) No batteries needed
+) Lots of fun!
Cons:
-) Command center doors are made from an almost-too-thin plastic
-) Command center doors are hard for little ones to latch closed properly
-) Buzz cannot "sit" in the cockpit, although he does fit in standing with plenty of room
-) Buzz's backpack breaks easily (but is also easy to put back together)
-) Lots of small pieces to lose
Final Thoughts:
My son is nuts over this spaceship set, so I would love to give it a higher rating, however I do feel the need to take away points because those blasted command center doors feel so flimsy and because the backpack falls apart occasionally. Still, there are some nice, fun features and it is really cute too. I give it "above average" for the fun-factor, but just "average" for durability.
Related Reviews:
Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Headquarters
Woody's Wacky Fire Truck
Toy Story - Intergalactic Emergency
6-inch Disney Exclusive Woody
Buzz Lightyear Kid-Sized 30 Piece Puzzle
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.88
Type of Toy: Playscene
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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