We wrap up this week with a well worn collection of Buzz toys given to me over the years by children.

Which would be an odd thing were I not a Children’s Pastor from 2001-2013. Once the kids find out I’m a Buzz fan, they love to give me their old figures.

I’m ashamed to say that I have not kept many of them. Once I forget who they came from they lose their value. Plus these kids are 18+ now. They don’t care or remember anyway.

So although I don’t recall when these were given or who gave them, I do have a few comments for each.

 

This is a typical Buzz Lightyear action figure. Retails around $12.99. This one has “punching action” built in. Pushing a button on his back causes his arms to swivel back and forth along with a punching sound. So this little guy has some circuitry in him.

Is it just me or is his mouth weird? Is he smiling or trying not to poop himself? Cover half his face and he’s smiling. The other half and he’s angry.

I know what it is. It reminds me of this guy:

 

Buzz is trying to bust the classic TMNT face. Stick to just smiling Buzz. Plus, if he’s a punching action figure, shouldn’t the creators have gone ahead and committed to an angry face? I’ll bet that’s what happened. They did the angry face… and Disney was like, “We can’t have Buzz looking angry. Kids will die!” And so Think Way Toys was like, “Okay but we’re only changing the eyebrows back to normal to save money”. Disney was like, “What? We’re already making Toy Story 3. We didn’t hear a word you said. Just don’t make him look like a Ninja Turtle okay?” and Think Way was like, “What? We couldn’t hear you because we already made the changes and have him shipped and out the door”. The End.

This Buzz is feeling fabulous. That is all.

**UPDATE** – I just found out that this Buzz is sold as a cake topper.

 

So this means that “Fabolous” Buzz was given to me by a child who had recently had a birthday. Probably a Buzz themed party… and he probably thought, right away, “I need to give this to Pastor James”. Pretty cute.

 

 

 

I don’t ever like the Buzzes that have the helmet dome closed and sealed. Makes me feel claustrophobic.

This guy is one of those “bend-y” toys that are made of soft plastic and have wires running through the arms and legs. I’m afraid to say that Buzz here is not very bendable. He has a massive midsection that isn’t budging, his head is behind a solid plastic dome, so that leaves the arms and legs to pose. The legs suffer from the same condition as the midsection. They’re to thick to be able to bend. The arms bend… but eventually just go back to where you see them in the photo. Such a fun toy. I wonder how a child could ever give him up?

Have you ever imagined what it would be like if the premise of Toy Story were real and toys really had thoughts and therefore opinions? If so, I would imagine these three would be worse than the Prospector and Lotso put together. That’s why I keep them in a storage bin in the closet.