Review: 40552 Buzz Lightyear
Posted by Huw,
40552 Buzz Lightyear will be joining his Toy Story co-stars Woody and Bo Peep on the shelves next week, and is the only single pack BrickHeadz being released on February 1st.
However, I don't think the space ranger has translated particularly well to the BrickHeadz format.
Summary
40552 Buzz Lightyear, 114 pieces.
£9.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 | 8.8p/8.8c/8.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The space ranger's plain head has resulted in a mediocre BrickHeadz
- Batteries included
- Boring square head
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The cartoon character's head appears tiny in relation to his space suit, but that's certainly not the case here. Furthermore, his purple fireproof balaclava is boring compared to, say, Bo Peep's lavish locks.
The details on his space suit are great, though, with a printed tile across his chest and printed wedges on his wings.
The wings can be hinged backwards but not retracted.
Like Woody, who has stuffing inside his abdomen, Buzz has a surprise in his: four blue batteries!
I must sound like a broken record when I keep repeating that BrickHeadz are only successful if the character has an interesting hairstyle or headwear. Without one, the head -- the defining characteristic of the blocky characters -- is just a plain and uninteresting cube, as is the case here.
Overall then, not one of the best BrickHeadz but probably one you'll want to buy to display alongside the excellent 40553 Woody and Bo Peep. You'll be able to buy it from LEGO.com from 1st February.
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22 comments on this article
Enough Brickheadz already!
From a viewpoint of being unfamiliar with the source, while Woody Sinatra looked great, this one looks utter pants.
Those internal batteries are a brilliant feature.
While I love the toy story brand, I will not be collecting these. I'm just not sure I like them in this format.
Buzz looks a lot better in 7592, although the helmet and head were way too big, so could do with a better slimmer design using the latest mech pieces.
Huw, the title says review 40522, but a search shows 40522 is the love birds set. Surely Buzz is 40552
Deffo purchase for me, to go with Woody and bo peep
He's instantly recognizable and it would have been very difficult to make a full helmet. I think these look great for fans of the format. Of course after more than a hundred Brickheads you'd want some originality, but so long as the characters are recognizable, there's only so much you can do with the restrictions provided by the line.
@sjr60 said:
"From a viewpoint of being unfamiliar with the source, while Woody Sinatra looked great, this one looks utter pants."
Blimey, I'm surprised anyone has avoided any of the Toy Story films!
As for the review, I understand that having a distinct hairstyle makes for a more interesting build but even though, by their nature BrickHeadz are going to be very stylised, a flat head/hairstyle can only really be designed one way.
Have we seen printed wedge plates before? I don't recall...
You are all right in saying that it looks exactly as you'd expect a Buzz BrickHeadz to, but I maintain that some characters are better suited to being turned blocky than others, and the space ranger isn't one of them.
Regarding the head:To mundanity, and beyond! But the rest is great; love the batteries, and that they did his laser.
@ShinyBidoof said:
"Blimey, I'm surprised anyone has avoided any of the Toy Story films!"
Heard of, of course, but I think the last animation I watched was Wacky Races. (now there are some BrickHeadz I would buy!)
@CCC:
That was a major flaw with the minifigs. Buzz’ helmet does not half-retract. It can probably half-deploy, if something blocks it from fully closing, but it’s in two stages so they can both retract into his back without severing his head. I always found the half-helmet frustrating because the head on the original Buzz would constantly work loose, causing the armor to be loose, and I couldn’t easily get the tip of a finger inside to push the head back down. I also found it irritating that they didn’t have a fully-closed version. Then I was rewatching the films, and realized it’s almost never visible once he realizes he isn’t going to suffocate in Andy’s room, so I just started leaving them all off.
@ShinyBidoof:
He’s demonstrated questionable taste in pop culture, so I’d actually be shocked if he had watched even a single film.
Buzz has such a weirdly shaped head that I wonder if he would look better if you rotated his face 180°, to emphasize his giant chin.
I love this, and may have to pick it up sometime.
I think this is almost a perfect brickheadz. They are supposed to be pretty square lol
I'm buying. My custom Rex'll be SO happy! 2X2 curved slopes in purple might fix the head.
Criticising this because the build/design is dull is like criticising a Funko Pop. Yeah, they all look the same, but that's actually the point. If you like the Brickheadz style and you like the character, this perfectly succeeds.
The only time Brickheadz don't succeed is when they don't look like the character they're going for, either through not capturing enough detail or not translating enough features, like that Wile E. Coyote who you'd have a hard time knowing was him if he wasn't next to Road Runner.
Take one look at this Buzz and you'll go, yep, that's Buzz.
I think this is a good BrickHeadz. It may not be super interesting compared to some others, but I think it captures Buzz’s look extremely well, even better than Woody I would say, as his hat leaves a little to be desired.
The space ranger symbol, wings, and big purple head make Buzz immediately recognizeable. I understand the bland complaint but I think he looks great. I honestly don't want a Bo Peep BH but I'm getting that set as well to combine Buzz and Woody.
I love Buzz Light-year, and I never managed to get a Buzz minifig. I think I'll pick this up as it captures a Buzz likeness well.
@CCC:
I’d give up Woody & Bo Peep in a hot second if it gave me a 3-pack of Claw Aliens to go with Buzz...