Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Headquarters!
Written: Oct 19 '04 (Updated Oct 19 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's Buzz Lightyear's Headquarters! Some cool features.
Cons: Not really much to the "building". Interchangeable pieces hard for little ones.
The Bottom Line: It is great to have a building-like structure for the small Toy Story figures - but it does leave a lot to be desired
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Buzz Lightyear's Electronic Intergalactic Headquar... |
My son is an absolute Toy Story fanatic. We don't get him everything, of course, but when he does something really good (like go poopy in the potty - or is that more information than you wanted to know?) we know that rewarding him with a Toy Story toy is sure to leave a big impression. That's how my son ended up with his Buzz Lightyear's Electronic Intergalactic Headquarters.
Product Description:
The Intergalactic Headquarters is a playset that can be used with the 3-inch Toy Story characters. It has some spiffy features, along with some that leave something to be desired.
The set comes with a whole slew of accessories, namely:
* A 3-inch Buzz Lightyear figure. 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. This Buzz has one thing that makes him different from our other 3-inch Buzz figures -- this one's spacesuit is silver rather than white.
* The "Prisoner Containment Unit" - the prisoner cell can be attached to the headquarters, where the trap door in its ceiling is easily my son's favorite part of this set. It is hinged on one side so you simply swivel it to have access to any trapped characters. One side is clear, so you can see who you've trapped. Another wall is composed of a spongy/trampoline-like material. You can remove 2 of the walls (the clear one and the spongy one) and shut them together, trapping a prisoner inside for transport on the "skiff".
* A "skiff" - it's a small space vehicle. There's not much to it, but you can attach it to the headquarters to activate the "computer", attach it to the interior's elevator, and you can attach the "prisoner containment unit" to it for transporting prisoners.
* a missile launcher & radar dish - the missile launcher and radar dish are two pieces that can be attached at various places on the headquarters and the skiff, adding to your play options. The missile launcher does indeed launch a small, blunt-tipped missile (which keeps my son entertained).
The Spacestation itself is mostly just a facade. From the front you've got some steps leading up to a door, a computer-screen (which lights up), and a few open windows at the top. Turn the unit around and you see the "floors", such as they are. Just inside the door is a kid-powered elevator (controlled via a knob on the side of the building. The second floor is not very wide, but you can attach the scope or gun there to give the characters something to do. The top of the prisoner containment unit also serves as a second-floor area, and has a trap door, so that's definitely the most fun part of the interior. The whole building is a metallic-gray color, with plenty of accent colors and decorative stickers to add pizzazz.
As mentioned above, you can dock the "skiff" on the front of the headquarters -- and when you do so you can receive messages from the computer. When the skiff is attached to the computer, pressing down on the front of the skiff will light up the screen and cause a message to play. The messages you will hear are:
* <Alarm sound> Red Alert! Red Alert!
* <Alarm sound> Enemy intruder detected!
* Trap Zurg in prison
* Way to go Space Ranger!
There was not much assembly required. Just add batteries, snap the walls into the base, put the prisoner cell together, and you're done. All stickers and decorations came pre-applied (something I greatly appreciated).
The Buzz Lightyear's Electronic Intergalactic Headquarters requires 3 "AA" batteries (not included). The computer screen requires a PR7 or 1.1 watt bulb (included). The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 4 and up.
Our Experiences:
My son is a Toy Story addict, so he goes nuts over everything Toy Story related. He had several of these little 3-inch figure sets, but a larger building like the Intergalactic Headquarters really helps him have something to center all of these little sets around - gives him a central focus for all of his smaller sets. For that reason, and because he loves it, I am quite happy that he has this set. That being said, I do have quite a few complaints about it. For one, I think the building itself is quite skimpy. It is really just a big wall with a couple of thin floors behind it. My son has always been a fan of house-like toys, and if this toy had more than 1 wall (say, the 3 or 4 walls of a conventional building-esque structure) I would like it a bit more.
When we purchased the Intergalactic Headquarters I read the box and saw that while he was pictured on the box, Zurg was not included IN the box. My 3 year old takes things very literally, and always pays attention to the boxes things come in (much to our dismay sometimes, when we really don't want him knowing about certain "features"). At any rate, he is very much into Zurg, and when he saw Zurg pictured on the box he assumed Zurg would be in the box, and was very excited. Fortunately we do have the 3-inch Zurg figure, so it wasn't that big of a deal for us (I ran upstairs and got Zurg while my husband put the headquarters together, so my son was none-the-wiser), however I wanted to warn parents whose kids are Zurg-obsessed like mine -- Zurg is NOT included, even though he is pictured on the box (and even in the instructions). This set is all about trapping prisoners/bad guys in the cell or carting them with the skiff, so this set really, really needs a Zurg or some other bad-guy that is small enough to fit.
Speaking of fitting - our Zurg is a VERY tight fit in the prisoner containment unit. I had wondered why one of the walls was spongy. When I try to place Zurg in the unit facing the see-through side (which seems like it would be more visually interesting) he absolutely won't fit. He's got to face the spongy side (which is also kinda neat, since you can make out his outline through the spongy material).
One of the cooler things about this set is the interchangeability. The skiff has multiple places it can dock on the headquarters, and it can carry the "prisoner containment unit" (made up of 2 of the walls from the prison cell itself). While this is a cool feature, attaching and removing these various things are way too difficult for my 3-year-old son to do by himself. He doesn't have the strength, dexterity, or the patience for it. I understand why the fit is tight (if it weren't everything would be falling apart all the time, and then I would complain about that), but he definitely needs parental assistance to get the full functionality out of the toy. Older children probably won't have this problem. Additionally, the only way to get the lights and sounds to play is if the skiff is attached to the front of the headquarters. My son loves making the sounds play (my favorite is when the computer tells him to "Trap Zurg in prison", and my son yells back in exasperation, "I just did it! See? Zurg's in prison now!"), but he also loves flying the skiff around with Buzz on-board. I wish there was a button you could press to make the sounds and lights play without needing the skiff (there is a button, but it is too hard even for us adults to trigger -- it is meant to only work with the skiff attached).
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Every space ranger needs a headquarters, right?
+) Lights-up and plays sounds
+) Includes skiff and Buzz Lightyear action figure
+) Prison cell has trap door for trapping bad guys
+) "Prisoner containment unit" can be separated from the prison cell and attached to the skiff
+) On/Off switch (for the lights and sounds on the headquarters)
+) "Gun" fires a little projectile
+) Kid-powered elevator adds to play value
Cons:
-) The "building" is really just one wall with some skimpy little floors behind it, which is disappointing
-) Cooler features (docking the skiff, removing or reaffixing the 2 walls from the containment unit) are too difficult for little hands to manage
-) Computer lights and sounds only play if skiff is attached to the computer (button too difficult to press without the skiff)
-) Zurg pictured on the box, but is not included
Final Thoughts:
My son loves this thing, so I really shouldn't be too hard on it, however I will admit to being disappointed in some areas. The "computer" is cool, and the prison cell with its trap door is a lot of fun, but the 1-walled "building" leaves a lot to be desired. Still, I'm all about the bells and whistles, whereas my son enjoys playing with it as-is (although he needs help sometimes with the more difficult interchangeability issues). I see his imagination at work with this set all the time, so what more could I really ask for?
Related Toy Story Reviews:
Buzz Lightyear's Intergalactic Spaceship
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$): 29.99
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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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