Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Toys

I married into an ultra-cool family.  Monique’s Mom, sister Annmarie, and my nephew David went to Disney World this week.  When they came back, they brought me Flying Buzz!   This Buzz Lightyear absolutely rocks…  I knew when I saw him in the package that he was cool.  I didn’t get just HOW cool until I’d flown him around a bit.

The initial impulse is to try and achieve a straight up and down hover.  This is briefly possible, but difficult to maintain.  Between his balance, and the cord, sooner or later he tilts.  Then he’s constantly trying to fly away, only held in place by his tether.  At some point, I gave up trying for a vertical hover, and allowed him his head.  This is where Flying Buzz begins to strut his stuff.  Much like flying a kite, a variety of bold and subtle motions yields some amazing flight patterns.

Once I figured this out, the fun was limited only by the batteries.  It was impossible not to grin while steering Buzz through his aerial kamikaze maneuvers.  The picture shows a good detail shot, but the brief video of me flying Buzz around tells the whole story.  I had NO idea how much fun he could be.

This Buzz Lightyear stands about 5″ tall (7″ counting the highest propeller).  The propellers are a flexible plastic, bounded by a circular outer rim.  It’s a good design, very durable.  When you smack into something, they hold up well.  Buzz’s body is made of a rather dense foam material, light styrofoam but sturdier.

He comes firmly packaged in a circular clear plastic container, custom shaped to prevent shipping/movement damage.  The propeller blades are stored in the bottom of the package, and have to be clipped in place.  Buzz requires 4 AA batteries.  When the batteries are fresh, he generates an incredible amount of lift.  But the most fun comes after the initial surge has steadied down.  That’s when he creates just enough pull to make him fly around like a stunt pilot.

Strictly speaking, this is not a true product review.  I don’t have a good place to send you for him.  Except Disney.  Could not find him at Amazon, which is my favorite go-to place.  I found one single independent website that offered him for about $10.00 TOO MUCH.  There were a couple on eBay, at $21, they were on the high side of retail, but not excessively so.  If I find a good place online with good prices, I’ll post a link here.  In the meantime, I’m afraid your best place to find him is near the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney World in Florida.

To my family, for bringing me a great new toy… and to Monique, for making it possible… Thank you!

Below are 2 very short videos of me having a blast with Buzz zooming all over the place (one shot with our Flip for this site, and one Monique shot with her camera):