Some toy lines are clearance buys, and some toys get bought cheap and sat on - like the 2019 Bunny & Buzz Lightyear. I was out hunting Playmobil clearance stuff and at some point in 2021, I tripped over this set for $1.57 - which is a bargain for two Imaginext figures. At the time I didn't have a Buzz Lightyear, and he seemed necessary for any retro space toy collection. He's going to go well with the Adventure People and off-brand aliens! Bunny is just a nice bonus of one of the most genuinely weird characters in the Pixar canon.
Usually (but not always) you can count on a lot of "kid" stuff to go on clearance. Collectors won't touch it and most of the time, the studios are good at getting their manufacturing partners high on their supply. "Nostalgia!" they'll say. "Kids of this generation are new to this!" they'll add. And more often than not, they say this to all their partners and you're going to see a lot of stuff making the rounds, and sometimes at utterly absurd prices. The good news is that if you're not a completist, you have have a marvelous time picking up whatever you find on sale. As a matter of fact, I'd actually recommend this manner of hunting to most people - anything you can get for 75% off is probably well worth your spare change.
This pairing of Buzz Lightyear and Bunny means you have to buy other sets to get a Ducky, like a big figure multi-pack or a Carnival playset. So I probably won't be getting them - but that's OK, I just want to have a more random sampling of Imaginext. The Buzz Lightyear body has the GBG91 SKU stamped in the foot, but shares tooling with other figures. What makes him interesting/unique is the deployed wings, as most other Buzz figures just have the backpack. He can't go in a lot of vehicles, but he's still a perfectly fine figure with eight points of articulation and pretty great paint for a cheap kid toy. The facial details are stylized, but impressive. They painted on the eyes and chin quite nicely, with the mouth also being a carefully added ink shape. The wings have purple and red stripes, the chest has all his painted buttons, and even the ankles feature his trademark green trim. Given there are little circles on the ankles, I'm surprised they didn't slap an "i" logo on them.
Range of movement is standard Imaginext fare, and he has no problems fitting on the various red action switches on vehicles or playsets. He has no accessories, but he can use whatever you have on hand. He's also a different mold from the Toy Story 3-era Imaginext Buzz Lightyears, who looked a little more mischievous and a smidgen grayer. This one seems to be aiming for "cuddly."
This isn't to say he's a perfect figure - he's just pretty good for the asking price. The back of the figure is almost completely unpainted, so the backpack, fingers, and wings are plain white. The soles of the boots are unpainted, as are the green toes - but again, I assume they were looking to cut a few unlikely-to-be-missed corners here. Since feet and hands tend to show a lot of wear over time, molding them in color (or leaving them unpainted) will probably better serve the idea that you bought a good figure. You can't rub off paint that isn't there, after all.
For long-time readers of this site (thank you), I wouldn't be at all surprised if the original Buzz Lightyear movie design inspired Imaginext Space Station [FOTD #233] figures and other elements of the line a bit. But hey, it was a nice big space pastiche.
Bunny is almost un-Imaginexty, yet keeps the literal footprint. His unique shape in the movie is retained, and his unarticulated legs fit perfectly in the various switches in the toys. The eyes are closer to what you saw on-screen than any other Imaginext toy, plus he has jointed arms that swivel but don't go out like on the other figures. With only two points of articulation I assume Mattel saved a few pennies on a mold they would most likely not be reusing once the Toy Story 4 marketing bonanza came to an end.
Standing about 3-inches high at the ears, this is a sturdy figure. Molded mostly in color, they applied green paint to his paws, ears, belly, and face - plus other colors to the eyes and teeth. Since this plastic figure is a hard plastic representation of a plush toy, you'll note that the back has a sculpted tag and various seams. They did a pretty good job here.
I got my money's worth at $1.57. You can still get this figure set delivered to your door for under $10 on either eBay or Amazon, thanks in part to the ridiculous abundance of product made for all of these movies. I assume this could be the last Toy Story thing I buy, but I've been wrong before. I like finally having caved in and bought a Buzz to go on my space planet playsets, and Bunny is a delightfully weird addition to the other Imaginext figures I have on hand. If you can get them cheap, I recommend this set.
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