This is the week for Toy Story 3 toys. Don’t believe me? Check your local Toys R Us. Judging from area reports, most TRU’s got their initial shipments of Mattel and Lego toys for this upcoming movie. Sadly for my wallet, I was tempted by both. I have very mixed feelings over the Mattel toy, but you’ll have to come back Thursday for that review. Today’s review is Lego #7789 Lotso’s Dump Truck. As with other movie related toys, there may be some unintentional spoilers, so be warned.

Lotso’s Dump Truck has 129 pieces and is the cheapest set in the Toy Story 3 Lego series’ out there. Perfect for me, since I didn’t want to spend too much. On the Lego site, you can pick one up for $20, although I paid about $25 at Toys R Us. This is one of those instances where I paid a little more money to get it early from TRU instead of waiting for its normal price at another retailer. Even though this is a licensed property, and those Lego sets always cost more, the piece count is really not worth paying $25 for. Unless you’re like me, and have difficulties with impulse control, then it’s totally worth it.

The main reason I bought this set is for the minifigs. Officially, this set comes with three, but I’m going to say three and a half. The dump truck driver seems to be considered part of the truck, but, even though he doesn’t have much in the way of a body, he has a face and can wear a hat. So, I’m going to count him as half a figure. Speaking of his face, for some reason he has the most surprised expression I think I’ve ever seen on a Lego man. What has happened in this poor, half-man’s life to surprise him so?

Lotso is the pink bear with the walking stick. He’s one molded piece with movable arms. He’s got a very sinister look on his face, and if you’ve seen some of the other Lego sets, you can probably guess why. One of the little details I really liked on him was the little white tag printed on his butt, just like any stuffed animal would have. I love little details like that.

Then there’s Stretch, the purple octopus. His head piece is the same as the Driver’s body piece. It connects to the body which is made out of a rubbery material. You can bend all of the arms, but they won’t hold their shape. They’re stuck in that spread out look. Maybe that’s why he has such an unhappy face? Also, there’s little suction cups molded to the bottom of the arms for detail, but the only part that can attach to other Legos is the center.

Lastly, there’s Chunk, the orange rock looking dude. I’m not really sure what kind of toy he’s based off of in the Toy Story universe, but I think I’m going to have to buy the Mattel version. This is actually the figure that pushed me over into buying this set. Chunk has a molded one piece body with two moving arms and a turning face. One side portrays a blue-eyed, contented look, as if floating peacefully through space (we all know rock creatures are happiest when floating through space), while the other side is a furious red-eyed beast that wants to crush all in his path. How cool is that?

Oh yeah, this set also comes with a dump truck. As you can tell, the truck was an afterthought for me, but I have to admit it’s a pretty nice little build. Of course, it isn’t complicated, but it did have a little more to it than I expected. There’s a cab for the driver, which also can fit a normal Lego man if you are so inclined. It has the classic windshield look from when I was a kid, which I thought was cool. The bed of the truck in one molded piece, and when you turn the little cylinder on the side it actually lifts up to dump the load. It comes with a green, a blue, and a red brick to get that load started. There are also those big rubber wheels which help add to the feel that this is one of those big Tonka trucks.

Overall this is a good little set. This is the cheapest Toy Story 3 set out there and you get three and a half unique minifigures, plus a dump truck. Not too bad. The only negative part for some might be the lack of a Buzz or Woody. I personally don’t care, but I can see where that would be disappointing.