This is a review of LEGO Toy Story 3, #7789 Lotso’s Dump Truck set. This 2010 set has 129 pieces and the appeal of this set is certainly the three antagonists of TS3, Lotso, Chunk and Strech. And I have to admit, they are the only reason I got this set!

Collage 1: The front and rear of the box. Chunk has changeable expressions, angry and happy. He’s a bipolar kinda guy

. The dump truck looks very much like the one in TS3 and in LEGO form comes with three 2x2 bricks for you to, well, dump. The parts come in three poly bags and the best part is; no sticker sheet! Unfortunately there are no printed parts either. The truck bed is a fully moulded piece. I was hoping that I had to build it but since this set is probably targeted at children (I probably shouldn’t have wrote that), I totally understand TLG’s decision on this. The minifigures come in their own bag.

Collage 2: The minifigures are certainly unique; Lotso is cute and cuddly (he’s giving me the evil eye as I type this). Stretch comes in two pieces, the “tentacly,” – “tentacle-esque?” I’m sticking with tentacly – part and his head; which looks constipated. Lotso’s and Chunk’s only point of articulation are their hands. Stretch is just about useless here. Woody and Buzz are just for comparison. As in the movie, Lotso calls the shots around here. Which is why the guest stars are the ones doing all the work!

Collage 3: Woody and Buzz hard at work! Fatso; I mean Lotso (evil eye again) is not adverse to use his stick to get Woody in line (who needs a shower right now?). The driver is made out of three parts; the cap, the head and the Strech’s conical head! He doesn’t have hands; he steers with his mind. I call him “The Mentalist”. You can call him Mr. Tibbs (I hope you get the reference!)! Even Buzz’s jet pack can’t help, so Lotso enlists the help (coerced!) of another helpful LEGO citizen to install the truck bed. Chunk’s arms are good for signaling. He’s like that guy on the aircraft carriers; Mr. Signal Man.

Collage 4: The complete set. The truck bed is actually a little offset to the right. This allows Chunk to stand on the platform behind the truck cab. The mechanism for the truck bed is rather simple. The handle is attached to a rubber 2x2 Technic piece which gives it elasticity. Turning the handle creates a resistance which will push the bed back horizontally once you have dumped the load, which in this case is Chunk! The bad guys on the prowl… Woody and Buzz making tracks. I wonder why there are still laughing when being chased by an overweight bear, a bipolar rock dude and a constipated Octopus! And why can’t Buzz just fly away. To infinity and beyond!
I liked building this set and I would recommend it even if you’re not into TS3 sets. It would also make a great Christmas gift! So go ahead, make someone happy (I wouldn’t mind another one

).
Thanks,
Ray