Lotso Bear, or to give him his official name, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, was first introduced in Toy Story 3. Lotso is the wise elder toy who led the rest of the toys at Sunnyside Daycare. It’s soon apparent that Lotso’s sweet nature is a ruse and he’s a malevolent leader, who rules over the daycare centre with a strawberry-scented fist. Lotso is one of three Toy Story characters to inspire a trio of upcoming buildable LEGO® models inspired by Pixar’s beloved animated film series. Here’s a look at the LEGO Disney Pixar Lotso set.
Product Details
Set Name: Lotso | Set Number: 43306 | Pieces: 570 | Theme: Disney Pixar
Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Sticker: n/a | Minifigures: n/a
RRP: £34.99/39.99€/$39.99/64.99AUD/49.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers from May 1st
The LEGO Disney Design Team have really taken Pixar’s love of Easter Eggs to heart. Many of the Disney Pixar sets have little nods to other Pixar characters or films, and Lotso is no different. Within the section which becomes the belly of the bear are four stacks of studs which represent other Toy Story characters, such as Woody and Buzz. It also features a 1×1 round tile featuring a strawberry design, which relates to the bear’s fruit-scented core. I love finding these little secrets when building sets, especially has the become hidden completely once the models are complete.
The rest of Lotso is mostly built to have a studless (SNOT) surface. Which looks much better for this particular character, and I like that there are still a few areas showing studs, such as a small patch on Lotso’s belly and his head. I also like that the points of articulation are nestled within Lotso’s body, so those unsightly grey elements often used for joints are not visible.
Lotso’s head is also fun; instead of trying to offer the usual 180° or 360° rotation, Lotso’s face is mounted on a vertical turntable plate. So the head doesn’t rotate from side to side; instead, the face can be angled. These not a lot of movement, but just enough to inject a little personality into the model. The same can be said for Lotso’s eyes; a simple tilt of his eyebrows turns him from a friendly toy to an evil prison warden.
Lotso can be displayed as standing or, with a slight adjustment, seated. Simply pop the legs off, remove two of the curved panels on Lotso’s belly, which reveal two new connection points. These can be used to hold the legs. You can then remove Lotso’s back plate to store the two removed curved panels. It’s a simple transformation process, and it’s nice to have different display options. He also includes his ‘T’ shaped walking stick. This can be connected to his hands.
Of the three upcoming Toy Story sets, Lotso is probably the least exciting. However, after building it, I’m far more impressed with it than I thought I’d be. I like how the joints are well hidden, making their fixed colour less obvious. Plus, it includes some interesting points of articulation, especially in the hands and the head. It’s still an odd choice for a character to inspire a set, as there are many other Toy Story characters yet to appear in a LEGO set, but I’ve enjoyed building it, and it’s a fun little set, despite being yet another display-focused set with zero play features. The Lotso set arrives on May 1st, along with the Slinky Dog Bookends and the Pizza Planet Alien sets.
The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts in this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of it
