Egon and Ray

Big Lots! had this 12-inch Mattel 2-pack for $30. How could I pass? Now I can give Abe Lincoln a proton pack!

Real Ghostbusters Minimates Wave 2

They did a cool little hair flip thing with Peter to better represent the way his hair looked in the cartoon. It actually helps make him look hip. Which is great because to me Peter Venkman is the best of the Real Ghostbusters, until voice actor Lorenzo Music was replaced by Joey from Full House because Bill Murray complained that Music didn't sound like him. 

Winston is Winston. He is cool. His figure is cool. He alone was able to stand up against the Sandman.

I guess there's some controversey about the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. He's supposed to be happy, not angry. It's the variant for the Toys R Us line. He's supposed to be angry in the 4 packs and some people are complaining that this angry eyebrows version robs them of the happy, friendly Stay Puft they were promised in this wave. I guess I can see that, but I'm not that big a fan of Stay Puft myself. Besides, I already have a happy smiling Stay Puft minimate from another Ghostbuster pack. I got this for the Louis Tulley as Ghostbuster figure. In the cartoon he donned the uniform a couple times. Usually when the real Ghostbusters got kidnapped by ghosts.

The Sandman. The figure is bulky but they made the Sandman into a toy and that is AMAAAAAZING! Every time I look at it I keep, hearing the Sandman calling in his raspy voice.



Evil Slimer is big and evil, and Killerwatt is likewise cumbersome. Both figures keep threatening to topple over. It's just too much weight balanced unevenly for those little clear floaty stands to handle.

Finally the Logo Ghost. I never even knew this was a real character. And he comes with a handsaw because the back of the box says he's trying to saw his way out of the logo. Genius.

Courtroom Peter Venkman and Washington Square Ghost

It's a good Venkman head, although the suit itself is pretty dull. The black of the coat also obscures the proton pack.

The Washington Square Ghost isn't in scale. When it was in the movie the ghost was gigantic and it looked pretty intimidating. But when it's tiny... well it looks like a potato with chicken legs. A ghost potato, but a potato nonetheless.

So pretty much, I think its awesome.

Ghostbusters 2 Slime Blower Ray Stanz and Theatre Ghost

Yes, the Theatre ghost looks awesome. Why is it a theatre ghost? Because it appeared in the movie at a theatre. Meanwhile the minimate required an odd set of pieces that aren't very secure in their interlocking nature. Every time I pick it up it falls apart. Fortunately it's a minimate, so putting it back together is easy enough. I really like how the four arms are set up to enhance the insectoid nature of the figure.

Meanwhile Ray Stanz's slime blower is so heavy that its near impossible to get the figure to stay upright. It wants to fall over. It wants to fall over so badly it can feel it. That's probably why it has such a pained/confused expression.

Real Ghostbusters Minimates, Toys R Us Wave 1

After they made minimates of pretty much every Ghostbusters movie character that should get a toy, they began to do minimates based on the spin-off cartoon. The Real Ghostbusters was an amazing cartoon. If you watch it as an adult it still holds up. (Although I recommend the syndicated episodes and first season which feature the great Lorenzo Music as Peter. Also, they were allowed to make some of the characters more snarky.)

If you're wondering, they called it the Real Ghostbusters because the name Ghostbusters was trademarked by Filmation due to an old 1970's live action show they did about wacky exterminators who hunted down Ghosts with their Gorilla. They actually had to get permission from Filmation to call the movie Ghostbusters. That permission did not include the cartoon. (And actually Filmation did their own cartoon version of the original Ghostbusters around the same time Real Ghostbusters came out.)

Egon and RayVoiced by Maurice LaMarche (Brain from Pinky & the Brain) and Frank Welker (Megatron, Baby Kermit, Doctor Claw, Abu, Fred Jones, Soundwave, and any animal you've ever heard in a movie) respectively. Growing up these were my Ghostbusters since I didn't see the first movie until I was much older. I can still hear Egon talk about Tobin's Spirit Guide. Even through all the cast changes, Egon and Ray were the constants.

Oh, hey, dig it, they come with a cartoon style PKE meter. And you can take off their chest pieces to reveal regular jumpsuits underneath for lounging around the Firehouse action.

Janine and Slimer

These minimates depict Janine and Slimer during the times that they've put on proton packs. This usually happened when something happens to the regular Ghostbusters, like they get kidnapped or suffer some sort of supernatural ailment. The best one was the episode with the Sandman. It also tended to happen a lot in the later seasons after the second movie came out and everything became more cartoonishly over the top. As depictions of the Real Ghostbuster versions of these characters they're pretty neat, and you have to love that their proton packs come off, so you can have regular versions of the figures. Janine's glasses are shown in the promotional pictures with her looking over them, which is how she was always depicted on the cartoon, but I can't get her figure to do that, so her glasses just look like sunglasses, which isn't what the character was about. But on the other hand she does come with an extra ghost trap that attaches to her proton pack.

Lord, how many times can I write "proton pack" in one entry?

There's different versions of Slimer and Janine in the 4-pack sold at Direct Market retailers. (Comic book and online toy stores.) Those have Janine in her secretary outfit and Slimer with a big goofy smile. Neither have proton packs.  (There's another one.)

Okay, now onto the cool part of the Toys R US exclusive waves: The ghosts!

Sam Haim and Egyptian Ghost

So how do you choose the most iconic ghosts from a cartoon show where the only evil ghost who recurred was the Boogie Man? I have no idea. Pointless aside!

These are Sam Haim and the Egyptian Ghost, two ghosts from episodes I never saw. They stretch the definition of minimate, since both are essentially sculpted shells that go over a basic minimate frame, but could easily exist without the minimate skeleton. Perhaps in response to this, they've added some details to those basic minimate frames, with a glowing skeleton body for Sam Hain and dude in a mask inside the Egyptian Ghost, betraying the Scooby Doo-like revelation about the Egyptian Ghost.

Boogeyman and Energy Terror Dog

Okay, seriously, I must have seen fewer episodes of the Real Ghostbusters than I thought, because the only ghost I remember from this set was the Boogeyman. He was awesome though. The ghostbuster chased him through various closets in a reality warping thing similar to Monsters Inc., or Mario's acting juggernaut Voice of Reason. It's an interesting toy, with his backward jointed goat legs and oversized head that forces the packaging to bulge in way that it really shouldn't. Meanwhile the Terror Dog is simply the same from the movie line but now in a translucent blue plastic.

Courtroom Egon Spengler & Scolari Brother Tony

It's hard to figure out what to call this set since the front of the box spells it "Scolari" but the back of the box spells it "Scoleri." I'd complain if I really cared, but it's just fun to point out proofreading errors on professionally printed material. It makes me feel better about myself. Incidentally, the ghosbuster wiki says "Scoleri" so let's go with that.

Better known as the fat one and the skinny one from Ghostbusters 2, the Scoleri brothers were really the first ghosts in the movie. The fat one is packaged with Ray, but I didn't get him. I got Egon and the thin one. I didn't think I'd ever get this set even though I really like minimate ghost figures because the Egon figure did nothing for me. It's a Ghostbuster out of uniform, boring.

But then Toys R Us priced all Ghostbuster movie minimates down to under $2.50, and SOLD! I'm assuming this is to make room for the Real Ghostbuster minimate waves that are supposed to be out soon, but even so: cheap minimates! So cheap that even Egon in a dull suit looks good! Oh, and Egon, you're supposed to wear the tie under the sweater. Unless this is supposed to be a character thing about how unconventional Egon is.

I understand that it'd be too expensive, but I sort of wish that the Scoleri brothers came with the electric chairs they first appeared in. That was an awesome visual.

"World of the Psychic" Peter & Vigo the Carpathian

Man, their insistance of having a human in every box of this wave lead to some really hard stretching. I mean, "World of the Psychic" Peter? From that bit at the beginning of the 2nd movie where he interviews the people with doomsday prophecies and then holds up a psychic cat. (Hence the prop included with the package?) Who really cares about "World of the Psychic" Peter?

Well if you want the big bad from the 2nd movie, Vigo, THE CAPATHIAN! then you better at least be okay with owning that Peter variant which is too long to type out but would still be shorter than whatever the hell I'm doing right now. Fortunately for Peter, my desire to have Vigo finally overcame my reluctance to own stupid variants. And Vigo comes with his demonic head. Wouldn't Ray have been a more suitable choice to come in this box? After all, Ray does briefly play host to Vigo and get to wear the big demon head.

Ghostbuster 2 Egon & Titantic Ghost

Let's get this out of the way, I don't care about the Egon figure. I've already got an Egon minimate and don't need Egon in another uniform to make me happy. In fact it feels like a waste of an opportunity to get another minimate I might want, but this is how he was packaged so I'll live with it.

But what I do want is the Titantic ghost. Based on the one scene in Ghostbusters 2 when the ghost of the Titantic and its many victims (that sounds like the Titantic attacked them) finally dock in New York. The Captain wasn't one of the ghosts seen, but it certainly seems likely he was there. (Incidentally Cheech Marin was in that scene, with the one liner "Well, better late than never." Oh just watch.)

So you want to know why I want this minimate even though the ghost never appeared in Ghostbusters 2? It's beause that means they made a minimate of the ghost of a Real Person: Captain Edward John Smith, for no other reason than the fact that he's the most recognizable Titantic person they could come up with.

That's insane. So yeah, want that minimate.

Mattel Reveals SDCC 2011 Exclusives! I'm . . . Only Slighty Excited.

Last night G4's Attack of the Show program revealed most of Mattel's exclusive figures that will be on sale at this year's San Diego Comic-Con (no Masters of the Universe Classics were discussed, but in case you are wondering, apparently the line will be represented at SDCC by Queen Marlena and a Polly Pocket three-pack--no, I'm serious). Watch the video below for the full segment:

Game Trailers - E3 2011 - AOTS Exclusive

Brief thoughts:

*Why couldn't Kilowog and Swamp Thing be released to mass retail as Collect and Connect figures? They seem tailor-made for that approach.

*Not at all impressed with Swamp Thing. The sculpt is too bland and too "generic muscled superhero", as opposed to the potential offered by giving us something along the lines of Steve Bissette's hyper-detailed art on Alan Moore's classic Saga of the Swamp Thing tenure. Also, the bio-degradable life-sized mask is a pretty lame pack-in.

*I'm reasonably certain that Hasbro's Marvel Universe Galactus was bigger than that Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man.

*I'm more excited about that six-inch scale superposable Voltron robot figure than I thought I would be. I really haven't been this excited by Voltron since I was four.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Box Set

In order these guys are: Chef Demassi, Architect, Black Slime Monster, Azetlor. As you might guess from the name of the box set, these guys are ghosts from the Ghostbusters video game. They were originally supposed to be an exclusive with the collector's Slimer edition of the Ghostbuster video game, but then they dropped it. Then it was an Amazon exclusive. But I picked it up at a toy show for a good deal.

$5.

FUCK YES! I've been meaning to get more ghosts for the Ghostbusters, but I never felt it was worth it to pay $7 to get a ghost and another Ghostbuster minimate. Thanks, I've got the four, I don't need them again in new outfits I don't give a crap about. So this set, this set is awesome.

Ghostbusters II: "We're Back" Set

Like most young men of my generation, and all generations hence, I love me some Ghostbusters. But damned if the Ghostbuster toys coming out of Matty Collector were way to expensive. Which is why I was pretty much focusing on minimate Ghostbusters, but then Toy R Us put out this 4 pack featuring the boys in their Ghostbusters II outfits and a purchase was made.


I gotta say, out of all the likenesses, Egon's was the best. Technically Slimer's was the best, but of the humans, Egon's was most on target. Unfortunately on mine the Glasses are a bit skewed, and it's difficult to get them in the proper place. Egon is also the one with the most accessories, since he's the one packaged with the Ghost Trap.

The four are also packaged with Santa hats. There are actually 2 types of this set out there. One where the hats are already placed on their heads, and one where they are not. Slimer is placed in the packaging differently in both, but the contents of the boxes remain the same. If you can find it, and you want the hats on, get the one where they come with them on already. It's a bitch to get it on some of their heads. Winston's the easiest. Again, it's a pretty good likeness.

With Peter we're getting into tricky territory. The likeness isn't as great, the feet do that weird Mattel feet bend thing, and the hat is a bitch to fit on. (It's hardest on Egon.) Peter looks vaguely like Bill Murray, you can kind of see the similarities, but it's not anywhere near a dead on simulation. Also, I've posed Peter with Wonder Woman to show that these figures are clearly in the Movie Masters scale of the Mattel 6 inch line, which is a wee bit shorter than the DCUC figures.

And then there was Ray. Poor, poor Ray. It looks the sculptor really hates Dan Aykroyd. That's the only reason I can think of for why Ray looks like he's missing a jaw.

Also Slimer, which you saw in the background of the Egon figure. For $60 it's nice to have some larger Ghostbuster figures, but on the whole, I wish they could have all been the same quality as the Egon and Winston figures.

Ecto-1

My desire for an Ecto-1 Hot Wheel had reached the point of near futility, where I began to tell myself that I didn't really want one after all. I took a look at Mario's and began some sour grapes rationalization, telling myself it looked stupid.

Then of course a week later I found one and quickly bought it. And... well I think it wasn't worth the effort I put into searching for it, but it's a nice little Hot Wheel. Really it could look like shit and as long as it had the Ghostbusters Logo I think it'd still have the near hysteria of collectors as it does now. But it looks like the Ecto-1 would if everything that wasn't part of the original car was made of dull black plastic.

Meanwhile on the ramp and loop, the Ecto-1 failed to clear the loop, usually a sign that the car is too light. And holding it in your hand you certainly miss the feeling of a heavy metal toy car.

Ramp Distance: DNF

Winston Zeddemore & Zombie Taxi Driver

Everyone loves Winston, the only Ghostbuster without a Doctorate. He represents the everyman, he's the one who made your dreams possible. He answered an ad in the newspaper and then got to be a Ghostbuster. No question of skills, intelligence, or anything. He just answered an ad in the paper.

He's how you wish you could become a superhero.

The Zombie Taxi Driver (or Zombie Ghost according to the back of the box) looks kinda meh in person, but hell, he's a minimate ghost.

Ray Stanz & Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (Happy)

Ray comes with ghost seeker goggles & ghost trap!

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man has crap articulation due to how he's constructed! Seriously he can move his head around and his ams up and down. And his head? Mask.


Other than that? PURE AWESOME!

Ghostbusters 2 Louis Tully & Slimer

5 things about the Ghostbusters 2 Louis Tully & Slimer Minimate 2 pack.

1. I now have a Rick Moranis action figure.

2. He isn't wearing his earmuffs like he should be.

3. Why does Slimer have a nose?

4. Louis was wearing Venkman's uniform in that scene, not his own.

5. Ghostbusters 2 logo on the arm patch? Nice touch.

Peter Venkman & Energized Terror Dog

Huh.

The back of the box states that Peter Venkman is the leader. Never really thought of it. Makes sense. It also points out that his powers of persuasion are very useful to the team. Also makes sense.

Slimed Peter Venkman & Slimer

I'm usually not a fan of "battle damaged" variants, but how could you not want a "Slimed" Peter Venkman. "Slimed" is one of the buzz words of the 80's for good reason. We children of that decade loved slime and people having slime applied to them with great speed... which could indicate something really wrong with us.

Plus Peter comes with Slimer. You want to talk the 80's, then you talk about Slimer. The cartoon was all about him. True, Slimer doesn't really fit the minimate mold (I don't recall him being the same size as Peter in the movie) but it's fricking Slimer, you gotta have him, so scale and design can be damned.

These are fun toys that capture one of the highlight moments of the movie, so I pretty much consider this the Ghostbuster minimate two-pack that encapsulates the entire line.

Egon & Library Ghost

There's a new Ghostbusters game and interest in the property is up once again. So time to make Ghostbuster's toys!

As a kid Egon was my favorite Ghostbuster because he was the smart one. So you bet your ass I wanted an Egon minimate. He comes with a PKE meter & a Proton pack. WITH A STREAM!!!! He's available in the first boxset and in a two pack. (The boxset comes with Peter, Louis & Dana after the latter have been possessed by Vinz Clortho & Zuul, and a terror dog suit.) I might get the boxset one day, but it doesn't actually come with any ghosts. So I was definately leaning towards the two-pack, especially when I learned that the two-packs were going to be the only way to get any ghosts. And what a ghost! Egon comes with the first ghost to show up on screen! The Librarian Ghost!

So a bit of disclosure. I'm a Librarian. Toys of librarians tend to exemplify the steretype. (Or be of Batgirl.) In fact the one toy of a Librarian that most Librarians have on their desk is of real life librarian Nancy McPhee, with shushing action. So a toy of a Librarian that's kind of weird... I WANT!

And now I have it. Good days.

Something Strange...

Guess what came in the mail! In seperate packages despite being shipped from the same place and at the same time? And are both from the same order. But it doesn't matter, because they didn't charge me for shipping!



Who ya gonna call?