WWE Slambulance

WWE Slambulance

Mattel

Mattel is taking a page from the Jakks Pacific days with a new, 7-inch scale vehicle/playset.  It has been a while since the Slam Mobile, so the Slambulance is a welcome addition.

It features opening/tear-off driver, passenger, and rear doors.

There is some nice detailing with the seats, dashboard, and center console.  The back bay has some nice stickers already applied.

The hood can be smashed in or ripped off to reveal the engine.

The roof can be smashed in or outward.

There is a large, breakaway portion on the side.

The other side has two removable storage compartment doors.  It looks like there are pegs and tabs inside that were meant for some extra gear that got cut?  In any case, you can store some goodies here.  Too bad the doors were only made to come apart, and not open for equipment access.

It comes with a stretcher accessory to be used with the main action feature.  When you press the license plate on the front, the stretcher shoots out the back doors and rolls a short distance.

Without the stretcher inside, there is a lot of room.  Heck, even with the stretcher, there is more than enough room for several figures.

Since the Ghostbusters are currently missing their iconic ride, they got the first spin in the Slambulance.  I might have to get another to customize into an Ecto-2 (IDW Comics’ RV unit) of sorts, and keep the other a plain ambulance.  At $40, here’s the question to Hasbro:  how much could the GB and Cadillac license possibly cost for you to make a profit and still keep the bottom line down for the consumer on a scale Ecto-1?  We heard the B.S. answer from Mattel back in the day...$250?!  Like I sad before, it doesn’t need all the bells and whistles, or be 100% accurate.  Just look at the Kenner classic!  The Plasma Series figures almost fit in that, for cryin’ out loud!

Johnny Lightning Ecto-1, Proto-Ecto-1, and the Undertaker

Ecto-1, Proto-Ecto-1, and the Undertaker

Johnny Lightning - 1:64 scale

Silver Screen Machines

Everybody can relax, I found the car!  Johnny Lightning has done the famous Ghostbusters ride a handful of times over the last decade or two, but never like this.  As far as I know, this is the first time out for the busted and rusted, black Caddy.  

It is what it is...nowhere near as ornate as the final product, but they did their best with the detailing on the scraped up paint and wear.  It has the two front spotlights (different models) that the finished Ecto has, and also has the single, red rotating light that it doesn’t.  INteresting to see the couple of red headlights as well.  My favorite detail here is the funeral curtains you can see through the windows.

JL also released an updated sculpt of the finished Ecto-1.  It features the most detailed and accurate roof rack I have seen in this scale.  Everything else, from the logos and license plates to the lines and fins, looks cleaner than ever before.  It even has the "clear" spots in the middle windows!  This beats anything Hot Wheels has produced up to this point.  Be careful with that sniffer though...I could see a tumble from the shelf being the end of that.

Even if you have a fleet of 1:64 scale Ecto-1s in your collection already, these are worth getting.  They look great and won’t break the bank at $7-9 each.  Now bring on the rusted “Afterlife” decos, 2020!

































Since this was a shorter review, I’m throwing in a recent clearance pick-up:  the WWE Ghostbusters Undertaker figure!  This was the only one of the five exclusive Walmart figures I couldn't find when they hit before Halloween.  Taker has a huge following, so this ghostly version was quick to disappear between fandoms...even those lousy wrestling fans who scoffed at the overall crossover.  Way to break up collections for GB die-hards, a-holes!

I found this lone figure in the clearance aisle at one of the worst Walmarts for toys in my area (Branson...yuck)...and for only $8!  I lost many an EBay auction around the $30 mark before giving up and pretty much forgetting about this figure.

































Taker looks great in translucent purple.  The darker ink on his many arm tattoos really pop with some backlighting.  On top of that, he comes with a slime green, translucent, world heavyweight title belt.  Since the wrestlers in this set lean more to the side of Attitude Era and beyond, I am pleasantly surprised to see the winged eagle design, aka the greatest belt design ever.

So there you go, some tiny cars and a weird-looking wrestling icon in a coffin in front of a Twinkies cereal box.  Hey, Ghostbusters merch is still pretty scarce at the moment!

BTW, the cereal was not good.  Too sweet (yes, even compared to the actual snack cake) and powdery.  It didn't taste much like a Twinkie either, which I blame on the lack of attempt to replicate a  cream filling.  C'mon, Post...Krave and Pop Tarts cereal showed you the way and you blew it.  Egon would not approve.

Previous reviews:
WWE Ghostbusters Figures
The Ghostbusters of the Ozarks Try Twinkies Cereal

Elvis’ 55 Cadillac

Elvis’ 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood 

Jada Toys

The Batmobile, Ecto-1, Elvis’ Pink Cadillac...wait, what?  What I have I gotten into now?  Technically, I’ve already taken the bait from Jada Toys’ Hollywood Rides line.  So what’s the harm in expanding my pop culture wheels with one of the most iconic rides in rock and roll? 

I respect the King.  Ive been to Graceland.  I’ve seen the 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood in all it’s glory.  Ride eternal, shiny and chrome indeed!  It’s quite a sight to behold.  (As is the entire building devoted to his cars and recreational vehicles!) And it’s shrunk down counterpart here is no different...just in an affordable, 1:24 scale!

It’s bright.  It’s shiny.  It’s got all the right lines, curves, and details.  Plus, it rolls like a dream.

The driver and passenger side doors open, and you can pop the hood to get a good look at the engine. Like the Jada Ecto-1, it’s spacious enough inside to fit some micro figures like Minimates.  “Hey, there goes Elvis!  Yo, King!!”

Also included is a miniature Elvis figurine.  Totally classic Americana with the white jacket.  While the box advertises a “die-cast” metal, that’s only about 70% true.  While the legs and torso are all metal, his head, arms, and microphone are a flexible plastic.  It’s probably for the best.  It is fairly detailed for a tiny figure, which may have been hard to produced any other way.  

I found this set at Target for about $20.  Jada is really aping the competition with heir cheap yet highly detailed autos.  Hot Wheels is getting left in the dust here.  They also have Elvis’ purple 1956 Eldorado available with an alternate figurine.  I dig ‘em.  You can take ‘em or leave ‘em.  Just don’t you step on my blue suede shoes.

Check out these previous Jada Hollywood Rides reviews:

1989 Batmobile

Ecto-1