The Real Ghostbusters

The Real Ghostbusters

Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select wraps several years of Ghostbusters figures with a couple of waves consisting of the toon Ghostbusters and the completion of another huge diorama.  

The Real Ghostbusters is a great cartoon adaptation that still holds up today (minus the dumbed-down Slimer shows at the end of the run.)  They did a great job of capturing the heart of the characters and exploring a variety of folktales, urban legends, and greater ghost mythologies.  And Diamond did a great job nailing these adaptations in expressive head sculpts and accessories.

They do get to reuse their movie figure bodies, which isn't terrible, but may not fit some of the more exaggerated characteristics. (Ray might be a bit stockier, chubby for example.)  The packs, traps, PKE meters, belts, and uniform colors are all spot-on.  The traps do port to the side of the pack, and the clip that connects the wand is less fragile and more manageable than the movie figures.  They come with the standard "streams", but they have been recolored as a nod to the original Kenner RGB figures.  The only thing missing here is that they didn't revamp any ghost pack-ins.  Man, was there any better gimmick?  Getting a hero and a villain in one pack!

The ghosts you do get in this wave are kind of disappointing.  Slimer in his animated form may be a given, but they tried to get away with only animating his interchangeable faces.  The globs and pustules on the movie figure just don't fit the aesthetic.  I might be more forgiving had they given him some more accessories.  Heck, Slimer wielded a proton pack a couple of times in the series!

Stay Puft is actually a great little figure, but the key word here is "little." Sure, it's a throwback to the Kenner Puft with some added joint articulation but, if you're like me, you've already bought several, bigger Puft banks from Diamond as stand-ins.  I have the 11-inch bank that works with Minimates and Titans vinyls, and the 24-inch bank is as big as you could hope for to stand in with your standard action figures.  Having the big bank, I wish the slot in this wave had been used on something more unique to Real Ghostbusters like Bogeyman, Sandman, or Samhain.

No ghosts with the guys is a bummer, but you do get another piece of the Firehouse HQ exterior with each figure.  Adding to the ones from the previous Ghostbusters 2 waves, you have a big section of sidewalk, doors that open in multiple fashions, and a roughly two-story exterior.  You also have interchangeable "no-ghost" or "peace-sign" hanging signs and the option to add or remove the "hook and ladder 8" wording that is not present in the first movie.

It was a bit of a struggle to get some of the pieces together.  I sustained a nice, bloody plastic gash while working on it.  The doors on might are a little tight and take some effort to get them all closed, but other than that, it looks great.  It's not quite as impressive as the Gozer Temple diorama from the first waves, but I would regret not having it.  I wish they had included a backdrop with the firehouse interior, like they did with the temple.  If they aren't going to make an Ecto-1, they could have at least given us a flat, scale picture of it to park behind these doors.

Like I said, this set is the culmination of many waves of figures over a couple of years time.  I am sad that it's over, as Diamond did a much better job than Mattel in bringing a robust lineup and a little extra bang for the buck with the displays.  On the heels of the announcement of a true Ghosbusters 3, Diamond has announced that more ghostbusting is on it's way.  I would like to see more RBG ghosts, but am also curious to see what the new movie delivers, both on the screen and in the toy aisle.