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.
I love that someone at Diamond Select has a soft spot for cult, live-action Disney movies. Tron, while delivering the goods with the core characters, stumbled with the last minute, cost saving measure of deleting the Recognizer ship pieces. Luckily, the Rockteer is here with a $#%*-ton of accessories to save the day!
