The Terrible Toyman : The Family that Busts Together

The Family that Busts Together

Hasbro Ghostbusters - Target Exclusive

Yeah…unfortunate title. In a world of committee think, no one spoke out against that one? That’s the best they could come up with? Whatever, at least they are finally delivering Phoebe, the main character of Ghostbusters Afterlife. They movie is already here and is doing quite well, so Hasbro may have “Baby Yoda-ed” yet another property by getting her out so late in the game. Worse than that, they’ve gone the “exclusive” route, potentially making it difficult for fans and completists to nab her. They’ve also doubled down on character exclusives with this as a two-pack…my long shot theory for Phoebe’s delivery was correct, for better or worse: the ghost of Egon Spengler has materialized. Sorry if you have not seen the movie yet, but what a major spoiler, right?

This set was announced a week or two ago on a Hasbro Pulse fan video. Coming November 28 to a Target near you…maybe…if your Target doesn’t completely suck, is poached by scalpers, or ignores street dates. I did not have high hopes for this. eBay already had a handful of listings for this ranging from $100-$250. Sigh, I still had to try.

And it paid off. Not initially, as I was greeted at store opening by empty, picked over shelves. I had to ask an associate for them, presenting the DCPI # I had obtained from the interwebz. I had to wait 25 minutes while they dug them out of the back, but I got em!

I’m not sure how Harold Ramis would feel about being featured in this movie so heavily, let alone showing up on toy shelves some seven years after his passing. “For Harold” has been slapped on everything concerning this project…most of it is sincere, but at the same time, we’re talking about making money off an old film franchise. Sony/Amy Pascal waited a whole month or two after he died to announce they were moving ahead with the turd concept that would be Ghostbusters Answer the Call. As they were just chomping at the bit for one of those “old holdouts” to die, Im glad Egon gets to play a part in the righting of the ship. I take greater offense to the exclusivity of this specific item. Only at Target…or online at four times it’s retail price…”For Harold?” Pfffffffft….

Anyway, the sculpts are great on both, even if the translucent nature of Egon shows off his inner toy components a bit. Hasbro has thrown in a couple of nice accessories that make the set even more of a must have. The “Spengler” proton pack has Egon’s extra mods: gaff tape on the handle, shotgun grip, alternate connection hose. The pack itself may not have all the detail of the screen model, but the cyclotron is removable, so you can view it’s innards.

You also get a sentimental chess piece, a jar of fungus, and a PKE meter with Afterlife taser mode. Again, a couple of spoilers there if you haven’t yet seen the film.

Another spoiler: terror dogs are back, and represented in this pack. Vinz Clortho, the male dog with longer horns has technically been released twice in this line as a full figure. First, he was a wave one Plasma series build-a-figure. Then, he was offered in a two pack with Louis Tully as a convention exclusive. Two terror dog bodies, sharing all the same details…including the head. I assume this was an oversight by Hasbro. They should have made the build-a-figure release the Gatekeeper, especially since it contained Dana Barrett. They could have thrown in the alt head with the second release, but no…here it is, third time is the charm. Apology? Or their way of saying “here it is…we’re done now.”

Two teams of Busters and a duo of baddies complete in one set…is Hasbro calling it quits? At least until a sequel comes about, it sure feels that way. Have I mentioned how happy I am to have that Ecto-1 popcorn bucket?