Spectral Ghostbusters

Spectral Ghostbusters

Diamond Select - SDCC/Gamestop Exclusive

In what very well may be the last Ghostbusters figures from Diamond Select Toys (Hasbro now has the license), we get a nice box set with a bunch of repainted/retooled figures.  The latter is not an entirely bad thing, as the Spectral Ghostbusters are from one of the most memorable episodes of the Real Ghostbusters series (linking directly to the movie, explaining the uniform changes and Slimer's inclusion in the group).  And Diamond went the extra mile in molding their parts in translucent green plastic.

 

They look pretty slick in more ways than one.  Not only are they hauntingly see-through, but they have glow-in-the-dark "vapor" lines running here and there to make them really pop.  There is also Stay Puft Marshmallow Man residue painted here and there on the jumpsuits (seriously, watch the episode).  I'm not sure it should be on the packs (Peter wasn't supposed to incinerate those), but I'll allow it.  Each Buster comes with a trap and green proton stream.

Speaking of marshmallow residue, you also get a repainted Stay Puft figure with a new, angry face.  I was not happy with this inclusion, considering I already had beef with the first release.  (Who needs another diminutive Stay Puft?)  They should have just thrown the angry head in as an interchangeable bonus and shaved $10 or so off the complete price.  At least the terror dog is nice and RGB appropriate.  One pops up briefly here and there, specifically in one of the intros, though the blue coloration is not explained.  I guess the translucent nature of the figure may not be accurate, but it beats a straight up repaint.  He comes with the same alternate set of horns as the first release.  Great...how am I going to get another blue terror dog to display those?!

The set comes in a great big, window display box with some animated series artwork.  It went in the trash, but it was worth noting that it made a nice presentation.  Is it worth $120?  Only for completists, and I would have been more happy with a set of the 4 GBs for $80.  It was first available at San Diego Comic Con, but immediately showed up at Gamestop.  If you're on the fence about it, I imagine this will hit clearance sooner or later. 

As I mentioned before, this may be a fond farewell to Diamond Select.  Even with some quality control issues here and there, they blew Mattel out of the water with character selection and the massive dioramas.  Hasbro may be able to top them with scanned likenesses, but I doubt we'll ever see anything like that temple diorama again.  I wish DST had a wave of two more to offer some RGB baddies (Boogieman, please) and some missing ghosts from the movies (Scoleri Brothers), but all in all, I enjoyed what they brought to the table.

Please enjoy these past DST Ghostbusters reviews:

Ghostbusters Figures and Temple Diorama

Ghostbusters II Figures

The Real Ghostbusters with Firehouse Diorama

Slim Jim Macho Man

Slim Jim Macho Man

Mattel - SDCC Exclusive

Now this is one piece of 90s nostalgia I could not live without!  Slim Jim turned the already awesome Macho Man Randy Savage into a Kool-Aid Man ("Oh yeeeeah!") type spokesman, crashing through walls to dispense meat sticks and combat hunger at the drop of a hat.  The bonkers commercials were a great fit for Macho Madness.  So good, that if you watch a certain sequence of them together, it looks like a murderous decent into madness for the sake of snack treats. 


























Killing Shakespeare:

Terrorizing the elderly:

Beating on kids:

Finally brought to justice:

Alone with the madness:

And now we have a figure to commemorate it all!  This was a San Diego Comic Con exclusive (*throws up in anger), but was pre-sold on Entertainment Earth before the show.  I was lucky to get one before he sold out.  It comes in a snazzy Slim Jim replica box (another package I am forced to keep.)

The figure is a bunch of reused parts from other Macho releases, but features a new paint job and two plastic Slim Jim box accessories.  It's rare to get a MM fully decked out from head to toe with hat, glasses, and tassels galore.  Everything looks great, but I have one gripe with the hat.  It's a bit small on the head they used, which is one of the newer scans.  It's not terrible, but even looking at the picture on the back, that hat should be riding lower on his head. 

Even with reused parts and an ill-fitting hat, I won't pass up a Macho Man figure.  Yes...that goes for WCW era, too.  In fact, one MM I want the most:

If Mattel can get me that truck in figure form, all past SDCC transgressions will be forgiven.  Even the Gleek fiasco.

NECA Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

NECA - 7-inch figures

SDCC exclusive

 

It's that special time of year again.  Every July, collectors in the fly-over states collectively scream at their computer monitors and pull their hair out over the slim chance to snag convention exclusive figures.  Some I can live without.  The worst are character exclusives that can leave a hole in your collection.  And some are so damn awesome looking, you would do anything to get.  I was somewhere in-between on these Turtles based on the 1990 live-action movie.  These are definitely as good as it gets, especially compared to Playmates' recent offerings and the original line's "real-feel" movie star turtles.  NECA started by releasing 1/4 scale movie turtles, a scale I do not collect.  They looked great, but I held out, knowing that a smaller scale would make it out.  They say the license deal with Nickelodeon/Playmates puts a stranglehold on them, keeping things like this from mass release.  I would rather they not do them at all if every fan does not have a fair shot at them.  I wasn't getting my hopes up.

 

NECA made a small amount of this box set available as preorders before San Diego Comic-con, releasing a few batches over a three day period.  Each day they sold out in about 30 seconds.  No joke.  I missed em the first day, getting as far as having them in my "cart" and getting tripped up waiting to log in to Paypal.  30 SECONDS. You can watch some pretty sad Youtube videos that document the experience.  Raphael has something to say about that...

 

For the second day, I was prepared.  I had logged into NECA early, logged into Paypal early, and was on the product page hitting F4 to refresh the screen as the clock ticked down.  Other exclusives offered popped in one at a time with each refesh, then...Bam!  Add to cart, checkout, payment...wait...breathe and cross fingers...SUCCESS!  Again, I prepared as much as I could, but I was also very, very lucky.  I heard it was just as bad on the final day.  Now scalpers are selling sets for four times the sticker price.  So disgusting that practice comes with this type of transaction.

 

Anyway, they're here and they're spectacular!  They look like they stepped right off the screen of the 1990 film (one of the best comic book adaptations of all time) and they have as good a range of articulation as actors wearing the 70 plus pound, rubber suits with animatronics running down their backs could expect!

 

You get some additional sets of hands to help convey different expressions, a cardstock pizza box (Tile Game Pizza...copyright law is fun!), a full pizza cut into slices, and the TCRI mutagen ooze canister.

 

As against keeping toys in packaging as one could get, this box is one I will be keeping.  It is designed to look like the old VHS tape box!  Radical!

 

I'm glad to have these, but I cant help but think of what comes next.  NECA is doing a 1/4 Foot Soldier and I assume the Shredder isn't too far behind.  The battle is won, but the war is far from over.  We'll meet again, awful convention-exclusive game!