Ecto-1 Popcorn Container

Ecto-1 Popcorn Container

AMC Theaters Exclusive

What could be more exciting than a Ghostbusters sequel that rights the ship after the 2016 debacle?  How about an Ecto-1 popcorn “bucket” that is close enough in scale to the 6-in Plasma Series figures?  

What?!  Yes!  At close to 17 inches long, this is the biggest toy compatible Ecto (no, I’m not counting the $200 + LEGO Ecto model) we have been given…and maybe the best we will ever be given.  I’ve complained about Mattel and Hasbro’s failings with Ghostbusters figures til I’m blue in the face…who would have thought it would be AMC Theaters to the rescue?

This was a Ghostbusters Afterlife opening day (November 18), in-theaters-only exclusive.  It was $35 and included a large popcorn.  I have no idea how many people actually drowned this thing in salt and butter, but I can imagine it wasn’t fun to clean out.  My toys wouldn’t approve of the smell or oily residue.  The interior is bare bones, and perfect for figure modification. The Plasma figures fit with room to spare, and the lid closes without bumping heads. 

Outside, it’s quite a thing of beauty for the price. The roof rack is highly detailed, as is the grill, tail fins, mirrors, and lights.  And speaking of lights…with the push of a button, four flashing blue rollers!  That would have been a tier bonus for a $300 crowdfunded Hasbro toy, I would wager!  The wheels don’t roll, but all I was asking for was something that my dolls could fit in.

This is supposed to be the dilapidated, modern look of the car.  Far from “rust city”, the only wear here is some over-applied brown paint.  If someone wanted a true 1984 look, it probably wouldn’t be a hard repaint.  Of course, you would want to move the ladder to the other side, wouldn’t you, nerd?  

 

 

After decades of waiting, I finally have a substitute to make my line feel complete.  I’m sure there are others out there that feel the same way, as it sold out pretty quick.  AMC is putting it up on their website as I’m writing this follow-up (November 22)…act fast, don’t waver…it may not last long!

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Ghostbusters Afterlife

Plasma Series figures - Hasbro

The Covid-delayed apology for Ghostbusters 2016 is finally here!  Just not fast enough to skirt some major spoilers in plastic form.  I guess it should only be a surprise to casual GB fans…the most recent, “final” trailer really let the cat out of the bag:  “The old Ghostbusters are in this?!” exclaimed many a Mom across the planet.  

Yes, for better or worse, Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, and Dr. Zeddemore, are back in the flight suits.  While a full, in-the-flesh view has yet to be seen, the figures look pretty good.

Bill Murray’s likeness here is way better than his younger, series one Plasma Series figure.  Just look at that smirk!  

Ernie Hudson is sporting some gray in the temples, but other than that, barely looks like he’s aged a day.

Dan Akroyd’s likeness is the weakest of the three.  Certain angles and lighting capture him perfectly, but something is still a bit off.  I think he looks a little too Jackie Gleason.  Caddyshack II homage, anyone?  *shudder*

The uniform color has been tweaked to a truer gray/khaki, less plastic look than wave one.  Other than that, body sculpts are the same, as are the proton packs.  As a bonus for having to rebuy 80% reused parts, we get a blast stream for each Buster and a signature accessory.  Peter gets some Zener cards, Ray gets Tobin’s Spirit Guide, and Winston gets…a gag version of his newspaper want ads from 1984?  Poor guy…could have at least thrown in a couple of smoking traps or a Twinkie.

The Junior Ghostbusters join the fray to round out a six-figure set:  Trevor, Lucky, and Podcast.  They all have unique, kid-body sculpts with notable aesthetic differences.  Different shoes, cuffs, name tags…and their own accessories.

Trevor comes with a group of Mini-Pufts tethered together on a ribbon cable.  This effect looks great, making them look as if they are scaling the proton pack.  They are unpainted, which does detract from the fun just a bit.  He also has an old, paper map that looks to be Shandorian in nature.  

  

Lucky comes with the RC ghost trap.  It’s lacking some paint detail, but it rolls real good.  She is the only kid figure to have a blast stream…and a unique one at that.  It’s purple, rather than blue.  Will the movie explain this?  Is this a new power-up/modification of sorts?  

Podcast is probably the best of the lot, if only for the diminutive size of the figure.  He does not have a proton pack, but has the RC trap remote, upgraded Ecto-goggles, single Mini-Puft, and two “marshmallow goo” attachments.  He also has the Aztec Ghost/Death Whistle that fits onto his belt.  Have you heard those things?  Spooky!

True to the Marvel Legends standard for action figures, each figure in the wave comes with a larger build-a-figure part.  The Sentinel Terror Dog has already appeared in some of the trailers, but in more of a ghostly mist form.  Here he appears to be a biped terror dog with larger horns, standing 7-8 feet tall.

He looks neat, to be sure, but calling this an “action” figure is a stretch.  His articulation set-up is extremely limiting/lacking.  He’s like a reject from the late 90s trying to escape the standard five-point articulation scheme, but not really knowing how to do it or how far to go.  No elbow or knee joints.  Weird swivel cuts.  Best thing about him is the ball-jointed head and hinged jaw.  Other than that, he’s pretty statuesque.  Making things worse is the partial translucent plastic showing off his inner workings.  Sigh…It’s sad that this may be the only ghost we’re getting for this line and they skimped on the tooling.

Where’s Muncher?  Slimer is surely in this somewhere…we don’t even have him in the 1984 wave!  Most puzzling is the whereabouts of the Phoebe figure.  The literal poster child for a movie about to be released and we have no word yet on how they intend to get her out there.  I have a couple of hopes for this.  One:  (long shot) they are holding her back to be released with a 6-inch scale Ecto-1.  Two:  they are holding her back to be released in a two-pack with the (longer shot?) ghost of Egon Spengler.  Of course, this could all be Hasblow oversight and it may 1) never be produced depending on the success of the movie or 2) be a dreaded San Diego Comic-Con exclusive a good nine months after the movie has cooled off.  Haven’t we had enough uncertainties with this franchise already?  Time will tell…but I really hope this isn’t the end of Ghostbusters.

Take a look back at the first wave of Plasma Series figures, it’s exclusive set, and it’s out-of-scale car:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2020/06/ghostbusters-plasma-series.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2020/11/louis-tullys-terrible-night.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2021/02/plasma-series-ecto-1.html

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!

Retro Kenner Real Ghostbusters

Retro Kenner Real Ghostbusters

Hasbro

Covid-19 may have delayed the new Ghostbusters movie, but it was too slow to stop some product from leaking out.  Announced at Toy Fair in February, the first wave of Kenner Real Ghostbusters is back as a Walmart exclusive line, and hitting full force now (post-mass hysteria.)

I still have some of my original toys, so I was going to pass on these...until I saw them on the shelf, in-person.  The nostalgia of that purple card and blister pack was just too much to resist.  Plus, along with all the paint scrapes from being well played with, most of my original accessories have been lost to time.  All those great translucent ghosts are back in my hands!  And now I have proton packs without stress marks and broken streams, and can fit on the Busters without the aid of sticky tack.

Gone is the Ghost Zapper, but they fixed Winston’s name! 

There are some noticeable differences when compared to the few originals I still have.  They look a bit puffy...not as crisp in some of the lines.  Just look at Egon’s glasses and hands.  Not a terrible difference.  Definitely nowhere near bootleg recasting nightmares.  Winston’s head seems to have a slightly tilted back look that I don’t remember from the first run.  Other than that, paint is comparable and the GB logo looks great.

The proton packs feature a much less fragile porting system.  Just a straight peg that fits firmly in a round hole, with two little grooves on opposite sides to keep it from rotating.  Hey, if it works for Transformers right, Hasbro?  The plastic used on the packs feels much more durable and less likely to  stress mark/fracture or crack.  The stream system is the same, and feels no less fragile.  While the action gimmick is fun, even as a kid, I wished these were removable.  I mean, the Ghostbusters holster their wands upside down AND in fire mode?  I also wish they had the traps that plugged into the sides of the pack like the toon, but nostalgia beats upgrade and effort, I guess.

The no-ghost logo isn't as clean on the wand compared to the original

The ghosts are more or less the same as I remember.  Gulper and Grabber ghost are my favorites, but that may just have something to do with their colors.  Chomper ghost has the only noticeable difference to the original:  he’s now hollow inside.  Gotta save a few pennies where you can, huh?

Slimer and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man have also returned to menace the boys in gray...er...multicolor jumpsuits.  I skipped on Puft, as I still have my original in pretty good shape (and he doesn’t have any accessories).  My Slimer has long since gone, and his rubber food ages before him, so he was worth a double-dip.  I actually found him before all the others and was going to stop there (famous last words).  He’s pretty spot on with the original, maybe even more so than the other figures.  The engraved date stamp is really noticeable on one part of his hinder.

"Slimer!  You're eating my "world's largest" pizza and watermelon!"

Nostalgia will cost you $15 a piece if these float your boat.  I did enjoy cracking these open (I kept the beautiful cards) with my kids and trying them out on the firehouse playset and Ecto-1.  I have fond memories of my Dad bringing me my first figure, Ray, as a surprise.  (My sister got a tea set...her loss.)  My Stay Puft was a gift from a cousin for being a ring-bearer at her wedding.  These truly were some of the greatest action figures of all time.  I mean, where else can you get a good guy, all of his gear, an action feature, and a mini-baddie all in one package?
   









See you next time, when Hasbro rereleases the "Rad Rapin' Ghosts" wave: