RAY STANZ

REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (KENNER)

Ghostbusters was a pretty big deal in the ‘80s. Unlike so many other films from that decade that had no business getting toys, but miraculously got them, Ghostbusters wouldn’t get any movie-dedicated toys until the early 2000s (and the actual ‘busters wouldn’t get figures until 2009). Anyone who wanted Ghostbusters toys would have to settle for the next best thing: Real Ghostbusters. Yes, the cartoon based on the movie did get a toyline, from the masters of licensed toys, Kenner. Today, I’ll be looking at ¼ of the title team, Ray Stanz.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ray was released in early 1987 as part of the first wave of Kenner’s The Real Ghostbusters line. The first wave pre-dates Kenner’s move into wacky variant territory for the main characters, so he’s a pretty straightforward version of Ray. The figure is roughly 4 ¼ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. Ray’s sculpt offers a pretty nice representation of his design from the show. Obviously, he looks nothing like Dan Ackroyd, which is correct. The basic sculpt is somewhat simple, but he actually shows a bit more detail than his animated counterpart. He’s got a unique build, which very much fits the character, and the jumpsuit actually has a nice amount of finer detail work. Ray’s paint is pretty much to be expected. Of the four Ghostbusters, his color palette changed the least from movie to show, so he’s mostly just brown and dark grey. They aren’t the most exciting colors, but they look fine. He has his proper ghostbusting logo on his right shoulder, which is nice and sharp. Ray was originally packed with his proton pack and a “Wrapper Ghost.” As is the case with many retro figures I own, mine did not include these pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ray was a rather interesting find. On the way down to visit some extended family in NC, my family and I stopped at a few antique stores. I actually did a few rounds of the store, having found nothing, but at one point, I stopped to tie my shoe, and noticed Ray sitting on a bottom shelf. Since he was a fairly low price, and I never actually owned a Ray figure, I picked him up. He’s definitely a nice figure, even if he isn’t the most thrilling.