CHEF DEMASSI, THE ARCHITECT, BLACK SLIME MONSTER, AZETLOR
GHOSTBUSTERS MINIMATES
Hey, look at that, more Minimates. This time around, I’ll be turning to Ghostbusters Minimates, a line I haven’t shown enough love. DST’s take on the ‘busters was pretty notable for offering just about every character from Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2. However, before they had even finished a complete set of the main characters in their signature uniforms, they released this little gem of a set, based on the then current Ghostbusters video game. The set offers figures of four of the more pivotal ghosts created for that game.
THE FIGURES THEMSELVES
This set was released as an Amazon exclusive, but its history is sort of confusing. It was originally meant to be packed in with this super-mega release of the game that had this huge selection of various goodies. Minimate fans in particular weren’t happy about having to drop a rather large sum of money just to get these four, but many signed up for the preorders anyway. Then, the release was cancelled. Most people figured the ‘mates were not to be, but Amazon stepped in and offered the set as their own exclusive, sold on its own.
CHEF DEMASSI
The Chef is one of the early ghosts in the game, fought at the famous Sedgwick Hotel, where the ‘busters got their start. He’s a take on the basic Italian Chef, and he actually fits in with the ghosts from the movies pretty well. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and it features 7 points of articulation, due to the lack of a lower half. The figure makes use of the arms and torso of the standard Minimate body, with different pieces for the head, hands, and lower half, as well as add-ons for the rolled sleeves, torso, and skirt. The head is originally from the DC Minimates Series 8 Sinestro, the hands are from Marvel Minimates Series 18’s Venom, the floating lower half piece is from this line’s Slimer, the sleeves are from the first Back to the Future Marty McFly, the torso cover is from Marvel Minimates Series 26’s Blob, and the skirt is from Marvel Minimates Series 18’s Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane. All of the pieces are well sculpted, and they add up to a pretty decent approximation of the character from the game, though the hole in the top of the head is sort of annoying. The paintwork on the figure is great; everything is cleanly applied, and all of the detail lines are nice and sharp. They’ve even given him little food stains on his coat! Chef Demassi included no accessories.
THE ARCHITECT
The Architect is the game’s primary villain, and he actually turns out to be Ivo Shandor, the man who built Dana and Luis’s apartment building from the first movie, which was a nice way of tying things together. The Architect is bout 2 ½ inches in height and he features 14 points of articulation, though most of the leg movement is rendered motionless by the skirt. The figure’s look appears to be based on the big figure towards the end of the game, but it’s missing the horns. He makes use of the basic Minimate body, with add-ons for the hair and skirt. The hair is from Ultimate Sabretooth, way back in Series 3 of Marvel Minimates, and the skirt is from The Spirit’s Formal Wear Sand Serrif. The pieces aren’t bad, though the hair is a little out of date. They make for a decent approximation of the Architect’s look. The Architect’s paint is, if nothing else, interesting to look at. He’s got a molten rock kind of a look to him, which is handled by strategic use of red and gold line work, with some dark grey thrown in for a little extra detail here and there. Everything is pretty well applied, and it ends up looking essentially like the design should. The Architect included an energy blast piece, which adds a bit of variety to the figure.
BLACK SLIME MONSTER
So, the first Ghostbusters had green slime, the second had pink, guess it’s fitting that the game got black slime. And if you’re going to have black slime, you have to have a Black Slime Monster, right? Sure, why not. The Black Slime Monster is just over 2 ½ inches tall and sports 14 points of articulation. The figure uses that standard Minimate body, with specific hands and feet, as well as add-ons for the torso and waist. The hands are from the Marvel Minimates Series 18 Venom (just like Chef Demassi), the feet are from the Series 20 Abomination, and the torso and waist pieces are from the Series 22 movie Abomination. The pieces are all pretty good, and they add up to a pretty decent approximation of the design from the game. The paintwork on the figure is decent. Nothing amazing or anything, but everything’s well applied, and the figure looks appropriately “mucky.” He at the very least makes for a visually interesting monster. The Black Slime Monster included a hook on a chain, which is a re-use from DC Minimates Series 7’s Lobo.
AZETLOR
When you’re making a set entirely out of re-used pieces, sometimes you end up with a figure that’s more than a little off. Case in point with the final figure in the set (and, incidentally, my personal favorite), Azetlor. The character has a few designs in the game, and this one doesn’t really look much like any of them. Which isn’t to say it’s a bad figure, just not a particularly accurate one. The Azetlor is about 2 ½ inches tall and he’s got 14 points of articulation. The figure pretty much the standard Minimate body, but with a DC Minimates Sinestro head in place of the standard one. What’s interesting is that all of the prototype shots show this guy with the normal head, but they decided to change it somewhere along the way. So, with a mostly basic build, he relies on paint to make him work. He’s molded in clear plastic, with details painted on here and there, making him look like bits of debris floating to make up a vaguely human shape. It’s all done very nicely. All of the lines are nice and clean, and the blue parts have some impressive shading, which gives the figure some much needed dimension. The Azetlor included no accessories
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
So, I totally skipped this set when it was first released. And I never really tracked it down. I almost bought the Azetlor by himself a few times, but I never really was pulled in by the rest of the set. So, what changed? Price changed. Cosmic Comix, my local comicbook store, got in a large quantity of this set, and they were selling them for $2.99 a piece. That’s less than $1 a figure! For that, they were more than worth it! It’s actually a pretty decent set of Minimates, especially if you’re just looking for some good generic monsters!
Donatello was released in the first series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates. This particular figure came from the K-Mart assortment, so it was blind bagged and it included a keychain attachment, but other than that it’s the same as other releases. Donatello is roughly 2 ½ inches in height and he has 12 points of articulation. He’s been given the design from the current cartoon, just like the rest of the line. The figure uses the standard Minimate body as a starting point, with a non-standard head, lower arms, hands, and legs, as well as an add-on for his shell. He shares the arm and leg pieces with the rest of the Turtles, but that’s not a bad thing. They’re well sculpted and they make the group stand out a bit more. His head is the three-piece design, with the upper and lower most pieces being shared with the rest of the turtles and the mask being new to Donnie. It looks pretty good, and the multi-piece nature means that the mask doesn’t slide out of place. The shell is pretty much in line with the rest of the Turtles. It’s been given the proper strap and a slot on the back for storage of Donnie’s Bo staff. The details still seem a little soft, but at this point, it’s more important that he match the others. Amazingly enough, Donatello’s paint isn’t terrible. Sure, there’s still a few issues with bleed over or slop, but certainly not at the level of the others. And look at that belt! It’s almost entirely straight! Also, the line work is really sharp, which is great. Donatello includes his Bo staff, a keychain attachment, and a display stand painted like a manhole cover, which continues to be fantastic.
The Figure In Question 