#3008: The Family That Busts Together

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, I blame Max, Phoebe Spengler, Plasma Series, Target Exclusive January 12, 2022

PHOEBE & EGON SPENGLER

GHOSTBUSTERS: PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“Phoebe’s love of science and affinity for bustin’ ghosts runs in the family. She’s got Spengler blood, after all.”

Finding a good follow-up to the first Ghostbusters has been a difficult task since, well, the first Ghostbusters, honestly. Even the combination of the whole original cast, the original director, and the original writers on Ghostbusters II wasn’t enough to capture that particular lightning back in the bottle, so in a modern world where reassembling the whole team is no longer possible, it’s an even more daunting task. 2016’s attempted reboot was divisive to put it mildly. So, Afterlife seemed like it was taking on a rather Herculean feat, but it actually managed to achieve the seemingly impossible, and finally craft an actually pretty decent follow-up to the first movie. Its success largely lies in how it interweaves old and new, as the old story is still there, but there’s also an actually rather likable cast of new characters to accompany them. Central to the film is Egon Spengler’s granddaughter Phoebe, whose curiosity about her grandfather’s old habits launches her into the film’s events, as she is guided by her grandfather’s spirit, metaphorically, and then (SPOILERS), not so metaphorically.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

“The Family That Busts Together” set is a Target-exclusive Ghostbusters: Plasma Series release, which was announced the week after Afterlife hit theaters, and started hitting shelves just after Black Friday/Cyber Monday. Currently, the set is the only way to get Plasma Series versions of either of the two included characters. It does seem a little odd, since Phoebe is unquestionably the film’s main character, and it’s an exclusive set, but with the rather notable spoilers surrounding the other half of the set, I can get the move for a retailer exclusive, since that allows for a closer to film release, while also keeping the reveal close to the vest for as close as possible. The set did at least prove fairly easy to find at first, though in the aftermath of holiday shopping, time will tell as to exactly how easily acquired it is.

PHOEBE

Afterlife‘s new cast each sort of follow the archetype of one of the earlier ‘Busters, with McKenna Grace’s Phoebe taking her grandfather’s spot as the slightly quieter, more scientifically-minded member of the crew, though perhaps one that’s a little more outwardly driven than Egon ever was in the films proper. As with all of the figures thus far from the film, Phoebe is based on her fully geared up look from later in the film, which is certainly sensible, as far as toy choices go. Just basic day-to-day attire might not be quite as fun. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and she has 25 points of articulation. While there are similarities in the sculpts of all the new Ghostbusters, none of them are actually sharing parts, so Phoebe is an all-new mold. It’s a pretty solid one. The articulation is perhaps a touch more limited than I’d like, but it does somewhat come with the territory of her being much smaller. The likeness on the head sculpt is pretty spot on, and I really like the little touches to show that she’s had to quite hastily tailor her grandfather’s jumpsuit to her smaller stature. The paint work on the figure is on par with the earlier releases in the line, which is to say its pretty clean and basic, with the best work by far being shown off on the head, which has the face printing. Phoebe gets a rather impressive selection of accessories, including Egon’s modified proton pack, with removable back plate and neutron wand, as well as an effects piece, a PKE meter, which can be clipped to her belt, a jar of ooze from the second movie, and one of the chess pieces from the game she and Egon’s poltergeist are playing throughout the film. The very moment-specific extras are definitely a lot of fun, and I was glad to see them turn up. Lastly, and not so much for her specifically, the set also includes the head to the Terror Dog version of Zuul, designed for use with the Build-A-Figure body released last year. Since that one was specifically Vinz Clortho, and it was re-used again for the set with Tully, it was very nice of Hasbro to find a way to give collectors both dogs.

EGON

Afterlife begins with the death of Egon, shot in such a way as to avoid showing him directly, given Harold Ramis’s passing seven years before the film. Throughout the film, he continues to have a role in the film as a spirit with no visible form, again to keep him included, while still acknowledging the loss of Ramis. The big reveal during the film’s climactic battle, after the remaining three original ‘busters have shown up to assist the new team, and after Phoebe in particular steps up to face down Gozer, is Egon as an actual visible ghost. It’s a moment that allows both Egon and Ramis to stand alongside their respective teams one last time, and it’s one of the film’s most emotional moments to be sure. This set in particular is designed to replicate that sequence, and Egon’s appearance in particular. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s largely the same as all of the other older ‘busters from Afterlife, meaning he’s using the Ray body from the first series. It gives him a slightly huskier build, which matches to Ramis’s look later in life, as well as how Egon is portrayed in the film. The only thing that *doesn’t* match up with the film is the presence of gloves, which Egon pointedly didn’t have on as a spectre. However, there aren’t yet any non-gloved hands and forearms for the standard ‘Busters body, so it would have required new tooling, and given how the coloration works, it’s a forgivable change, since it’s not very visible anyway. The one new piece here is a new head sculpt. It’s not as spot-on a likeness as the prior Egon, but it’s also based on a cgi recreation of a likeness, and it given the turnaround time on this one, it’s likely it wasn’t even a fully-formed render at the time yet. All things considered, it’s perhaps a little on the large side, but otherwise not a bad sculpt at all. The paint work on this figure is a definite change-up from the others, since it needs to give him that spectral look. This is achieved by molding him in translucent blue plastic, and then painting on some trace details, notably on the face and the upper torso, making him look like an apparition that fades away as it gets to the edges of his body. It’s a well-rendered effect, especially when seen in person. Egon’s more of an accessory himself, so he doesn’t get anything of his own, but a few of Phoebe’s accessories also work for Egon as well, so there’s some crossover there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve mentioned before, Egon’s my favorite member of the Ghostbusters, and Harold Ramis is also one of my favorite creators, so the lack of both of them in this sequel was something I was worried about going into the new movie. I really loved how they worked his legacy into the story, and I’ll admit to being rather touched by how they built to his ultimate reappearance late in the film. Likewise, I really identified a lot with Phoebe and her quest to connect more with her late grandfather. She was certainly my favorite addition to the cast, so I found myself wanting this set quite a bit after seeing the movie. Thankfully, Max was there with the assist on this one, and snagged me one back in December. Phoebe is definitely the real star here, but the accessory selection and inclusion of Egon really make it a home run of a set.

#2458: Terror Dog

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Plasma Series, Terror Dog July 8, 2020

TERROR DOG

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

Ranking probably in the third spot on the list of most memorable Ghostbusters ghosts, the Terror Dogs serve as Gozer’s precursors in the first film, eventually transitioning to full-fledged hench-dogs by the film’s climax. Like Gozer, the Terror Dogs were a notable absence from Mattel’s 6-inch Ghostbusters line, though they did get some toy love from both NECA and DST. Now, Hasbro’s jumping in on the game with at least one of the two.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Terror Dog is the Build-A-Figure for the first assortment of Ghostbusters: The Plasma Series. Honestly, this feels like a more natural choice of BaF than the wonky Logo Ghost that we got from Mattel’s one retail line, so I can definitely get behind it. There are two Terror Dogs in the movie, Zuul and Vinz Clortho. Since we technically already got a Zuul in this set (in the form of the Dana Barrett figure), this guy pretty wisely goes with the Vinz Clortho option, as showcased by the slightly longer horns on the head. The figure measures 5 inches tall and 6 inches long in its standard standing position, and it has 25 points of articulation. The articulation is pretty good…on the front half. Not so much on the back. Seriously, the neck joint, moving jaw, and front legs all work well, but the total lack of any sort of mid-body joint, the odd decision to only do cut joints for the back hips, and the lack of a proper knee joint on the hind legs makes the back half of the figure surprisingly stiff. I was a little let down by the lack of mobility there. Also, make sure to not be a total idiot like me, and get those hind legs on the correct sides the first time around, because that will only further make issue of posing the figure. On the plus side, moving past the slightly disappointing articulation, the sculpt is actually pretty nice. There are a few spots where its a little soft on the details, but it’s a far more accurate recreation of the film design than the DST and NECA versions, at least to my eye, and fits in very nicely with the rest of the line in terms of styling. The paint work on this figure is pretty solid as well, with a nice bit of accent work going on with the silver airbrushing. It brings out more of the sculpted elements, and also gives the figure a cool sort of otherworldly feel, which is appropriate for the character. The Terror Dog doesn’t include any accessories. Being an accessory itself, it’s not unexpected or unreasonable, but I do think it’s too bad we couldn’t also get a second Zuul head to give collectors the option of which dog they want to display. Of course, the only way to get a second body is to buy the whole set again, which might not be a ton of fun, so maybe Hasbro’s got something else up their sleeves on this one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Terror Dog has never been the star attraction of any Ghostbusters merch for me, so I was really buying this set for the individual figures, and not this guy. I was, however, intrigued by the figure, and certainly curious to get it assembled. Ultimately, I’m not the biggest fan of some of the choices Hasbro made, but at the end of the day, it’s a good accent piece to an otherwise truly impressive assortment of figures.

#2457: Gozer

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Ghostbusters, Gozer, Hasbro, Plasma Series July 7, 2020

GOZER

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“When ghastly ghouls and spooky specters come looking to paint the town dead, the Ghostbusters are ready to answer the call! But are they prepared to save New York City (and the world) from the ancient evil known as (among other things) Gozer?”

The ultimate big bad of the first Ghostbusters is Gozer the Gozerian (or the Traveler, or Destructor, depending on your preferred subtitle), is a god who takes a couple of forms in the film. The one that most people remember is the 50-foot-tall Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but the first physical manifestation of the character is a humanoid female, portrayed by model Slavitza Jovan in the film. It’s a distinctive look to be sure, but not one that crops up in toy form quite as often. Notably, it got skipped by Mattel for their 6-inch line, meaning Hasbro gets to be first to this particular scale.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gozer is the final single-carded figure in Series 1 of The Plasma Series. As noted above, this is Gozer’s first physical manifestation, but I’m sure Hasbro’s already got the second one in the works. Of course, this is definitely the one that works a bit better as a standard single figure. The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. Her articulation is pretty much the same set-up as Dana’s, but with less limitations courtesy of the sculpt, giving her a better overall range. She’s still slightly limited on the elbows, but otherwise things work pretty well. Fortunately, on the sculpting front, she’s a bit of a step up from Dana, thanks to slightly easier to translate costume. I really dig how they worked in all the various textures and such all throughout her body suit. The likeness on the head, while not as spot on as some of the ‘busters, is still a pretty solid rendition of Jovan, and to my eye looks a bit closer than NECA or DST’s attempts. The one area where I think this figure could stand to be just a little better is on the paint. She’s certainly not bad; all of the basics are there and everything. That said, I wish the detailing on the face was a little more extensive, so as to better replicate the rather elaborate make-up Jovan was sporting for the role. Additionally, while the pearlescent finish of the plastic for the body suit does okay on its own, the sculpt would be better served by a touch of accent work, just to help things pop. Gozer is packed with a spare set of hands sporting some wicked lightning effects, perfect for “Then Die!!!!”-ing the Ghostbusters. She also includes the head to the Terror Dog Build-A-Figure, which I’ll be reviewing in full tomorrow.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The main ‘busters were definitely my main focus from this set, but I was more than willing to have an antagonist for them, and Gozer’s a pretty respectable one. She’s not quite up to their quality, but I think she turned out a little better than Dana, and certainly a little better than I had been expecting. She rounds out this first set pretty well.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure. They’re currently sold out of their initial shipment of the line, but should be getting more soon. If you’re looking for other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2456: Dana Barrett

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Dana Barret, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Plasma Series, Sigourney Weaver July 6, 2020

DANA BARRETT

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“When ghastly ghouls and spooky specters come looking to paint the town dead, the Ghostbusters are ready to answer the call — but not before Dana Barrett is possessed by Zuul, ready to unleash Gozer’s wrath on New York City!”

Though not a member of the titular team, Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett is a pretty pivotal piece of both of the original Ghostbusters films. Despite this, she’s received a whole lot less toy coverage over the years, thanks in part to her character being dropped from spin-off material such as The Real Ghostbusters, and in part to Sigourney’s general lack of interest in letting her likeness be used on toys. If the notable quantities of Ellen Ripley figures that have hit retail in the last five years are anything to go by, she’s laxed up a little bit on such things. Back when Mattel had the Ghostbusters license, the only Dana we got wasn’t a figure at all, but a statue that was in scale with the other figures. That always felt like a bit of a rip-off. Fortunately, Hasbro’s finally giving Dana her due, and have included her in their first assortment of figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dana is figure 5 in the first assortment of Plasma Series figures. Like most Dana figures, she’s based on her appearance while possessed by Zuul, which is a sensible enough choice as far as memorable looks go. It’s perhaps not the easiest to translate into toy form, but we’ll discuss that more in a moment. The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. Dana’s articulation isn’t quite as practical or useful as that on the ‘busters. The skirt does a lot of limiting on the legs, and the elbow joints in particular don’t have much range at all. These are, of course, the symptoms of adapting such a design into plastic, since her rather flowy and lightweight dress doesn’t really translate into plastic all that well. And really, that’s kind of the overwhelming thing that you run into when dealing with this figure: it’s translating a design that just doesn’t translate so well. There are parts of the figure, particularly on the torso and arms, where they’ve made some design compromises so as to not impede articulation quite as much, and it doesn’t really work. I mean, I like that the arms are separate pieces, thereby allowing actual movement, but ultimately they’re separate pieces, and very obviously separate ones at that, which don’t look like the single piece of clothing from the film. Instead, she kind of looks like she’s wearing separate sleeves or something. Moving away from the hard to translate flowy dress, let’s talk about the hard to translate poofy hair. Sigourney Weaver’s hair later in the film is…well, there’s a lot to it, and it behaves in ways that really only hair can do. When you try to make that into a solid piece of plastic, changes have to happen. And that they did here. The actual face does sport a solid likeness of Weaver, but the hair around it seems strange. She’s definitely got some helmet hair going on here, and it doesn’t really look right from any angle. I can see what they were going for, but it just ends up looking strange, and just off. It’s the weakest part of the figure, because it just never looks right, no matter how you pose her. One area where the figure actually does pretty well consistently is the paint. The face uses the printing, which works quite well for her heavy make up, and I quite dig the metallic sheen on her dress. I would have liked for her sash to have a little more accenting or something going on, but it’s not atrocious as is. Dana’s only accessory isn’t really anything for her, but is instead the torso of the Terror Dog Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Going into this set, I was expecting Dana to be the weakest of the bunch. I don’t feel I was wrong on that front. However, she’s actually a fair bit better than I was expecting her to be, and honestly Hasbro deserves some pretty major kudos for actually attempting to make her a real figure, rather than just the accent piece that Mattel saddled us with. This figure definitely has her flaws, but is still far from terrible, given how tricky to adapt this particular look is.

#2453: Winston Zeddemore

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Plasma Series, Winston Zeddemore July 3, 2020

WINSTON ZEDDEMORE

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“As the voice of reason of the Ghostbusters team, Winston can calm things down when the world gets a little crazy.”

Hey, it’s Winston! The Ghostbuster that doesn’t get the credit he–wait, I’ve been this way before, and I’m sure to be this way again. What? Was that a Neil Diamond reference? That’s…well, that’s really odd and doesn’t seem to fit the general aesthetic, does it? Also, really diverts the attention away from poor Wintson, who, as I’ve mentioned before, really doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Man, I’m falling into the same trap everyone else does, aren’t I? Well, the only way I can see fit to properly make it up is to review this figure of Ernie Hudson, Ghostbuster!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winston is figure 4 in the first assortment of Plasma Series figures, and wrapping up the ‘busters team. Like Egon, he’s just a single-pack, but I can’t say that’s terribly surprising, given the aforementioned lack of credit for pretty much anything having to do with Winston. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. From the neck down, Winston’s the same figure as Egon, which is a fairly sensible choice, given the similar builds and usual state of their uniforms. Anything else really would have just been change for the sake of change. He does get a new head sculpt, and it’s another really strong one. I’m not sure if it’s quite as good as Egon, but it’s definitely got a very clear Ernie Hudson likeness, and doesn’t overly genericize or go too far into caricature like the DST, Mezco, or Mattel versions. I was initially a little iffy on the slightly open mouth for the sculpt, because such expressions can always have a lot of room for error, but I think it ultimately looks really good, and I was impressed by how well the likeness held up from various different angles. In terms of paint, Winston is pretty similar to the other three ‘busters, which is to say he looks pretty good. The face printing is again really good at highlighting the likeness on the sculpt, and really giving him a life-like feel. Winston of course gets the same removable proton pack as the other three, but gets probably the coolest additional part of the main ‘busters: a proton blast effect. It’s really well done, and it’s kind of a shame we didn’t get the piece for all four team members. Winston also includes the final leg to the Terror Dog Build-A-Figure, which I’ll be taking a closer look at next week.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The kind of iffy nature of the likenesses on both the Mattel and DST Winstons was a decent part of why I didn’t jump into either of those lines, so I was pretty happy to see how well this particular version had turned out, and was definitely very happy with him once I saw him in person. Of the four, I’d rank him just after Egon in terms of my favorite figure in the set. He turned out very well, and hopefully he too will be getting a repack down the line so that he’s not too hard to find. In general, these four are really just the best bang for your buck when it comes to movie-styled ‘busters, and I’m looking forward to what sorts of variants and such Hasbro has in mind.

#2452: Ray Stanz

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Plasma Series, Ray Stanz July 2, 2020

RAY STANZ

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“As the heart of the team, Ray Stantz is always eager to get down to bustin’ business!”

Okay, let’s do this intro thing. Yeah, right, intro…Umm, so one time I took a “which Ghostbuster are you?” quiz and I got Ray. And it kind of baffled me a little bit, because Ray’s my least favorite–let me rephrase–Ray’s my fourth favorite Ghostbuster. Like, I mean, I don’t *dislike* the guy, but he fades into the background a bit for me. So, you know, there it is. Well, best review the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ray is figure 2 in the first assortment of Plasma Series figures. Like Venkman, he’s one of the double packs in the set, and if I’m honest, that seems a little surprising to me. I’m guessing Egon and Winston will be getting repacks down the line, but it does feel weird for Ray to be twice as common as them. But he’s my ~~least~~ fourth favorite Ghostbuster, so what do I know? The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. He still shares a number of parts with the other two figures, but gets his own head and torso. The torso gives Ray a slightly pudgier build than the rest of the team, which is appropriate, and certainly better looking than how Mattel handled it. It does make it a little trickier to get the proton pack in place on this particular figure, but I was able to get it properly attached without too much extra effort. The head sculpt is a pretty strong piece, pretty much on par with the Egon sculpt in terms of likeness. Again, this is another area where this figure really out paces the Mattel offering, as I always found their Ackroyd likeness to be their worst of the bunch. This one, on the other hand, is pretty much the spitting image, goofy expression and all. Ray’s paintwork is pretty darn solid, with the basics more or less matching the other two. Like Egon, the face print works very well here, and really just lends even more to how good that likeness is. In addition to getting the same proton pack as the other two, Ray is also packed with his goggles he’s seen sporting early in the movie, as well as one of the left legs to the Terror Dog. The goggles in particular are a really strong piece, sitting snuggly on his head, and managing to not look too bulky, while still not requiring his hair to be too matted down in order for them to look okay.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ray’s not ever really going to be my first choice when it comes to the Ghostbusters and toys, but I won’t deny that this figure did jump out at me when I saw the initial photos, and again when I saw the figures in hand. Hasbro definitely put a lot of effort into getting him right, and the end result is another really strong figure. He doesn’t quite beat out Egon, but personal preference may factor into that ever so slightly.

#2451: Peter Venkman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Peter Venkman, Plasma Series July 1, 2020

PETER VENKMAN

GHOSTBUSTERS: PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“The mouth of the Ghostbusters team, Peter Venkman could probably talk a ghost into trapping itself if he tried.”

Alright, let’s dive headlong into this new Ghostbusters set, shall we? I haven’t reviewed a ton of Ghostbusters stuff on the site, but I’ve reviewed enough to have run out of compelling things to say here in these intros. I mean, really, how many times can you break down the role that each of the Ghostbuster plays? Hasbro did a serviceable job breaking it down in the bio up there, so let’s just jump into reviewing the team’s mouth, Dr. Peter Venkman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Venkman is figure 1 in the first assortment of the Plasma Series. He’s one of the assortment’s two double-packs, which makes some sense, seeing as he’s kind of the front man of the whole thing. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. Venkman has several parts in common with yesterday’s Egon figure, but does get a new head, as well as new shins, showcasing Venkman’s more lax approach to wearing his jumpsuit and boots. The body sculpt being the same between these two isn’t too unreasonable, and it means that it’s still a pretty solid sculpt in its own right. The new shins work well with the other pieces, and do a respectable job of recreating that slightly unique appearance. His new head sculpt is, of course, the main piece of interest here. It’s definitely not as nice as the Egon sculpt. I think there’s definitely a lot of Bill Murray in the sculpt, certainly more than some attempts we’ve seen, but it’s not quite on the mark. There are some angles where the likeness really peeks through (especially when viewed from the left), and others where he looks far more like Bing Crosby. In general, I think it’s a little bit cartoony. Given the cartooniness of Mattel’s take as well, I have to wonder if that might actually be something coming from Murray himself; I know some actors can be weird about likenesses being too close to their actual appearance. Venkman’s paint work is pretty close to Egon’s, albeit with the expected changes to the head and legs, as well as the new name on the name tag. I did find that the face application wasn’t quite as strong on Venkman, which may be contributing somewhat to the issues with the likeness. Venkman is packed with the same removable proton pack as Egon, as well as a ghost trap, and one of the Terror Dog’s right legs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Venkman always seems to draw the short straw, no matter who’s handling the line. Neither Mattel, nor DST had much luck with him either, and he’s definitely the weakest of Hasbro’s set. That being said, they managed to land it a bit better on their first attempt than others, and I think he really only sticks out as the worst because of how high the bar is with the others. He’s not a bad figure by any stretch of the imagination, and he certainly could have been much worse. And, hey, at least he’s not permanently slimed, or weirdly replaced by a Walter Peck figure. That would be weird, wouldn’t it?

#2450: Egon Spengler

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Egon Spengler, Ghostbusters, Hasbro, Plasma Series June 30, 2020

EGON SPENGLER

GHOSTBUSTERS: THE PLASMA SERIES (HASBRO)

“When ghastly ghouls and spooky specters come looking to paint the town dead, the Ghostbusters are ready to answer the call! Egon Spengler’s like a proton: he always stays positive!”

We went 25 years without any proper toy coverage of the first Ghostbusters, but since hitting that 25th marker, we haven’t exactly had a shortage, especially in terms of collector-oriented lines. Mattel got in on the scene in 2009, with a line of articulated six-inch figures, which ran for a couple of years through their Matty Collector site. Diamond Select Toys initially picked up the license for Minimates, but eventually expanded that to their 7-inch Select format. Even Mezco got into the game, with a set of the main team as part of their One:12 Collective last year. At the start of this year, Hasbro announced that they were the latest holders of the Ghostbusters master license. So, are we treading on the same ground again, or will Hasbro well and truly make it their own? Well, to help answer that question, I’m going to be doing things here ever so slightly differently, and making a rather direct comparison between two versions of my man Egon, one being Hasbro’s new one, and the other being Mattel’s old offering (originally given its own review here). Let’s jump right on in.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Egon is figure 3 in Hasbro’s first series of Ghostbusters: The Plasma Series…he was also figure 3 from Mattel, so I guess he’s just always the third one. Unlike Mattel’s offerings, these Ghostbusters aren’t exclusive to anywhere, although they’re still a little tricky to find at mass retail at the moment. Egon’s based on his appearance in the first film, which is so far the source of the whole line’s appearances so far. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation. Height-wise, he and his Mattel counterpart have negligible differences. The first real differences come into play with the articulation. Not only does the Hasbro Egon have more articulation, what he’s got is also just plain has a better range on it. Hasbro’s been steadily improving their articulation scheme throughout Legends, Black Series, and Lightning Collection, and Egon represents the best of those kind of getting rolled into one. Not only does he get double joints at both the elbows and knees (an amazing improvement on the Mattel version, which couldn’t even get a full 90 degrees out of either joint), but he also gets a ball-jointed waist and even butterfly joints for the shoulders, which really helps with proper proton wand posing. The joints are also a fair bit better worked into the sculpt on the Hasbro figure than on the Mattel equivalent (which, to be fair, is using a sculpt that is mostly over a decade old at this point), meaning he looks a little more pleasing from that standpoint as well. While the Mattel Egon likeness didn’t look *unlike* Harold Ramis, it was always a somewhat weak offering. Hasbro’s stab at it is really, really good, and is a pretty much pitch-perfect Ramis likeness. In particular, I think they way they’ve done the glasses, more just suggesting their presence than actually putting a small pair of glasses on top of the face, works a lot better at this scale and style. The Mattel Egon shared everything below the neck with his fellow ‘busters. which was a little bit to his detriment. Hasbro’s Egon still shares a fair number of his parts with Peter and Winston, but not with Ray, who was kind of the odd-man out in terms of build, and ultimately the one whose build really through off the rest of the team on the Mattel side. The Mattel jumpsuit really didn’t hang very realistically, but Hasbro’s actually looks like someone wearing a baggy jumpsuit. Moving onto the gear, like the later Mattel figures, this Egon has a removable proton pack, though its a fair bit more detailed, and looks to be better scaled to the figure. He can also more properly stow his neutrino wand on his back (it doesn’t have to go at a weird angle), and the pack sports all the proper straps, including the ones that were missing from Mattel’s. In terms of paint work, Hasbro’s really got things down resulting in more consistent, more lifelike final product than what Mattel gave us, thanks largely to Hasbro’s face printing tech, which really does the sculpt a lot of favors. In addition to the previously mentioned removable proton pack, Egon is also packed with his PKE meter, which can be hung from his belt, as well as one of the left legs to the Terrordog Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when the Mattel stuff was first starting to hit, I really wanted to get into it, but Matty Collector and its insane pricing structure and ordering process wasn’t anything I wanted to be messing with. By the time the far easier to acquire Walmart set was put out, I was kind of burned on the whole thing, and Egon was the only one I could really justify purchasing. The Hasbro announcement had me cautiously optimistic, and I think it may have well paid off, because this Egon is by far the best version of the character out there, and undoubtedly blows the Mattel version out of the water. Hopefully, he won’t prove too hard to find in the long run.