Ghostbusters: Egon Spengler (SDCC 2009 Exclusive) Figure Review

Like most other people in my generation, I've grown up with the Ghostbusters (both movies came out when I was quite young, but I was there for The Real Ghostbusters amazing cartoon series). I've collected most of their toys produced by now-defunct Kenner. Heck, I still have the Ghostbusters firehouse and Ecto-1! When I heard news that Mattel was going to produce Ghostbusters figures based on the first movie, I was stunned. Then I was happy, then moments later was worried. Would Mattel screw up my childhood? Thankfully, they haven't, since the Four Horsemen are behind the sculpts of the Ghostbusters figures.


Flavor Text:

"PERSONNEL FILE

NAME: Egon Spengler

PROFESSION:

• Doctor of Parapsychology
• Doctor of Physics

GHOSTBUSTER STATUS:

• Strategic right brain of the outfit.
• Designs Ghostbuster equipment with Ray Stantz.
• The most serious and straight forward of the GB team.

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

"Don't cross the streams. It would be bad."

(Page 1)

HABITS & HOBBIES:

• Science addict
• Collects spores, molds and fungus
• Driven by logic
• Sugar junkie
• Attempted self-trepanation

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• One of the founding members of the GHOSTBUSTERS.
• Incorporated radioactive isotopes into tractor beam
• Calculated freeze point of ectoplasm

NOTES:

Office Supplies -
Egon often needs to have a hand drill, magnifying glass, eye droppers, tweezers and a large supply of nougat and chocolate syrup handy.

(Page 2)"



The Good:

• Egon has an impressive (approximately) 26 POINTS OF ARTICULATION!
  

• The overall package design is quite nice, but wasteful. The picture of the two Terror Dogs found on both sides of the figure makes quite a nice display. However, the cartoony, angry-looking Stay Puft the Marshmallow Man reaching in the background was corny. The "3-D" Ghostbusters logo on the top of the packaging is also nice.

• The detailing done on the proton pack is quite good for a mass-produced toy. I also like to be able to holster the proton gun when not in use.

• The facial sculpt is quite close to actor Harold Ramis.

• The paint application on this figure is fairly consistent, which is nice for a mass-produced toy. There was a small splotch of paint on the back of Egon's left arm. Some of the wires on the proton pack weren't totally painted either, but nothing too big.

• Having Slimer as a "pack-in" accessory is a nice gesture to fans of the movie. Slimer even has a few points of articulation as well! As if that weren't enough, Slimer also comes with a "floating" stand. Slimer's bottom is sculpted so that he can "stand" on the ground as well.

The Bad:

• This is an "exclusive" that was first sold at this year's San Diego Comic Con at the Mattel booth and then later sold online via MattyCollector.com.
  

• Egon's face looks a bit cartoony.

• The awkward sculpt of Egon's arms, places him in perpetual bent elbow syndrome. Yes, I know that this was done to allow Egon to do his "Ghostbusting" pose but a neutral pose would've been nice especially when he's not using his proton pack.

• Although having Slimer as a "pack-in" accessory is a nice gesture to Ghostbuster fans, it doesn't seem to be paired to the right Ghostbuster. I'm aware that Bill Murray (or should I say Peter Venkman) had some issues with his likeness being used as a figure, which led to the Egon/Slimer pair. The toaster or even the ectoplasm/slime samples would've been a better choice of accessory.
  

The Ugly:

• As with most "exclusives," pricing for these items are quite the bitch. Admittedly, I paid quite a bit more via eBay not being able to attend SDCC and to avoid waiting on line online (no, that's not a typo). When the sale began on MattyCollector.com, there was a long delay in allowing purchases of their leftover Egons from SDCC. Collectors online via forums were worried sick. When they were finally ready, I discovered that with shipping and handling, Egon costs about a whopping $28.00 (Egon is listed as $20.00)!

• Seeing the non-removable proton pack makes me sad, very sad. It would've been a nice homage to the old Ghostbusters figures with their removable proton packs that we've all grown up with and love. Also, the extra space in the back would've allowed the possibilty (no matter how small) for the Ghostbusters to ride in their Ectomobile (Ecto-1).

• I'm not too pleased with Egon being "slimed". First off, the "slime" deco on Egon looks more like grass-stains than anything else. Also, Mattel should've saved the "slimed" look for their later Venkman figure release. Egon never got slimed by Slimer, so having that deco is just... extraneous.
  

As I mentioned earlier, I purchased this MattyCollector exclusive online via eBay for a (a large undisclosed amount of money). At this point, I don't know what to recommend regarding purchasing this Egon exclusive. Amazon currently has it for $34.99 (that's the cheapest) through a third-party vendor. Browsing eBay may give you a slightly better deal. Bigbadtoystore.com (also found selling on Amazon.com) has it for approximately $40 (this includes shipping and handling).

NOTE: I DO NOT REPRESENT MATTYCOLLECTOR, eBAY, AMAZON, OR BIGBADTOYSTORE. I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID TO MENTION THEIR NAMES. I AM ONLY RECOMMENDING THEIR SERVICES BASED UPON MY PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THEM.



Overall, Mattel's SDCC 2009 Exclusive Egon Spengler is a pretty decent entry into the Ghostbusters franchise. I'm glad to see the Ghostbusters being reintroduced as a marketable toy line. Having Egon with loads of articulation and with a ghost pack-in accessory gives me hope for the rest of the Ghostbusters line.