Ghostbusters: Ray Stantz (Marshmallow Mess) Figure Review

Flavor Text:

"Damn bird!"

"PERSONNEL FILE

Name: Ray Stantz

Profession:

• Doctor of Parapsychology

Ghostbuster Status:

• Overly excited, nostalgic member of the group
• Duly designated representative of the state, country, and city of New York

Quotable Quotes:

"I couldn't help it.  It just popped in there!"

(Page 1)

Habits & Hobbies:

• Enjoys the company of female ghosts
• Fondly recalls memories of Camp Wakonda
• Casual smoker

Accomplishments:

• Witnessed an undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration
• Caused a rampaging, homicidal Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man to appear in New York

Notes:

Office Supplies -
guide to nearby parallel dimensions
marshmallows, chocolate bar, stick

(Page 2)"



Sculpt:

I'm 99.9% positive that this "exclusive" figure is the same exact Ray Stantz that was released much earlier on sans "marshmallow mess" paint application and gloved hands.  Unfortunately, as Mattel clearly stated online, they have no intention of resculpting the (uncharacteristically) serious-looking/squished Ray Stantz head.  It's an interesting choice though to have the "bubbliest" personality of the Ghostbusters to have such a dead-serious face, while the rest of the Ghostbusters crew have more "softer" (and smiling) faces.  I just don't get it.

Since Mattel reuses the same bodies for each Ghostbuster (even though each individual is of different height and weight), there's really nothing new to write or discuss about regarding the sculpt of these figures.  I would like to point out, however, that I think the gloved hands should be sculpted to be a bit thicker since the sculpt looks exactly the same size of their bare hands.

Stantz's reaction when told of how much Ghostbusters figures would cost.

At this point, I'm convinced this figure could've made a great "Sedgewick Hotel" exclusive figure.  The gloved hands, Ecto goggles, and walkie talkie; everything about this literally screams out "potential!" which was ignored due to lack of creativity/budget/care.  If they resculpted Ray's face with the right amount of "chubbiness" and included a cigarette in his mouth, Mattel would've had me in their pockets for quite some time.  Too bad Mattel lost their chance.



Articulation:

Stantz has approximately 18 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, swivel waist, swivel-hinged legs, swivel upper thighs, hinged knees, swivel boots, and swivel-hinged ankles.  Due to the sculpt of the elbow guards, Stantz can't relax his arms down to his sides like normal people (or in this case, figures) and is forever cursed to his "perpetual bent-arm" syndrome.



Paint Application:

There's a tiny bit of Ray's "uniform" paint on the bottom right side of his cheek as well as some stains on his left collar.  Oh wait, there's also a smear of black paint on top of the "marshmallow mess" on the front of his uniform (that pig!).  What else is new?

"Why did Mattel even bother sculpting me?"

What really irks me about this particular figure is the lack of creativity and care on Mattel's part.  What they essentially did was to take the already produced (and released) Ray Stantz figure, attach Peter Venkman's gloved arms, and apply some white paint here and there.  From a paying customer's point of view, this just isn't right.  Does Mattel think they can run a business if they dish out figures of this [low] caliber?  If anyone at Mattel were serious, they would sculpt actual pieces of leftover Stay Puft on top of the already produced mold of Ray Stantz.  But wait, that would make things more expensive for them.  Screw that, just reuse the same figure and drop some white paint here and there to cover up the sloppy paint applications and call it "Marshmallow Mess" Ray.  I hope whoever came up with this idea was demoted or reassigned because this is unacceptable.




Accessories:

Mattel goes all-out with the accessories

"Marshmallow Mess" Stantz comes with a few more accessories than your typical Ghostbusters figure: "glow-in-the-dark" Ghostbusters logo stand, "glow-in-the-dark" proton stream, removable Ecto goggles, and walkie-talkie.  However, we finally get Ray's Ecto goggles that collector's have been demanding for a year or two.  Unfortunately, Mattel's execution leaves something more to be desired.  So, we also finally get a walkie-talkie, but (to me) it looks like a chocolate ice-cream sandwich.  It doesn't even have a working holster for it, so that's another easily-lost accessory.  I sometimes wonder if Mattel's toy designers (sorry, sculptors) think things through before creating something.

As you know, the Ghostbusters logo stand made its debut with the gloved Peter Venkman figure as did the "glow-in-the-dark" proton stream.  I suspect that Mattel ran out of ideas and wanted to save money without appearing to look cheap so they decided to include those two items with the "Club Ecto-1 Exclusive" figure.  Sheesh, and I thought I was cheap.  The inclusion of the Ghostbusters logo stand is a nice but utterly useless gesture.  First off, it's a bit too small for any Ghostbuster figure to stand in any sort of dynamic pose.  Secondly, it's "glow-in-the-dark".  Really?  I was under the impression that these figures were catering to the "adult" collector.  Hmmm... my mistake.  Oh wait, it says so on the packaging.

Now, the proton stream is a great accessory to have but it has one major problem.  Let me explain.  The "tip" (or insertion point) of the proton stream is molded to fit the tip of the neutrino wand (right by where the red wire is bent in a "U" shape).  Due to the length and weight of the proton stream, it ends up tilting (or bending) the tip of the neutrino wand out of shape.

We finally get the Ecto goggles!  How cool is that?  Well, the idea is cool, but the execution leaves something more to be desired.  It took me a long time to figure out what was bothering me about it; it turns out that the goggles are a bit too small.  At least in the movie, the Ecto goggles not only covered Stantz's eyes but also the sides of his head.  The plastic version is a miniature rectangular brightly green-colored box only manages to cover Ray's eyes.  I guess the problem is that the Ecto goggles looks more like a handheld camera with straps attached to it from three side.

While the inclusion of the walkie-talkie accessory is great, it would've been a whole lot better if Ray had a working holster to keep the walkie-talkie from being lost so easily.  PRO-TIP: It looks quite stupid to have a non-functioning holster sculpted on the figure when you include an accessory that clearly has to go in there.



Packaging:

It's the same "Ghostbusters" packaging with the angry Stay-Puft Marshmallow in the background with the figure behind a large "window-like" display.  I have to give props to Mattel for displaying their figures in really cool poses inside their respective packaging.  It definitely looks like Ray is blasting some paranormal ass back to the stone age.  It's a shame that the "coolness" factor is lost once the figure is removed from its packaging.



Price:

Kicking Necromorph butt... errr... wrong series.

It goes without saying the price paid for this figure is just absolutely ridiculous (that goes for the rest of Mattel's "Ghostbusters" line).  I've seen far more articulated and better sculpted figures with better material that go for cheaper than what Mattel is charging for each individual Ghostbusters figure.  If you've subscribed to Mattel's "Club Ecto-1," you'll be locked in until the end up this year.  Care to guess who didn't subscribe for next year's Ghostbusters line?



The Good:

* Proton stream accessory included!
* Ecto goggles are also included!




The Bad:

* Reused the same flawed Ray Stantz figure (*surprise*).
* "Marshmallow Mess," really?
* Still visible sloppy paint applications and stray marks.



The Ugly:

* Uncreative and unsuccessful implementation of the "marshmallow mess".
* Overly expensive price for a previously released figure with white paint all over it.



Score:

Not spending extra time scoring this dud.

Ghostbusters: Vinz Clortho (Keymaster of Gozer) Figure Review

Flavor Text:

"It's good to be king!" (chair not included)

"PERSONNEL FILE

Name: Vinz Clortho
           Keymaster of Gozer

Profession:

• Minion of Volguus Zildrohoar, Lord of Seboullia (aka Gozer)

Ghostbuster Status:

• In possession of nerdy tax accountant Louis Tully's body
• Not the sharpest Shub roasting in the depths of Sloar

Quotable Quotes:

"Gozer the Traveler-he will come in one of the pre-chosen forms.  During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveler came as a large and moving Torb!"

(Page 1)

Habits & Hobbies:

• Property destruction
• Speaks to horses
• Growls

Accomplishments:

• Found the gatekeeper
• Transformed into a Terror Dog with sizeable horns
• Opened a gateway to an alternate dimension

Notes:

Consult Louis Tully regarding the GB "tax issue" after releasing the minion possessing him... and before taking a sample of his brain tissue.

(Page 2)"



Sculpt:

Vinz probably has the most new parts (besides the head, obviously) from Mattel's Ghostbusters figure lineup. While I appreciate the sculpt of the new torso, the material used feels very cheap and "hollow".  It would've been much better if Mattel incorporated the "rubbery" material (used for Courtroom Battle Peter Venkman) for Vinz's light-blue colored button shirt and used an orange-colored torso with wrinkles sculpted into it.  But hey, at least we've got a quasi-ball-jointed torso!

Vinz's facial sculpt ranges somewhere between "good" and "somewhat accurate".  The facial expressions of both heads are pretty darn accurate, however, I don't feel comfortable in saying that the facial sculpt is a "dead-on accurate" representation of Rick Moranis.  Each time I compare the two (the figure and photos of the actor in the Ghostbusters film), it looks like him but doesn't at the same time.  I can settle with the somewhat "cartoony" Vinz head sculpt.



Articulation:

(Vinz Clortho breakdancing)

Vinz has approximately 15 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, quasi ball-jointed torso, swivel waist, swivel-hinged legs, swivel knees, and rocker ankles.  Unfortunately, Vinz can't place his arms down to his sides due to the sculpts of both arm and torso.  However, I do recall Vinz walking around with his arms in an "A" shape.  Like the other Ghostbusters figures, Vinz's leg (particularly his left) joints are way too loose.



Paint Application:

Mattel's paint application of Vinz Clortho is quite "iffy".  For instance, Vinz's yellowish-orange shirt hasn't been properly painted (around the collar) because the light-blue coloring of his button shirt is seeping through.  The bottom right crotch area shows the light-blue color emerging in a "peek-a-boo!" sort of way amongst the brown trousers.  There's also some pizza crust "stain" on Vinz's open-palmed right-hand (but that's due to the pizza being wrapped around his hand for too long in the packaging).  There's also a few noticeable "mustard stain" spots on the back of his left elbow joint area.

"Yes, have some."

Vinz's alternate head (with the funky headgear) has a few paint application problems as well.  The wiring on his headgear have been haphazardly painted.  Also, the chin strap (white) paint has bled onto Vinz's face.



Accessories:

Vinz comes with a pretty sizeable amount of accessories: "ruffled hair" Vinz head, "Terror Dog" head, slice of pizza, plastic container (or bowl) of popcorn, and alternate "head gear adorned" Vinz head.

Vinz's head can be removed without too much trouble, but I would be careful when pulling off his alternate "science experiment" head since those tiny "wiring" sculpts on the headgear may break off one day.  Also, the "Terror Dog" head can be placed over the headgear-less Tully head without any problem.  Earlier on, I had trouble popping in either of Vinz's heads onto the peg; the back part of the neck kept on getting in the way of the collar of his shirt.  The best way to approach this is to slide the back of Vinz's neck in first and VOILA!

It's really cool to see Mattel include both the bowl of popcorn and slice of pizza as accessories with this particular figure.  Sure, those props were used for a few seconds or less, but it maintains the accuracy of a specific scene in the movie.  So, thank you Mattel.  However, I found it somewhat of a challenge to have Vinz pose with them.  With a few adjustments, I managed to pose his left arm in such a way so that the jar of popcorn would stay put.  However, the slice of pizza was slightly trickier to manage.



Packaging:

It's the same old "Ghostbusters" packaging with the angry Stay-Puft Marshmallow in the background with the figure behind a large "window-like" display.  I admit, the way the figures have been presented thus far in their  respective packaging really enhances the overall look of the figures.  Interestingly, additional accessories (such as Vinz's alternate head or the fat Scoleri Brother's alternate feet) are kept hidden from sight.



Price:

It goes without saying the price paid for this figure is just ridiculous (and that goes for the rest of Mattel's "Ghostbusters" line).  I've seen far more articulated and better sculpted figures with better material go for cheaper than what Mattel is charging for each individual Ghostbusters figure.  If you've subscribed to Mattel's "Club Ecto-1," you'll be locked in until the next subscription comes around.



The Good:

* Vinz definitely makes a nice addition to the Ghostbusters line who happens to not be one of them!
* Scene/character specific accessories!
* All-around new sculpt!



The Bad:

* Paint applications not up to par as usual.
* Vinz's left leg and ankle are a bit loose.



The Ugly:

* Still a bit too expensive (somewhat regretting being a "Club Ecto-1" member) for my tastes.



Score:

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.