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 II: "Courtroom Battle" Peter Venkman Figure Review

Flavor Text:

"PERSONNEL FILE

Name: Peter Venkman

Profession:

• Doctor of Parapsychology
• Doctor of Psychology

Ghostbuster Status:

• Salesperson for the GHOSTBUSTERS
• Occasionally develops equipment for the GHOSTBUSTERS
• Hosts a psychic-themed talk show

Quotable Quotes:

"We're the best.  We're the beautiful.  We're the only Ghostbusters."

(Page 1)

Habits & Hobbies:

• Enthusiastic voter
• Thinks hairless cats are weird
• Great with kids

Accomplishments:

• Came up with the idea to start the GHOSTBUSTERS
• First Ghostbuster to have "physical contact" with a ghost
• Bravely fought the Scoleri Brothers' ghosts

Notes:

Office Supplies-
Butch Carpathian Compendium
Love potion aerosol, Stool sample kit

(Page 2)"



Sculpt:

Most of Venkman's body is composed of the previously released (and heavily reused) "Movie Masters: The Dark Knight: Gotham City Thug" action figure.  There is no doubt that the sculpted tie comes from the "MM: TDK: Harvey Dent" action figure as well.

Aside from that, the proton pack straps have been sculpted onto Venkman's jacket suit, which looks convincing enough.  It's just a shame that Mattel still hasn't found a way to incorporate a "removable" proton pack (like the old Ghostbusters figures with the proton streams sticking out of the neutrino wand... remember those?).

And speaking of proton packs, since Venkman's isn't removable (like the rest of the Ghostbusters), there's a huge block of ugly plastic that sticks out to accommodate the proton pack on his back.

The facial sculpt of Venkman isn't too bad.  The wrinkles on his forehead and the "wise-ass" smirk on his face definitely match his character.  Of course, it still looks a bit "baby-face" for me, but hey, if Bill Murray is okay with it, I guess it's okay.

And what is up with those veiny hands of his?  Been working out much?  It just looks a bit out of place.

The creases in the [fat] Scoleri Brother's shirt and pants are extremely detailed.  The front of his shirt with the buttons struggling to keep the shirt closed does well to portray the Scoleri Brother's gigantic [ghostly] gut as well.




Articulation:

Venkman has approximately 18 points of articulation.  Fortunately, he doesn't suffer from "perpetual bent elbow" syndrome like the rest of his Ghostbusters brethren (in uniform).  However, he can't seem to bend his elbows at the ninety degree angle, which is due to the design of his elbow articulation.  Also, Venkman's leg joints are way too loose.

Although the [fat] Scoleri Brother is considered an accessory, he has 5 points of articulation: swivel head, swivel arms, and jointed feet.  His head can only do a partial "swivel" due to his gigantic face being restricted by his open-collared shirt.  The right arm can be "swiveled" without much trouble.  However, the left arm is so tight, that it takes a bit more work to move it (I actually prefer the tight arm joint).  While it's nice to have some articulation in an accessory, it would've made more sense if the Scoleri Brother was given ball-jointed arms giving him a bit more life (it would also partially justify the overall price of the figure).  This limited articulation is a throwback to the times when most action figures had limited articulation (look back to the old "Real Ghostbusters" action figure line).

Being able to "switch out" the Scoleri Brother's feet is a nice touch, but wholly unnecessary.  Including a flight stand for a "flying" ghost would've made more sense (and again would partially justify the overall price of the figure).



Paint Application:

Mattel has done a pretty good job on this figure with painting, but then again almost the entire figure is in black.  Unfortunately, my Venkman figure had visible brown paint on his left cheek, under his chin, and in his left ear.  At first glance, I didn't catch this, but for some unknown reason, Mattel thought it was okay to paint Venkman's lips.  The more I looks at it, the more it seems Venkman was trying on a different shade of lipstick.  Awkward...

The color of the [fat] Scoleri Brother is a bit too bluish-green for me.  In the movie, he seemed to be more grey with a slight tinge of blue.  Also, what is up with black-colored "outlines" on the Scoleri Brother's face?



Accessories:

"Courtroom Battle" Venkman comes with his trusty [non-removable] ghost-bustin' proton pack with neutrino wand stick.  He also comes with a "pack-in" ghost: one of the Scoleri Brothers (the fat one).  Surprisingly, the large Scoleri Brother comes with an extra pair of "flying" feet, which can be found at the bottom left of the package (don't throw your packaging out before you take them out!).



Packaging:

It's the same old "Ghostbusters" packaging with the angry Stay-Puft Marshmellow in the background with the figure behind a large "window-like" display.  The only difference is the "Ghostbusters" logo is correctly showing the "Ghostbusters 2" logo ghost.  I admit, the way the figures have been presented thus far in their  respective packaging really enhances the overall look of the figures.  Unfortunately, once removed, that magic is gone.



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 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 continually pay highly inflated prices for not-so-good quality figures.



The Good:

* If you missed the previously released Peter Venkman figure(s), this is another chance for you to get him!
* A Scoleri Brother in plastic form!
* Comes with additional [ghost] feet.



The Bad:

* Constant reuse of body parts from previous figures.
* Paint applications not up to par as usual.
* Venkman's legs are bit too loose for comfort.


The Ugly:

* The highly inflated pricing of these figures.  Definitely not worth it (not too pleased with being a "Club Ecto-1" member)!



Score:

Masters of the Universe Classics: Skeletor: Evil Lord of Destruction Figure Review

Being a late comer to the "Masters of the Universe Classics" line, I had the misfortune of missing out on Skeletor when he was first released earlier last year.  When I heard that Mattel was going to re-release an "improved-version" of Skeletor as a "bonus" figure, I was given a second chance.  I used to own the old-school Skeletor, but had the bad luck of losing him (twice)!  I lost one while playing with him with the car window down (for some reason), and suddenly (due to a bump or my own clumsiness) dropped Skeletor on the road.  Man, that was really heartbreaking.

Although I missed out on He-Man, at least I would be able to finally get my hands on one of my most beloved villains.  When it was noon, I wasted no time and ordered myself Skeletor.  Surprisingly, my order went through very smoothly.  Even more surprising, Skeletor was still available a couple of days after his re-release.  He was made available for sale via MattyCollector.com on January 27, 2010.




Flavor Text:

"Skeletor, Evil Lord of Destruction

Real Name: Keldor

Mortally wounded in a battle with his half-brother, Captain Randor, Keldor turned to his dark-arts master Hordak to save his life.  Merging Keldor with the extra-dimensional being Demo-Man from Despondos, Keldor was forever changed into Skeletor, Overlord of Evil!  He gathered together many of Eternia's greatest outcasts and evil warriors in his quest to gain entry into Castle Grayskull and to obtain what he believes is the universe's ultimate power source."



The Good:

• Skeletor has 20 points of articulation: ball-jointed neck, jointed shoulders, swivel upper biceps, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, ab-crunch joint, swivel waist, swivel/hinged legs, hinged knees, swivel "boots", hinged ankles, and hinged "side" (left) ankle.

• He comes with four accessories: removable chest armor, sword, half-sword, and Havoc Staff.

• This is yet another definite "nostalgia-inducing" figure from the MOTUC line (yeah, I'm aware it's called "Masters of the Universe Classics" for a reason).  The Four Horsemen have "modernized" Skeletor: his body is proportional (no more "neanderthal-looking" Skeletor!); his "loin-cloth" is wider and less "pointer-looking"; Skeletor no longer wears boots by showing off his beautiful three-toed clawed feet; and his armor is no longer plain purple, instead it has different shades of purple in certain spots.

• Although I'm quite pleased that the Four Horsemen retained most of Skeletor's old-school appearance, I'm especially glad that Skeletor retains his "hyper-masculine" appearance (the impossibly bulging musculature).

• You can see how much thought and detail went into sculpting Skeletor's face: the space between Skeletor's ghoulish face and his hood gives off the illusion that all there really is under that hood is a skull.

• As advertised, Skeletor has a tight grip on both his right and left hand, which can hold the sword and staff in each hand.

• Skeletor's Havoc Staff is extremely well-sculpted (the skull of the ram creature), and the staff itself is made of slightly thick, sturdy plastic.

The Bad:

• The paint application on Skeletor has gone completely awry: purple-colored dots scattered all over Skeletor's body; a white dot on Skeletor's back (right above the ab-crunch joint); a visible streak of red paint on his face; "dirt" marks all over Skeletor's arms and legs; and "scuff" marks on Skeletor's sword.

• Streaks of left-over dried glue can be seen on Skeletor's elbow joints and on one-side of his sword.
  

• Due to the horrible weapon-packing design, Skeletor's "half-power" sword arrived curved inward.

• I'm starting to notice a pattern here of weak ankle joints in the MOTUC line.  Skeletor has a really loose right ankle joint which on occasion decides to give-in, sabotaging Skeletor's pose.
  

The Ugly:

• You can see the letter "R" and "L" on Skeletor's respective hinged knee-joint area.

Additional Notes:

• Skeletor came packaged with a small plastic "rubber-band" wrapped around the ball-jointed neck for some reason.  I had to remove his head in order to get rid of the plastic.

• This re-release (the second) of Skeletor has several running changes: his biography mentions "Demo-Man from Despondos"; there are slight changes in paint application for Skeletor's face; and his hands are sculpted to have a "tighter" grip on his weapons.

I purchased this figure online via MattyCollector for approximately $28.00 (price includes S&H and tax).  Due to the popularity of this "bonus" figure, it is no longer available for purchase on MattyCollector's website. Your only recourse is eBay or other online retailers such as BigBadToyStore who will (once again) price-gouge you, because they can.  Don't go shopping for this on Amazon; the last time I checked, these unscrupulous sellers were pricing him at the $55.00 and up range.

NOTE: I DO NOT REPRESENT MATTEL, eBAY, BIGBADTOYSTORE, OR AMAZON.  I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID TO MENTION THEIR NAMES.

I feel bad for those on the MOTUC subscription (I believe the costs run over $100.00) because it seems Mattel has a habit of re-releasing their "limited run" supply of figures.  At the same time, I'm grateful because it allows collectors like me to get in on the MOTUC action.  Despite the paint application flaws, curved "half-sword" and weak ankle joint, I really love this figure.  Blame it on nostalgia and my love of skeletons.  This figure is one classic that you shouldn't pass on.

Score: (out of five)