Ghostbusters saw the 30th anniversary of its original release this past year. Sadly, the world also lost Harold Ramis, who played Egon Spengler and was one of the creators of this iconic movie, so this seems like a very good year to remember Ghostbusters at Christmas. In 2010 Toys R Us sold this exclusive set of 6-inch action figures by Mattel, based on a short scene in the sequel Ghostbusters II, where the team ran through the streets of New York wearing Santa hats. … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Screaming Heroes: Winston Zeddemore
Looking back over this last year of blogging, I noticed that I started the year with a vintage Ghostbusters figure, meaning that nearly a year has passed since I last blogged about one of my favourite lines from the 1980s – The Real Ghostbusters by the legendary Kenner. Let's set that right straight away with a closer look at this fun 5-inch Winston Zeddmore figure from the Screaming Heroes subset. A hugely popular action figure line that dominated the market until they were knocked off the top … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Screaming Heroes: Egon Spengler
To kick off the New Year I thought I'd look at a vintage golden oldie from the hugely popular 1980s Kenner action figure line The Real Ghostbusters. First launched in 1986 as a tie-in product for the animated cartoon TV series of the same name, the series ran until 1991 when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won over fickle hearts and a younger generation, knocking Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, and Dr. Egon Spengler from toy store shelves.Kenner really raised the bar … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Fright Features: Peter Venkman
The countdown to Halloween continues! I simply couldn't let October go by without including one of the Real Ghostbusters team and another action figure from one of my favourite Kenner lines from the late 1980s.This 5-inch Peter Venkman action figure is from what was probably the most successful and popular sub-series from their Real Ghostbusters toy line - Fright Features. Far simpler than the Super Fright Features that followed, these figures were their first foray into innovative … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Super Fright Features: Egon Spengler
It's been an another exciting week for Ghostbusters action figure collectors, and in particular, fans of the character Egon Spengler, with a new 6 inch Mattel figure closely resembling actor (and co-writer of the original movie) Harold Ramis hitting the company's online store and selling like the proverbial hot cakes. I thought it might be fun, therefore, to take a look back at a vintage Egon Spengler from Kenner's phenomenally popular line of spin-off action figures from the cartoon TV series … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Super Fright Features: Janine Melnitz
Browsing back through recent posts on this blog it occurred to me that there are very few female action figures on these pages. Time to address that right away with The Real Ghostbuster's erstwhile secretary Janine Melnitz! Very much the fifth Ghostbuster in the animated series where she was voiced by Laura Summer and Kath Soucie, the character first appeared in the Ghostbusters movies played by the wonderfully droll Annie Potts.This vintage Real Ghostbusters 5 inch action figure from 1989 … [Read more...]
The Real Ghostbusters Super Fright Features: Winston Zeddemore
Of all The Real Ghostbusters action figures in the Super Fright Features toy series, in which the heroes of the long-running TV animated show sport wacky space suits and looks of terror, Winston Zeddemore – played by Ernie Hudson in the movie and voiced by Arsenio Hall in the cartoon - is probably the most imaginative of the lot!There's a lever on the action figure's back which makes his head disappear - only to reappear when a flap then opens in his chest, to reveal a giant screaming … [Read more...]
Who you gonna call? Ray Stantz and The Real Ghostbusters!
Until the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles burst upon the action figure scene and won the hearts of flaky kids everywhere who instantly, en masse and seemingly across the entire planet, dropped what they were playing with and started nagging their parents for one of those four adolescent reptiles, Ghostbusters figures ruled the roost.The Real Ghostbusters action figures were produced by Kenner under license from Columbia Pictures and were based on the animated television series, which was in … [Read more...]