Like a lot of kids in the ’80s I played with Play-Doh. Back in 1980 something Kenner made it. As a toy company who ruled an empire they didn’t just make soft modeling clay. Not one to trust kids to make whatever they wanted willy nilly Kenner produced play sets. Such as the Fun Factory, ice cream shop, barbershop, fast food restaurant, and arguably (you’re already wrong) the best Play-Doh set of a defining decade, The Real Ghostbusters.
While I don’t remember a single detail about when my parents probably bought me the Play-Doh The Real Ghostbusters play set, I remember having one. Somehow its Ghost trap extruder and plastic Ecto-1 survived, albeit with a broken wheel and eventually missing its hood.
I came across an open play set through a popular auction site around 2011. I would have loved a sealed box. Either none were available or prices were too high. Naturally after I already had this one in my possession a sealed one became available. I’m sure not for the original price of $10.88. Was K-Mart competing with Wal-Mart?
The box art slightly resembles the infamous The Real Ghostbusters promo/product art used for the pilot to The Real Ghostbusters. It’s also a more simplified style to the product art used for ECTO-1. I wonder why Ray and Winston weren’t included?
Play-Doh created a The Real Ghostbusters themed play mat just for creating The Real Ghostbusters out of their doh. My apologies I didn’t just take a photo of it. That’s a reason Ghostbusters Wikia continues to excel.
It’s amazing how so little can create so much. The power of imagination. Kenner provided 3 cans of Play-Doh. One isn’t suppose to be yellow, that’s what was in the box. Newly created for this set, Kenner invented (um sure let’s go with it) glow in the dark Play-Doh! How else were you going to make ghostly figures or maybe Citizen Ghost The Real Ghostbusters?
Kenner also provided its “push down on it to squeeze a mold” accessory, also known as a Ghost trap extruder. For cutting the edges, a plastic knife. Their was also a separate mold to make an additional ghost figure.
When you pull the body of Ecto-1 up, not off their are molds for two of The Real Ghostbusters. The underside of the “equipment roof” has the molds for the other The Real Ghostbusters. Under the hood is a mold for another ghostly figure.
This is where the real fun could have been. I had intended to buy 21st Century Play-Doh, including a glow-in-the dark can since I bought this play set. Although I did look at various cans of Play-Doh in stores and on-line, I haven’t bought any. This page from Kenner’s 1987 toy catalog brings us to what was and could be.
Related: Did you know Kenner had a The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh premium?
Photo Sources:
- Ecto-Containment
- 1987 Kenner Toy Catalog Page 117.
Ecto-Containment 