Category: Ectocontainment

Kenner Instructions: Air Sickness

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Kenner produced and sold two vehicles that weren’t meant to be used specifically by the hero figures. Each of the two Haunted Vehicles™ seemed normal enough at first, but when any of the hero figures were near, they could become scary to haunt The Real Ghostbusters. Ahhhh!!!

Air Sickness is just an old pilot who probably lost his bomber plane. Word got back to him that The Real Ghostbusters had it. I bet Flyer Ghost made it up.

I’ve taken the original 4 page Air Sickness Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 3 PNG files. Air Sickness doesn’t have decals to apply.

Kenner Instructions: Highway Haunter Sorta

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kennerwereallydocare

From first glance Kenner’s Highway Haunter appears to be The Real Ghostbusters casual ride. When Peter signed the loaned papers, he knew it could double as a second company car. Which is why their yellow VW Beetle’s been modified to hold two proton packs securely in the back. It voids the warranty, The Real Ghostbusters work on their vehicles themselves anyway.

As far as I know Highway Haunter didn’t come with an instruction manual. If I was a Kenner executive I would have wanted to stay consistent. Highway Haunter isn’t a complicated toy to learn how to use. Kenner may have been giving children their due credit, Plus the “directions” on how to use and have fun with Highway Haunter is all over the packaging.

if instructions do exist, you have a copy, and would be willing to scan them, please leave a comment.

I’ve included a closer, high res image of the back of the box and the Kenner “we really do care” insert on Highway Haunter’s Instruction page. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-1A

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I never owned a Kenner Ecto-1A as a kid. As previously talked about I was older and was into other franchise properties and their toys. While I may have seen Ecto-1A in Kay-Bee stores. by then the only Kenner The Real Ghostbusters toy produced I wanted and would own is the Ecto-Charger.

A really younger cousin who I probably got into Ghostbusters/The Real Ghostbusters received one. Probably because I was at his then house and I was the resident Ghostbusters authority I helped him “assemble” Kenner’s ECTO-1A. and maybe apply some of the decals. I may not have expressed it out loud, I was disappointed that a new toy looked like the old one. It may have been about this time I began to get marketing and business.

When I was collecting Ghostbusters/The Real Ghostbusters toys during 2011 I came upon a eBay listing and bought an Ecto-1A. That was one of those times I should have been patient knowing eventually another better Ecto-1A will come up for sale. Mine was mostly complete, some of the contents had seen better days. The instructions in particular were really aged. You probably wouldn’t notice it 100% if I hadn’t brought it up. I’ve cleaned each page up and went over the illustrations where needed to clean them like brand new. It isn’t perfect, considering what my original looks like, I’m pleased with the results.

The slime decals were another issue, the original seller had been honest about them. Something happened with them, almost like a run off, second impression kind of thing. It was very noticeable with Slimer, pink slime spots, and rear “glass” window decals. They were also aged. I’ve cleaned them and somewhat restored the originality of this decal sheet. I’ve said this before, I would need a graphics tablet to make sure I didn’t completely ruin my sheet. Except for the Slimer impression I like the “double” pink slime spots.

I’ve taken my original 6 page Ecto-1A Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 4 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the two cleaned up/restored as possible decal sheets.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-Bomber

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Ecto-Bomber appeared only once with quite a story during the 6 season episode, The Slob. The name wasn’t mentioned in the episode. Kenner created it for the toy and most of its features made it to the cartoon version.

In The Real Ghostbusters their aircraft have two seats, makes total sense. With the toy version of Ecto-2, as previously talked about it could only seat one figure. Keeping it to scale with Ecto-1 was probably one of two reasons it wasn’t 100% accurate to its cartoon counterpart.

My Ecto-Bomber was originally sold in Canada. Instructions are multi-lingual, English and French.

I’ve taken the original 4 page Ecto-Bomber Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 3 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ghost Sweeper

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Kenner’s Ghost Sweeper is only a bit similar to Ecto-500 in that they both can pull a ghost.

Egon and Ray could have built a modified street sweeper for smaller areas of the city where the other Ectos were too big for. Or for undercover, not so inconspicuous work. Plus they finally have a vehicle to clean up excess ectoplasm!

I’ve taken the original 4 page Ghost Sweeper Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 3 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-500

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Both Kenner’s Ecto-500 and Ghost Sweeper toy line exclusives eluded me almost completely. By 1989 my parents must have been tired of buying me The Real Ghostbusters toys.

I was about three years into watching TMNT and immersed with their toy lines. Sometime after both series ended and the toy lines were just childhood memories I thought Ecto-500 was some European exclusive. I’m not sure why I had thought that. It could be because I never owned one by 12. Or by the time I saw one in adulthood it was on a popular auction site with the listing probably somewhere in England.

I’ve taken the original 4 page Ecto-500 Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 3 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-3

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Kenner’s ECTO-3, the toy looked nothing like the Ecto-3 we saw only 2 times during The Real Ghostbusters. Kenner envisioned ECTO -3™ as a cross between a modified go cart and a Formula 1 race car. With giant paddles!

I’ve taken the original 4 page Ecto-3 Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 3 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-2

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The Kenner Ecto-2 was a favorite vehicle when I was a kid. How could you not love a helicopter that can drive? Ecto 2 has specific ghostbusting equipment for air to ghost maneuvers. Can’t do that on top secret aircraft.

I’ve taken the original 6 page Ecto-2 Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 4 PNG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-1

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The Kenner Ecto-1 has remained my favorite The Real Ghostbusters vehicle. Other adults can understand how I felt. The real Ecto-1, a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance/Hearse was one of the first classic cars I had ever seen. It was in a movie, it was “restored,” (I was 6, I didn’t know how the movie business worked) could take the Ghostbusters and their “real” equipment anywhere, and do just about anything. The original drafts made it seem like Ecto-1 had supernatural powers, similar to another movie car from a few years earlier. Maybe that’s part of the reason Ecto-1 in the The Real Ghostbusters could do anything the story called for. I didn’t really know that at 8, it was one reason I loved Ecto-1.

I’ve taken the original 6 page Ecto-1 Instructions, scanned them, and made them into 4 PNG/JPG files. I’ve also scanned and included the decal sheet.

Kenner Instructions: Fire House

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When I was in my teens I had given many of my opened, played with The Real Ghostbusters (and TMNT) toys to a then friend of the family’s son. This decision came because of bullying and kid(s) at his school stealing his toys. I wasn’t going to stand for that if I could help it. In hardly no time at all I gave him the majority of these toys. Almost immediately he and his family experienced the happiness and other good emotions these toys use to bring me around his age.

The only toy I kept that I couldn’t part with was my Kenner Firehouse. Most likely from a combination of my memories, the series, and the rarity of a plastic firehouse with a containment unit. Instead of bringing the lightly coat of dust firehouse upstairs I left it in my basement, out of harms way for years.

Until one day I came home from a store and saw my complete firehouse sitting/leaning in an open garbage can. You can imagine the opposite of good emotions I had felt even into adulthood. To this day I don’t know who threw it out. You better believe I was quick to retrieve it. Then I did something I would regret for years. Become very conflicted about it and still let it be thrown away. I had intended to still retrieve it, I was too late. I might have felt better long term if I knew for sure some kid had it. Knowing “waste management” at the time in my old neighborhood I’m sure it was….I can’t even think about it.

It would take more then a decade, I would eventually rectify my mistake. When I was heavily into collecting Ghostbusters/The Real Ghostbusters toys during 2011 I came across a recent open fire house through a popular auction site. The seller had acquired a S.M.I.B The Real Ghostbusters HQ and assembled it. Then at some point decided to sell it. I was the fortunate winner and soon enough I once again owned this much loved toy.

The only difference between my original firehouse and my new one is the multiple languages, mostly present on the instructions. My childhood firehouse was just that, the fire house and as I grew up in America during the 1980s generally my toys were in English. During The Real Ghostbusters Ghostbusters Central has gone by a handful of names depending on the script. My once auction fire house is a Fire Station and perhaps translated more as at least 5 languages are represented!

The instructions included with my Fire House/Fire Station are too long for my standard size scanner. I’ve scanned the 2 page instructions in 10 parts to make 10 PNG files. Because the previous owner applied the labels, I couldn’t scan them. I may be able to provide them from another ghosthead. In which case I’ll update the entry and site and provide credit.

Kenner Instructions Sorta: Ecto-Headphones

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Even if there are Kenner Ecto-Headphones instructions out there somewhere I have come up with a workable solution. While creating the potential instruction page I was looking at the back of its box. In the lower hand corner the box has an Assembly area. I cropped an existing photo of the box I took within the last two years.

This photo can serve as a more detailed visual for how to use Ecto-Headphones and assemble it. A scan of two The Real Ghostbusters decals are also included.