Rich’s Monster-Mania Write Up

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I hadn’t been to a con in about 7 years. For personal and health reasons I basically wasn’t of the mind set that I needed to go to a con or something Ghostbusters related. In recent years that was beginning to change. I started thinking about attending “genre” cons again, their still wasn’t motivation. I had also wanted to put together a new Ghostbusters uniform. Their hadn’t been a rush. With friendships renewed, business picking back up, and actual events more of a possibility things naturally fell into place. I was building our web site while Bill built my Belt Gizmo. We met Greg and were talking more about events. The first con, Monster-Mania was still far enough out it wasn’t at the forefront of my priorities. During the busy season Jeffe contacted us and soon enough we were all planning our first official event. In part because I had also met Ronald Giameo from the North Jersey Ghostbusters (Facebook) I had been coordinating how I could with franchise ghostheads up North and South for our group to see how many Ghostbusters would be at Monster-Mania for what has been known as a franchise gathering.

My health can always be a factor and I don’t like to plan things and say I’m going to be somewhere if unexpectedly I’m not feeling up to it. The more we were talking and planning this con I really wanted to go. My health aside for a moment I still had concerns as I didn’t have my new uniform complete, never driven the easiest chosen route to Cherry Hill, and my aging 2000 Toyota Corolla is going to need somewhat expected maintenance. It doesn’t prevent me from driving, this was going to be the first time I was going to take a day trip with the car in months.

In the last couple of weeks as details were coming together for Monster-Mania Bill and I got my Tru-Spec® to my local tailor and I ordered my Bates side zip paratrooper boots. I knew I wouldn’t be wearing my proton pack, Bill put together an idea loosely based on an error in Ghostbusters: The Video Game so I could still mean business and have fun.

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Working Ghostbusters Boots

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Note: Originally appeared at my personal site, iRich.

Even though I ordered my Ghostbusters flight suit last October and already had the patches I didn’t have the right boots. Actually I never had near screen accurate boots for my Ghostbusters costumes, er uniforms. As an aside the comedic actors basically wore military grade garb because of Dan Aykroyd’s military/”tech” interests. Also their’s the idea that the Ghostbusters can feel like “ghost janitors.”

Bustin doesn’t always make me feel good.

Whether the boots were easily available or not to a major Hollywood studio and or famous people in 1983 the main actors at least wore Corcoran® or Carolina® zippered combat jump boots. The exact model has probably been discontinued. You can still buy a similar Corcoran boots between $150-$200 USD. By human nature and evolution I’m not a boot guy. In a civilized environment I would never spend that much on boots. I never spend anywhere near that even on sneakers made on the other side of the world.

Since I took, not always intentionally my sweet time in researching the right boots for me, I came across other boot brands, one named after a town I grew up in, the other which bares resemblance to a fictional motel. Those boot brands can cost less then Corcorans. During my searches I came across Working Person. At times the boots I might have ordered were discontinued, thanks to the site and internet cookies I learned of another new, similar model. With work continuing on transforming my Tru-Spec flight suit into a Ghostbusters uniform the time was now (well then) to order boots.

I also noticed since Presidents Day the price of boots have been on sale. A pair of Bates 2184 Side Zip Paratrooper boots were on sale for $106.20 USD. Saving about $12 which includes free shipping. As I needed the boots in a week for a trial run, I paid for three day shipping.

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I’m The One To Call

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Note: Originally appeared at my personal site, iRich.

On March 1, 2014 after almost 5 months I was finally going to take my Tru-Spec flight suit and Ghostbusters patches to a professional tailor for sewing. Their hadn’t been a rush, of course now that I had a event coming up in a week, time was of the essence. Friend and colleague Bill had similar thoughts and wanted to come up to expedite our “business” needs for the upcoming Monster-Mania Con and other Ghostbusters NJ happenings.

I hadn’t had any personal experience with any tailors locally since I moved in 2009. I knew one local place and hopefully that would be good enough. The place we went to is near my sub division and probably does more business with seniors then nerds who want to see their childhood realized more in adulthood.

We explained the placement of the patches and the “patch” woman pinned them and even told us how she’ll strengthen them so the “no ghost” logo won’t bend. At the time their was a pending snow storm (Titan) which would probably close the shop on Monday. Our first con since 2006 was about a week away. The latest it might be ready is sometime on Saturday.

Maybe it would have never been that much, when they told us $12 USD, part of me wished I had brought the flight suit in last year. After being busy on day 4 and getting back around lunch, the tailors/dry cleaners called to let me know my jacket (for some reason they called the flight suit on Saturday a jacket. On a basic level we even called them coveralls) was ready.

I couldn’t wait to see it, without the boots which I didn’t have yet, I thought I’d have to wait until Thursday to wear them together. My only minor nitpick which I can’t see when I’m wearing the flight suit is how a little of the “strength” stitching is through the “no ghost” logo. Its possible the shop didn’t have the sewing capabilities to sew around instead of through the logo shape. Or an older woman with years of seamstress experience felt it was better to sew it that way. Which also would have been more then fine if she had changed color threads and used white. Its so minor in the end it doesn’t matter.

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Kenner Instructions PDF Files

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Last November the individual Kenner The Real Ghostbusters instructions files were uploaded to then Ectocontainment, now Ecto-Containment. I would have always preferred to have PDF files from the start, I didn’t know I could combine multiple PDF files. The instructions as PDFs were a low priority. After working with a program that’s been on Mac computers for years, I finally learned what I wish I had known about a decade ago. The timing was mostly right before further updates to take the instructions I have and make one file for each toy. If a Kenner toy write up has instructions, it’s at the bottom of the page. Highway Haunter and WaterZapper have their decals links at the bottom of their respective pages.

Their are still Kenner instructions I’m looking for. If you can help, please comment below or email me at spengs@ecto-containment.com.

Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh Premium

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I would have liked to talk about this a week ago, I was working on adding news updates to Ghostbusters Inc. Friend, contributor, and ghosthead Matthew Jordan from Ghostbusters Wiki posted the above image to Facebook on February 15, 2014. He found it while searching a popular auction site.

The image seemed familiar, I didn’t entirely remember it or a color version. I was really wondering why The Real Ghostbusters Slimer food poster has a Kenner logo on it. Lanny D. Crepit (Ectofiend666) informed us this was an item you could send away for because you were once a young ghosthead and someone who loves you bought you The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh set. Play-Doh was also once owned by Kenner before the absorption into Hasbro. This premium item also came with an activity sheet.

I did have a The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh set (Ecto-Containment Blog Post, January 18, 2018) when I was around 9. While I can remember the fun I had with it, I don’t recall information about sending away for the Slimer food poster and activity sheet. Twenty four years later I bought an open, but I believe mostly complete Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh set. Which I want to write about for a future update.

Image notes: Matthew edited the original photo. With regards to size, contrast, and creases.

New York Toy Fair: Your Creative Friends Look At Ghostbusters Lego Set

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ECTO-1 in the summer time. ECTO-1 in the summer time.

Your Creative Friends filmed a video at NYTF taking a closer look at LEGO’s upcoming Ghostbusters ECTO-1. The video shows details with the Ghostbusters mini figures, Proton Packs, and the inside of ECTO-1.

Picture Source: Your Creative Friends

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“I Love This Town” Minimates Box Set

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For Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary, Art Asylum, a Diamond Select Toys brand has created a new set of Ghostbusters Minimates. Called “I Love This Town,” this 4 pack box set is based somewhat on the temple/rooftop, Gozer battle scene. Features of this set interchangeable parts, accessories, and removable Proton Packs.

“I Love This Town” retails for $19.99 USD and is available now. They can be fought from fine retailers on and off-line. Like comic book shops and Ghostbusters Fans.

Photo Source: Diamond Select Toys

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New York Toy Fair: Lego Ghostbusters ECTO-1

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At this past weekend’s New York Toy Fair Lego showed off their previously announced Ghostbusters ECTO-1 set for the first time. It’s easy to be biased, I think the Lego ECTO-1 seems to surpass their Back to The Future DeLorean(s). Which I still do not own yet. The Lego ECTO-1 reminds me of the original car, also has that “5 years later” older feel from the beginning of Ghostbusters II.

Release date is set for June with a retail price of $49.99 USD. It may be a little less through on-line retailers such as Amazon.

Additional Promotional Photos

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Photos Source: LEGO

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Lego Announces 30th Anniversary Ecto-1

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From my Ghostbusters site, Ghostbusters Incorporated.

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Lego officially announced an Ecto-1 (presumably with 4 Ghostbusters Lego people) set during their Fall 2013 Lego Cuusoo review.

Its too early to know details about this upcoming set. It would be great (not a deal breaker) if you could also build Ecto-1A. Which could be similar to how the DeLorean set can be made into either of the three versions from the Back To The Future trilogy.

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Kenner ECTO-1A Original Box Artwork

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Naturally on an important day for Ecto-Containment (because its about me :p) a Kenner and The Real Ghostbusters collectible surfaces. As Kenner held the license (would be cool to see that contract on-line) for basically every Ghostbusters toy of the era (just about would never happen today) and Ghostbusters II brought us a new vehicle (ECTO-1A) and equipment (Slime Blower) Kenner had the opportunity to design/update their ECTO-1.

As I’ve previously written about Kenner’s ECTO-1A is their ECTO-1 with new stickers. Something that bothered me if I thought too much about it at 12 years old. I’ve come to understand as an adult it might have been a financial drain for Kenner to design part of the new roof equipment. It wasn’t like the toys were suppose to be movie accurate. They’re toys, not the mostly over $100 USD collectibles we’ve had since.

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Even if ECTO-1A had excessive new decals, it was a new product and new packaging requires art. I might have bought just a cardboard box back then that read “New Ghostbusters toy.” Adults won’t, as Kenner knew a lot better then me, their talented and creative associates came up with the above art/copy for the front of the box.

I think if the 86% of my brain dedicated to Ghostbusters remembers, this artwork was for sale on eBay during the late 20th Century. Most ghostheads haven’t seen it since, now in the twenty teens thanks to Kenner Collector‘s Dan Flarida, he’s written and posted detailed photos of this ECTO-1A original box artwork.

Photo Source: Kenner Collector

More Ecto-Containment

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If you were on Facebook (become my friend) yesterday evening/last night or Twitter (become a follower) you were witness to the cluster fudge that was a necessary attempt to transfer ectocontainment dot com fully into Word Press. Automatic rising hosting costs from 1&1 and changes in my web hosting needs necessitated integrating Ectocontainment by the first week of February.

I had been wanting to get to it before the weekend, life around snow storms named after Greek gods put some things on hold. I suppose I could have done this tomorrow, late in Saturday afternoon seemed just perfect. 😀 I was under the impression that WP did all the hard, technical work. If I had taken 30 more seconds to read my part I would have known before posting to social media that I had to press some buttons and manually update “techy stuff” through 1&1. Most of went it smooth until 1&1 servers weren’t playing nice with Word Press. While I knew the transfer might take up to a few hours, it hadn’t worked (I don’t know if it was because its a weekend) and my 1&1 admin panel read in a red text that their was an error with the transfer.

During part of this time the site was down and I tried some workarounds. The WordPress version of the site was never accessible through ectocontainment dot com. Once I fixed something, the site could be accessed from ectocontainment.wordpress.com. Last night I cancelled the original transfer (at least through WordPress) and decided to go to “plan B,” a new domain name with WordPress.

I thought about bringing back an old Ghostbusters site name of mine mostly for the URL. It would have meant “re-branding” and it isn’t necessary. The solution has been there this entire time, Ecto-Containment. In the universe of Ghostbusters, just about anything ecto is followed by a hyphen.

Now instead of just a redirect, the entire site is part of ecto-containment.com. Eventually I’ll purchase a space upgrade. It isn’t necessary early in 2014.

Also because of the botched transfer, I can no longer receive email at my former spengs @ ectocontainment dot com email address. If its necessary to email me, which should be just about 0.01% of the time, my Ecto-Containment email address is: spengs@ecto-containment.com.

Social media links remain the same and information has been updated to reflect the new domain name and email address.