Are You Serious About This Catching Ghosts?

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richardroybackinblack2
Original Photo: October 2004

Note: Originally posted at my personal blog, iRich.

It was going to come up within 5 minutes, best to start talking about it now. To say I’m a big fan of Ghostbusters would be an understatement. Obsessed usually describes it. I loved the movie since I was 6 and saw it during its first theatrical run. Their was always a wonderment about people who would want to and could actually catch ghosts. The equipment, of course I didn’t know about props then. It may as well been all real to me.

It’s why I knew I wanted to be like them. Toy company Kenner (and my parents) would bring me all that clever and fun The Real Ghostbusters toys. My parents were even cool enough to buy me a kids (the official ones may not have been out) flight suit for my uniform. That all worked well until I was about 12.

Ghostbusters and I have been through great times and bad times. It was never far from me. When the time was right (Halloween 1997) I decided with my best Ghostbusters friend to buy a couple of adult flight suits and make some attempt at the props. Even with Netscape Navigator it was still 1997. We had tools, not so much talent.

Things became rushed, it was just enough that most people knew who to call. Oh yes I said it. Problem was, the flight suits weren’t really the right color. Forget screen accuracy. The props were made from storage containers. I was still a ghosthead, (a fan of Ghostbusters) who also had a “franchise” site. It was in part because of that in 2000 I finally bought a military khaki flight suit, pistol belt, patches, boots, and an actual prop Proton Pack replica!

Granted the patches, Proton Pack, and other props weren’t 100% accurate. Not that I’m that guy who has to have 100% screen accuracy. It was a lot better then the working in an industrial job coveralls, one step from a Tupperware party.

About 4 years later I decided to get a new flight suit. This time in black to have more of a Ghostbusters II style to it. I also bought new quality patches. Other props had marginally been upgraded too. GBNJ co-founder Bill Malkin and I met Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore himself) at a couple of Chiller Theaters wearing our new flight suits.

During the mid to late 2000s I didn’t have a real need to wear either flight suit and wear the gear. After some life changing events, including a move I went through tough times with Ghostbusters again. It would take at least a couple of years, the time began to feel right to want to “suit up” again.

Which is really why I wanted to write about this now.

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Matty Collector First Impression: Ecto Goggles

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mattyectogogglesfrontlenses

Intro: Three days ago I had a chance after about half a day to un-box my new Matty Collector Ecto Goggles. I got to experience what Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Ray Stantz did during the Hotel Sedgewick scenes. I was going to give a first and second impression. I felt my impressions might be a little out of place with the un-boxing. I decided to write my own review.

Shipping: This is the second Matty Collector prop toy I’ve bought straight from Mattel. The first was during the original P.K.E Meter run. At the end of 2010 Mattel had a more normal shipping method. In what I can only imagine had to be a cost cutting measure (this was also before shipping rates went up) Mattel began using an unheard of shipping company to most of us. To this day Mattel is the only company I’ve done business with which uses Cornerstone Logistics. Since buying the P.K.E Meter, I’ve bought just about every Matty Collector Ghostbusters figure from Mattel. Cornerstone Logistics in Ontario, CA would send my figure to three shipping hubs before USPS would deliver to my doorstep. Although I don’t prefer Cornerstone Logistics, their tracking system gave basic information and I could reasonably see when I’d have my items.

For the first and hopefully last time Cornerstone Logistics failed not only me, enough ghostheads. Maybe it was really bad timing, except for one update that the electronic information had been received, there tracking system (Newgistics) never updated afterwards. Even after delivery. I know the hubs, still I and others who were checking everyday shouldn’t have to wonder if our packages are in limbo. You can’t even check with them as their website tells you to call the retailer. I didn’t call Mattel, I wasn’t under the impression that a customer service rep (hopefully in the US) could access the Newgistics system. If you’ve experienced buying from Matty Collector, you understand this isn’t continued good business strategy. Nine out of ten times Mattel has these different fan bases over a barrel. They’re not going back to how other global companies ship, there is almost no point in sharing my opinion. Because of my experience it has me second guessing if I’ll buy the Nutrona Wand from them, if I buy it at all.

Cost: Originally Mattel priced the Ecto Goggles at $110 USD. Then for a brief period (either misinformation or greed) they were priced at $130 USD. A response came from Matty Collector after fan backlash. The price was confirmed around San Diego Comic Con at $110 USD before shipping and applicable taxes. I’m sure there was a bottom line as to why the Ecto Goggles cost $110. The P.K.E Meter was $60 USD, the Ghost Trap originally cost $130 USD. The Ecto Goggles fall between the two different kind of prop toys. Even the 22” Mr. Stay-Puft was around $80 USD. Let’s be honest, I know Mattel doesn’t think this way, in terms of the equipment pecking order and what this does, it should have been around $85 USD. Of course $84 USD should have been the magic number.

Mailer: Like the previous Matty Collector prop toys, the Ecto Goggles comes in a white mailer with a cardboard tab to open the box.

Box: Mattel continues the “crate box” tradition with fun “warning labels.” And after opening the lid is the standard thick styrofoam to protect the inside contents. Usually this stuff is strong, almost unbreakable. For some reason (could it be the single piece of brown paper?) as I was beginning to lift the styrofoam, it began breaking and crumbling in spots. This has never happened with the Ghost Trap. I can still protect the Ecto Goggles with or without it. As I usually don’t transport the box or item, storing these Ecto Goggles would be fine either way.

Prop Toy First Impression: Even before purchasing Mattel’s version of the goggles, ghostheads knew they weren’t screen accurate. It only marginally bothered me. I think it was built that way because of how it “projects” the animated ghosts. Could be a cross between both movie versions. Wearing the Ecto Goggles for the first time I could really only see out of the left lens with “stereo” vision. This is partially because of the distance with the lenses. Safe bet Dan couldn’t see that well out of them either. It’s also because of my eye sight. I don’t currently wear glasses, probably should again. I use to because of normal vision issues. The one lens I can see through has a curved piece of “glass.” This may be to help the wearer see better and also reflect how the animated images are projected. You can turn the oculars to “adjust” and play with them. I took my pictures before adjusting them for the “look.”

The Ecto Goggles have an attached rubbery adjustable head strap with a “sewn” in nylon material where needed. Mine without adjustment fit well enough. I’d rather the Ecto Goggles be a little loose then tight and “suction cupped” to my face like a pair of swim goggles. Tip: Make sure your face isn’t oily as you’ll see your skin on the hard inside plastic.

There is a dummy knob that should be flush to the side of the goggles. Mine was loose, not by much. Perhaps without a tool it couldn’t be tighten. The bottom and side of the Ecto Goggles has two battery compartments for the 3 AAA batteries. I personally chose Duracell Quantum batteries because who wouldn’t want quantum batteries running their fictional ghost detecting equipment? Plus you can check the battery life for up to 10 years. To access the bottom battery compartment, twist off the circular knob.

Accessories: The Ecto Goggles includes this other knob which is I believe is a receiver. Without recently looking at the prop Ecto Goggles it looks odd. Trying to attach (if its even necessary) the circular knob to it is awkward. It doesn’t look right at all, which is why I didn’t keep it attached for more then 11 seconds.

The main accessory is the “echo locator” which looks like a piece of junk. If you saw this just laying around your house and didn’t know what it was you would want to throw it out. It doesn’t look like one, it’s either an external drive of sorts or its a tiny microphone one plugs into a Matty Collector PKE Meter. When the two are used together you can see/hear the library ghost and confinement streams. The PKE Meter doesn’t need to be on, just near by for the library ghost and confinement streams.

The Projections: Its great to have a pair of Ecto Goggles where you can actually see ghosts in it. I understand if one or the other would have had to go if it was even considered. I would have liked to have been able to see the visual workings of the Ecto Goggles, like in Ghostbusters. Mattel lead us to believe that they couldn’t show us the animations before the Ecto Goggles went on sale. I like others used our cell phones (it isn’t the early 2000s) to record the animations from the phone through the inside of the goggles. They could have filmed there computers with the 3D images. It would have been a lot better.

That’s why when I actually saw Slimer appear three different ways I was pleasantly surprised. The images seem “high def” and remind me of images you might see on electronic signs, say high up in Times Square. I know this isn’t Kenner’s GhostZapper, unless it would have raised the cost, why just Slimer and the library ghost for the ghostly images? The confinement streams are fine, how great would it have been to see and hear the Scoleri brothers or a jogging ghost? I would have paid at least $5 more for another “memory card” for either of these prop toys to see and hear these other ghosts from both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II. That’s what our imaginations are for.

Manual/Decals: Prior to taking my pictures the broken styrofoam crushed/crinkled my manual and decals. That’s why mine look a little abused. Matty Collector chose to leave the stickers off the Ecto Goggles so ghostheads could individually choose whether they wanted to apply them or not. Unless I wear them much with the costume I probably won’t apply mine.

Overall: I really like how Mattel creatively designed and made the Ecto Goggles. Sure they could have been a little more screen accurate. For the price the Ecto Goggles seem like they should do more. If you like/love Mattel’s previous Ghostbusters prop toys you should enjoy this too.

Matty Collector Ecto-Goggles Un-Boxed

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mattyectogogglescratebox

On August 15, 2013 Mattel’s adult collector brand Matty Collector began selling their Ghostbusters™ movie style Ecto-Goggles™ to the rest of us. I ordered my pair and waited pretty patiently with other ghostheads across the United States and sometimes the world for them to arrive. I know I chose regular mail. Still I didn’t know why the tracking system Mattel’s shipping supplier uses only worked at the beginning.

I wasn’t sure at first if my chosen shipping method meant my delivery would take that much longer and tracking updates would be further delayed. Then I found out ghostheads who chose UPS experienced the same tracking issues with Mattel’s shipping supplier. When I found out a ghosthead one state away had received his on August 21 I figured mine would arrive the following day. And so it did! I trust my mailman, knew the package would be safe, and that is a reason I chose regular mail.

With my schedule and later on an unexpected traffic detour at a highway intersection I didn’t have much free time to “play” with my new Ecto-Goggles. Although other ghostheads have already shared pictures and videos I also wanted to share un-boxing pictures and videos.

More of a review may be posted in a separate update.



Photo Credit: Star shaped image free from PSD Graphics.

No Ghosts Escape My Ecto-Vision

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ectogoggleswithpoppers

I’ve owned two Kenner Ecto-Goggles/Ecto-Popper since 2011. Neither were mint in box and it took buying two of them (not the original plan) to make my current and only Ecto-Visors as complete as possible. Neither toy or inserts were in any plastic bagging. I’m pretty sure Kenner once included a paper instructions sheet for them.

What I’ve done is try to recreate a un-boxing experience how I could so we could enjoy Kenner’s Ecto-Goggles, even long after we may own Matty Collector’s version.

I took 14 pictures and scanned each side of the original box. As an added bonus you can print out Mr. Stay-Puft for collectibility or to use with your own Kenner toys and prop replicas.

Kenner Ecto-Plazm

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ectoplazmtop

Slime in Ghostbusters and The Real Ghostbusters is known as ectoplasm. When Kenner produced and sold the first series hero figures, their wasn’t a drop of ectoplasm to be found with them. Unless your parents had also bought you a Fire House.

Then at least you had one 5oz can of what Kenner called Ecto-Plazm.™ Which was mostly purple. Within a year other colors of Ecto-Plazm™ could be bought from your toy store of choice.

Because it is toy slime and not every kid was going to own every Kenner ghost, Ecto-Plazm™ came with different small ghost figures. Knowing it would make a child happy, (our parents not so much) each ghost figure was actually inside the Ecto-Plazm,™ covered in color slime!

I’ve been wanting to write about Ecto-Plazm™ for a long time now. I had fun with this one. Hopefully it’ll bring back fond memories for most of you as well.

Sold Out Matty Collector Figures Shipped To Big Lots

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Most ghostheads know by now that US retail chain, Big Lots! has and is selling “left over” Mattel/Matty Collector stock. This inventory is original and second run Ghostbusters and MOTUC items which Mattel over produced and later sold as part of a cyber deal last year. Regardless whether these items actually sold out during the sale or Mattel decided to end the sale after that day or week, at some point the inventory went to the few Mattel stores in the country. Then later was sold to Big Lots! where they’ve been and are showing up this summer.

A reason this is important to ghostheads is because Big Lots! have been receiving the once expensive Ghostbusters II 12” inch 2 packs. Up to today, ghostheads have been finding the Egon/Ray set. Depending on the inventory a particular store is getting, other once sold out 6” figures are being found. Like slime Peter Venkman, Vigo, Vince Clortho, and even rare Retro-Action Citizen Ghost Peter Venkman.

Many stores have received this inventory, it’s possible a location hasn’t yet and maybe, just maybe your nearby store will receive more inventory. Up until yesterday, their was a link on Big Lots! web site which informed customers if a particular location received this weekly deal. Best to call a store or check your nearby locations.

After last month and more financial obligations this month I was finally able to visit the Toms River, NJ Big Lots! Unfortunately at the time the Toms River location didn’t have any of the 12″ Ghostbusters II sets. I spoke to a cashier who told me when a shipment had come in, someone bought 3 of them. Hopefully it was a ghosthead and ghostheads will own them without a markup. She didn’t think they would be getting in any more as MOTUC had starting coming in. In fact that shipment was put on the shelves yesterday.

The only and I mean the only Mattel Ghostbusters item for sale was a Retro-Action Peter (without mailer) from Citizen Ghost. I didn’t buy it as I already own all the Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters figures. I thought of getting it to sell, honestly I have other things I should be selling and thought like back in the day, maybe a parent might buy the figure for a kid. I like to be hopeful.

“I thought it was going to be He-Man.”

Big Lots! had 6 MOTUC figures, which included some 2 pack sets and two of the same 12″ inch figure.

“I don’t want to grow up…”

Like others (which had nothing to do with Ghostbusters) I also went to Toys ‘R US in Toms River and was a bit surprised to see 7 Matty Collector Retro Action Janine/Samhain 2 pack sets. They’re sorta on clearance for about $30.

I’m trying to find a ghosthead or family member who if they have or do find a 12” Ghostbusters II Egon/Ray set and would be willing to sell one to let me know. I’m definitely interested in buying one, I may have to wait until September to purchase. In the meantime I may go back to Big Lots! this week.

Matty Collector Ecto-1 Pre-Order Deadline May Be Cut

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mattycollectorectographic
Ever hear of the crop tool Mattel?

I didn’t see this posted on a lot of websites, now that I have the time I wanted to pass along what Mattel posted on their Facebook page, which was later updated to suppress an already niche collector market.

“At this time, both of the 2014 subs and the Ecto-1 pre-sale are quite below our expectations. We want nothing more than to see both clubs and the amazing Ghostbusters vehicle move forward. But we can’t do that if we don’t hit the bottom level of sub holders. This is very similar to “Kickstarter” campaigns. Only for the subs and Ecto-1, due to the logistics of the toy making process, we need to lock in our quota and customer base early before we start spending on tooling and other fixed costs.”

“Because of this, Aug 19th is the DEADLINE for both subs and hitting the bare minimum on the Ecto-1. While we hope to keep the Ecto-1 pr-sale open longer after Aug 19th to gain additional pre-sales, if we don’t hit the minimum by Aug 19th, the Ecto-1 will also close down.”

I don’t know if Mattel will actually make good on their scare tactic, as the Ecto-1 pre-sale page still reads November 5, 2013 as the deadline. I understand the pre-ordering and gauging interest to see what it may cost to produce Ecto-1, which no ghosthead thought Mattel would even attempt to make with an understanding that Ghostbusters™ more or less is a dead (no pun intended) franchise to them.

And what they’re trying to do is nothing like a “Kickstarter” campaign. Did they even look to see how Kickstarter or similar web sites actually work? We have no idea how many customers are pre-ordering their Ecto-1 or the new 6” figures most ghostheads don’t need. That is a difference between Kickstarter and similar sites to Mattel’s business strategies. None of us really know how this Ecto-1 will turn out, we’ve barely seen a model of it. They cut the deadline to try to increase pre-orders and try to reach their goal in less then 4 months.

Yes it take times to create and make these expensive, quality collectors toys. Their could have been a 4 month pre-order earlier in the year so Mattel would have the time for the “logistics” in “the toy making process.” Then their would have been plenty of time before Matty Collector would actually sell them and at this years comic con we could have seen an early prototype, not some cardboard graphic and a “foam” block.

Unless something changes I won’t be pre-ordering the Ecto-1 and I don’t need 6” figures with removable packs just so they can sit nicely in the car. I’m a real Ghostbuster, I don’t scare easily.

SDCC 2013 Ghostbusters Merch

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You might not know it by how much coverage Mattel/Matty Collector gets through Ectocontainment,™ there are actually other companies who create, are creating Ghostbusters™ merchandise. Which may or may not have anything to do with the 30th anniversary.

Naturally these companies show off their wares at such cons as NYCC, Chiller Theater, (well they should) and of course San Diego Comic Con. Ectocontainment™ continues its tradition of taking a look at these Ghostbusters™ products. Some were a surprise and are brand new, others we’ve known about in the last year.

Underground Toys

Underground Toys (site hasn’t updated the new Ghostbusters™ products yet) produced and sold Ghostbusters™ plushes (ie: Stay-Puft) that include a sound chip. Their plushes usually play the main theme from Ghostbusters, written and sung by one Mr. Ray Parker Jr. At SDCC 2013 Underground Toys unveiled a “no ghost” plush. No word yet about what song it will play. While “Ghostbusters” would be the obvious choice I think it would be cool if it could play Cleaning Up The Town from the Bus Boys. Of course, if the rights could be secured.

I own one Underground Toys “happy” Mr. Stay-Puft I bought at Toys ‘R Us. At 35 years old I’m not really into stuffed animals, except for the curious one. Besides collecting Ghostbusters™ I think I wanted an updated Mr. Stay-Puft plush. Really, nothing compares to my Kenner Mr. Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man plush.

Underground Toys has also produced and created Ghostbusters™ mugs. In the past their have been a “no ghost” logo, a Slimer, a Mr. Stay-Puft, and a “Who Ya Gonna Call?” “no ghost” logo mug. All 4 mugs are black. This year UT (abbreviations are cool) unveiled a Ghostbusters™ “heat reveal” mug. The “no ghost” fades into the “no” logo when the mug is hot. While this seems unique and perfect for Ghostbusters™, I think the novelty of the color heating up would eventually wear off. I could be completely wrong.

I don’t currently own the previous $9.99 USD Ghostbusters™ mugs. Depending on the circumstances I don’t know yet if I would by their heat reveal Ghostbusters™ mug.

Factory Entertainment

Factory Entertainment is newer to the Ghostbusters™ license. Their main products seem to be Shakems,™ which are like detailed bobble heads with sound. FE has been working with the ghosthead community to make Slimer and two of the Ghostbusters,™ and Stay-Puft more accurate.

At SDCC they showed off their updated Slimer and Stay-Puft Shakems.™ Stay-Puft has a swappable head. As a ghosthead I appreciate good merchandise from quality companies. I’ve never been much of a bobble head type of guy. Did I really say that out loud? I use to have both of N.E.C.A’s Slimer and Stay-Puft bobble heads. Due to their ceramic like nature, they eventually chipped or broke. In the case of NECA’s Stay-Puft bobble head, mine broke during shipping from a popular company associated with a jungle. I’m not sure what completely happened, as we approach the 30th anniversary I don’t have them any longer. :/

Earlier this year at New York Toy Fair FE showed off a brand new Ghostbusters™ lunch box with thermos! I’m not sure if that was shown off at SDCC. What fan wouldn’t want a new Ghostbusters™ lunch box? If it was priced right, I wouldn’t mind one. I don’t completely remember if I had a plastic The Real Ghostbusters lunch box in the ‘80s. As a collector I bought a complete one in 2011. A complete Ghostbusters™ lunch box continues to elude me.

Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select Toys had previously produced and created a line of Ghostbusters™ and The Real Ghostbusters™ Minimates since Ghostbusters™ 25th anniversary. Originally I didn’t collect the Minimates because basically I wasn’t able to collect much new Ghostbusters™ collectibles at the time. I’ve never owned all the original 2 pack sets. When the box sets and exclusives came up for sale through a popular auction site I bought them. I’ve liked them more then I originally thought I would. I don’t collect any of their other Minimates.

I was surprised when DST unveiled new Ghostbusters™ Minimates. In recent years they’ve made just about every character and combination. Especially from Ghostbusters™ and Ghostbusters II.™ They’ve also produced and sold Minimates from The Real Ghostbusters.

The new Ghostbusters™ Minimates have different bodies and include removable proton packs. Removable proton packs are in for 2013. As of now I’m not interested in new Ghostbusters™ Minimates with removable packs. However, as the previous figures are sold out and may be hard to find I think its great that DST are offering new Ghostbusters™ Minimates for the fan base.

DST doesn’t just produce Minimates. They also produce detailed figures for other franchises along with collectibles. Of course while they can’t make Ghostbusters™ figures anytime soon, merchandise includes Ghostbusters™ statutes, banks, silicone molds, and more!

I own a regular Mr. Stay-Puft bank, not the red “angry” version. I might eventually get one of the silicone products. I don’t currently own any of the light up statues. I think the upcoming firehouse statue which DST was showing at SDCC 2013 would be perfect for a display with a variety of Ghostbusters™ Minimates.

Also on display is the upcoming 24” Stay-Puft Marshmallow man. I believe it’s also a bank like its previous smaller versions. As I have other Stay-Pufts, including Matty Collector’s 22” foamy version I don’t really need a plastic 24” Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man that may be able to hold my pennies.

Photo Credit: SDCC

Matty Collector News: Ecto-1 For 6 Inch Figures

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November 2013 edit: Omitted SDCC “prototype” images.

As expected on Friday, July 19, 2013 Mattel unveiled what was under the black cloth. Despite the hype (from what I could observe on-line) very few ghostheads would have expected “a new car” with new 6” figures! Mattel are working closely with Sony to bring ghostheads a highly detailed Ecto-1 as part of the Epic Creations line. Mattel showed off the beginnings of what this could look like, as well as a full color cardboard profile.

Due to the size and (supposed) expense to a (limited) fan base Matty Collector is taking pre-orders until November 5, 2013. I’m not sure why the display reads Aug 15th. That’s the scheduled sale date for their Ecto Goggles. I don’t know if it will be possible, at $215 USD just for the Epic Creations Ecto-1, I would prefer to wait to see what it will look like and how it’ll work before spending that amount of money (before shipping) on a pre-order. If their could be a way for the toy to have lights and sounds, one or the other, or none at all and keep the cost down, I think most ghostheads would be ok with that. if it meant this Ecto-1 would definitely get made.

This news has brought a mixed reaction from the fan base. With the 30th anniversary coming up it feels like Mattel and Sony needed to do something in a different category. After all Mattel is a toy company. It seems like if supposedly the 6” line didn’t sell well outside ghostheads, why do an Ecto-1 now? You almost know if this couldn’t happen, Mattel wouldn’t need to gauge interest in two new (not all 4 yet) figures that include removable packs so they can sit in the car and the packs can be stored on the pull out rack.

Matty Collector News: Nutrona Wand Prop Toy

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sdccmattywand

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters and besides a 30th Anniversary licensing banner from Sony, nothing “30th anniversary” had been announced. Despite reputable quotes in recent interviews from both Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman ghostheads still don’t know if their will be a Ghostbusters III.

Without a new movie or something else that would push the Ghostbusters franchise forward, Mattel stopped making new Ghostbusters figures and were slowly working on what many fans thought would be the last prop toy, the Ecto Goggles.

Before this week it would have been a safe bet to say that ghostheads were looking forward to hearing more about those at this years San Diego Comic Con. While ghostheads like myself have discussed possible Matty Collector prop toys going forward (this was when before everyone knew the Ecto Goggles would be next) most fans couldn’t have suspected Matty Collector, an adult collector’s division of Mattel was going to show off a new prop toy that almost or does overshadow the Ecto Goggles.

Neutrino (really, Nutrona) Wand

The Nutrona Wand as any ghosthead knows is the part of the proton pack that when switched on can trigger the confinement streams to catch the slimers. Matty Collector’s version can sorta do that, in your imagination.

Straight from Mattel

“Negative vibrations from ectoplasmic entities bumming you out? Give them a positive blast with your Neutrino Wand! Developed with Sony Entertainment, this authentically detailed wand delivers vibrations and a force kickback when blasted, light-meter animations on the base that ramp up or down depending on how high you’ve adjusted the proton stream setting, and an extending tip that lights up with orange, red, and yellow LEDs (does not actually shoot a beam).”

“The wand’s buttons and switches are loaded with lights and sounds sampled directly from the Ghostbusters™ films, including the main power on/off switch and the proton stream on/off switch, length-adjuster knob, and “blasting” button. And if total protonic reversal is your thing, then you’ll want to cross the streams and see what happens! Fire two Neutrino Wands at each other and watch the lights change color as the light-up meter transforms to a unique pattern and new sounds and vibration are triggered.”

Mattel’s version of the Nutrona Wand has some inaccuracies from screen used versions. However, at $130 the bells and whistles are priced fairly right. The Nutrona (Neutrino) Wand is currently scheduled for a Fall 2013 release.

If having just a Nutrona Wand wasn’t enough Matty Collector has been displaying a mysterious Ghostbusters item that has ghostheads asking what’s under the black covering? Smaller version of the Proton pack? Mini ECU? Ghostbusters III prototype toys? Belt Gizmo™ prop toy? I speculated from the lines its similar to the “crate” packaging Matty Collector uses with its Ghostbusters prop toys.

Either way we’ll all know sometime today when Mattel is supposed to unveil this new Ghostbusters collectible!

Photo Source: Ghostbusters News

Retro-Action Firehouse

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retroactionfirehouse

No one could expect Mattel to come with their own molded plastic version of the firehouse separately. The expense alone would be cost prohibited. The “Retro-Action” Firehouse comes as mostly folded cardboard and when open stands at 22 inches. It’d have to be tall to display the Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters.

While the firehouse is meant to be a facade for display or possible play time, Matty Collector went the extra mile. Printing the first floor of The Real Ghostbusters firehouse interior. The red doors open revealing a graphic of Ecto-1 in the garage bay. You can also see into the rear office area.

To provide further realism, the “Retro-Action” Firehouse has a “no ghost” logo sign that hangs off the building, like its cartoon counterpart.

On a related note has anyone else ever wondered why there are snowflakes around the window packaging?