Matty Collector Retro-Action Samhain

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retroactionsamhain

Samhain is one of the few The Real Ghostbusters ghost characters who remains popular among ghostheads. Besides appearing in an episode and a special during the series, he was seen five other times, including the title sequence from season 4 onward. Samhain was featured in both NOW c o m i c s Issue 17, Chanted Evening and IDW Publishing Ghostbusters. In The Box Part I & II Samhain appeared in video game form, well, the ghosts resembled him in appearance. (New Ghostbusters II) Despite never having a regular episode about Samhain during the Extreme Ghostbusters, Samhain appeared in both the introduction and ending titles. Toy company, Trendmasters even made a Samhain figure in the late ‘90s. Something Kenner never did a decade earlier, despite the character’s massive popularity.

When I first heard about and saw this Janine & Samhain Retro-Action 2 pack in pictures i thought it would have made more sense based on how the set is presented overall if Mattel had given us The Sandman instead. Although it was a dream state Janine dreamed about being a Ghostbuster in Mr. Sandman, Dream Me A Dream. Obviously it doesn’t take long to see that the odds are in Samhain’s favor over Mr. Sandman in just about everything ghost related.

Matty Collector Retro-Action Janine

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retroactionjanine

Note: I decided to treat Matty Collector’s Janine & Samhain 2 pack like they had been packaged separately. Because of length too, I’ll be writing about Retro-Action Samhain and the diorama firehouse in a separate update.

I never really knew if Matty Collector’s Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters were successful on a financial level for the company. If you believe Mattel (outside of ghostheads) the most popular figure was a 6” Peter Venkman. Unfortunately almost at any given time I saw the Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters at my local Toys ‘R Us long after I probably shouldn’t have. Which is why when Mattel announced at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con a Retro-Action Janine & Samhain 2 pack I was :::dramatic pause::: taken back and thoroughly surprised. And also to include Slimer and a firehouse diorama, wow! Someone at Matty Collector was thinking outside the firehouse.

Up until this set was announced the only impression we had from Mattel about Janine was based on the promotional art work featured on the card back of the Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters. The artwork shows Janine’s new look from season 6 Janine, You’ve Changed and continuing.

I thank Mattel/Matty Collector for not being lazy, basing their Retro-Action Janine on the promotional artwork and the later seasons.

Matty Collector Retro-Action Citizen Ghost Spectral Peter

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citzenghostcard2

The uniforms worn during the Gozer battle had too much ectoplasmic radiation and needed to be destroyed. Peter (ironically?) was suppose to take care of this, but didn’t. By the time he realized he still needed to the ectoplasmic uniforms had absorbed more PKE from the new Ectocontainment Unit because of a small leak. The PKE imprinted on the Ghostbusters uniforms, becoming green, ghostly versions of The Real Ghostbusters. They even copied the proton packs!

Matty Collector Retro-Action Citizen Ghost Peter

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citizenghostcard

For some semi good reason Mattel decided to make a slightly different Retro-Action figure, a Peter Venkman from the first season episode Citizen Ghost. Citizen Ghost is a cartoon sequel episode to the Ghostbusters movie. It’s also an unofficial pilot of sorts to how a Ghostbusters cartoon became known as The Real Ghostbusters. A flashback shows The Real Ghostbusters coming back to a badly damaged firehouse wearing their Ghostbusters uniforms with marshmallow “stains” still on them. Fortunately before the guys went off to fight Gozer the new colorful uniforms had arrived.

Matty Collector Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters

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retroactioncardback

November 2013 edit: Removed a sentence about a personal blog post which I opted not to bring over.

Recently I bought a The Real Ghostbusters figure I look forward to receiving and writing about. As I don’t have all the figures in that series this felt like a really good time to write about Matty Collector’s Retro-Action The Real Ghostbusters.

Matty Collector produced and first sold Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston in 2010. They were available in chain toy stores such as Toys ‘R Us, collectible shops, and through on-line retailers. In 2011 Matty Collector produced and first sold a Janine and Samhain 2 pack which included a small Slimer and a firehouse diorama. Which was also available at Toys ‘R Us, collectible shops, and through on-line retailers.

Mattel also offered two different Peter Venkman figures from The Real Ghostbusters episode, Citizen Ghost. Both Peters wear movie style uniform and come with movie style proton packs. The second Peter Venkman is the spectral version of the Real Peter Venkman.

In the next Retro Action The Real Ghostbusters updates we’ll look at the Janine/Samhain 2 pack and the Citizen Ghost Peters.

Ectocontainment Recognition: Kenner Collector

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kcbanner11

One of the goals of scanning and uploading the Kenner instructions I own was to share them not only with ghostheads, but with Kenner/collector fans too. As I wrote about on July 6, 2012 (Can You Tell Me How To Get To Kenner St.?) Dan Flarida and John Wooten run the largest (and maybe only) comprehensive site about Kenner and for Kenner collecting. One of the features of Kenner Collector are Kenner’s instructions for their various toy lines. Missing from the line up are The Real Ghostbusters instructions. Being that I mostly could, I wanted to help fill in that section.

I wrote both Dan and John about the instructions. As they aren’t PDFs they could use them how they like or let other Kenner fans know about what i’ve been doing here and what I’m still looking for. Coincidentally a year to the day that I shared and wrote about Kenner Collector Dan wrote a blog entry (Ectocontainment.com Looking For Kenner Instructions) about the site, myself, and the instructions.

It’s appreciated. As I told them when I have new related Kenner The Real Ghostbusters content I’d be happy to share that with them and the Kenner community as well.

Photo Credit: Kenner Collector

Kenner Instructions: Ecto-Charger Pack

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ectocharge

When it came to toys based on Ghostbusters II Kenner didn’t fully capitalize on the potential opportunities. Even with a The Real Ghostbusters episode, Partners In Slime which has the most Ghostbusters II influence.

Kenner marketed the Ecto-Charger Pack as the official one The Real Ghostbusters wear. Unless the characters in the series were suppose to wear them and at some point that changed over at Columbia Pictures Television/DIC Entertainment they never wore Ecto-Charger Packs. Maybe that’s the reason a Ghostbusters II decal was included.

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

Kenner Instructions: Ghost Grab-A-Meter

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When it came to The Real Ghostbusters toy weapons and tying them into Ghostbusters II their was only one you could say is directly from the movie. That’s the Ecto-Charger.

The Ghost Grab-A-Meter on the other hand while not exactly based on equipment from Ghostbusters II reminds me of a Slime Scoop merged with a Giga Meter.

When Kenner came up with the Ghost Grab-A-Meter they opted to make it more interesting then just another claw toy that can grab an object. With only one The Real Ghostbusters weapon/action toy to go, Kenner was all in. That’s because the Ghost Grab-A-Meter is also a missile launcher!

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

Looking For Kenner Instructions Part 2

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kennerwereallydocare

On June 6 I wrote a blog entry about the Kenner instructions I was (and still am) looking for. I made due with what I had next, provided the majority of vehicle instructions, and provided what I consider rare instruction gems, all four Gooper Ghost Instructions.

I knew from there I have and will be able to share a few more instructions. Unfortunately I don’t have them all, if their were instructions for the rest of them. I’m reaching out to other ghostheads and the Kenner communities. if you have any of these instructions, please leave a comment.

1. Ghostpopper

These rarely come up for sale, I’ve seen less then 5 on eBay in the last 3 years. When I was a serious collector in 2011, I was able to buy one from a toy business out of England. It isn’t fully complete, I do have the toy in a European Kenner box, and some foam poppers. Decals had been previously applied. I’m assuming its instructions are long gone. Before this, I hadn’t owned a Ghostpopper since I was a kid.

2. NutronaBlaster

I thought the one I bought as a collector was complete, it isn’t. It’s pretty basic, the toy is complete.

3. WaterZapper

Its possible even when Kenner originally made them and they were all mint in the box the WaterZapper didn’t come with paper instructions. After all it is a squirt gun one fills with water. The instructions are sorta on the back of the box.

4. Ecto-Blaster

I thought the one I bought as a collector was complete, Where have we heard that before? I have a complete toy and its box, that’s about it. I feel this “complex” The Real Ghostbusters toy would have had instructions.

As I’m updating the site I’ll try to make “sorta instructions” with the toys boxes. Naturally I would prefer to have scans of the paper instructions that came with the original toys.

If you can help or know someone who has these instructions, please leave a comment. It would be very much appreciated.

Kenner Instructions: GhostZapper

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Before Kenner sold the real ghostbusting essentials ie: proton pack, ghost trap they came out with a projector toy. Which seemed more common in the 1980s then today.

GhostZapper is a “creative light and sound” toy. How could a kid (without a proton pack yet) not like a toy that resembled a nutrona wand, project ghosts, and make sounds that had to bother anyone older then eleven?

GhostZapper also included a film cartridge. When the cartridge wheel is inserted into GhostZapper 6 ghost images (one at a time of course) could be projected onto pretty much any surface. Ghosts included Slimer, Stay-Puft, Gozer, (yes Gozer, sweet right?) Terror Dog, a large skull head, and get this Slug!

If projecting Gozer onto a wall wasn’t enough, the GhostZapper included a small button you could press back and forth to animate each slide. Mainly the mouth or eyes.

A knob on the side of GhostZapper can be set to one of four “zapping” sounds. When the trigger is pressed the ghostly images appear and the zapping sounds are heard.

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

While the GhostZapper film cartridge can’t exactly be duplicated I’ve included a high resolution photo of a brand new, straight out of a mint in box one.

Kenner Instructions: Gooper Ghosts – Green Ghost

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In 1988 Kenner released a Green Ghost Gooper Ghost.

I don’t know why Kenner was still calling Slimer Green Ghost in 1988. Like its carded figure the box reads “known as Slimer in the TV series ‘The Real Ghostbusters’.”

Gooper Ghost: Slimer has a modified proton pack (why did he need one?) with two rotating Nutrona Blasters™ and a large plunging button.

When slime (Ecto-plasm) is emptied into Gooper Ghost: Slimer it can slime a hero figure by pushing down on the proton pack.

I didn’t own a Gooper Ghost: Slimer around 10 years old. The one I own as a fan and collector was won through a popular internet auction site. This Gooper Ghost: Slimer was originally sold in Canada. The instructions are in English and French.

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