Arguably the most popular The Real Ghostbusters Kenner hero figures are the first ones. The best may be Fright Features because the figures could do more and “react” to the ghosts they were facing. Plus Kenner introduced Janine in toy form for the first time.

Nearly 25 years later Matty Collector, the adult collector brand under Mattel created and sold a line of figures based on the true classic. Mattel chose to create these The Real Ghostbusters collectibles in a style that pre-dates ‘80s figures by an entire decade, the 1970s.

Ecto-Containment™ History Lesson!

Mego Corporation was a toy company which was mego (see what I did their?) popular during most of the 1970s. It licensed characters from both Marvel and D.C. Along with movies such as The Wizard of Oz, and oh yeah Planet of the Apes. In later years they made figures for Superman.

Interestedly enough they took on Mattel’s Barbie figures and tried to overtake Kenner’s Star War figures (yep, Star Wars) with their own 3” Micronauts figures. A move that may have been prompted when Mego rejected the license for the then upcoming 1977 “B movie” Star Wars. The company over licensed everything and anything, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture. By the time The Wrath of Khan was filmed, Mego was chapter 11. When the video game industry almost imploded on itself in 1983 Mego Corporation had become something else. While that is important on some level, that’s what a certain internet encyclopedia is for.

I was born towards the end of the “Mego” era and by the time I was playing with toys, generally figures were around 5 inches. Years later, before the mainstream internet and before I became a collector I hadn’t realized Kenner had also made mego style toys with then popular (and collectible today) figures from The Six Million Dollar Man for example. I once incorrectly assumed Mego made them as well.

It’s really no wonder Matty Collector made their The Real Ghostbusters in what is known as the “Mego style.” Mego is mega popular with fans and collectors. Also from a business standpoint Mattel had previously released other popular characters in the Mego style. Their was a time I would have preferred 6” The Real Ghostbusters based on Kenner’s original hero and ghost figures. At the time too Mattel didn’t have an interest in creating The Real Ghostbusters figures. It’s just as well as some classics shouldn’t be duplicated.

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.

Bonus: To promote the Matty Collector The Real Ghostbusters Mattel offered two different Peter Venkman figures from The Real Ghostbusters episode, Citizen Ghost. Peter Venkman wears a movie style uniform and comes with a movie style proton packs. A second, spectral version of Peter is also wearing a movie style uniform and includes a movie style proton pack.

Both figures include a sound chip with quotes from Citizen Ghost. Instead of just using the actual dialogue, a different person tries to match Lorenzo Music.