The second of the quarterly-released Ghostbusters 1:6 Movie Masters figures hits on the 15th of this month in the form of the cerebral, slime-loving (literally) doctor, Egon Spengler. If you picked up the previously-released Ray Stantz back in October, you pretty much know what you are getting in this figure in terms of design and construction and while they are very similar, Egon actually improves in a couple of aspects over Ray. Read on to get a few comments and a lot of pictures.
So here is the skinny – like most company’s 1:6 figure offerings, Egon and Ray share the same base body. It is very posable and was make specifically by Mattel to support their new large-scale Movie Masters (I imagine General Zod from the Superman movie will have this same body as well when he is released later this month. It was created at a medium build to be able to be utilized by as many characters as possible, I will be interested to see if these are successful enough to eventually warrant another build. I guess time will tell.
Dr. Spengler also shares the same requisite jumpsuit with Ray (which makes sense) except, of course, that his name badge has been appropriately changes. I will reiterate that I am a fan of the design and construction of the suit, it fits the body very well and is very movie-accuarte. I think from design and execution it is about as good as most outfits in this scale today, especially for the price point. On thing that I finally realized that I had not noticed before is that the there is a loop rig on the right side of the belt that can hold the ghost trap via an elevated circle on the back. It is cool that a figure can carry all of his accessories at once so I am glad I finally woke up and noticed that.
Egon also comes with most of the same accessories as Ray, including the excellent Proton Pack (again, my favorite aspect of these figures) that lights up, the ghost trap that opens and closes, walkie talkie, and extra hands. I hope that perhaps in an upcoming release (Peter or Winston) we can get some trap effects that are similar to the one included with the 6-inch Winston figure. The difference in accessories though is that, instead of the Ecto-Goggles, Egon features his ubiquitous PKE Meter.
The PKE Meter is very accurate to the movie prop and features a lot of detail. I really like the control screen painted on the front and it is very clean – looks just like a computer screen circa 1984. Egon is able to hold it firmly in his gloved left hand and in both of the non-gloved hands. His right glove is sculpted with a grip too wide for the PKE so it can accommodate the Proton wand. There is also a tiny button on the back that back that, when depressed, will release the two antennae on either side. This is a cool touch so that you will be sure to know when paranormal activity is in the area.
Finally, a fairly substantial difference from Ray to Egon is that I think Mattel did a vastly superior job in capturing the likeness of Ramis over Aykroyd. While I thought that Ray looked a little cartoony with odd hair, Egon is instantly recognizable at this scale. The expression is “always serious” just like Egon and the glasses are nice and round too. I like the high hair that they gave him and it is very detailed in sculpt and paint. Again, though, I hope Mattel continues to invest in further paint applications for the faces of these figures. The sculpt, while certainly improved over Ray, would be made better still by some paint. If I had mad paint skills like Robo I would probably put a brush to him to, but since I am not, I will keep him as is. Like I said, the face certainly looks like Ramis and definitely better than Ray.
So, we are not two Busters into the crew at this new scale. I have to say that everything that Ray had going for him was continued or improved upon in Egon. I really like the new PKE Meter and the head sculpt is a vast improvement. The Proton Pack, accessories and costume are what really make this figure (along with the very posable base body) and with most figures in the same scale tipping the $100.00 mark, at $60.00 Egon is a pretty nice value. Like I said before, if we can get a few more paint apps on the faces of these guys, we will be doing great.
Next up in the line is Peter in April and Winston next Summer in July. I am looking forward to completing the team at this scale and I will be interested to see the direction they go in once Winston is released. Be sure to be on Matty on the 15th of this month, there is a principal’s ransom of toys being released that day, so ask mom and dad for your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza/Festivus/other Winter Holiday money early this year!
*Thanks again for checking out our First Look and thanks to Matty and Toy Guru for sending them along. Check back soon for more previews later this week!
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