Review: Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series One

Most of my earliest memories on this Earth involve me playing with Ghostbuster figures. Proton packs, ghost traps, PKE’s…I had it all. I even had a Ghostbuster-themed Power Wheel, a Real Ghostbusters lunchbox, and underwear that had Slimer on them. I had the firehouse, multiple Ecto-1’s – even had an Ecto-2 – and had just about every Kenner figure that I could talk my parents into getting me. This is me validating my Ghostbusters fandom to you. 30 years later, here I am, and I’m still excited for Ghostbuster toys. 

As much as I loathe the overused “TAKE MY MONEY” meme that you see everywhere anymore, it really is getting to that point when it comes to Hasbro. Whether it’s Marvel, Star Wars, or Power Rangers, it’s as if Hasbro knows that people my age have disposable income and a desire to escape the depression and anxiety that is adulthood and just want to be a kid again. What’s next? Late-90’s NBA figures? Give me that articulated Mookie Blaylock goodness, Hasbro!

I have done the science and I am prepared to tell you whether these figures are too hot to handle or if they are too cold to hold.

One of the more interesting things about this wave is Hasbro’s decision to include all four of the Ghostbusters right out of the gate. For those that are collecting Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black Series, or the Power Ranger Lightning Series, you know that Hasbro loves to split a set up over the span of multiple wave releases.  I sort of figured that Wave 1 of this line would include Peter Venkman, Janine, that ghost that is running in Central Park, and the strange fella that Dana is in the orchestra with. (You know, the guy with the nose) And of course, all those figures would include build-a-figure pieces to something so awesome that you would have to buy all of them. (Or, if you’re a piece of shit, take out the BAF piece and replace it with something else before returning it to the store.) Sorry about that. I got off track there a bit. It drives me crazy, but, to their credit, Hasbro didn’t do that here. Right out of the gate you get Egon, Peter, Ray, and Winston. You also get Dana, Gozer, and a Vinz Clortho build-a-figure – if you collect the entire set. That’s one hell of a lineup. It’ll be interesting to see where the line goes from here. While future waves could include Ghostbuster 2 attires, supporting characters like Vigo and Louis, or even The Real Ghostbuster animated versions, at that point they’re just releasing figures that Diamond Selects have done (and done very well) just recently.

After taking a look at each of the figures, here are some of my thoughts…

• Ghostbuster figures have always had great packaging, but I really do think that this is my favorite yet. The box itself is made to look like a Ghostbusters jumpsuit. You have the nametag and the Ghostbuster patch on the bottom. On the side, you get this beautiful minimalistic art piece.
• The figures themselves are smaller than you might expect. If you were hoping that they scaled with your Marvel Legends, it’s going to look a little awkward. Even Egon – the tallest of the Ghostbusters – is a little under 6” tall.
• Prepare for some frustration when trying to suit the guys up with their proton packs. There’s a latch on the left-hand side that needs to be inserted into a peg on the strap of the pack. It doesn’t want to reach, and you’ll get some stress tearing if you force it.
• Best figure? Egon. Of everyone in this wave, I feel that Egon’s likeness is the closest to his counterpart. I’d go as far as to say that the sculpt is even better than the Mezco Egon. Oddly enough, I feel like Ray is the complete opposite. You can still tell that it’s supposed to be Ray, but you don’t take a look at the figure and know that it’s Dan Aykroyd right off the bat.
• Worst figure? Probably Dana. Not that she’s bad, there just isn’t much to it aside from getting your BAF piece.
• Most surprising? This one would have to be Gozer. This is the figure that I probably would have skipped had it not included a vital piece of Vinz Clortho (his head) but I was honestly surprised by how much I like it. The likeness is dead-on, and I love that she comes with an extra set of hands that have the lightning attached to them. For people like me that are awful when it comes to posing their figures, little things like that are very appreciated.

Final Thoughts

Look, personally, I like these figures quite a bit. I’m excited that Hasbro is making these and I’m eager to see what the future of the line has in store, but I’m also a Ghostbuster superfan. If you’re not or if you just casually like Ghostbusters, I don’t think that you need to go out of your way to hunt these down. In all honesty, while I like the size of these figures more, I think that the Diamond Select series is an overall better value. The likenesses are better, the detailing is on another level, you already have a whole slew of characters that you can choose from, and they display nicer than the Plasma Series.