Are they actually supposed to be removable? I think I remember reading on the other thread that the straps broke while attempting to remove it, but I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be part of the design. The removal part, I mean…
The peg that attaches the straps has a chance of breaking as you remove it. I can’t say if that’s because it’s glued or if it’s just shoddy craftsmanship, given the rest of the figure. Might be a QC problem that needs to be sorted out on that. But, no, I don’t think they’re supposed to be removable. Honestly, unless they release a car or firehouse, I’m not too concerned with removable packs, anyway. I mean, there really aren’t a whole lot of display options without the packs.
*edit: Now there’s a thought. You know what would have been better than a rooftop diorama? An Ecto build-a-vehicle. Maybe that could be an idea for series 2.
If they can sort out the myriad of problems with this line, it has potential. That said, if they do, I may have to make a revamp of my apartment investigation Venkman figure, come to think of it. Might grab an extra Venkman and Peck when they hit TRU.
I didn’t have any trouble getting the peg out that connects the straps to the kidney pad; the rubber is surprisingly strong. I just used a tiny screwdriver to slightly widen the hole.
Given the otherwise rather shoddy quality of the figures, I’d bet they were supposed to be securely glued, and some weren’t. Wouldn’t surprise me, anyway.
Yeah, I’m sure Zach said on the other thread that the packs weren’t meant to be removed.
Does anyone else kind of think they have chicken legs or something. Their torsos are wide and seem way too short and their legs look long and skinny.
The suits are meant to be loose fitting everywhere else but look like they are pulled up or are made of lycra in the croth region. I think you’re right, the modelers should have done that better.
The legs look okay to me, though the way they are packaged makes it looks like one leg is significantly longer than the other lol
I agree gold333 they they look like they have major wedgies. It’s because their pelvis’ aren’t very long. I was looking at the gbii DVD cover with Egon, Peter, and Ray and Rays outfit definitely hangs down more in the groin. It looks like that’s the only place it clings on these figures. Not only that, but I was looking at my other action figures and even characters with tight clothes like batman Spider-Man still have long pelvis’.
Here you go.
Side and back of Ray to see the equipment a bit better.
I thought Mattel did a great Winston head sculpt. It might be the most spot on, but I think Diamonds is the least accurate of the 4. The head on Ray looks great for Diamond. In The side profile picture you put up Mattels head looks like it’s a completely different scale and doesn’t fit the body. I’d like to know how Mattel messed that up and kept reproducing that crappy head. The pictures leading up the the release looked way better. Not only that but the ready to believe you Ray had a way better head that wasn’t shrunk and pinched at the top. I bought an extra one and put it on my regular Ray figure. People kept telling this to Mattel and they kept making the shrunken one. Also I stand with what I said about the pelvis’ not being long enough. The picture you put up of Winston, with his arms up like that makes it look like an invisible ghost just gave him a wedgie.
I know a lot of people disagree with me, but I’m just gonna leave this here.
Took me a little while, but I finally got the reviews up.
Ray Stantz (fair warning, this one ran REALLY long):
Size comparison with the NECA line:
And, not going to lie, I got a bit giddy when I put this together.
The Terror Dogs are a bit bigger than they should be for the base, but they still kind of work. 
I like both Matty’s and Diamond’s figures. My problem with Matty was with how they operated and handled the line. Needless to say, as much as I liked the figures, I couldn’t support Matty as a company and opted out of getting most of the line. Yes, there are sill a few I’d like to own, but that’s life. Maybe ebay someday, maybe. The figures themselves are nice (Ray’s head sculpt aside) and I’ve had much fun with them. I even got a few shots I liked.
I love the Diamond figures, I really have nothing negative to say about them at all. The paint apps could be a little tighter, but that’s about it. I am in for all 15 figures in this line. The detail in this larger scale is incredible. It makes it really hard to compare the two lines fairly. I have many of the same figures in different scales from Star Wars to Superheroes and each scale has its plusses and minuses. But also each scale has its charm. I haven’t had the time to do a proper shoot with the Diamond figures yet.
A few Matty shots:
And a few quick Diamond shots (like I said I haven’t had time to do a proper shoot with these figures yet):
That isn’t entirely accurate. While Mattel only had 1 Buster mold used across all 4 guys (and the rookie), Kenner had a unique sculpt for each character… So Ray, Peter, Egon, and Winston all had unique, individual bodies from Kenner while Mattel had them all using the exact same one (with the change to Peter’s pants of course).
Kenner did end up reusing those bodies for different releases- But all 4 Busters always had their own individual body sculpt.
Sallah
This is what I was referring to. Yes, each buster had his own different sculpts, but they did re-use these sculpts for later releases like the Ecto Glow and Power Pack figures.
Another example of Kenners re-ues of molds. Those who collect the older Jurassic Park toys are likely aware that a lot of those humans, weapons and dinosaurs were simply repaints over multiple JP lines. Both JP and Congo toy lines even shared figures and vehicles.
My point still stands. Complain about reused parts all you want, but you should be used to it by now. It’s what toy companies have done for years.
The DST looks like it would be fun to hyperdetail the equipment.. Colors, button, etc. they are big enough that it would be comfortable to do.
I get what you’re saying… but I personally feel that the Mattel re-use was on a different level than the Kenner RGB stuff.
With the Kenner figures, it was a cost-saving maneuver to get the most out of those molds by releasing them again as Ecto-Glow, Slimed Heroes, etc versions… but at least they were still accurate unto themselves. Egon’s body type remained his unique body type across releases, while Ray was completely different to Egon, Peter was different then Ray, and so on. Since all 4 Ghostbusters have different body types, they knew even back then that they couldn’t just push out the same 4 sculpts with different heads and call it a day. And that wasn’t even a line marketed at “Adult Collectors” with a discerning eye… They were made for kids.
Mattel however not only used the same body for different versions like Kenner did (marshmallow mess, slimed, GB2)… but they went a step further than that and just used one mold for all 4 characters as well. That, to me, is pretty cheap- especially for a line marketed to adults.
I am not saying I hate the Mattel figures here. I will always have a soft spot for the line for giving us our first real movie Busters in toy form. It was a fun line all around, and one that definitely has more of a “toy feel” than DST (not a bad thing). But at the same time I can’t just ignore how Mattel really did cheap out quite a bit on it. It was like they were making a line geared towards kids but marketing it (and pricing it) like a line for adults.
In my opinion, DST’s line is the line we want as adult collectors. Mattel’s line is the figures we should have had as kids.
All that isn’t to argue with ya man. Just my opinion.
Sallah
And Mattel’s re-use wasn’t a cost-saving maneuver? If you think about it, Mattel had more of a reason to re-use molds in order to save money. Kenner launched their toy line in mid popularity and success of Ghostbusters where Mattel picked up the license 20 years later during a low point. They jumped on hoping a third movie was right around the corner and knew they would be operating on a limited budget until then. Remember the “in a movie year” line they gave us all the time? A third movie would expand the budget and allow more unique sculpts. The line ultimately had to be canned because the new movie didn’t happen for another 6 years and the video game ended up not being as successful as predicted.
Another point for the Mattel figures vs Kenner, the RGB characters had clear differences in body types that required different sculpts. Ray was much fatter than the others in the cartoon. The actors of the movies had fairly similar body types which made it more excusable to re-use the mold. Even if the actors had some differences in build, the baggy jumpsuits pretty much hid that. The actors weren’t even that much different in height, either. All the more reason to re-use the molds to save money.
You’re right though, DST’s line is strictly adult while Mattel’s wasn’t. That was the point. Mattel made their figures with the possibility that parents might buy them for their kids, even though they were $20 a pop. They were definitely built to be played with. If DST made theirs half as solid as Mattel, I’d love their line.
No argument, just discussion. No need to say that it’s your opinion either, one should automatically assume that to be the case.
Sorry, double post…