Hi all. I recently got my children the new Kenner RGB series 1. We were playing with Winston and my 4.5 year old daughter asked me why Winston had a closed fist. All the other GB’s have 2 open hands to hold the blaster. I had this toy as a child, but, looking at it thru the lens of an adult, a few things occurred to me…and I need help to make sure I’m not seeing things.
Why would a GB needs a closed fist? They weren’t punching ghosts.
Winstons arm is slightly bent at the elbow, and the angle of the closed fist is not exactly in what one would call a punching position. The left arm is also longer from the elbow to the wrist.
Most toys were not produced with closed fists, and if they did, there was usually a hole for an accessory.
when Winston’s arm is elevated, well, is this a black power salute?
I felt it was to signify he was knocking at the door to get a job - I used to literally stand my Winston in front of the big red doors of the Firehouse to create that offscreen scene and manually knock his hand into the door haha. He only approaches the Firehouse in the movie, but we never see him knock. To me, the sculptor was putting a nod in for that, but hey, maybe they were trying to show some solidarity considering he was one of the first popular black action figures the world ever saw. I like it both ways!
That’s neat that you used it as a knock. I can see that.
After further consideration, John Carlos (on the right) has his left hand up, just like Winston. He also has a bent elbow, like Winston, and unlike Tommie Smith. Winston also seems to have his head forward, not straight to his body, like John Carlos’s head tilt.
To me, that one heck of a coincidence.
Does anyone with Kenner connections know about the sculptor, or the production process?
I remember some speculation years ago that maybe it’s like that because, since Winston usually drives ECTO-1 in the cartoons, it can make it look sorta like he was holding the steering wheel with it.
Take that with a massive block of salt, of course.
Drunk toy exec: “They wear the elbow pads while they’re Ghostbusting, but don’t when they’re at HQ. Make their arms one of each so our bases are covered >hic<”
