Review > Ghostbusters Minimates, Part II

A few weeks back I reviewed the Ghostbusters Minimates Toys ‘R Us exclusive two-packs. Today I’ll be taking a look at the two multi-packs released so far: the series 1 set and the set of ghosts from Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I’m also throwing in the SDCC-exclusive blank Minimate with the twenty-fifth anniversary logo.

You should be able to find the Series 1 set at most comic shops, specialty retailers and online at places like Amazon. The videogame set was available at SDCC and can be found (along with the Series 1 set) on Diamond Select Toys’s website. The blank logo Minimate was an SDCC-exclusive; your only option for that one is eBay now.

Packaging: The figures come in blister packs that allow full view of all the characters except for Louis Tully, whose parts are buried at the bottom of the package. This is because the only way to put Louis together is to swap parts from the Terror Dog. It’s a clever way of saving space and production costs, but it does mean you’ll have to track down another black-suited Minimate if you want to display both Louis and the Terror Dog (I recommend Cavil from Battlestar Galactica).

I should mention, I really like the way the logo turns the “No Ghost” symbol into a Minimate, and it’d be great to get that as an exclusive figure.

Design & Sculpt: We’ve already seen the Ghostbusters–Egon and Peter–in my previous review, although Peter was slimed. My comments on those figures remain the same.

However, there’s some really clever work on the other figures in the Series 1 set. The first-ever Dana Barrett figure depicts her in her Gatekeeper outfit from the second half of the first movie. The tampo work on the face, with the eyeshadow and red lips, is very sharp. But I like Louis even more; the face is priceless, and the “burned” look of the clothing and face suggest this is the post-Stay-Puft explosion Louis.

We’ve seen the Terror Dog before, too, in the Winston 2-pack. One thing that struck me as odd was that both my Terror Dogs had front legs that bent backward–the elbows had been reversed. I had to swap the front legs before they looked natural. Aside from that, and the fact that the Terror Dogs should be bigger than the Minimates, it’s a neat little figure.

I’ve played through Ghostbusters: The Video Game a few times now, so I’m pretty familiar with the four ghosts from the four-pack, but even if you’re not, it’s always cool to get more bad guys.

First up is Azetlor, a.k.a. “the Collector”–fun fact, it was Azetlor who murdered Eleanor Twitty, the library ghost from the beginning of the first movie. Azetlor is about twenty feet tall in the game, so he’s not quite in scale here. His body is clear to represent the fact that he’s mostly a collection of floating parts. While it’s neat to have a semi-clear Minimate, I definitely think Azetlor is one of the weaker figures of the set.

Next up is the Architect, whose real name I won’t divulge so as not to spoil the game for you. I can tell you, however, that he’s not even remotely close to scale. He’s also not very accurate to the game…well, I can’t say that for sure, because he might have taken on a form similar to this for a couple seconds. His bottom half isn’t meant to represent a robe so much as flowing molten rock. He might have hair, but what I really remember–and what is missing here–are the two big horns.

While Azetlor and the Architect are a little disappointing, I like the Chef and the Slime Monster. The Chef has some of the most intricate detail work I’ve seen on a Minimate, particularly on the face. The Slime Monster has some nice size to him, and the hook and chain are a nice touch.

There’s not a whole lot to say about the anniversary Minimate–it’s a black Minimate with the anniversary logo. It was given away free at SDCC. If you were thinking it’d be perfect to swap parts for a second Terror Dog instead of using Louis, think again–unfortunately, it doesn’t have a hole in its head to fit the dog head, which means you’d have to use a different Minimate’s head.

Plastic & Paint: It’s hard to tell what’s paint and what’s tampo printed, but the details are fairly sharp on all the figures. No complaints here.

Articulation: The basic Ghostbuster has ball joints at the head, shoulders, and hips, hinges at the knees and elbows, and swivels at the wrists, ankles, and waist. That’s great for a 2″ figure. The Architect and Dana Barrett are a bit limited by their skirts, and the Chef, well, he ain’t got no legs.

Accessories: Aside from the Ghostbusters with their standard proton packs, the only other accessories are the Architect’s lava blast and the Slime Monster’s hook and chain.

Quality Control: No problems.

Overall: I love the Series 1 set–it’s a great tribute to the first movie, and the Dana Barrett and Louis Tully figures are adorable.

My feelings about the videogame set are a bit mixed. Something about the set seems a bit rushed to me, like they just took whatever parts they could find from other Minimates and threw together the four ghosts the best they could. The Chef came out looking great, but Azetlor and the Architect are gigantic bad guys shrunk down to a tiny scale. There are other, non-boss ghosts in the game that might have made for more fun Minimates, such as Stay-Puft’s “minis,” the Shandor gargoyles, the smaller black slime critters, or any of the humanoid ghosts. Even the Spider-Woman (in her pre-giant-spider form) might have been cooler than Azetlor.

[raven 3]