Hasbro were confirmed as the new licensee for Ghostbusters in 2019, and would be the fourth major figure company to cover the line after NECA, Mattel and Diamond Select. The first wave of the Plasma Series was announced as the four Ghostbusters and figures of Dana Barrett and Gozer.
Packaging 3.5
The Hasbro Ghostbusters are presented in a square box format with a spine down the left and the base of the window and the window then wrapping the top of the box and the right hand side. The design is that of the Ghostbusters uniform, both in colour but also with details like a zip visible and the name of the figure in the same style as the name tags of the Ghostbusters uniform.
The left hand spine uses a generic, stylised, image of our four Ghostbusters against a red backdrop. There is no specific art for the figure in the box as we have seen on other lines like Marvel & Star Wars.
The back of the box moves to a black finish with some hatching around the top. We have a short piece of background text under the character name.
"The brains of the operation: Egon's your go-to guy for the best gear"
Beneath this is a checklist of the figures in the wave and a picture of the Build-A-Ghost, Vinz Clortho, and confirmation of what parts come with which figure.
It is noticeable that the window for the figure is quite loose and not tight fitting to the box. You can almost push your fingers in the sides and round the back. The reason for this is apparent when you open the figure and find the figure tray and the window are not attached to the box and slide out as one piece. Behind them is a very nice red and black card back featuring blue prints of the Ghostbusters Proton Packs and ECTO-1.
Paint & Sculpt 3.5
Egon is always a character that suffers due to the issue with re-creating glasses at such a small scale. The Hasbro version goes someway to rectifying this with an exceptional sculpt likeness to Harold Ramis and some relatively well scaled glasses. The glasses are actually part of the sculpt and not glued to the face, that means thy can be done with slimmer rims and arms - but the trade off is an odd filled in piece at the side that is then left in flesh plastic so from the side it looks a bit odd. It is impressive that behind the rims, the eyes are fully sculpted and face printed.
There is a secondary issue with the side on portrait for Egon, with what looks to be two chin lines sculpted all the way round. I am not sure what function this performs, it does seem to be on al the Egon figures from what I can see on other reviews and video images.
The Ghostbusters uniform is shared between all four main figures and is cast in a single cream colour and is unpainted apart from the boots, gloves, elbow pads and the name plate which has been pretty neatly painted to read Spengler. A Ghostbusters decal has been neatly added to the right shoulder. The sculpt of the uniform is well done, with the appropriate pockets and pouches - but is far too clean.
The real look of the Ghostbusters is wearing their Proton Packs, and there has been a good level of colour added to the packs. The strap is in a green colour and wraps the arms and waist. Egon's belt has arrived warped and sits bent upward once in place. This wasn't an issue with Winston so is likely individual depending on packing - it should straighten out over time or with hot water treatment (ask an adult).
The pack itself is cast in black with red, blue and silver added to the various wiring and parts. Different GB's seem to have some variation in the Proton Pack colouring in terms of the lower circular Cyclotron - Egon's is painted red only in the top left panel, while Winston was painted only in the bottom right.
The second belt, permanently attached to the figure, is an individual piece that will slide with some poses as needed. It is cast in an off white with painted black attachments. A yellow and a black pipe snake from the belt to plug into the legs.
We have had other Egon Ghostbuster figures before from both Mattel and Diamond Select. Comparisons to both can be seen below. The Hasbro head sculpt and likeness trumps both of them and you can see how much better the glasses treatment is on the Hasbro vs the Mattel or the Diamond version with its misshapen thick rimmed efforts.
The body shape is certainly more natural on the Hasbro version. Diamond still has better paint apps with the dirty uniform look.
Accessories 3.0
Going back a step to the Proton Pack, this is an accessory as such as it arrives separate to the figure and can be taken on and off. There are no instructions included, but with some tinkering you find the strap at the bottom of the left hand side can be unclipped. The pack can then be strapped around the figure and the clasp slotted back into place. As mentioned above, the waist belt is warped on Egon and is likely dependent on how it was packed.
The Plasma Beam thrower is permanently attached to the back pack via a flexible tube. This feels quite robust and not like the Diamond ones which snapped far too easily. You might find rather than snap that the lead pops out from the base of the Proton Back. The Beam Thrower slots into the hands with a bit of tweaking to stretch out the fingers a little and can be held one or two handed. When not in use there is a notch and socket function to slot the Beam Thrower into the side of the backpack. Again, this works much better than Diamond and does not stick out as much as the Mattel one that seemed to connect at an angle.
While Winston came with the Proton Stream (which works really well) it is not included with Egon. This is very disappointing and a real miss by Hasbro in allowing us to line up our four Ghostbusters in firing mode. I think this will also mean we will see many Winstons in the wild with this piece removed - stolen in store, or bought and returned with the part taken out. I do hope Hasbro will rectify this mistake soon...
Egon has a PKE meter as a second accessory. This is a neat piece in the right scale and cast in a dark grey plastic. It does suffer from the arms of the meter not being even as we see on the prop, the right arm is pointing up while the left is down. Having looked at other reviews, this is not a consistent issue and again could be resolved with some heat application.
It has a single green paint app for the screen and no other colouration added. The bottom of the PKE meter flares out and includes a small peg which can be used to attach the PKE meter to the belt by plugging it into a hole on the right hand side. All Ghostbusters have this hole, so you can share the meter amongst them if you wish.
It will fit into either hand, but the shape is hard to slot in directly and you will find the need to stretch and tease the fingers to get a grip around the PKE meter handle.
Articulation 4.0
Egon has a total of 20 points of articulation, mirroring more or less the joints we get on Marvel Legends, and the newer Star Wars Black Series figures.
Head : ball joint neck
Body : ball joint waist
Arms : ball joint shoulder, butterfly shoulder, bicep swivel, double joint elbows, wrist pivot
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rocker
The inclusion of the butterfly shoulder while subtle, adds a wider range of movement for posing with the equipment - supported by double joint elbows. The bicep swivel does have to be engaged with some poses and that will throw the cut of the sleeve.
The waist ball joint is not as mobile a it could be, but allows you to lean Egon's torso back or forth as the pose requires.
The legs will kneel, just about, and crouch and can also take wider stances for firing and action posing. All the joints are secure and tightly ratcheted and Winston stands fine on his own.
Summary
Egon is a fantastic looking figure, from the front. If you display his head side on then there are issues with that second chin line and the way the side of the glasses are filled in. The Uniform is a bit too clean and would benefit with a wash to bring out more detail.
I do like the box, ut it could do with being more robust in terms of that loose window configuration and with the detail for the character on the reverse which is very very basic.
Egon arrived in my possession with a couple of quality flaws including a warped belt for the Proton Pack and a warped PKE meter - I can however live with these and resolve them with a bit of work. What is not acceptable is not including the Proton Stream as was included solely with Winston. To have four Ghostbusters and only one Proton Stream for display is not a good place t be and for me an oversight by Hasbro they need to consider fixing - and I hope that this is not just done by revising the next production run as that will further infuriate the collectors who have supported this line early.
As Egon stands, I score him at 3.5
About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, hasbro, ghostbusters, plasma, series, egon spengler
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