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 Destructor and Traveller : Gozer is the ancient evil with a LOT of aliases"
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.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
Gozer is a striking figure in hand with a face sculpt that does have a passing likeness to Slavitza Jovan. While face print technology looks to be in play with the shading around the eyes they haven't quite gone heavy enough on the eye brows or red shading of the eyes. The lips are also too pursed, and I'd have liked to have seen the sculpt in a snarl as we see on screen.
The rest of the body is well executed, cast in a white with pink tinge and then sculpted with the various translucent boils and veins. Paint apps through the body are there, in a subtle white over the base plastic boils. There is plenty of texture through the body sculpt, but it needs a darker wash to bring it out.
The head sculpt is more realistic and detailed than the other most recent Diamond figure. The Diamond figure did however have much more defined detail on the body,
The Ghostbusters figures look to be in the same scale to the Star Wars Black Series figures, a true 6 inch scale compared to Marvel Legends which is a little bit bigger.
Accessories 4/5
Gozer is packed with two alternative lighting hands which can be swapped out easy enough with the standard hands included on the figure. These hands blend fro a pinky white hand into a clear translucent purple lightning effect.
Using both hands will allow replication of what we see on the movie when Gozer asks Ray if he is a god?
Articulation 4/5
Gozer is articulated fully with 17 points of articulation in total. The articulation on Gozer features a new joint I've not seen before from Hasbro, sitting a chest ball joint on top of a T-joint torso piece.
Head : ball joint neck with pivot
Body : ball joint chest, T-joint torso pivot
Legs : ball joint shoulder, single joint rotating elbows, wrist pivots
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double joint knees, ankle rockers
Gozer is very mobile thanks to these joints, with the new torso combination making a big difference in allowing Gozer to lean back or crouch forward.
The one issue she does have is balance. She is wearing high heels, and while the ankle rocker is secure enough the figure over balances far too easily. You will need a stand for Gozer particularly if you are using the lightning effects to keep her upright.
Thankfully she does slot onto a Protech stand and once in place posing is no issue.
Summary
Gozer is my first Ghostbusters Plasma Series figure from Hasbro and its a decent enough marker for the line although like a lot of Hasbro product is missing perhaps one final wash or layer of paint to bring out the detail.
Balancing the figure without a stand is difficult, but aside from this articulation is pretty impressive. I score Gozer the Gozerian, The Destructor, The Traveler and Scourge of the Glethestements an above average 3 out of 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, gozer, the destructor, the traveller
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