The Mattel Ghostbusters line continues with Ray Stantz! I thought the first figure in this line, Egon with Slimer, was pretty groovy. But Mattel's habit of rehashing parts has been irritating me for quite a while. The DC Universe Classics and MOTU Classics lines rely heavily on reused parts, which tends to make both lines generic and dull. So how will Mattel's "new" Ray figure sit with me?
Stats
Company: Mattel
Size: 6"
Price: $20 on MattyCollector.com
Packaging: Carded
Looks: Ray
Logo Ghost 
It's official: my honeymoon with the MattyCollector figures is over. Mattel's incessant reuse of parts has finally tipped me over the edge, and poor Ray will be the recipient of my wrath. A big part of a figure's look is distinctiveness on the shelf, but with every stinking little bit of this figure (except the head) being reused from Egon, Ray doesn't look very distinctive at all. The only paint app differences between the figures from the neck down are the name tags and Egon's slime wash. Something as simple as different equipment on Ray's belt would have gone a long way to make him more interesting.
Ray's head sculpt also seems off. His expression is a bit more mature than it should be and his hair is slicked back, unlike Ray's relatively unkempt hair from the first Ghostbusters movie. In fact, he looks very similar to his Ghostbusters II appearance, which would be okay if he was wearing a GB II costume. But he's not.
The Logo Ghost looks good enough for what it is, but its sculpt is molded around the red cross. You can take the cross off by splitting apart the ghost, but if you do, the ghost's chest looks caved-in.
Articulation: Ray
Logo Ghost 
Ray has the same articulation as Egon (which can be expected since he's almost the exact same figure): ball-socket neck, ball-hinge shoulders, ball-hinge elbows, ball-hinge wrists, swivel waist, swivel-hinge hips, swivel thighs, hinge knees, swivel shins, and hinge ankles. The Logo Ghost has no articulation, but that's okay considering the design of the character.
Accessories:
Ray comes with the same proton pack and gun as Egon. The proton pack is attached and I don't think it can be removed, so I don't know if I would call it an accessory. He really needs Ecto Goggles and a PKE Meter to complete his look.
Similar to Egon, Ray comes with a "Ghost Buddy"; unlike Egon, Ray's Ghost Buddy is utterly nonsensical. Instead of a movie-accurate representation of the Logo Ghost, like the Ghostbusters sign that was posted on the firehouse, Ray comes with a 3-dimensional Logo Ghost, as if the Logo Ghost and its red cross actually existed in the Ghostbusters universe. It's so cartoony that it's inconsistent with the look and feel of the other figures in the line, so you can't even use him as a ghost opponent. This is an accessory that will immediately go in the junk drawer.
Value:
I'm paying a premium for this figure ($20 plus shipping) so I expect a premium figure, not an almost entirely rehashed hack. A lack of decent character-specific accessories also hurts the value.
Coolness:
Egon was cool because he was an exciting new foray into the Ghostbusters property. Ray? Not so much. With his reused sculpt, he's treading on territory already explored by Egon. At least the Logo Ghost glows in the dark.
Overall:
Ray is just the latest in the Mattel rehashing bandwagon. For $20, I would expect that there would be something to differentiate his body sculpt from Egon's so that they look like different characters on the shelf, but nope. And the lack of cool Ghostbusters gear is more than a little annoying.
Ray's surrounded by the "undead" of other toylines!
Ray makes the fatal error of mistaking Armodoc for Stay Puft!
Related Reviews:
Stay Puft Marshmallow Bank (Angry Face)
Mattel Egon with Slimer
Labels: Ghostbusters, Toy Reviews
5 comments:
He's too slim to be a good Ray. Or Egon is too big to be Egon. The thing is that those two characters had different body types.
I was really tempted to get into this line, but after this review I think I'll just let it slide. If you only have to do four characters, and this four characters look very much the same except for some little differences. You should not take the easy road and forget about them.
Just stop.
You're unhappy with 2, you'll be furious with 4.
Companies have been going with reused sculpts alot the past few years... However Mattel hasn't really ever changed in this regard. I can't think of many lines they released, other than some very small or obscure ones, where they weren't constantly reusing old sculpts for their toys. They have been doing it since their conception.
However I completely agree with you. How the heck are you gonna be lazy and reuse the same body types for 4 characters? It's a big money saver for them I'm sure, but it really makes them look lazy as H E double toothpicks. Not even the vintage Ghost Busters line reused the same bodies. I can fully understand how you the old playmates lines have got you hooked right now. Uniqueness has almost disappeared these days in the top brands. Even Hasbro has been constantly repacking the same figures and passing new characters off with simple repainted parts.
Maybe you should just sell these guys, and pick you up a buster crew from the vintage line. At least the ghosts are much more fun as well.
I think I'll follow Chad's advice and just punt. If Mattel decides to make Peter and Winston in GB II outfits and equipment, I might bite to fill out the team. But I need something more than just a different head to interest me.
And I agree with Freak Studios. All they needed to do with these figures is give them different torsos, with some variation in body size and shoulder alignment (Peter seems to have sloping shoulders while Winston is more square-shouldered). That way, they could reuse the rest of the parts but the figures would at least look like individuals.
You're right, URS, the uniqueness of the classic TMNT figures is one of the things that makes it so awesome. There is some reuse of parts between the Turtles, but there are also plenty of other great, unique sculpts to keep me interested.
I recieved Ray in the post yesterday. Serious dissapointment. I completely agree with the review. The head sculpt is rubbish.
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