Happy Birthday To Someone Special I know!

Ah, that one day a year that's all about me. As someone who has roved this earth for f....many years, I have always stood by one philosophy as I got older and started working; It's important to buy yourself something you really, really want for your birthday. You work hard for your money. You push onward and upward to keep a roof over your head, the utilities on, food on the table and balance a family along with all of their needs and wants (for some of us). As such, it's important on that one day that's all about you to say, "Thank you for being me!" Why not do so with a gift? As Master Shake himself said, "It's my gift to me, from me, for being me." That's not a bad credo to have.

This year, I may have gone a little overboard. While I normally don't have a problem with buying myself something "big", that has usually hovered around the $200.00 to $300.00 mark. This year, I managed to double that number. With a huge smile on my face, I'll just say, "Oops." What else can I say? My birthday just so happened to coincide with a bonus from work. The bills were paid, the savings were put away. So, I spent (part of) it.

So without further ado and no more trying to pretend like I'm sorry for buying what I bought, join me for a look.

Queue music...

...And photos... 

It's The Real Ghostbusters from Kenner! Hooray!

Egon Spengler!

Peter Venkman!

Ray Stanz!

Winston Zeddemore!

Along with their infamous Ecto-1!

And let's not forget that awesome, Awesome, AWESOME Firehouse Playset!

I of course wanted the original 1984 figures with their complete and unbroken proton packs - Which was also proving a bit challenging. It was during these early stages of looking that I quickly found out that Winston Zeddemore was going to be the most most difficult to track down. Additionally, it was going to be a chore to find loose ones that had complete and unbroken proton packs. Turns out, the beams on them are prone to be broken. This in conjunction with good paint jobs wasn't going to be a quick find and purchase. In other words, no overnight / instant collection. No, this was going to take patience.

This task proved to be all the more difficult due to the high value of carded figures. Unlike prior figures which I have simply shelled out a little extra to ensure completeness and mint condition on the card, Ghostbuster figures can run upwards of two to three hundred dollars a piece on the card. That's not the kind of figure I'm going to buy just to open.

I found a complete set of the four Ghostbusters in one listing with their ghosts and unbroken packs, but the paint job was pretty poor. Particularly in the faces which had faded / rubbed off. It took a great deal to resist throwing a bid in as the minutes ticked down on the listing. Fortunately I was able to hold off and while I was sad to miss out, my lesson in patience paid off.

A few days later I came across a listing from Far Point Toys. Not only were all four of the team members there along with their ghosts and unbroken pack, but the listing also included Slimer, Stay Puft and a handful of other ghosts. While it was pricey, this was for certain the listing I was looking for. Still, I held off a few days to really consider the cost and think it through. Once I was certain, I took the plunge. After receiving the box, I'm glad I did.

Admittedly I had to look at a reference photo / cardback for the figures to match up their packs and ghouls (I'll point those out below).

I kind of like how each character got their own color jumpsuit and that it's not out of the ordinary colors...At least not in the first line up.

I also have to point out those glasses on Egon's face. That was exactly what I was talking about when referring to the cool ones included on Funko's Scrooge McDuck figure. Toy companies don't tend to put much effort into characters wearing glasses. For the purposes of Egon though, they work because in the show he was always glancing over them rather than through them.

Getting Ecto-1 proved to be a little bit of a challenge as I couldn't find any one complete car. Either the top seat, hook or doors were missing. I even came across one where the seat inside the car was MIA.

I finally ended up having to purchase a car with all doors, the seat on top and the hook separately. I may have ended up paying more for these pieces separately than I would have if I held out for a complete one, but overall I'm happy with my purchase.

The Firehouse Playset was actually the easiest to get. There were a quite a few available on ebay in 100% complete / unbroken condition. This made getting the right one for me was fairly easy. I made sure to pick the one that had the best Ghostbusters sign on the front of the building.

I didn't end up taking as many photos of the car or playset on their own as I was too eager to set everything up and play. Here's how everything turned out.

That back view (above) of the Firehouse with everything set up is so epic. I never imagined it would look this good. So much going on that it's almost sensory overload. Everything fit perfectly in place as if it was designed to be that way.

The purple ghoul in the front originally came packed in with Ray and the red one came with Winston.

Bad-to-the-Bone was a figure I really didn't know I wanted until I had him. In fact, all the ghosts I got with this lot were fun to set up around the Firehouse and play with.

The second level of the playset is now the domain of both halves of H2 Ghost.

Slimer! Surrounded by his many bits of rubbery food which came with the figure.

While I really like this figure, I have to admit it was a shame that (1) he can't hold any of the food accessories in his hands and (2) even if he could, there's no articulation in the elbows to bend the arms towards his mouth to simulate him eating. Much like my thoughts on The A-Team, accessories which are rendered to "set pieces" because they can't be held in the figure's hand are a waste.

Still...Love that sculpt on the figure! Classic character right there!

Here's the other two ghouls which came packed in with the Ghosbuster figures - The yellow one with Egon and the blue with Peter.

Gotta have that containment unit for the ghosts!

Bug-Eye Ghost is hanging out on the rooftop with Stay Puft and the gang. Due to his size, this was really the best place for him once everything else was in place.

I love the detail on the side of the building. All the windows and brickwork. It's fun! Especially with everything set up where you can see things going on inside.

I love how Ecto-1 can come blasting through the double doors of the Firehouse. Well, sort of anyway. For starters, the doors are fragile, so you're not going to want to do that too many times (if at all). Second, you have to remove the black chair on the top of the car to make it fit.

I wish the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was as big (if not bigger) as the Firehouse Playset. That would have been epic! While this tiny one captures the look of the figure, the spirit of it (no pun intended) is lost when he can essentially be slapped in the face by one of the Ghostbusters.

He's not so intimidating in this size...More so just coming in for a hug. Still love him though.

I ended up getting an additional glow in the dark pack with the figures. This originally came with the Ecto-Glow figures released in 1991. It makes for a nice set piece (so to speak), but I won't actively be seeking out any other figures.

While having a Louis and Janine figure would be fun, there's really no room to display them anywhere. The playset is pretty filled up. Well...I suppose I could put one next to the railing of each floor and move the mini ghouls back or to somewhere else.

No, I better not. That would just open the floodgates for me to justify buying more figures.

Until I decide if I'm going to dive further into this line, that wraps it up for my birthday gift to me...Well, sort of. Check back later for more exciting birthday fun.

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