#71 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – ECTO-1 (1986)

Your Real Ghostbusters Collection is not complete until you have this wonderful toy, it’s by far, the best vehicle in this collection, and the only one that appeared in the movie. Even though some modern versions have been made, plenty of details, this one still keeps its interest, since it’s a 25-year old vintage toy, and still looks great, and can be played with great fun.

In the entry I dedicated to the Ghosts in the first wave, there was a picture of the back catalogue of the first Real Ghostbusters wave. In that picture, you can see that the first wave was a little short; it only included the four Ghostbusters, the Ecto-1, a few ghosts, and some kind of gun that has nothing to do with action figures. This time I’ll focus on the vehicle, some other time, I’ll show the figures.

The car is really big, and like the rest of the figures, it is the toy version of the one in the cartoon series, rather than the real one in the film, note the curved lines in the body of the car and the sloping roof. It has only one negative point, and it’s that you can’t properly sit down all four members of the group in it, as we will see in the pictures.

Let’s continue with the front of the car, it doesn’t have any remarkable feature, just the license plate with the words ECTO-1.

The back part of the car has a door with the Ghostbusters logo on it. It opens from top to bottom. On the inside, there’s place for the blaster seat that can be placed inside or at the roof of the car. The peg under that seat allows the seat to turn 360º. Note that it is equipped with a seatbelt, and that Inside the car there are two positions for the seat, one deeper inside, and a slot to pull it out (partly) of the car. Another great feature in this part of the car is the giant claw that comes out of the interior. In the picture, it has grabbed the ghost that was included with the vehicle.

Let’s now take a look at the driver’s seat. There’s room for two figures that sit but remain somehow “loose”. There are no much details, just a nice steering wheel and the practicable doors.

And finally, let’s take a look underneath. We find a chassis that has been carefully casted, with exhaust pipes, suspension, axis, and more parts. In the rear axles, there are gears that pulls the rope with the claw. When activated, it makes a terrible, rattle noise. The lever to activate or deactivate this feature is the exhaust pipes, that can be pushed in one direction or the other, slightly moving the gears.

As it happened in the ghosts, this car is copyrighted in 1984, like the film, but it wasn’t sold until 1986. A curious note is that it was manufactured in Mexico.

Check more Ghostbusters toys by clicking on the label "Real Ghostbusters"! And please, leave me a comment if you liked this article!

UPDATE: Image from Bastei Comic "Die Echten Ghostbusters" Nr.9

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: ECTO-1
• Toy Line: The Real Ghostbusters
• Year: 1986
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 50 cm