#488 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – HIGHWAY HAUNTER (1987)

 

This is one of the Real Ghostbusters toys I keep since the early 90s. I received it a long time ago for Christmas together with the Ecto-2. A friend of mine at school already had it, and I thought it was fun, but I didn´t expect to receive it. The vehicle belongs to the second Real Ghostbusters wave, to which also the Fright Features characters and the Haunted Humans belong, so the "Highway Haunter" somehow fits in that "Ghosts in Disguise" line.

 

As you can notice, the vehicle is actually a Volkswagen Beetle in yellow, looks pretty well, except for the trunk being slightly up (the trunk in this car is in the front, so a little bit more weight there would have been great). The interior in black is very well detailed, and has place for two figures. The upper part or the seats is actually a button that activates the transformation when pressed. The car "stands" up in its rear wheels and reveals a green insect-ghost. Meanwhile the figures remain in their places. The Insect, as I just said, stands on all four wheels and can be pushed further.

As every other (or almost) Real Ghostbusters´ vehicles, an additional ghost figure is included, in this case the figure can be placed under the bonnet (rear compartment), and it has two faces, one being the ghost itself and the back (the back of the ghost) simulates a motor.

 

The box is the original one, as you could buy it in Spain. In this entry, I explained how do I think that these figures came to Spain, and why the packages of the toys are written in French and Dutch. Unfortunately, one of the flaps is broken and lost.

 

The cardboard inlay is also original, and there I found two nice things: a poster/catalogue (I had two of them, one from each vehicle, and one of them hang during several months on my bedroom´s wall). The poster depicts the Ecto-1 plus all 4 Ghostbusters hunting Slimer.

The second thing was the quality control sheet, which I reproduce here for completing purposes.

 

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: HIGHWAY HAUNTER
• Alternate Names: GEISTERKÄFER (German), DÉMON DES ROUTES (French), SNELWEGSPOOK (Dutch), L’Auto Fantasma (Italian)
• Toy Line: The Real Ghostbusters
• Year: 1987
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 30 cm