Phoebe Spengler w/ Bonesy [Fright Features/Frozen Empire]

Rounding out the Fright Features figures from Frozen Empire is Phoebe Spengler, arguably the main character of the new movies. Phoebe is a little older in Frozen Empire and her Fright Feature uses the larger body mold and a new head sculpt instead of reusing her Afterlife figure. She still has the same amount of articulation and Neutrona Wand/Proton pack we're all used to by now. Her ghostly partner to hunt, Bonesy, is a real standout. Bonesy is a Class III. Distinct Human Form, meaning he's a straight up traditional scary ghost. A skeletal ghoul with big bugged out eyes in a very pleasant blue color with the Ecto-Stretch Tech gimmick allowing him to be squished and squeezed all over the place.

He's probably my favorite ghost from this group of Fright Features toys. I really wish the other characters from the movie would get new Fright Features figures as I really do enjoy the line. It's got a solid modern take on the classic Real Ghostbusters figures and everything just hits the right notes. Hopefully the upcoming animated series will be cause for some down the line.

I tried to think of the most harmless thing

I finally found the new Fright Features Stay Puft Marshmallow Man last week. I say finally because it took a long time. I know that's obvious, but sometimes you really have to explain things. Now got to find Winston with Slimer and the kids! If I was really crazy, I'd look for the Ecto-1 with alternate box art. Not doing that, it's literally the same toy in the same box with the same art(just slightly different). Toys can be weird. What's weird in a good way is Stay Puft's Fight Feature. In fact... it's a little morbid. If you squeeze together those marshmallow man legs, his upper torso spins upwards while raising arms. Now the ghost has been pulled apart showing marshmallow cream seemingly made of Mini Pufts (potential spoiler?) and a spinal column made of jumbo marshmallows. I never knew the intestines of a Sumerian deity could look so tasty!

Slimer wants my Spooky Snack

It's hard to eat healthy during a holiday known for it's sweet tooth. Just ask Slimer, he wants my little spooky snack. That's my new Fright Features Slimer BTW. We hung out all Sunday. He's more of a throwback to The Real Ghostbusters toys than the other new Fright Features toys by Hasbro. To me anyway. Slimer's known for floating, so there's a pool of slime dripping from his body that serves as a base. There's a button on his back that when pushed causes him to spring up arms in the air saying BOO! While doing so, his giant mouth opens super wide. So wide that you can see his back bone as his giant tongue rolls out. Slimer's Fright Feature means to scare the shit out of somebody... which it did when I showed my Mom. The action startled her. He's not always cute I guess. I know Fright Features is a movie tie in line, but I really hope it goes on for awhile. I love it.

Ghosts Love Hardee's

Hardee's used to be a place people liked to eat at. Now they're generally located by an off ramp with a 'under new management' sign up every few months. I can't tell if it's abandoned or just a Hardee's. Regardless of it's current state, they had a Ghostbusters 2 promotion in the summer of 1989. It's Ghostbusters Day (as I'm writing this) and a great time to talk about that.

I ain't 'fraid of no ghost. 

But I'm terrified to eat at my local Hardee's.

I've actually talked a little about the Ghostbusters 2 promotion here before. I wanted to talk about it again. Because I like Ghostbusters and am a sucker for fast food promotions. This one in particular had a ton of neat stuff. There was collectible cups which were large sized plastic cups proudly displaying the movies logo. At the time large plastic fountain drink cups were not a common sight, so it felt a lot more special than it was. Such a thing would generally be reused a few times before being repurposed as a pencil holder on your desk.

Then there was the Slimer Sundaes. It wasn't much in hindsight, a cup of vanilla soft serve with some green slime syrup. But 30 years later I'm still thinking about it. There was the Ghost Blasters. I specifically talked about them in that prior post. My Dad hated them. The coolest though, was the kids meal. Your food would be served in a plastic box shaped like an Ecto-1, a Gigameter, or one of two ghosts (Slimer or purple guy). Kid's meal containers shaped like things was a Hardee's specialty. They'd come with stickers for customizing. It was a pretty good time that I'd love to do even today. Like right now.

There was also posters for the movie available. Just in case all the Ghostbusters 2 signage around the restaurant wasn't enough, you could take more home and hang it on your bedroom door. The posters had attached coupons for return visits. Which maybe if you did, you would have gotten one of the plastic lunch boxes. I never saw these myself, but maybe you did. With Ghostbusters Afterlife coming soon (I swear if there's another delay) I can only hope for a burger place with a promotion as cool as the one Hardee's had.

Bios: Ectotron

FUNCTION: PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR

"When life splatters you with goo, just go with it"

When the GHOSTBUSTERS need a ride to the next paranormal hotspot, it's nice to have one who can also handle a Proton Pack.

Stay Puft Temper Tantrum

A couple of weeks ago I picked up this new Stay Puft Marshmallow man figure by Hasbro. He's part of PlaySkool Heroes, so I assume (hope) more Ghostbusters toys in this range are on the way. However he's also the right size to fight your other Ghostbusters figures, so don't let the specific line hold you back. It's impossible not to love it. He's the physical manifestation of an eldritch abomination hell bent on destroying the world... and super adorable. Just look at those cheeks!

Stay Puft doesn't have a ton of articulation. You can move his arms and twist wrists. For some reason his top half can rock sideways at the hips. It doesn't serve a purpose, but it is fun to bop back and forth. It's like they intended a child to play with it or something. The main feature is a face changing gimmick. With a push of the button atop a marshmallow man's head, the face of the destructor changes from happy to angry.

Doing this is literally hypnotic. His mood swings are far more entertaining than they have any right to be. One minute he's sweet and asking for you to donate to his patreon. The next he's pissed off that you wouldn't and told him to get a job. You've got some nerve. This is a great figure and fun to play around with. He matches pretty well with whatever set of Ghostbusters figures you pair him with. Seeing as Afterlife was recently moved to a November release from a Summer release, I expect (hope) the toys to start hitting stores sometime soon.

Stay Puft has a figure in the upcoming Fright Features line (a spiritual follow up to The Real Ghostbusters toys) but I can see this toy being intended to pair with those as well. It's generally with the other GB action figures and not the Playskool toys on store shelves. Even if he's an odd marshmallow man out among the other toys, it's a fun toy to play around with. Who thought mood changes could be so fun?

Hasbro PulseCon Ghostbusters Programming!

GHOSTBUSTERS PANEL!

Join us as we celebrate the Ghostbusters franchise in a three-part panel filled with HUGE surprises and reveals!

Part 1: Classic Ghostbusters Panelists: Ernie Hudson, Hasbro Ghostbusters Brand Team We’ll begin by celebrating the iconic 1984 film. Tune in for ghostly surprises, classic toy news, and a visit from a very special guest: Ernie Hudson, otherwise known as Winston Zeddemore from Ghostbusters! Get ready to hear him answer your fan questions! 

Part 2: The Making of Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Toys Panelists: Mark Boudreax, Hasbro Ghostbusters Brand Team We’ll continue our journey through the 80’s with an inside look at the making of The Real Ghostbusters toys from original Kenner toy designer, Mark Boudreaux. Next, you’ll see behind the scenes of sculpting with Dave. Finally, meet the Hasbro team that relaunched the Kenner Real Ghostbusters toys in 2020. Hear about how they answered the call to bring this beloved toy line back for the fans and be the first to see the next Kenner Real Ghostbusters toy to hit shelves! 

Part 3: Ghostbusters Afterlife Panelists: Jason Reitman, Hasbro Ghostbusters Brand Team We’ll end our celebration with a nod to the future… the new Ghostbusters Afterlife feature film, coming to theatres in March 2021. Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning filmmaker Jason Reitman, director of Ghostbusters Afterlife, will take you on a tour of the Ecto-1 that was used in the new film. He’ll end his tour with an exciting reveal! You’ll then hear from the Hasbro team about the next toy inspired by the Ghostbusters Afterlife film to hit shelves!

Thanks to Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base Readers with this awesome news!

Ghostbummer

Unfortunately Convid-19 has pushed release of Ghostbusters: Afterlife from July 10th 2020 to March 5th 2021. I'm pretty disappointed as you could probably imagine, and honestly didn't think the virus would effect things in summer. But, with as many other things that have been pushed back and had their schedule's altered... 3 months away is pretty close to rev up the marketing push and everything else that would go into it's release.

That's not mentioning the actual production of the movie which likely isn't done yet (filming maybe, everything else...). Getting this pandemic under control is definitely more important, I'm just a little disappointed. That's all. Guess that just means I'll have another thing to be excited for next year!

Friday Night Frights- The Boogieman Cometh

It's time for another Friday Night Frights here on the Base! A little over a week ago, I figured I'd be a Toylanta and doing the annual big ole' con update post and forgo the weekly spooky shit. Things changed and I'm at my desk buried in work. Lot's of things have changed over the past few days, but you know what never changes? The Boogieman.

When I was a kid I was told the Boogieman would visit me at night if I lied. In the Ghostbusters cartoon above, he scared Egon as a child. This episode scared the hell out of a generation when they were children. It's just a little mind blowing just how crazy this show got for a Saturday morning cartoon. The Real Ghostbusters was serious business... and man the Boogieman is some seriously spooky shit.

Ghost Busting Boxes Of Slime

I've been singing the song of Playmobil Ghostbusters for so long... I was going somewhere with that, uh... like a long time. Anyway, I'm a fan of Playmobil Ghostbusters. I had assumed that the line was getting phased out as Hasbro has the license now, they're seemingly replacing it with Scooby Doo (swapping out spooky lines), and most of the stuff has been on clearance (got the Ecto-1 for 22$).

However buried under all those click bait tweets you're probably still reading again for the millionth time was a little nugget. A morsel. A... *ahem* another Playmobil Ghostbusters item. Under a new play set pattern Playmobil is seemingly producing of small unfold-able locations is the Ghostbusters Play Box. A smaller, more compact version of the firehouse that looks pretty neat.

Judging by the camera, I'm assuming the Playbox's is intended to be a filming set. Which works as you've got some pretty choice locals. The containment unit, Janine's desk, and the put all your shit here wall. Peter Venkman and Slimer figures are pictured, so I assume they're included. It looks like you get a fair bit of accessories too. I could see this coming in handy as a backdrop for Instagram pictures. I wonder how it would scale with other figures? A Real Ghostbuster/Fright Features figure is just  little bigger than a Playmobil. I could see it working.

Another bit that escaped my attention was these cool new slime tubes with mystery figure. Similar to the ectoplasm tubes I was buying late last year (I've literally got a case still), you get a tube of slime with a randomly assorted mini figure hidden within. There's four different ghost figures assorted in four different colors. I don't know what the ghosts are yet, and I'm hoping they're randoms ghouls.

Not that I'd have a problem with a little Slimer, but I'd like some extra variety if I had a a choice. With the Real Ghostbusters figures coming I have high hopes for more of the random mini ghosts they'd come with. Something to pair with your new toys would be the perfect thing to go in these tubes. But if it's another Slimer, I'm not going to complain. If that last sentence were a text message, I'd type LOL and put an emoticon with it. The laughing one, maybe with tears coming out of it's eyes.

Eat Breakfast And Bust Ghosts

There's something about the glory days of breakfast cereal commercials. Today you have Tony the Tiger playing baseball so they can encourage a healthy lifestyle with your bowl of sugar. Back then, they'd brag about the bowel of candy you could eat, give you a prize, and even have a contest you'd actually want to win! All while the commercial was fully animated and entertaining. The internet is 90% people saying things used to be better and in this case it's absolutely true. Somebody let the guy who's allergic to air conditioning dictate things and now we're all pretending to be healthy because Captain Crunch doesn't come with a baking soda submarine anymore.

Oh hey, Ghostbusters. This commercial is great. The animated portion with the kids and the ghost is just a thing of astronaut. I misspelled beauty and spelling check suggested astronaut. It's pretty well animated too, in a long forgotten style that just warms my heart to see. There's a contest to win a trip to the Ghostbusters headquarters! That's pretty great. I love the generic Ghostbuster used in the spot too. I think what gets me the most is the free included record. By the time of this commercials airing (1989) record players were still fairly common. A thing of the past sure, but you likely had access to one.

I remember the records that would be on the back of cereal boxes and their inability to play well due to the nature of removing said rerecord via perforated line. You could play it, but never mind. This record looked to be bagged and inside the box of cereal. That's pretty nice.

The Ghostbusters have small business advice

As if I'm not already busting (hurr hurr) at the seams with excitement for the new Ghostbusters movie, Quickbooks has taken to using them in some of their more recent ads. Making for a fun commercial for what isn't normally an exciting subject. I've seen some folks point out that Slimer doesn't look amazing. That's a pretty decent looking Green Ghost made for a commercial that didn't have a feature film budget. It's the internet, somebodies going to find something to complain about. Man... I never thought I'd see the day that payroll software commercials would reduce me to a giddy mess.

Afterlife is coming!

Ghostbusters Afterlife is the official name for the upcoming new movie after months of rumors. Afterlife is skipping over the reboot and serving as GB3 and that makes me happy. Something like a new group of possible family members carrying on the team makes for a better setting. The trailer is hitting Monday/today (I scheduled this posted Friday) and I'll be sure to post it here and talk it on Transform Squadron.  Actually holding off on recording it until I see the trailer.

You know, I make a point of making summer the prelude to the Halloween season here on the site. From random horror stuff during the summer months, to last year outright pointing it out that I was indeed making it a thing. For 2020 it's getting it's own site logo. Summer is a spooky season and having a new Ghostbusters movie during it just adds to that.

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!

woke up dead

I'm pretty damned excited for the new Ghostbusters next summer. Fortunately there's been the excellent Playmobil Ghostbusters and Ectoplasm Mystery Tube toys to keep me busy. I've been hoping the less than stellar results of the 2016 movie don't spoil any companies from producing tie in merchandise. I had so much fun that summer buying things like Ghostbusters marshmallows and the various merchandise.

Just living up something that I love that generally doesn't get a ton of attention, you know? Here's hoping that good time happens again. This video? Oh, that's for an attraction at the

Laguna Ten Bosch Lagunasia amusement complex that tied into the 2016 movie. Looks fun huh? I love light gun games.

Playmobile The Real Ghostbusters!

I really am loving Playmobil's Ghostbuster toys. I'm hoping this video leads to actual Real Ghostbusters figures in the line (hey, they have part 2 versions). Either way it's pretty great. Though Winston's hands... Guess he has seen some shit.

Edit: the video went down sometime last night not long after I shared. When it goes back up I'll update this post. Guessing they're fixing the Winston hand error.

GHOSTBUSTERS™ AND TRANSFORMERS FIRST EVER OPTIMUS PRIME COLLABORATIVE FIGURE TO DEBUT ON NTWRK

 

The mobile-first e-commerce content site will drop the first-ever exclusive TRANSFORMERS x Ghostbusters Mash-up MP-10G OPTIMUS PRIME ECTO-35 and tee on a one-day special programming

June 25, 2019 - NTWRK, the leading youth culture e-commerce and content platform, continues to bring the world’s best brands together with their latest celebration of TRANSFORMERS and Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary, and the release of the TRANSFORMERS x Ghostbusters Mash-up MP-10G OPTIMUS PRIME ECTO-35.

The platform that has brilliantly developed a new form of e-tail – selling products via bite-size video broadcasts and episodic content – will take viewers on a once in a lifetime tour of Ghostbusters Fan Fest before debuting the product for sale. Viewers will have an immersive experience meeting the cast and crew, speaking with the fans and reveling in the attractions of the event. The content culminates with a one-on-one interview with Ghostbusters original film actor, Ernie Hudson, and special appearances by Ghostbusters reboot Director, Paul Feig, and Dan Aykroyd, who co-wrote (with Harold Ramis) and starred in the original Ghostbusters films of the 1980s.

Worlds collide in this TRANSFORMERS-Ghostbusters mash-up pack as the iconic Ecto-1 deco from the 1984 Ghostbusters movie now dawns an iconic TRANSFORMERS robot – the MP-10G OPTIMUS PRIME ECTO-35 Edition! MP-10G OPTIMUS PRIME stands at 9.5 inches in robot mode and can convert to truck mode in 26 steps. The MP-10G OPTIMUS PRIME figure comes with a wearable PROTON PACK-inspired package. The Ecto-deco’d OPTIMUS PRIME trailer can also convert into an ECTO-BASE, including an ECTO MAINTENANCE DECK, ROLLER, GHOST TRAP and a SLIMER accessory.

The collaboration acts as the first ever partnership between TRANSFORMERS and Ghostbusters. NTWRK will be the first platform where viewers can buy the collaborative figure and exclusive NTWRK only tee to celebrate the 35th anniversary of both Ghostbusters and TRANSFORMERS. The episode will air Tuesday, June 25th at 6pm on all NTWRK platforms. Following the NTWRK debut, the figure will be available at the San Diego Comic-Con International.

Find full product information below: