Tomopop Review: Peter Venkman from MattyCollector's Ghostbusters line

3:00 PM on 07.20.2010   |   Matthew Kaplowitz

The fourth Ghostbuster has been released by MattyCollector.com, and finally I am getting around to writing the review! Peter Venkman has joined the previous three boys in brown to round out the most feared middle-aged men ever to hunt ectoplasmic apparitions, along with his undead accessory, Slimer! Previously I reviewed Walter Peck and his containment unit  (or maybe it's the other way around), so it's about time I induct an actual Buster into my arsenal of reviews.

As a longtime hardcore Ghostbusters fan who owns tons of merchandise beyond toys, including records, animation cels, Japanese movie books and more, I have high standards when it comes to my collection. I used to buy anything with a no-ghost logo; now I have come to appreciate quality over quantity. So does this figure meet my standards or am I sending this one off to face total protonic reversal?

 Hit the jump to find out!

First things first, let's take a look at the packaging. It is nothing we have not seen before - same box, different figure. The packaging is spacious and the figures are well-protected. One thing I have missed in all the figures (and literally missed at that) was the packaging that came with last year's SDCC Egon Spengler. The figure was able to removed and put back in the packaging quite easily. Since then, Mattel has foregone that and went with traditional blister packs. In other words, once the figure is out of the box, it's out for good. It would be a nice addition to have, especially since Mattel insists on sending a cardboard box to hold every figure that you order.

The back of the packaging has some great tidbits about Venkman! It includes one of the most famous GB quotes, "It slimed me", as well as facts such as being the first Ghostbuster to come into physical contact with a ghost, his loathsome nature to junk food and his rule of never getting involved with possessed people. I enjoy this running gag on the back of all the packages, but would not mind some small variety in there overall appearance. Nitpicking? Yes, a bit, but I did just spend $32 on one 6" figure. Amuse me, Mattel!

Now let's take this bad boy out of the box!

From a first glance, this figure screams Peter Venkman. From his unkempt pants legs to his nonchalant facial expression, this toy has captured the essence of Bill Murray and will require some form of exorcism to get him free. The articulation is the same as the other figures, since it is essentially the same figure with a new head and some minor changes which we will talk about in a moment.

Peter is the second figure in this line to be "slimed", which is an additional coating of some goo on his face and uniform. Last year's SDCC exclusive Egon was the first and fetches a pretty penny on eBay. How I regret not buying him then! Another note is that the hose that attaches to Venkman is a different shade of yellow. Previous figures had a more translucent tone of plastic while this one has a much brighter color. Maybe it is reacting to the ectoplasm or maybe Peter just peed his pants and the tube is disposing of his urine (and now we have solved the mystery of the tube!).

The facial sculpt is pretty good and quickly recognizable. If you want to complain, you can say that it is missing the classic Bill Murray pizza-face, but this is a six-inch Mattel figure, not a 12-inch Hot Toys figure. Imagine if they got the license instead of Mattel? *drool*

No difference in the pack, but it sure looks good. I prefer the 12-inch packs myself, but these still look good. There is no such thing as a bad proton pack, except for the Minimates version, but at 2", it is hard to make a comparison. It's like comparing Murray the Mantis to the Grundel: two very different entities, but both from the same show. One "Real Ghostbusters" reference down ... let's see how many more I can sneak in!

I was prepared to moan about the lack of difference between all four Ghostbuster figures, but then Venkman came along and briefly shut my mouth. In Exhibit A above, Peter demonstrates one of the new features to this figure - gloved hands! It was as simple as adding a cuff to the sleeves and painting Peter's hands black, but it is effective and adds some much-needed variety to the line. 

Venkman also sports a new set of legs as mentioned earlier, and I am very grateful they added that. It would not be Venkman without that minute detail. Beyond that, you are getting much of the same - only with a light covering of slime.

And speaking of slime ...

Peter comes with an alternate version of Slimer. Once again, the memory of the SDCC Egon that I will never have haunts me, as that figure was the first to have this disgusting blob, but Venkman has a closer relationship with the ugly little spud and this version has his tongue sticking out. 

I was very impressed with the articulation of this, considering this is an accessory. The color looks great and the expression is on point again. This Slimer is hungry and wants to take a bite out of Venkman, whether he likes it or not!

The figure comes with a stand, which actually makes it quite difficult for him to stand. It took much posing to get Slimer steady on that thing, and it has been the bane of these figures since day one. The curved stands are meant to counter-balance the asymmetrical weight of the figures, but they seem to only work half the time. The only solution I can think of is making the base heavier, which would raise production costs, leading to them raising distribution prices. I think I spend enough on these, how about you?

He sure has some junk in the trunk! OK, now let's take a look at Venkman compared to some other figures from this line!

Here is Venkman with his good buddy, Walter Peck, wiping some slime off on his shoulder. One of these figures should have cost less than the other - can you figure out which one it is? 

Here is Peter with the three other Busters that I own. Need I lament once more about the absence of Dr. Spengler? Here you can see the difference in the color of tube on his leg, and also notice the differences with the gloved hands and legs. If it was not for those two minimal changes, you would be looking at three nearly identical figures. When it comes to guys wearing a uniform, there is not much you can do to differentiate them. You can change their poses, but these figures revolve around their consistent articulation. The only other option is very small things like this, so I look forward to seeing what else Mattel can do to make these look different (although I get the feeling if we see Ghostbusters II figures, we can look forward to many repaints and part-swapping).

So there you have it, Peter Venkman and Slimer. I was very pleased to see Mattel do something different with this figure, even if it was just something small like the gloves and legs. I am hoping that the company will release a new Egon at some point so collectors who never got the SDCC figure can complete their collections, but I get the feeling I am going to be waiting a long time for that.

The final verdict is a happy Ghostbusters fan! If you did not pick this up when it first came out, you are going to be paying some asinine prices to get him, but the figure is good so if you really feel the need to spend, be my guest. While you are spending, want to get me that SDCC Egon?

More photos of the figure in the gallery! Any of you folks pick this figure up? If so, what did you think of it?