My Real Ghostbusters Toy Collection from Kenner (Past & Present)

I know what you’re thinking: “Man, Jex sure is talking about Ghostbusters A LOT, lately.“. It’s true, I am, but I can’t help it. With the recently released Frozen Empire, I’ve been on a bit of a Ghostbusters kick. I mean, I’ve always been a huge fan of the franchise, but seeing the new film reminded me why I love this franchise so much, and has made me take many trips down memory lane.

The most recent of said trips occurred this past weekend as I visited my parents. Every time I go over to their place, it brings me joy seeing my two boys playing with the toys from my childhood. It brings me back to when I would play with them, but also gives me a satisfaction of seeing a new generation of children playing with toys from the best decade ever: The 1980s.

Of all the toys I had growing up, my favorite to reminisce about are The Real Ghostbusters toys by Kenner. I’ve had so many items from this toy line come and go into my life, and so I thought it would be fun to shine a light on this fun toy line. We’ll look at the ones that are still kicking around in my parents’ place, but also ones I remember having that have either gotten sold, donated, lost or broken over the years.

Now without any further ado, here are the Real Ghostbusters toys I still have after all of these decades…

ACTION FIGURES – MAIN CAST OF CHARACTERS

“Fright Features” Peter Venkman

It only makes sense to start with Peter, as he is (and always has been) my favorite Ghostbuster, whether he’s performed by Bill Murray in the films, or by Lorenzo Music in the early seasons of the animated series.

This Fright Features alternative of Dr. Venkman comes with a feature where, when you press down on his left arm, his hair rises, jaw drops and eyes pop out. This is the earliest RGB action figure I remember owning. I even remember playing with it to the point where it got so broken that my mother bought me another one, pictured above.

The figure originally came with a blue ghost called the Gruesome Twosome: two little demon-like spooks of the cyclops-variety that were attached by a rubber rope that you could place either around Peter’s neck, or on the hook at the end of his weapon. Sadly, I no longer have the ghost, and you’ll notice that this is a recurring theme with my RGB figures: the ghosts and (in many cases) weapons that came as extras with the figurines are nowhere to be found. They’ve been misplaced. I honestly can’t remember what happened to them. It’s possible that I had stored them separately somewhere and they have gotten lost when my parents moved to their new house in 2011. It’s also possible that they’re stored in one of the many boxes of my old stuff and I will discover them eventually (although I doubt it).

Image from thebog.com

“Super Fright Features” Winston Zeddemore

The Super Fright Features line of Kenner action figures found the Ghostbusters as astronauts. “Ghostbusters in Space“… I don’t think this was ever a storyline in the series, but it doesn’t matter: The toys sold like hot cakes.

The only one I had from this line was Winston, but in my opinion he was the best in the astronaut series. When you pushed down the lever on his back, his head would lower as his chest plate would open, revealing an enlarged version of his frightened face, with his big tongue extending onto the inside of the chest plate!

I had actually completely forgotten all about this, but apparently this figure came with a transparent red ghost called Meanie Wienie, an angry-looking hot dog wiener! I hadn’t seen or thought about that ghost figure in decades, which leads me to think it was lost early on when I had acquired the figure. Same goes for Winston’s red space gun. I think I wasn’t very careful with the extras because 1) I was barely 5 years old and not taking the best care of my things, and 2) I didn’t care about the extras and was more focused on the action figures themselves.

Gotta love Google Image Searches for helping me remember what extras came with all of these toys…

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“Power Pack Heroes” Ray Stantz

The Power Pack Heroes line was basically a reproduction of the original RGB action figures, whereas they had no special features or action features, however this line offered our heroes in some vamped up colorful uniforms, and each member came with their own individual backpack, hence Power Pack Heroes.

Ray’s pack was called the Grabbin’ Grappler, and had wheels at the bottom of it, so when you rolled it on a flat surface, it would activate a stick (that has a hook at the end of it) to slide in and out, in an effort to catch a yellow ghost appropriately named Snatcher Ghost.

The hook at the end of the stick has been long lost for me, as is the case for the Snatcher Ghost. Another thing I’ve noticed with the Power Pack Heroes is that the packs were very fragile. The packs come with a little stick with two tabs at the end of it, and this stick would connect to a hole in the back of each figure. The downfall is that these tabs were very fragile, and would often break, making it impossible to connect the pack to the figure.

I’ve had a couple Power Pack Heroes, and the packs always broke, BUT, let’s keep in mind that I was a child who played with these toys and wore them out, so there’s that to consider.

Image from www.dallasvintagetoys.com

“Power Pack Heroes” Egon Spengler

Unlike the other figures mentioned here that I acquired in the late ’80s / early ’90s, this one was given to me later down the line, in the Fall of 1994 by my childhood friend, Simon Hachey. As you can see from the photograph, Simon had taken some liberties and had drawn all over Egon’s face with a permanent marker, which I wasn’t fond of even back then, but I still appreciated his generosity.

This figure originally came with a Crazy Copter pack and a purple Twister Ghost.

I was happy to have a replacement Egon, as the “Screaming Heroes” Egon I had was already in rough shape.

Image from www.collectorarchive.com

“Power Pack Heroes” Janine Melnitz

The team isn’t complete without their secretary, and occasional Ghostbuster: Janine Melnitz. The Power Pack Janine comes with a pack that folds out to become the Racin’ Wringer. Her hand-weapon used to grab the orange Stretch Ghost (which is of course missing here), can also serve as the handle bars to this neat little vehicle.

Once again, the tabs to the pack are broken and it can not be attached to the figure, but I’m happy I can at least use it as a functioning vehicle for Janine.

Image from www.collectorarchive.com

“Slimed Heroes” Louis Tully

Much like in Ghostbusters II, accountant Louis Tully is sporting the signature jumpsuit and is ready for battle… Well, that is, he WOULD be ready for battle if I hadn’t lost the purple proton pack he originally came with. But luckily, the green Four-Eyed Ghost he came with is also missing, so he has nothing to worry about!

The Slimed Heroes had a cool function where, when you soak them in cold water (which the accompanying ghosts could squirt), spots of slime would appear all over their bodies. In the case of Louis, it was green slime, but I unfortunately did not have a chance to test it to see if this function still works, over three decades later. I will make it my mission to conduct a test upon my next visit to my parents’ house. Stay tuned.

http://www.ebay.ca – LuluBerlu

ACTION FIGURES – MONSTERS

The Dracula Monster

The Monsters line of RGB figures introduces many characters known from pop culture, both in literature and film: Frankenstein’s Monster, The Mummy, Dracula, The Zombie, Quasimodo and The Wolfman.

Each of them had a cool action feature. In the case of this Dracula figure, when you squeeze his legs together, his arms spread out and his mouth opens to reveal his fangs.

I remember also having the Frankenstein Monster, but one of his legs eventually broke off. I also had Quasimodo, but couldn’t find him this time around. I will address all Real Ghostbusters toys I remember having but no longer have at the end of this article.

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Fearsome Flush

I always got a kick out of this one. At first, it looks like your average blue toilet on wheels, but when you start to roll it, eyes pop out of the tank and the lid pops open to reveal a huge mouth!

I can’t recall for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had put this in a corner of the Fire House and made a little washroom for my Ghostbusters figures. Seems like something I would do…

Image from www.dallasvintagetoys.com

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

Of all the Real Ghostbusters toys I’ve had growing up, this is the only one that I brought with me when I moved out of my parents’ house. It’s just such an iconic part of the original 1984 film, and so cool to have displayed on a shelf, whether you’re a young child, or a fully-grown 38-year-old adult.

http://www.ranker.com – Kyle Townsend

Before moving on to the VEHICLES portion of my collection, I would like to show some figures that I remember having, but that have gotten either misplaced, broken, donated or sold over the years…

“Screaming Heroes” Egon Spengler with Squidsqueal Ghost

http://www.ebay.com – Gilbe-Niema Vintage Toys

Green Ghost (Slimer) with Proton Pack

http://www.tumblr.com – 1980sactionfigures

Haunted Humans: Mail Fraud Ghost

Image from www.carousell.com

The Frankenstein Monster

Image from www.dallasvintagetoys.com

The Quasimodo Monster

http://www.ebay.ca – Time Travelers Toys and Collectibles

Now, onto the vehicles I still have!

VEHICLES

Ecto-2

Yes, in the animated series, the Ghostbusters had this cool helicopter, which they named the Ecto-2. This vehicle came with some cool features, such as a red hook attached to a rope that you could drop up and down by pulling the orange trigger located at the back of the copter. The vehicle originally came with two red propellers, but like many extras I’ve mentioned so far, they were lost very early on.

This vehicle is my youngest son’s personal favorite.

http://www.ebay.ca – TelecommanderCorp

www.lulu-berlu.com

Highway Haunter

Modeled after the Volkswagen Beetle, this joyride quickly becomes a nightmare with just one push of the headrests. From Beetle to prying mantis in no time!

I’ve always liked this one, and somehow always associated it to Janine. Maybe she drove a Beetle in the series? I haven’t watched the later seasons in ages, but I’ll have to watch to see if that’s the case.

As if the mantis wasn’t enough, this vehicle came with a bonus ghost in the form of an engine, which was accurately located in the back of the car. Once again, this piece has been forever lost, in this case.

http://www.ebay.ca – Vintage Roots Shop

What’s cool about this toy is that I actually have photographic evidence of me receiving it as a present on my fourth birthday in 1989. More on that birthday party later…

The best McDonald’s birthday party ever, Fall 1989.

www.collectorarchive.com

Ghost Sweeper

I’ve always appreciated how imaginative this vehicle was, all while being so simple. It’s basically your everyday, run-of-the-mill street sweeper, except it picks up ghouls and ghosts instead of dirt.

It originally came with a blue Street Creeper ghost, which was basically a creepy caterpillar.

http://www.ebay.ca – Daniels Toy Empire

While I hate to end this article on a down note, we have now come to some BIG items that I used to have but no longer do. We’ve already looked at some figures that I no longer have, but there’s no real regret in no longer owning those. I do, however, have much regret (maybe “remorse” is a better word) in parting with the following three items…

1) Proton Pack

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Once again, I don’t know what happened to this cool toy. I thought for sure it was tucked away in my parents’ attic for years, but I can’t find it anywhere in their new house. It may have gotten sold at a yard sale over the years, which is the most likely scenario.

This was another present I received at the previously mentioned McDonald’s birthday party in 1989. I remember it like it was yesterday. My friend and neighbor from across the street, Matthew Kane, came up to me as we were leaving and asked if he could try out the Proton Pack when we get home. I looked at him, serious as can be, and said: “Sure, but we’ll have to use it outside. I don’t want to set the walls on fire.“. Matthew looked at me with the most puzzled expression on his face, and rightfully so. I was convinced that my parents had given me a FULLY FUNCTIONING Proton Pack, just like I had seen in the 1984 film and in the animated series. I was picturing us getting home, and then me putting the pack on my back, switching it one, firing it off and seeing that proton stream flail around.

My bubble quickly got burst when we unpacked the toy and I saw that it was just that: A toy. Seeing that yellow “pool noodle” (which is supposed to represent the proton stream) was when I realized that this thing isn’t going to be doing the things I’ve seen it do on TV.

Thinking back though, this toy was a lot of fun. It looked just like the packs from the animated series, AND it came with a couple extras: the P.K.E. meter (so you can detect any paranormal activity nearby, of course), and a Ghostbusters armband for you to prove that you’re legit.

I always felt like the Proton Pack should have come with a Ghost Trap, but Kenner was smart and released the trap separately as its own toy, because they knew there was money to be made.

Once again, I have photographic evidence of me receiving the Proton Pack:

2) The Fire House

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Of all the Real Ghostbusters toys I’ve had, my biggest regret is getting rid of the the Ghostbuster Headquarters from which they operate. I’m talking about the iconic Fire House.

I received it on either Christmas 1989 or 1990, I can’t remember for sure, but what I can tell you is that it was proudly displayed in the middle of my childhood bedroom throughout all of the 1990s, and I played with it a ton! I remember thinking how it was like a doll house, but for boys. An ACTION FIGURE HOUSE! It’s what every boy needs!

Then in the Summer of ‘99, my family had a yard sale. I was about to begin my first year of high school, and my thought process at this time was: “I’m going to high school now, I don’t need this kids stuff.”. Oh, to have a time machine and be able to talk some sense into my younger, foolish self. I’m older now and have children of my own, and I just know that my boys would have loved this toy. To say I’m kicking myself would be an understatement. What can you do? We all make bad decisions in our lifetime.

This toy was just cool all around. You had a spot to park the Ecto-1 on the ground floor, and you had two other floors for the Ghostbusters to hang out in, not to mention the important firepole, which came with a red platform for you to put the figures on and watch them twirl their way down. And the extras just keep comin’, as you also got a containment unit to store the ghosts that you captured. Seriously, whoever designed this toy knew the show (and movie, to a certain degree), and delivered an accurate and fun toy. The hours I’ve spent playing with this thing were plentiful.

3) Ecto-1A

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Even though this was advertised as a Real Ghostbusters toy, it was designed to look like the car as it appeared in the 1989 film Ghostbusters II.

If my memory serves me right, I received it at the same time as the Fire House (and ironically, probably sold it at the same yard sale). While I was happy to have a Ghostbusters car at all, I must say that I didn’t care too much for all the slime splatter stickers that covered it. I preferred the simplicity and tidiness of the original Ecto-1, which my neighbors across the street, the Kane Brothers, had.

At the same time, however, the original Ecto-1 is what all the other kids seemed to have, so I did feel kind of cool being the only kid in my group to have the Ecto-1A. The only thing that differentiated the two vehicles, really, were the stickers and decals. The model itself was the exact same. The Ecto-1 only came with a couple of Ghostbusters logos for the doors, while the Ecto-1A came with a bunch of other stickers saying things like “Call Us” and “We’re Back“. It just felt all too busy for me, but again: Thinking back, I was grateful to have a car for my Ghostbusters figures to ride in, and I wish my boys could have had the chance to play with it as well.

There you have it, folks: Every single Real Ghostbusters toys I remember having in my life. Which ones did you have? Did you have the ones seen here? Did you have different ones? Let’s talk, this is a topic I could go on about for hours (in case you haven’t noticed).

I now leave you with this 30-minute compilation of classic commercials featuring many of the toys mentioned in this article. Enjoy!

More Ghostbusters-related stories from yours truly:

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) | Teaser Reaction

Review | The Real Ghostbusters: The Animated Series DVD Set (2017, Sony Pictures Home Ent.)

First Impressions Review | Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)