Transformers may be an intergenerationaly beloved franchise that began in 1984, but there is another that began that same year that is just as beloved and famous, and that is Ghostbusters.
Transformers rock! Ghostbusters rock! One involves giant shape-changing alien robots, the other using proton streams and containment systems to catch ghosts. Plus both have cool vehicles and catchy theme tunes!
It’s the cool vehicles (or at least one of them) we will be looking at today. Ecto-1, the Ghostbusters vehicle and a true icon of pop culture. But here Ecto-1 has been given the Transformers Crossover treatment, so for the 35th anniversary of both franchises we get Ectotron.
The Packaging
Oh it’s just sooo beautiful! Pure 80’s Transformers G1, right down to the transformation steps at the top. And subtly altered with the odd bit of slime and Ghostbusters symbols to show the dual heritage of this toy.
Vehicle Mode
Be still my beating heart! Ecto-1 looks superb here! So much detail! From the grill to the doors to all the various equipment on top, this is an incredibly faithful rendition of the original vehicle. The only downside is that there is no interior detail, but given this is also a Transformer I find this completely forgivable – all those robot pieces have to go somewhere after all.
Robot Mode
Very cool! The colour scheme is mostly white due to the vehicle form, but incorporates some brown as a shout out to the uniforms the Ghostbusters wear. The figure has great articulation which allows you to put him in all sorts of bustin’ poses. Instead of the usual robot optics, he has spectro-goggles such as Ghostbuster Ray Stanz wears. And speaking of equipment the Ghostbusters wear…
The Proton Pack
The roof equipment from the vehicle form transforms into a detachable Proton Pack for the Ectotron robot mode. This is very clever! Not only can he take the pack on and off, but he can also either holster the gun on his back, or can hold it in order to do some bustin’ of his own. Very, very well done – Slimer better watch out!
Worth Getting?
This wasn’t a very hard review to write as I am absolutely in love with this figure! Could it have been better? Perhaps. Inner detail for the vehicle, maybe some more paint apps on the robot mode and some eye and mouth colour on Slimer so he is not just a green blob (though really, the character literally is a green blob). But given this figure is not that cheap as is, it would have resulted in a far higher price tag in order to accommodate all that, and I think he is fine as is.
Personally, whenever not playing with it I’ll be keeping Ectotron in the beautiful packaging as a display piece. Ectotron is currently available at multiple places online or here in Australia at Zing & EB Games stores for around $80. If you are a fan of both the Ghostbusters and Transformers franchises (and let’s face it – who isn’t), then I heartily recommend picking up what, in my opinion, is the best TF crossover toy we’ve ever had!
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
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