Still recovering from Mattel’s atrocious Ray Stantz, I found myself instinctively reaching for the Winston Zeddemore figure. After wasting $28.00, why did I yet again risk another $28.00? I probably wanted to forget the bitter memories that Ray Stantz left in my mind.
Name: Winston Zeddemore
Line: Ghostbusters
Manufacturer: Mattel
Released: December 2009
Price: Online: $20.00+
Scale: 6.00 in.
Accessories: Ghost trap and ghost trap effect
Sponsor Listings: Ka-Razy Kings of Toys-$31.49 (Sale Price)
The Four Horsemen have redeemed themselves with Winston. The facial-likeness is dead-on (if you don’t believe me, just look at the photo on the back of the packaging). I’m relieved to see Winston smiling like a normal person and not sporting a creepy or smug-looking one. Here’s hoping we never see an angry-looking, prune-faced Ghostbuster (I’m referring to Ray Stantz’s questionable facial sculpt) ever again
Winston’s body is composed of both Egon’s and Ray’s bodies. I’m having serious issues with this because each of the individual Ghostbusters has different body-types and various sizes (heights). It saves Mattel money, but if you’re charging exorbitant prices for these figures then I expect to see those types of details (variety in size and height) implemented. For example, Winston should be bulkier (and I mean bigger arms and wider chest) than the rest of the Ghostbusters. He should also be taller, not shorter. Leaving out such details from the production process kills the collector value. If a toy company gets the rights to use a heavily sought-after license, they should use it to the fullest extent.
Like his previously released ghostbusting teammates, Winston suffers from the “perpetually-bent-elbow syndrome”. The elbows are designed and sculpted in such a way that you can’t pose any of the Ghostbusters in a “relaxed-state” with both their arms down at their sides. Instead, the elbows look like they’ve been popped out of their joints, which look both awkward and painful. As I’ve said in a previous review, I blame this problem squarely on the sculpted elbow guards.
This is most likely due to poor planning on Mattel’s part. Both sculpt and design of the proton pack is superb, just like the previously released ones. Interestingly, both Winston’s and Ray’s neutrino wands are made up of much harder material than Egon’s more pliable one.
Winston and Ray share the same right arm where it can be posed close to their right side. Egon’s right arm, however, is sculpted and designed in such a way that he can’t place his right arm as close as the others to his right side. Winston’s [leg] stance is a bit wider than both Ray’s and Egon’s, which is quite evident when they are placed side by side. Also, Winston’s and Egon’s walkie-talkies (located in the back by their right hip area) have little to no space between it and their upper-rear portion. Ray’s walkie-talkie has a lot of space between it and his upper-rear area. Winston also shares the same exact boots as Egon’s. If you examine them carefully, you’ll notice that Winston’s right boot has the laces tied hanging straight down, while his left boot is tied in knots (just like Egon’s). Both of Ray’s boots have the same laces tied hanging straight down.
The sculpt of Winston’s ghost trap doesn’t look bad at first glance. There’s a non-working ghost trap pedal that’s attached to the ghost trap by a thin 5-inch plastic “cord”. Surprisingly, the ghost trap has hinges on both sides of the cover, allowing it to be opened and closed. There’s a tight space inside which allows the “ghost trap” effect to be inserted, giving off a “ghost capture stream” effect. Unfortunately, there are several problems with this accessory. Because of the hinged ghost trap cover, the top looks bulkier than it should be. The ghost trap handle isn’t thick enough for any of the Ghostbusters to grasp and show off their captured prey to the skeptical and unsatisfied customers (as seen in the Sedgewick Hotel scene from the first Ghostbusters movie). The “ghost trap” effect looks childish and keeps on tipping over the ghost trap.
Sculpt Score: 7 / 10
There are white dots under Winston’s sideburns on the right-side of his face. Streaks of gray/white paint are on both sides of his face (check both of his cheeks). There are sloppy paint applications on both top sides of Winston’s proton pack straps as well. On the back of Winston’s belt, the paint application gets real sloppy: the white paint ends a bit too abruptly (as I write this I notice that the same problem can be found on all three Ghostbusters).
However, there’s a pretty visible dash of… get this… orange paint. Yeah, I’m surprised too. For laughs, you can also see how hard Mattel tried to make the proton pack look used and bashed up with their random light streaks of silver paint. This is particularly apparent when you examine right over Winston’s right shoulder. My guess is that this was more of a mis-application rather than intended one. Surprisingly, there’s hardly any problem with the paint application for the ghost trap.
Paint Score: 5 / 10
Winston has: ball-jointed neck, swivel/hinged shoulders, swivel/hinged elbows, swivel/hinged wrists, swivel waist, swivel/hinged hips, swivel upper thighs, ball-jointed knees, swivel boots, and ball-jointed ankles. While the upper body is limited to a certain number of poses due to the neutrino wand, there is a lot more range of movement with Winston’s bottom half. As previously mentioned, the ghost trap has a hinged cover which opens and closes.
Articulation Score: 7 / 10
Because the Ghostbusters rely heavily on their proton pack/neutrino wand combo, there isn’t that much room for creative poses. With that said, the inclusion of the ghost trap enhances the “fun” factor mainly because we finally have one scaled-down to fit our ghostbusting needs.
While at first glance, the “ghost trap” effect looks cool, it actually turns out to be another gimmicky ploy by Mattel. I understand how hard it is to capture the likeness of such a special effect we’ve seen in both movies and the videogame, but it’s a wasted effort. A “proton blast” effect (also known as “capture streams”) that could attach to the tip of the neutrino wand would’ve been a better alternative. Although it may be a bit late to the party, I’m glad to see the ghost trap finally made its appearance.
Fun Score: 6 / 10
I still question Mattel’s pricing of $20 (plus $8.00 S&H). However, the inclusion of the ghost trap has softened the blow slightly and gives me renewed hope that Mattel is finally beginning to understand what collectors want. Or maybe not.
Value Score: 6 / 10
7 / 10 - Improvement in the “facial-likeness” department. Needs to implement changes in body size and type.
5 / 10 - Continuing problems with quality control.
7 / 10 - I’ve begun to accept the fact that the awkward sculpt and design will ever change for this line.
6 / 10 - Ditto.
6 / 10 - Accessories are starting to improve.
81 / 100 - This is a Great Toy
Winston Zeddemore is a significant improvement over the Ray Stantz disaster. The facial-likeness of Winston and inclusion of the long-awaited ghost trap is a definite step in the right direction. Although the “ghost trap” effect is a bit too gimmicky for my tastes, other collectors will no doubt disagree.
-go fig
_________
