Review of Winston Zeddemore
Ghostbusters Action Figure

Introduction

In the original script for the first Ghostbusters film, Winston Zeddemore was supposed to be the smartest and most capable of the busters, having served in the Marines and having multiple degrees. That seemed to change in the film, although I've never come across an explanation as to why. In any event, the final version works, as the film was a true comedy classic, and the level headed approach and every man aspect of Winston was a key part. Every comedian needs a great straight man, and Winston provided that for all three of the founding Ghostbusters.

Mattel's collector series of 6" Ghostbusters figures has given us Egon and Ray so far - and on December 15th, Winston joined the team. Under the schedule, it won't be until May, yes MAY, before we finish the team in the 6" scale by getting Peter Venkman. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that we get that far, and that demand remains high enough to see him produced. It would be one might big bowl of suck if we end up with only 3 members of the team.

Winston, like the rest of the 6" figures, runs $20 at the site. He's still available as of this writing, and once he sells out, you'll end up paying ebay prices.

Packaging - ***
The great graphics and text remain, including some excellent personalized information on the back. I'm still bummed that they dropped the collector friendly nature of the packaging after the SDCC exclusive, but I suppose I'll have to let it go eventually.

Winston's left knee is a little warped though, and that's from being placed in the inner tray poorly and staying that way for an extended time. Hopefully that is just an issue with mine, and not a larger design issue with the plastic tray.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The body, pack, wand, and other items below the neck are exactly the same as previous releases. Obviously, if the body sculpt was great before, it still is, and I'll always be impressed by the detail on the pack.

Of the three portraits released so far, this one is my favorite. It still is a bit more Real Ghostbusters to me than movie Ghostbusters, having that slightly cartoonish appearance, but it's not as bad as Ray. It's also a very good likeness of Ernie Hudson, especially considering the scale.

Speaking of scale, he fits in perfectly size-wise with the other two, as you'd expect. Hey, it is the same body, so unless he has a giraffe neck, he's going to be the same height. Whether or not you can accept them all as exactly the same size will effect your opinion on whether using the same body was a good idea or not. I'm cool with it, but the more particular nerds may find it a bitter pill to swallow.

Paint - ***
The paint is generally solid, especially on the face. There, the cut lines are clean, and the tones even. I think the eyebrows are a little thick, and the glossy black doesn't quite work there, but overall I'm quite happy with the paint work on his mug.

The body work isn't quite as neat this time though, especially the green straps and the silver items around the belt. Considering the scale, the work is not bad, but at collector prices I'm expecting something a little more.

Articulation - ***1/2
From the neck down, this is exactly the same figure as as the previous two, so it should be no surprised that the articulation is identical. The joints are very sturdy too, unlike most mass market stuff these days.

The ball jointed neck, one of my favorite joints, works well, giving him plenty of personality, and the ball jointed shoulders and special hip joints allow for a wide range of poses.

The elbows, done in the peg and post style, are a little constricted by the elbow pads and the arm sculpt, but it's a minor complaint. The wrists, also peg and post, actually seem to work better this time around, but it might be that the posts just aren't pushed quite as far inside the forearm.

Accessories - ***
Like the previous two, he has one accessory, but unlike his compadres, it's not a ghost.

He comes with the trap, complete with foot pedal. There's also a hunk of sparking ectoplasm, much as you'd see as they sucked a ghost into the trap.

The small trap can hold the ghost entrapped in the blue translucent plastic, and it is actually shaped to work with Slimer. It's a bit of a balancing act, but you can manage it. I found that it was easier to get the trap and electric blue plastic to stay upright with Sliimer inside rather than out.

The trap doors open and shut as well, allowing you to display the trap without the blue goo too.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
I've mentioned this in every Ghostbusters and Masters of the Universe Classics review so far, but it still amazes me that the best toys Mattel is producing are for collectors and not kids. Of course, if you know a kid that loves the original movies (and the all do, once they've seen them), then these figures would be a great gift.

Value - **
Twenty bucks is pretty steep for a 6" figure that reuses 80% of it's parts.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing!

Overall - ***
These figures have a few issues that hold them back from individual perfection, but I gotta tell you that having the three together on the shelf is outstanding. And while I know some folks are disappointed that the 'slimed' versions of Egon and Peter are all we are getting at first, at least that gives their outfits a slightly different appearance.

It just seems like May is so far, far away. I guess I'll just have to buy other action figures til then to tie me over...

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Matty Collector is the place to pick him up, at least for now. But once he's sold out, ebay is your only option.

Related Links -
I've reviewed the other Ghostbusters stuff released by Mattel so far:

- I covered the 12" version of Ray.

- in this six inch scale, they have also released the SDCC exclusive Egon and Ray Stanz.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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