Review: Diamond Select Toys Ghostbusters 'build-a-diorama' Firehouse
- Mephitsu
- 4 hours ago
- 7 min read
Diamond Select Toys aquired the Ghostbusters Toy Licence in 2015 and, across 2016 and 2017 released five waves of figures based on the original movie, and with them they introduced a 'build-a-diorama' format that allowed you to purchase all 15 figures and build the Ghostbusters Rooftop as an enormous 7-inch scale diorama piece. You can check out our old, but detailed coverage of that project through this link
In 2017, Diamond then announced their next batch of Ghostbusters Select figures will be based on Ghosbuster II from 1989, and that these next waves would continue the build-a-diorama format with parts to build the frontage of the Ghostbusters Firehouse.
Following the initial announcement, Diamond were at SDCC 2017 and confirmed here that the Firehouse would be built across five waves, each featuring three figures. The first nine figures would be from GB2, while the final six would actually be based on The Real Ghostbusters animated series. Rolling forward to Toy Fair 2018 the full line up was revealed in full at the same time as the first wave, Series 6, was hitting shelves.
Series 6 began arriving in January 2018 and featured Louis Tully in his borrowed GB2 uniform. A figure of Vigo the Carpathian. And Ray Stantz in the darker grey 'we're' back GB2 uniform complete with Santa hat. The first few Firehouse pieces were fairly random and had no immediate connectivity at this early stage. They included both sides of the main doors - parts that also have a significant decor defect in the plastic on nearly all examples. Vigo would come with the left hand side support as well as the hanging GB2 logo for the front of the building.
Just a couple of months later, Series 7 began landing in March of 2018 and included Dr. Janosz Poha, who was making his action figure debut alongside a baby Oscar. Yanosz was jointed by GB2 Egon Spengler, and a figure of Winston complete with GB2 uniform and the Slime Blower kit. The parts in Series 6 gave us our second base upright, the right hand side, as well as an upper window panel, a top arch, and the original Ghostbusters hanging sign.
Series 8 was a late summer release for 2018 and included the final GB2 figures of Winston and Peter in their grey GB2 uniform. The third figure was Ray Stantz with Slimeblower, with this release also featuring an alternative Vigo possessed head. The parts packed with Series 8 included both upper arches and the second upper window.
Series 9 saw the switch into the Real Ghosbusters, arriving in late December 2018 and into early January 2019 for some stockists. The wave featured RGB Ray and Peter alongwith an updated Slimer who used the original Ghostbusters release, but with updated facial sculpts and a brighter green colouring. This wave included the entire top run of the Firehouse. At this point in the collection, the entire frontage could technically be assembled, although you would not get a base or the finishing touches until Series 10.
Series 10 was the final wave in the Diamond Select Ghostbusters line, altthough some of the earlier GB2 figures would go on to get slimmed down releases without the diorama at Toys R Us and through the Previews catagloue. Series 10 completes the team with RGB Egon and Winston. It also gave us an RGB-inspired Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. This final wave included the front pavement base for the Firehouse as well as the three-part 'Hook & Ladder' signage.
Throught out the releases of Series 6 to Series 10, Diamond had been including building instructions with certain sets as well as baggies of white plastic connecting clips, which are used to secure the final building together. There were many more of these clips included than were actually needed, furnishing you with spares for the future.
The Firehouse diorama is, as you will see, a large piece when finished, and sufficient room is recommended for building it - a table top or clear worktop would be ideal. The two-sided instruction leaflet is black and white, but detailed enough to follow with relative ease. The first step is to bring the three base pieces together using the shaped 'tenon' connections underneath to lock all three pieces together,.
Step 2 on the instructions shows the doors of the Firehouse being connected to the frame. This may have been the original intention, but the doors do actually come already connected, which renders Step 2 redundant in the build. Step 3 connects both doors to the relevant upright panel. This is a little fiddly in getting the hinge pieces lined up, and then sliding up the white pin on the hinge to give clear access to slide in and lock the hinge in place.
Step 4 takes the two sides and slides them into the assembled base. Each upright has a series of slim tabs that connect into the slots in the floor. As a hard styrene plastic, there isn't a huge amount of play in getting these secured and locked in place.
Step 5 takes the two upper arches and connects the window pieces using the same sliding hinge design as the doors. The windows have to be oriented the right way, putting the wider bar at the bottom.
We now go into Step 6 and 7 and the first use of the white clips to connect frontage parts together. One connector is triangular in shape and slots over a trio of pegs to link the two pieces. Again, the hard styrene plastic makes these tough to connect and a bit of patience is needed, and in some instances a touch of force, making sure that both sides of the connection are supported as the pressure is applied., The second connector is easier in its function, being a shaped slide that goes into the sides of the connecting piece,s joining them together.
Step 8 and 9 takes the upper segments of the Firehouse and connects these to the main body of the Firehouse in the same way and using the same mix of triangular clips and side clip pieces. These final three pieces complete the main body of the Firehouse.
The final touches are detailed in Steps 11 and 12 where the signage for the Hook & Ladder is slid into the top piece with the hole in the sign lining up with a hole in the centre of the Firehouse arch. The two number 8 pieces then slide in from either side, slotting into a runner in the main body of the Firehouse and locking themselves and the centre signage into position.
Some collectors may choose not to use this signage as its not always shown, particularly in the original movie. The Hook & Ladder was not present in the early Firehouse scenes where the homemade banner sign was being used (Diamond chose not to include this as a part, which would have been a nice nod to the origins of the Firehouse). It was also missing when Walter Peck first visited the team,
Your final choice is detailed in Step 13 and 14 and is around which of the two Ghostbusters hanging signs you use for your Firehouse. Both connect via a black rod that slots through the hole in the Hook & Ladder sign and beyond into a socket behind. Even though these are also hard plastic, they are still relatively easy to swap and change regularly should you vary your display between GB and GB2.
The finished Firehouse is certainly impressive in terms of size and visuals, a mammoth sandstone coloured piece with sculpted and individually detailed block work alongside the central brown doors. The bottom section features the painted yellow bumpers either side of the door and the sculpt even features some damage that has been painted over. The rear blocks of the build are a black with grey grouting.
There is a problem with the pavement pieces which are very obviously different colours. In the Rooftop build this could be attributed to different production runs with the pieces spread out among five waves. For the Firehouse, the pavement were all done in the same wave so either the colour variation is deliberate - and I've missed something - or there is a colour matching issue.
Thanks to the hinges we saw earlier in the build, the doors all operate as they would in the real building. You can have the inset doors open to grant access to the figures, the larger vehicle bay doors, and even the full doors, including the upper windows. There is a bit of misalignment with the doors, as there is no fully engineered clip to hold them together securely when closed. You can work around this, and once positioned, they do hold in the closed position.
The finished diorama measures 57.5cm high (over 22.5 inches) and 55cm wide (21.5 inches). The depth of the piece in full is 17.5cm (6.8 inches), which means it will fit onto the wider of the Billy Bookcases (as often used by collectors). It is, however, too big for Detolf or similar glass cabinets.
It is scaled for the 7-inch figures, and standing with the set, the Select Ghostbusters line up perfectly to the height of the doors and the building overall. That being said, the Hasbro 6-inch line will still work if posed strategically, and therefore the Diamond Select Ghostbusters Firehouse diorama becomes a very interesting backdrop option for a certain Hasbro release incoming in late 2025 (more on that nearer the time).
Keep Track of all the Ghostbusters figures from Diamond Select at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...