Review : Egon Spengler
Ghostbusters Select (Diamond Select)
Wave/Series : Series 2
Released : July 2016
Price : £19.95 - £22.95
The arrival of Egon Spengler, along with Peter Venkman, in Series 2 of the Diamond Select Ghostbuster figures will mean for many that they are done with the series having now picked up the original 4 Ghostbusters. I hope this isn't a mistake on Diamond's behalf that then see's future series put at jeopardy due to reduced sales as collectors only interested in the four core characters drop off when Series 3 hits.
Egon arrives in the same oversized Select packaging. The front of the packaging shows off the figure and all his accessories, with the Ghostbusters text logo down the left hand cardboard wrap round. To the side of this, and as a triangular flash, is the character name and a head & shoulders shot of Harold Ramis.
This image of Ramis is repeated to the side art panel, albeit larger. Underneath this is the Ghostbuster ghost logo. Round the back the card base is a stylised and silhouetted scene of the final battle from Ghostbusters with the beams crossing and creating an electrifying effect at the top of the card. Overlaid onto this is the Ghostbuster text logo again and the "Select" diamond logo. There is then a full length image of the figure itself down the right hand side as you look, and to the left of this is a paragraph that gives you a bit of background about Egon and his role in the movie. Underneath this text is a further box, edged in a hazard black and yellow effect, which details the other two figures in the wave - Dana Barrett and the aforementioned Peter Venkman.
Out of the box and you will be presented with Egon, complete with Proton Pack and Emitter already attached. To the side is a proton stream effect, a PKE meter, a Walkie-Talkie and 4 pairs of hands - 2 gloved and 2 ungloved.
Egon stands 7 and 1/2 inches tall, this puts him as the tallest of the team and consistent with Ramis stature and the promo pictures of the Ghostbuster Team which puts Egon as the tallest of the group.
The head sculpt is not perfect, but is a passing resemblance to Ramis. For some reason he has been sculpted with a smirk, and not the more serious Egon we see for most of the film. The head is massively let down by the paint job that is very cartoonish with a a single flesh tone and then over exaggerated eyes and eye brows. The hair is also one tone, and there is a clear line round the back of Egon's hair line which should be brown but has been left skin tone. The same occurs around the ears, making him look like he has had a severe hair cut.
The glasses are not a bad attempt at this 1:10 scale, but are still a bit too thick. They do sit naturally enough, and are glued in place at the side of the temples, and this allows a touch of adjustment on the nose. The downside of the glue is messy residue on the side of the head and on mine this was so severed it had taken off a layer of paint above the ear.
Like all the Ghostbusters to date, where the head feels under detailed the costume is anything but. Once again there is a new, or at least tweaked, chest sculpt for Egon. The whole jumpsuit is sculpted with folds of cloth, creases and zips and is then wonderfully weathered and dirtied up. The suit includes the Ghostbuster logo on the left shoulder (as you look at him) and this is a decal and well applied. There is also the Spengler name badge on the right chest (as you look) which is a little less crisp.
The suit is accessorised with a utility belt, which include a working holster for the Walkie Talkie. You also get elbow pads and the proton pack itself which is strapped onto Egon and can't actually be removed without cutting the straps.
The Proton Pack is cast out of black plastic and is really well detailed with coloured wiring and plenty of intricate stickers of warning labels. Like Peter, these stickers are applied with a little less care than series 1 - and Egon even has one missing on the base of the pack.
The Proton Emitter is attached permanently to the pack with a flexible cord. The intention from Diamond was to have the emitter hang on the pack via way of a triangular bracket, but this sadly does not work in any stretch of the imagination. You are then left with having the emitter in Egon's hand - or the best of a bad situation is to sling it's cord over the pack and let it hang down the right hand side out of the way. I also think the emitters in Series 2 have either been cast in a softer plastic, or been packed badly as both Egon's and Peter's arrived bent and misshapen.
The hands swap in and out really well and you can choose normal hands or gloved ones, with the gloved versions also having removable cuffs which means you can have them as long or short gloved on the figure. Each hand option works with various accessories so its worth playing around to fit the accessory you want to display Egon with.
Outside of the Proton Pack & emitter, Egon is packed with a plain black Walkie Talkie which has been included on all the Ghostbusters to date. This sits in one of the hand options, and when not in use it slots into a perfectly sized holster on the belt. The other accessory, and so far exclusive to Egon, is the PKE meter. This is again cast of black matt plastic, with two painted silver antennae and a green painted screen. Considering the issues with the head paint it is impressive that under this green screen sits three individually coloured lights painted blue red and yellow - and further two red ones further down the meter.
The articulation on the figure is identical to the other Ghostbusters, particularly as the arms and legs seem to have been reused. Egon's head sits on a ball joint which rotates to either side, but doesn't seem to have much movement up or down. The ball jointed shoulders move the arms out a full 90 degrees ot the side, and will also rotate the arms above the head. Couple this with a rotating elbow joint that also bends to 90 degrees, then holding the Proton Emitter in two hands is not a big issue.
There is a chest joint as well as a waist joint, and although neither moves massively - combined they do give enough to twist Egon's torso to almost side onto the legs ready to fire his Proton Stream.
Down in the legs and the T-joint hip remains in use and Egon can get into the splits or sitting, but neither look particularly natural. Without a ball joint hip to rotate, Diamond have included a thigh split which is one of my pet hates in terms of ruining the lines of a figure. The knees are a redeeming feature though as they are double joints but well disguised behind a clever central knee cap panel. The feet end with a rocker joint at the ankle that bisects the boots.
Like Peter in particular, because of the weight of the figure and the Proton Pack pulling the figure off centre I have found Egon a tad tough to stand up and stay stood up. Loose joints at the ankles doesn't help either, so if you are going to display these figures without a display case door to stop them shelf diving then I highly recommend a stand of some type.
It is pleasing to see Diamond have resolved the Proton Stream effect issue from Series 1 and this now slots onto the end of the Emitter really well and doesn't look half bad. I look forward to getting all four of my figure lined up with the Proton Stream to check out how they look. We asked Diamond the plans for retro supplying Series 1 and it turns out if you were missing your clips in Series 1 then all you need to do is contact the Diamond Select Customer Service Team to discuss a resolution - and the good news is this is international and not restricted to the US.
The final pack in with Egon is part of the Rooftop Diorama that will build over the course of the 15 figures in this collection. Egon comes with a single piece, a piece of the rear of the floor that connects up with the corresponding piece from Peter Venkman, and that then links up with the pillared triangular sections that come with Winston and Louis Tully. For anyone needing the instructions to the Ghostbusters Roof Set, then we have posted them HERE for reference.
Like Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler feels like a step down in quality, or at least in care and attention, vs Series 1. The head is an odd choice of sculpt with that smirk, and the damage the glue has caused and the missing paint on the hair line is not really acceptable. The detail in the rest of the figure does make up for this to a degree, but even here you have missing and misaligned decals on the Proton Pack. And the stability issue will be a problem for many, and this is a wider issue for the Select range as a whole with loose joints plaguing many releases for a number of years.
Egon is not a disaster by any means, and the real beauty of the figures is lining up the Ghostbusters team of four as they certainly are more than their individual parts when assembled in a display. I score Egon a 3 out of 5.
