Despite having this set since early November 2021, I have held off on my review until now considering what a huge spoiler this set was to those that had not seen the film. It was announced and released within the first week of the movie landing at the cinema here in the UK - a week or so after the US screenings. And while I applaud Hasbro for getting us new figures while the films are 'hot' as such - this set was perhaps a little too eagerly released.
The Ghostbusters Plasma Series of 6-inch figures debuted in 2020 with Hasbro taking on the 6-inch scale license and bringing us a wave of the original Ghostbusters, Dana, and Gozer as well as a BAF of the Terror Dog. Subsequent releases included Louis and the same Terror Dog as a Convention Exclusive and what seems an odd choice in a 3.75-inch scale ECTO-1.
In 2021 the line moved its focus to the new movie of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and repeated the format of a full-wave of figures combining the returning cast and the new 'crew' and a new BAF for the Terror Dog Sentinel. The main character of Pheobe was oddly absent from this wave - despite being shown in promo images - and in actual fact, she was held back for this special 2-pack titled 'The Family that Busts Together' where she is teamed up with the spectral version of her Grandfather, Egon Spengler.
The set utilises the same rectangular box design as the single figures with the colour scheme and pattern based on the Ghostbusters uniform, and the set name inserted into a panel that looks like the GB's name tags. The side art to the left features Phoebe and Egon and the figures are shown together on the back of the box with a short piece of background text which would be considered a big spoiler if the box and contents had none done that already.
"Pheobe's love of science and affinity for bustin' ghosts runs in the family. She's got Spengler blood after all."
Pheobe, like the other younger characters of Trevor, Podcast, and Lucky, is a new figure sculpt and includes a new head sculpt of actor McKenna Grace. The likeness is a good one, and the photo-real technology aids this with the addition of more realistic eyes and facial shading than can be achieved using hand painting techniques.
Like her Grandfather's figures in Wave 1 and again in this set, her glasses are added as part of the head sculpt. This makes them more robust but does mean they have quite thick rims and a side piece that joins directly to the head.
The body is designed with the smaller frame that Pheobe has as a 12-year old girl but executed in that the flight suit she is wearing is too big and baggy for her. This includes a lot of ruffled material on the arms and the torso and the rolled-up pant legs with her red shoes underneath.
Like all the suits to date, the sculpt is good but the paint is lacking with the body cast in the beige base colour. It really needs a darker wash and some weathering to take it up a notch. The decor that we do get applied is a Ghostbusters logo on the right shoulder, and a paint applied name badge that reads 'Spengler'. The belt, which is the same loose piece used on Trevor and the other kids, is cast in a darker olive green plastic and features no obvious detail other than a small hole which we will look at shortly.
The set comes with a number of accessories all aimed for use by Pheobe. We have the PKE meter she uses throughout the movie. This is carried over from the Wave 1 figures and was originally included with Egon. This fits in her right or left hand, and can also be slung on her belt with a small peg on the handle of the device lining up with the hole on the belt I mentioned earlier. The fit is not great and the part falls off at the slightest touch, unfortunately.
We then get a chess piece that features towards the start of the movie. The carved knight is well detailed considering the size and can be slotted between the fingers of the hands so Pheobe can expect it. The second interesting inclusion is a jar of spores & fungus that Egon collected and that Pheobe finds in the cellar. The bell jar is clear but painted partially inside with the same pink as the non-descript fungus within. It is a nice touch and something that can be held by Pheobe, or perhaps used in a background display or a diorama.
The main accessory for Pheobe is her Proton Pack and this is a tweaked version of those used on the other figures both in Wave 1 and this Afterlife wave. Pheobe's pack features an opening feature for the Cyletron with a golden yellow painted centre and panels within. The cover that clips over the top is tight-fitting and once installed it is not obvious the pack is in two parts. The pack is cast in grey with painted wiring and connections with blue, yellow, and red detailing added as well as a couple of silver elements.
These newer packs now have a plugin hose for the proton thrower and this slots into a socket under the main body of the pack. The hose appears to be more rigid than previous versions which do impact posing. The emitter can be held, or slung using another plug and socket on the upper right-hand side. The whole pack is then clipped to an olive green frame and straps which unplug to the left-hand side to allow it to be worn by Pheobe.
The straps and frame do seem to have been adjusted for the smaller body of Phoebe so it sits snugly once worn - but that means you cant give the pack to Ghostly Egon or any of the other adult characters.
The set comes with one of the proton stream effects. This piece was only given to Winston in Wave 1 but now comes - as it should have done originally - with all the figures in Wave 2 as well as the upcoming Glow-in-the-Dark variants. It is executed in a translucent yellow material in the centre and wrapped with translucent purple lightning. It uses a socket at the base of the beam that goes over the nozzle of the Proton Emitter.
Adding the beam does overbalance the figure so you will have to widen Pheobe's stance or give her some support like a stand, or perhaps a ghost of her Grandfather, to balance her out.
Phoebe features just 14 points of articulation losing any ankle articulation or rockers in terms of how the feet are slotted into the legs without any moveable joint. This means Pheobe is more difficult to get flat-footed on a surface once you go beyond the neutral stance. The single elbows also make it difficult to wield the Proton Emitter, a fact not helped by the more rigid cable.
The 'Family that Busts Together' set is also used as a vehicle to correct an issue with the 2020 figures in that it brings us an alternative head for the original Terror Dog. The first wave build-a-figure was that of Vinz Clortho with the longer horns. When Hasbro did the 'Tully's Terrible Night' set for SDCC 2020 we hoped the Terror Dog in that set would be Zuul - but instead, the exact same Vinz Clortho dog was used.
Included in this set is the corrected Zuul head with the shorter horns that can be swapped out onto your original Terror Dog or that from the Tully set. The fit is good as is the paint and decor match and I do want to call out the Hasbro team for recognising the issue and correcting it without making us buy another full Terror Dog.
For clarity, the set only includes a headpiece. The images below illustrate how this looks on the existing Terror Dog body.
The second figure in the set is the Spectral Egon Spengler who turns up at the climax of the movie in full spirit form to aid his Granddaughter and the rest of the team. The figure re-uses the Ghostbusters uniform body from the first Egon Spengler release, down to the hole in the back for the Proton Pack.
The body is cast in a translucent pearlescent plastic, a similar treatment to other Hasbro 'spirit' releases like the Force Ghosts from Star Wars or the Astral Doctor Strange from the Marvel Legends line. It works in that it looks otherworldly to the point until we can start to see the inner workings of the figure which present as black sections inside the body. The only decor on the body is the Ghostbusters logo on the arm applied as a decal and the nameplate that reads 'Spengler' over the translucent purple.
The head is a new sculpt and based on the aged and CGI recreation of Harold Ramis. This is also cast in translucent paint but partially painted with the face, beard, and hair all painted while the rear of the head fades back to the clear plastic. Like Phoebe and the original Egon, the glasses are part of the head and oddly still show a skin tone within the rims. The face print does give Egon a good likeness, but there are other paint issues like the grey hairline coming down too far onto the forehead and unpainted sculpted hair under the ears.
Egon has the same articulation count as the normal 'adult' Ghostbusters from waves 1 and 2. This equates to 18 points of articulation with Egon getting a good level of mobility in the legs and a fair bit in the arms, with a double joint in the elbow which certainly helps massively when wielding a Proton Pack - less so here, but it is nice to have the option.
Egon is easy to pose with all joints secure and doing the job they are designed for including the ability to stand with Pheobe to try and recreate those scenes from the movie.
'The Family that Busts Together' as a set does lots of things right. It allows for the release of Pheobe to complete the 2021 crew of Ghostbusters and gives her some interesting accessories as well as a tweaked screen accurate Proton Pack with the removable cover. The inclusion of the Zuul head for the Terror Dog is much appreciated. And the Egon figure is as good as any other 'ghost' figure from Hasbro but does still suffer from too many internal workings on show.
The set was badly timed in my opinion, spoiling a scene that brought tears to my eyes and that fans all deserved to see for themselves and not on a toy shelf within days of the movie's release. That aside, well done Hasbro, and let's hope this is not the end of the Ghostbusters Plasma Series - although it would be a nice ending if that is the case?
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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...