This month features the release of Matty Collector’s The Rookie figure from Ghostbusters the Video Game, originally an incentive to join Club Ecto-1. After the subscription plan was cancelled, Matty announced he would be sold separately on the site.

The Rookie is the character you play in Ghostbusters the Video Game. He wasn’t given a name, nor any speaking parts to help you immerse yourself into the game. Peter Venkman even cracks some jokes about getting too attached and not using your real name because of what happened to the last new hire. The model for The Rookie was based off of Ryan French, the associate producer for the game.

There are a lot of awesome things I love about this figure. And some nit picky things that keep it from being the coolest figure on my shelf. Let’s start with the good stuff. The head sculpt for this guy is surprisingly strong. Especially for a character that is ultimately supposed to be forgettable. The Rookie also comes with some great accessories, a PKE Meter and Ghost Trap attached to his belt. As well as removable Ecto Goggles. The Ghost Trap is a really nice touch.

Now for some of the things that I feel missed the boat. The PKE Meter from the game differs from the version attached to his belt. The meter on this figure matches the version in the movies. Where as the game’s meter was more like an iPhone – PKE hybrid. Next up is the Proton Pack. Through the video game, Egon upgrades your pack with some pretty gnarly stuff. Including a slime blower attachment. Unfortunately, the Proton Pack on this figure is the exact same as every other pack from the Ghostbusters’ toy line. The equipment in the game was a big part of the experience, so this felt like a huge misstep for me.

Packed in with this figure is the same Ghost Trap that came with Winston, only with orange electricity instead of blue. The traps in the video game are basically wireless, so even this isn’t in line with the video game. Instead of this trap, one of the ghosts exclusive to Ghostbusters the Video Game would have been great. The first one that comes to mind are Stay Puft’s marshmallow mini minions.

Ultimately there are a lot of things I like about this, but it still falls short. As an incentive figure, I suppose I would have been more forgiving of the cons I listed above. But as a stand alone figure, I wish Matty would have taken more time with the equipment and the packed in accessory.

Lots of rumors have been flooding the internet. We finally have gotten some real quotes from Dan Aykroyd via The Telegraph regarding the status of Ghostbusters 3:

At this point it’s in suspended animation. The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie.

He doesn’t want to be involved. He’s got six kids, houses all over America. He golfs in these tournaments where they pay him to turn up and have a laugh. He’s into this life and living it. I know we’d have a lot of fun [but] I can’t be mad at him. He’s a friend first, a colleague second. We have a deep personal relationship that transcends business and he doesn’t want to know.

Bill Murray’s involvement was also brought up. Will he come back? Will the movie have a CGI version of Venkman as a ghost? Let’s see what Dan said:

We’re not going to do a movie that exploits the franchise. The script has to be perfect. I’m the cheerleader, but I’m only one voice in the matter. It’s a surety that Bill Murray will not do the movie, however there is still interest from the studio.

Well there you have it. The studio is still pushing for a third movie, but the original cast is already falling from the roster. Can they make a movie without Peter Venkman? I think so. And I imagine the studio feels that way. While this is bummer news, it’s probably about time it happened. Now Dan and Harold can move on with a script that doesn’t involve Bill Murray.

Recently Dan Aykroyd sat down to talk with Empire about some of the Ghostbusters 3 rumors. It seems as though he is still very passionate about getting this film made. Whether or not that’s a good thing is still up for debate.

A little while back, Bill Murray was rumored to have shredded his copy of the Ghostbusters 3 script stating, “No-one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts”. While I don’t agree, I see his point. Aykroyd responded to this by saying, “Bill Murray is not capable of such behaviour. This is simply something that would not be in his nature. We have a deep, private personal relationship that transcends business. We communicate frequently and his position on the involvement in Ghostbusters 3 has been made clear and I respect that. But Bill has too much positive estimation of my writing skills to shred the work.”

Interesting point, and I do think Dan Aykroyd is probably correct. I don’t see Bill Murray doing that to a script a good friend of his wrote. And it seems as though Dan Aykroyd has come to terms with Bill Murray not wanting to be in Ghostbusters 3.

Empire states that Aykroyd hinted around recasting Peter Venkman, but not with an actual quote from Dan. Which makes me wonder how much of this is truth and how much of this is Empire putting 2 and 2 together to make 5. I guess only time will tell. What do you think about Sony recasting Peter instead of writing him out of the script?

A few weeks past while I was rearranging some of my collectibles I noticed my extra large Stay Puft had changed hue. Upon further investigation, I realized his arms and legs had turned yellow. He is also bursting at the seams. You can imagine how frustrating this is having spent the amount of money I did for him.

Immediately I contacted Matty asking them if they were aware of the issue and what the would do about it. I got a fairly typical canned response telling me I needed to call into their service center. After doing a little research on the Ghostbusters’ fan forums, I learned I am not the only one with this problem. There seems to be an epidemic of yellow limbed Stay Pufts.

This morning Ghostbusters News posted a story about this issue which included a response from Matty:

Yes, totally aware of this issue and we have the CPI team looking into it. We hope to have an update soon.

I still plan to call Matty and hear for myself what they have to say about the issue. This puts a pretty huge “but” in my head for anytime I consider purchasing one of their more expensive collectibles. Hopefully they will do the right thing and issue a recall or some kind of store credit. Otherwise this nerd might have to take his business elsewhere.

Ghost Trap
$130.00 MattyCollector.com

The doorbell rang as my wife and I were getting ready to leave. It was the mail ma’am with a gigantor package. She asked me what was inside, surprisingly she had delivered a few others that day and wanted to know. I thought to myself, “Shut the fuck up, I have need to bust this open.” So my wife explained to the mail ma’am what it was and why she was so disappointed with who she had married.

Let’s rewind a year or two. Being a huge Ghostbuster’s nerd, I’ve spent many a dollar on my own props. Around this time is when I decided my Ghostbuster getup needed a Ghost Trap. I ordered a resin kit along with all the resistors and knobs I would need, spent about a month and had a pretty sweet prop. My trap had some blinking lights, but no real functionality. I was super stoked when I finished it, and had already started thinking of some unique ways to build another.

Fast forward back to this summer. Matty announces their Ghost Trap prop replica. I was so blown away by the PKE Meter they put out last Halloween, this Ghost Trap was going to be awesome. The price was similar to what I had paid to build my own, but with tons more functionality. Matty’s trap would open and close with a slew of lights and sounds.

Now back to me busting this sucker out. The Ghost Trap comes in a fake crate just like the PKE Meter did. But this time no peanuts. Probably for the best. This crate contains one Ghost Trap, the pedal and cable to connect them. As well as an instruction manuel and some red pipes for the side of the trap. Silver is to match Ghostbusters 1, red for Ghostbusters 2. I know, super nerdy.

On the trap are lots of knobs you can spin. Only the one on the top left of the front has a function. It changes the trap from prop mode to lights and sound mode. In prop mode, the trap opens on one press and closes on the second with a white light effect. No sounds. This way if you were using the trap as a prop, you could do so.

The second mode is much more impressive. By switching the power on, you get a really great power up sound. Press the foot pedal once and the trap opens accompanied by lots of lights and sounds. Press it a second time, more lights and sounds and the trap shuts. Now for my favorite part. The pilot light blinks and makes a boop boop boop noise. If you patiently wait, the trap crackles with lights behind the doors and on occasion the entire trap shakes! I really wish there was a way to just select this feature directly.

Now that I’ve given you a basic outline of what comes with this and how it functions, let’s get to the pros and cons.

PROS
• Definitely movie accurate. At least in plastic form.
• The best functionality I have ever seen on a Ghost Trap.
• You really can’t beat the price for what you’re getting.

Cons
• This entire trap is made out of plastic. For some reason it doesn’t feel as solid as the PKE Meter to me.
• The cable you use to connect the trap and pedal can be flakey, making it difficult to get a solid connection.
• Rather than having painted trap doors, they are actually stickers.
• It could be me, but the foot pedal seems a little small. Plus I don’t dare step on it.
• Completely sold out. Making me even more nervous about breaking it.

While I’m really glad to have bought this trap, it does bring up some interesting feelings for me. Amongst the prop building community there is a saying, “Built not bought”. At first I thought of it as: “Don’t spend tons of money on a prop, build your own.” Kind of the same idea of restoring your own classic car rather than paying for one that someone else has done it for you. That little motto has changed for me, and maybe it’s because I’m a bit jaded. Taking entirely too much time staring at photos of others Ghost Trap props while building my own. Spending the extra ten bucks to get a real resistor instead of the resin casting of one. If anything, buying this has given me all new ideas for a new trap I want to build.

In the gallery below is some pictures of both the Matty Ghost Trap, as well as the one I built. Just to compare and contrast.

The beginning of October was very slow for the Additions to my Nerdorium, but the last week or so has ramped up. Next month should be a big one. This month however will be our caffeine free version. Which is good news. It means I get to eat 3 meals a day.

Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition
$99.99 Target.com

Generally I try not to get suckered into video game special editions. In most cases I feel like I’m getting ripped off. Batman Arkham Asylum, I’m looking at you. Although when I saw this special edition actually included a Batman: Black & White statue, I couldn’t resist.

PROS
• Great value. Batman: Black & White statues go for close to $80 now.
• Lots of great DLC, including a Dark Knight Returns skin. The only one you need, in my opinion.
• The game case also doubles as a snazzy art book.

CONS
• Package design is great until you try to put it back together after you take the statue out.
• Like most Collector’s Editions, this is a really bulky way to store a video game.

Classic Marvel Characters #1: Spider-Man
$49.95 tfaw.com

I think every comic collector has his or her favorite character they can be suckered into buying 1000 versions of. I’m a sucker for classic Spider-Man swag. When it comes to Marvel characters, it doesn’t get much more classic than the Amazing Spider-Man.

PROS
• Very fun packaging and extras. Reminds me of something you’d see advertised in an older comic.
• Comes with a pin and character booklet.
• Somewhat limited. Only 2,000 were made. (Not including the Comic Con variants)

CONS
• A little expensive for what he is.
• To get the full effect, I think I would need to get some of the other Marvel characters. I could see this turning into an expensive collection in a hurry.

Ray with Slime Blower
$20.00 MattyCollector.com

Nice to have this guy so close to getting Winston with his slime blower. As a matter of fact, Matty is currently doing a sale with some of the rereleased figures. You can pick up Ray and Winston right now with their slime blowers. As well as a bunch of other great figures.

PROS
• We just need Vigo to make this set complete. Great figure.
• Awesome articulation.
• Comes with the Cinema Ghost. Not the most recognizable spook, but still cool.

CONS
• Essentially a recycled head and body. But we’ve come to expect that.

This month I purchased some fun stuff, but nothing that really blew me away. Although Batman does look pretty sweet on my work desk. Spider-Man will be a nice addition to the Spider-Man shelf. And Ray, of course, will be proudly displayed with the rest. Just nothing as awesome as the Millenium Falcon. But that’s all about to change. I have some new stuff on it’s way to my house that has almost broke the bank. Two words: Ghost Trap.

Let’s do this bad news first, good news second. The bad news: Club Ecto-1 has been cancelled. Matty feels there wasn’t enough support to justify the subscription service. There are no plans to cancel the Ghostbusters line, and everyone will (obviously) be refunded their $20. Matty says they will be sending out a little gift for all of those that had subscribed as a thank you. They have also announced the price of their figures, even those not Ghostbuster’s related, will be bumped up to $22 from $20.

The good news: Matty is re-releasing some figures around Halloween. In the press release below, they also announce the return of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. I’m assuming that means a rerelease of the big guy.

You know how much love the Matty team has for Ghostbusters, and although we were ready to support a subscription in 2012, sales were lower than we expected. We regret to announce that we have to cancel the 2012 Club Ecto-1 subscription. All 2012 orders will be promptly refunded. If you purchased a 2012 subscription, you should see the refund in your account within 5-7 business days of your refund being processed, depending on your bank. All 2011 subscriptions will continue to ship as scheduled.

Like you, we’re disappointed that the subscription will be going away for 2012, but to show our appreciation for you fans who stepped up and bought a 2012 subscription, we’re working on a “thank you” just for you. Stay tuned as we’ll have something special coming for you in appreciation for your support.

Please know that the Ghostbusters line isn’t over! To do right by all Ghostbusters fans, we’re still moving forward with the previously announced figures for 2012 (Ready to Believe You Peter with Taxi Cab Ghost, The Rookie, Dana as Zuul) and a fourth figure in the fall, to be announced. These figures will be available at our regular monthly sales. Like our other lines, costs have risen since the brand was launched and the price of the 6″ figures will increase to $22 each.

Now on to brighter news. In celebration of the boo bustin’ boys’ favorite time of the year, we’re going to re-release some of your favorite figures during a special Ghostbusters Halloween sale. The sale will run from 10/17 through 10/31, and it’s the perfect time to fill in any missing characters in your collection and stock up on favorites. But wait… yes, there’s more! Not only will we have a great selection of characters, the October 17 sale will also bring the long-awaited Ghost Trap prop, plus the return of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

Again, on behalf of the team, thanks for being a loyal fan. Long live the Ghostbusters!

–Matty

P.S. Please know that all of the other subscriptions are 100% a done deal and there will no other cancellations! 2012 is locked and loaded with plenty more awesome surprises and reveals for Power-Con and NYCC.

Regardless of Club Ecto-1’s existence, next month will be an expensive one for Ghostbusters fans. Two 12″ figures, a 6″ and the Ghost Trap. Time to go sell some plasma.

Hello all of you dust-collecting-plastic-lovers. It’s time for another edition of the Additions to the Nerdorium. September has been more forgiving on my wallet. But, October is going to be mucho espensivo. That’s Spanish for, “I can’t afford to eat lunch this month.” Let’s get down to the nitty gritty:

Egon Spengler – “Ready to Believe You”
$20.00 MattyCollector.com

Figures like this are what makes Matty’s Ghostbuster’s line so special. I’m really happy they are exploring all of these “variants” of our boys in grey. This is the second figure of the “Read to Believe You” set. The first being Ray, the third will be Peter (slated to come out later this Fall). For those who haven’t seen Ghostbusters in a while (for shame), above is the snippet from the movie this is in reference to.

PROS
• The same quality of detail we’ve come to expect from Matty.
• Finally Matty is including some extra accessories. This time with three different stages for the PKE Meter.
• The Library ghost! She’s the first spook we see on screen and is still one of my favorite.

CONS
• Egon’s body is another recycled body. This is to be expected with the “Believe You” series.
• I really wish they’d do a new head sculpt on some of these “variant” figures. Essentially this is a recycled head and body.

Master Chief – Halo 10th Anniversary
$14.99 ToyWiz.com

Oh Halo, I love you so much. The clip above is to prove how awesome I am. On the other hand, McFarlane Toys, you guys kinda suck. Let me some up how buying a McFarlane Halo figure goes down for me 80% of the time (Yes, I did the math):

Step 1: Stumble on a new figure.
“Oh a Halo figure! It’s the original Master Chief, but in scale with the rest of my figures. It comes with an Assault Rifle. Not a bad price either. This will make a great desk ornament.”

Step 2: Busting open the package.
“Shit yah. I can’t wait to set this guy up. Should I have him crouching? Maybe I’ll try to make him teabag another one of my figures.”

Step 3: Realization of terrible articulation and loose joints.
“What the fuck is this shit? Why does his ankle articulate from left to right instead of front to back? I’m going to need pliers to adjust this. What a bunch of dog shit. Now I can’t fit his gun correctly in his hands nor pose him in any dynamic fashion.”

Step 4: Acceptance.
“Fuck it. This guy is going to just stand straight up and hold his gun like he does on the cover of the game (as well as the same pose of every other Halo figure I own).”

Step 5: Buyer’s remorse.
“Man, why did I buy this? I’m done buying McFarlane Toys.”

Step 6: Rinse and repeat.
“Oh a Halo figure! It’s the…”

PROS
• Resemblance to the biologically and cybernetically (real word, promise) augmented human we were introduced to ten years ago.
• With each figure in this series you get a piece of the Legendary Shield. Giving you a reason to fight the buyer’s remorse.

CONS
• Frustrating articulation. No great way to pose this guy. Especially regarding the gun in his hands.
• Only the one accessory. I wish these figures would start coming with a secondary weapon.

Millennium Falcon (7965) – LEGO Star Wars
$149.98 ToysRUs.com

Not so long ago, in a toy store in the suburbs of Salt Lake, I stumbled on a re-release of the LEGO Millennium Falcon. With a fat paycheck in my account I thought to myself, “Fuck it.” I missed out on the original release of Han’s ride and didn’t care to pay for the giganto version. You can imagine how excited I was when I saw this on the shelf.

PROS
• At 1254 pieces, this sucker took me a little over 4 hours to build.
• Great set of mini figs – Han, Chewie, Leia, Luke, Kenobi and Darth Vader.
• It’s the Millennium Falcon!

CONS
• Lightsaber hilts are no longer chrome. They have been replaced with a standard grey LEGO color. Boo.
• I’m greedy to say so, but a C3PO and R2 mini fig would’ve been the icing on the cake.
• The cockpit only fits one mini fig. Han must, in fact, ride solo.

In conclusion this month has been far more forgiving. You do the math, I did it earlier for that McFarlane stat. Egon is a wonderful addition to my Matty figures. The Millennium Falcon is gigantic and looks awesome. Master Chief is kind of forgettable. Until next month, or whenever I buy some more nerd shit.

Every month I buy a shit ton of toys to add to my Nerdorium (A.K.A. home office). But I hardly ever get around to reviewing them on the site. I generally just talk about them on our monthly podcast (which you can listen to here, but I don’t recommend it). Similar to baldassbats Video Game Quick Hits, I’m going to try and do one for all the nerd shit I buy in a month. This month has been an exciting one. I just got a new job, and with it, a lot more income. Of course I spent a good chunk of my first check on collectibles. Also, my wife may or may not be leaving me.

Rock Man Plastic Model Kit
$27.99 EntertainmentEarth.com

When I was in high school I bought a lot of Rock Man Kits off of eBay. I lucked out and got four or five of them for one cent plus shipping. I loved those kits and had a lot of fun with them. Some day I hope to do a retro-review of them. You can imagine how excited I was when I saw the solicitation for new kits being released in the states.

PROS
• The details on these figures are wonderful.
• Plenty of extra hands and facial expressions to swap out.
• Great instructions which made building them a breeze.

CONS
• Kind of a high price point for these. I waited and got mine on a sale.
• Being a model kit, these figures fall apart pretty easily. Which can be frustrating while posing.

Sonic the Hedgehog: 20th Anniversary Through Time Action Figure (1991)
$11.99 Target

Oh, nostalgia. I’d say you’re responsible for at least two thirds of my purchases. I’m glad to see SEGA finally putting out some worthwhile figures of our favorite blue hedgehog. This figure follows the theme from the upcoming game, Sonic Generations. There are classic and modern versions of each of the characters available for the smaller format. I bought the larger five inch figure, which comes in classic or modern Sonic.

PROS
• Nostalgia.
• Great sculpt. From any angle it screams classic Sonic.
• Pretty well weighted for a top heavy figure. The smaller guys tend to fall over.

CONS
• Overly articulated. Sonic can twist at the pelvis, which leaves a big nasty break in his circular stomach.
• Some kind of serial number is printed on the inside of his shoe. There wasn’t a better spot?
• No accessories. Some rings or chaos emeralds would’ve been nice with the five inch figures.

Spider-Man 3 by Hot Toys
$149.99 Sideshow Collectibles

Man, Hot Toys sure has taken a lot of my money over the last few years. They keep getting better and better licenses. Most recently acquiring Star Wars. (Bespin Luke, anyone?) I was torn when this figure was pre-released. I love Spider-Man, but the third movie… not so much. Then again, the Wolverine figure Hot Toys released was based off of his solo movie. You know what? Fuck it. I’m buying one.

PROS
• As usual, this figure has spot on likeness to his big screen counterpart.
• Really awesome package design. My favorite box from the line.
• Webbing is printed on the outside of the costume, showing the attention to detail.
• Amazing (get it?) accessories. Lots of extra hands and webs. As well as a giant stand.
• Mid-range price point for a Hot Toys figure. $150 is very reasonable.

CONS
• I am so afraid to damage this guy. He’s the only spandex clad $150 doll I own. Although JJ (Lost In Comics) has put his figure through the ringer and says it holds up well.
• Being from Spider-Man 3, they are making a Mountain Dew Goblin to go with this. Hopefully they’ll go back and do a Doc Ock. I’d gladly play over $200 for him.

Stay Puft: Gozer the Destroyer
$70 Matty Collector

We’ve been going about this all wrong. This Mr. Stay Puft’s okay! He’s a sailor, he’s in New York; we get this guy laid, we won’t have any trouble!

PROS
• Over 20 inches tall and made from a squishy foam material. Largest Stay Puft ever made.
• Limited articulation at the shoulders, legs and head. Any more would ruin the sculpt.
• Comes with a gigantic cardboard diorama.

CONS
• San Diego Comic Con exclusive, therefore super hard to get ahold of.
• The foam is super fragile. Easily marked up, so be careful unpacking him.
• Face sculpt is good but not great. I prefer Gentle Giants piggy bank sculpt.
• I worry about discoloration over time, as well as general dust damage.
• Where the hell am I going to put him?

In conclusion I spent way too much money on toys this month. It’s hard to pick a favorite out of the bunch. I think Sonic has gotten the most attention from me. Especially for the value packed with nostalgia. Stay Puft is cool, but expensive for what he is. Same with the Rock Man kits. I love how my Spider-Man doll looks next to Wolverine and Batman. Next to join, Captain America. Now it’s time to get back to work so I can blow more cash on dolls.

Lots of exciting news from Comic-Con for any fellow ghosthead. First let me break down Matty Collector’s figure release schedule for this next year:

August 2011 – Ready to Believe You Egon Spengler with Library Ghost and 3 PKE meters
October 2011 – Slime Blower Ray with Cinema Ghost
October 2011 – 12″ Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore 2-pack with one proton pack  (with stream), one slime blower, one KUD meter, one ghost trap, one boombox, and a toaster.
October 2011 – Prop Replica – Ghost Trap (Holy shit!)
Fall 2011 – Retro Action 2 pack – Janine and Samhain with Slimer and 22″ firehouse diorama playset (Toys ‘r’ Us exclusive)
December 2011 – Vigo
January 2012 – Ready to Believe You Peter Venkman with VHS camera and Taxi Cab ghost
April 2012 – Dana Barrett as Zuul
Club Ecto Exclusive – The Rookie from Ghostbusters the Video Game with open trap

Most of these bad boys are included in the Club Ecto 1 subscription offered at Mattys site (right now for a short time!). The Rookie is exclusive to those that sign up. I’m super excited to wrap up my “Ready to Believe” you set, as well as get Vigo and Zuul. Out of all of the announced toys from Matty, I think I’ll pass on the Retro Action figures.

And let’s not forget, the Ghost Trap! The most exciting news with that bad boy: it has lights, sounds and it actually opens. Rumor is the price will be around $120, which is pretty awesome. If you buy a non-working kit with time and supplies, you’ll be in it about $150 to $200. I’ll be getting a few of these… Check out this killer video of it in action:

For more information and photos, please check out GhostbustersNews.com and GBFans FaceBook site.

Oh and as it turns out, Citizen-Bot is a real bastard. He posted this photo from the streets of San Diego to make yours truly super jealous: