Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Toy Line

The Real Ghostbusters Toy line was created by Kenner from 1986 through 1991. It was mostly related to the Animated Series, however the Ecto-1a and ECTO-Charger where both related to the Ghostbusters II Film. Also, Filmations Ghostbusters had a line of Toys as well being produced by Tyco.

Overview

The Kenner line of Real Ghostbusters action figures was the most known of the toy lines and hit shelves in January of 1987 and continued being made ans sold til the spring of 1991. It had ten waves of toys (based on card rearrangements) with at least one more planned.

Finger Pops

Finger Pops as seen in packaging.

In 1979, Kenner released "Finger Pops", which were foam cylinders that could be projected in the air. A similar type of product to Nerf like foam products, it was Kenner's answer to Parker Brothers Nerf line. The concept was brought to the Real Ghostbusters line with "Finger Pop Fiends", which along with having the same function also share the name "Finger Pops".

Also in 1979, Kenner released a second toy in the line called "Finger Pops Popper". This item as well was in many regards a precursor to the "GhostPopper", which would be able to fire foam pops. GhostPopper also shares the name Popper and refers to the ammo as "ghostpops" or "pops". The foam pops were also used with the "ECTO Popper & ECTO-Goggles", which uses the same idea and adds temporary storage on the goggles.

List of Toys

The list is based on packaging back cards of the American version line. For releases in other countries/regions please see the Foreign Market Releases section of this article. Sometimes the toy was released with other toys but wasn't included on the back card, in which case its included but noted. A few items were released that didn't have back cards and were not shown included with a wave. Educated guesses are used in those cases.

First Wave

First Wave America Back Card

It is believed that the first wave toys were released during the Christmas season in 1986, mostly to fulfill layaway orders. Officially, the first advertisements appeared, done by Toy's R Us in the news papers around the end of January 1987. The toy line first wave first printing is believed to have been all the figures, but not the Ghost Zapper or the Plush Toys. Second printing which was released with additions from wave 2 was done sometime in the spring of 1987. A third printing was done for the Christmas season of 1987.

The Action Ghost "Green Ghost" incorrectly was printed in the first and second printing with item number #81020. The toy was given the correct item number on the third pressing.

Item Name	Proof #	Assortment #	Production #	Notes
Hero: Peter Venkman	Item #:80010	Asst #:80000	Prod 1#: 278-484-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-484-010 (NG) Prod 3#: 278-484-020 (NW)
Hero: Ray Stantz	Item #:80020	Asst #:80000	Prod 1#: 278-487-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-487-010 (NG) Prod 3#: 278-487-020 (NW)
Hero: Egon Spengler	Item #:80030	Asst #:80000	Prod 1#: 278-485-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-485-010 (NG) Prod 3#: 278-485-020 (NW)
Hero: Winston Zeddmore	Item #:80040	Asst #:80000	Prod 1#: 278-486-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-486-010 (NG) Prod 3#: 278-486-020 (NW)
Action Ghost: Stay Puft Marshmallow Man	Item #:80110	Asst #:80100	Prod 1#: 278-538-000 (??) Prod 2#: 278-538-010 (??) Prod 3#: 278-538-020 (NN)
Action Ghost: Green Ghost (aka: Slimer)	Item 1#:81020 (incorrect) Item 2#: 81020 (corrected)	Asst #: 80100	Prod 1#: 278-539-000 (??) Prod 2#: 278-539-010 (??) Prod 3#: 278-539-020 (NN)	The Item number is incorrect pressings.
GhostZapper	Item #: 80200	same as Item #
Plush Ghost: Stay Puft Marshmallow Man	Item #:80160	Asst #:80150		Not Shown on card.
Plush Ghost: Green Ghost (aka: Slimer)	Item #:80170	Asst #:80150		Not Shown on card.

Second Wave

Second Wave America Back Card

The second wave was released sometime in the spring of 1987. The Action Ghost assortment (started wave 1) had additions of three ghost action figures. A second pressing for the three Action Ghosts was made for the Christmas season on 1987.

Item Name	Proof #	Assortment #	Production #	Notes
Action Ghost: Bug-Eye Ghost	Item #: 80130	Asst #: 80100	Prod 1#: 278-491-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-491-010 (??)
Action Ghost: H2 Ghost	Item #: 80140	Asst #: 80100	Prod 1#: 278-491-000 (NG) Prod 2#: 278-491-010 (NN)
Action Ghost: Bad-To-The-Bone Ghost	Item #: 80210	Asst #: 80100	Prod 1#: 278-491-000 (??) Prod 2#: 278-491-010 (??)
Ecto-1	Item #: 80230	same as Item #
Ecto-Plazm (Purple)	Item #: 80240	same as Item #
Gooper Ghost: Squisher	Item #: 80280	Asst #: 80250
Gooper Ghost: Banshee Bomber	Item #: 80270	Asst #: 80250
Gooper Ghost: Sludge Bucket	Item #: 80260	Asst #: 80250
GhostPopper	Item #: 80220	same as Item #

Third Wave

Third Wave America Back Card

Note that Fright Feature Janine Melnitz was not released till Fourth Wave.

Item Name	Proof #	Assortment #	Production #	Notes
Fright Feature: Peter Venkman	Item #: 80360	Asst #: 80350	Prod #: 281-123-000 (NG)
Fright Feature: Egon Spengler	Item #: 80370	Asst #: 80350	Prod #: 281-126-000 (NG)
Fright Feature: Ray Stantz	Item #: 80380	Asst #: 80350	Prod #: 281-125-000 (NG)
Fright Feature: Winston Zeddmore	Item #: 80390	Asst #: 80350	Prod #: 281-124-000 (NG)
Fire House	Item #: 80580	same as Item #
Mini Ghost: Mini Goopers	Item #: 80400 (incorrect) Actual Item #: 80410	Asst #: 80400		The Item number printed was the Assortment number. Canada line printed corrected item #80410.
Mini Ghost: Mini Traps	Item #: 80400 (incorrect) Actual Item #: 80420	Asst #: 80400		Not Shown on card. The Item number printed was the Assortment number. Canada line printed corrected item #80420.
Mini Ghost: Mini Shooter	Item #: 80400 (incorrect) Actual Item #: 80430	Asst #: 80400		The Item number printed was the Assortment number. Canada line printed corrected item #80430.
Ecto-Plazm (Red)	Item #: 80240	same as Item #
Ecto-Plazm (Purple)	Item #: 80240	same as Item #
Ecto-Plazm (Blue)	Item #: 80240	same as Item #
Proton Pack	Item #: 80340	same as Item #

Fourth Wave

Fourth Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 80550	Haunted Humans: Terror Trash
Item #: 80510	Haunted Humans: Granny Gross
Item #: 80520	Haunted Humans: Mail Fraud
Item #: 80540	Haunted Humans: Hard Hat Horror
Item #: 80560	Haunted Humans: Tombstone Tackle
Item #: 80530	Haunted Humans: X-Cop
Item #: 80570	Fright Feature: Janine Melnitz
Item #: 80100 (incorrect) Proof #: 80100/80620 Prod 1#: 3369-018-00 (NW) Prod 2#: 3369-018-01 (NW)	Brain Blaster	Not Shown on card.
Item #: 80610 Prod 1#: 3329-012-00 (NW) Prod 2#: 3329-012-01 (NW)	Pull Speed Ahead
Item #: 80450	ECTO-2
Item #: 80600	Haunted Vehicle: Highway Haunter
Item #: 80320	Gooper Green Ghost(Slimer)

Fifth Wave

Fifth Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 80820	Monsters: Frankenstein
Item #: 80840	Monsters: Mummy
Item #: 80830	Monsters: Dracula
Item #: 80940	Monsters: Zombie
Item #: 80930	Monsters: Quasimodo
Item #: 80810	Monsters: Wolfman
Item #: 80860	Screaming Heroes: Peter Venkman
Item #: 80870	Screaming Heroes: Egon Spengler
Item #: 80890	Screaming Heroes: Ray Stantz
Item #: 80880	Screaming Heroes: Winston Zeddmore
Item #: 80900	Screaming Heroes: Janine Melnitz
Item #: 80690	Haunted Vehicle: Wicked Wheelie
Item #: 80700	Haunted Vehicle: Air Sickness
Item #: 80670	Ghost Spooker

Sixth Wave

Sixth Wave America Back Card

Some sites merge this wave with five or seven, however going by packaging cards it is a clearly released batch of toys during spring/summer of 1989.

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 81010	Finger Pop Fiends
Item #: 81040	Green Ghost with Proton Pack (Slimer)	Not Shown on card.
Item #: 80920	Fearsome Flush
Item #: 81020	ECTO Popper & ECTO-Goggles
Item #: 81030	Nutrona Blaster
Item #: 80910	Water Zapper

Seventh Wave

Seventh Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 81110	Super Fright Features: Janine Melnitz
Item #: 81100	Super Fright Features: Winston Zeddmore
Item #: 81090	Super Fright Features: Ray Stantz
Item #: 81080	Super Fright Features: Egon Spengler
Item #: 81070	Super Fright Features: Peter Venkman
Item #: 81050	ECTO-3
Item #: 81130	Ghost Trap

Eighth Wave

Eighth Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 81170	Power Pack Heroes: Ray Stantz
Item #: 81210	Power Pack Heroes: Janine Melnitz
Item #: 81190	Power Pack Heroes: Winston Zeddmore
Item #: 81180	Power Pack Heroes: Egon Spengler
Item #: 81400	Power Pack Heroes: Louis Tully	Wasn't shown on other cards, only on its own card.
Item #: 81160	Power Pack Heroes: Peter Venkman
Item #: 81230	Gobblin' Goblins: Terror Tongue
Item #: 81220	Gobblin' Goblins: Nasty Neck
Item #: 81240	Gobblin' Goblins: Terrible Teeth
Item #: 81390	Ghost Sweeper
Item #: 81120	ECTO-500

Ninth Wave

Ninth Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 81560	Slimed Heroes: Egon Spengler
Item #: 81550	Slimed Heroes: Peter Venkman
Item #: 81570	Slimed Heroes: Ray Stantz
Item #: 81580	Slimed Heroes: Winston Zeddmore
Item #: 81590	Slimed Heroes: Louis Tully
Item #: 80230	ECTO-1A
Item #: 81440	ECTO-Blaster
Item #: 81430	Grab-A-Meter
Item #: 81450	ECTO-Charger

Tenth Wave

File:EctoGlowcardback1.png

Tenth Wave America Back Card

Proof #/Prod. #	Item Name	Notes
Item #: 81720	ECTO-Glow Hero: Egon Spengler
Item #: 81710	ECTO-Glow Hero: Ray Stantz
Item #: 81740	ECTO-Glow Hero: Louis Tully
Item #: 81730	ECTO-Glow Hero: Winston Zeddmore
Item #: 81690	ECTO-Glow Hero: Peter Venkman
Item #: 81470	ECTO-Bomber
Item #: 81620	ECTO Headgear and Radar
Item #: 81610	Ghost Nabber and Traps

Unreleased Toys

• Nutrona Blaster In development in wave 1/wave 2
• Ecto Glow Copter
• Firetruck
• Egon's Lab
• Backpack Heroes: Egon Spengler
• Backpack Heroes: Ray Stantz
• Backpack Heroes: Peter Venkman
• Backpack Heroes: Winston Zeddmore
• Ghost Blaster
• Slimerizer

Foreign Market Releases

• The Real Ghostbusters made by Kenner for the country of Canada. It is bilingual and has both English and French language on it.
• Auriken The Real Ghostbusters Toy Line made by Kenner, but relabeled by Auriken for release in Mexico.
• Caça-Fantasmas made by Estrela for the country of Brazil.
• The Real Ghostbusters made by Jocsa for the country of Argentina.
• The Real Ghostbusters made by Kenner for the United Kingdom.
• S.O.S Fantômes, Belgium, and Netherlands The Real Ghostbuster Toy Line made by Kenner for the countries of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
• The Real Ghostbusters made by Kenner for the country of Germany.
• Gli Acchiappafantasmi made by Kenner for the country of Italy.
  
  

Some toys from America, Canada, and the UK lines were imported to Portugal and Australia. The ones that can be identified have import stickers.

Trivia

• Toy Weapons such as GhostZapper and GhostPopper have stylized names using CamelCase. A practice of writing compound words or phrases such that each word or abbreviation begins with a capital letter.
• On pages three to five of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #16, the designs of the Fright Features Ghostbusters are used as the looks of the future versions of the Ghostbusters.

Also See

• Ghostbusters Toys
• Mattel Ghostbusters Toy Line
• Diamond Select MiniMate Ghostbusters Toy Line
• Trendmasters Extreme Ghostbusters Toy Line

External links

• Ghostbusters Toy Archive
• Ghostbusters Collector
• EctoContainment

Gallery

Finger Pops Related Images

Front of packaging for Finger Pops released by Kenner in 1979. This package was a later produced copy promoting the use of the Finger Pops Popper.

Back of packaging for Finger Pops released by Kenner in 1979. This package was a later produced copy promoting the use of the Finger Pops Popper.

Front of packaging for Finger Pops Popper released by Kenner in 1979.

Foreign Market Related Images

Foreign Market UK poster for 1987 year.

Foreign Market UK poster for 1990 year.

IDW Comics

As seen in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #16