#228 REAL GHOSTBUSTERS – ECTO 2 (1987)

Another vehicle for the Real Ghostbusters, after the Ecto-1 I presented a long time ago. This vehicle was part of the second series, and therefore it was released one year later than the car.

I received it as a gift some Christmas, and I have it boxed. The box is not depicted, because I have it somewhere else, but as soon as I can take pictures of it, I’ll update the article.

The vehicle itself is a three-wheeled motorbike that turns into a helicopter with wings. As a concept is quite strange, but as a toy is great. It doesn’t appear in any of the movies, but it does in the tv series and the comics, for example, in the Bastei Comics edited in Germany “Die echten Ghostbusters”. I don’t know which company released these comics in English.

Note that in this drawing, the Ecto-2 has place for two people, while the toy can only carry 1 figure.

The helicopter can be hold like a pistol and it does even have a trigger to move the blades. Together with the blades, there’s a hook hanging from a rope that moves up. A similar mechanism was available in the Ecto-1.

The red clip by the blades can "lock" the trigger

  

Also interesting is that every vehicle in the Real Ghostbusters collection came with one ghost except this one. It came, however, with an accessory bomb that attaches to the lower part of the helicopter under the cabin. The bomb has one “spike” that goes inside the cabin.

Ecto-2 bomb

Ecto-2's cockpit (detail)

Like other vehicles in this toy line, the Ecto-2 was made in Mexico

If you're looking for this vehicle, pay attention to the following points:

• the bomb is ofter missing
• the security belt is sometimes broken
• the hook mechanism does not always work correctly
• the blades (red part) are not broken (if broken they are very difficult to repair)
• stickers are present and in good shape

In this entry we used Fright Features’ Peter Venkman, who is still looking for his hook-weapon. As soon as I find it, I’ll show an entry with all 5 figures. I already presented the other 4 in entries #21 and #179.

Something I wanted to comment about this line is that most figures and vehicles are very easy to find at low prices, and there’s only a handful of “rarities”. The rarest toys are the last wave unproduced figures and playsets. There are a few of them made, but I consider them prototypes, and I will never get one of them. Another very rare toy in this line are the “finger pop fiends” a group of three ghosts that were sold together and that are made of a soft, flexible plastic. You could deform them, but they would always return to their cylindrical form. These are the rarest item in this series that is no prototype. From the rest of the toys, only the Ecto-1 and the first 4 Ghostbusters figures (with backpacks, guns and ghosts) have a certain value, the rest of the collection is really cheap. Great toys for very little money!

Security belt, one of the weak points of the Ecto-2

UPDATE: I have recovered the box of the toy, that I keep since 1992 or so. It is a bit worn, but it still displays nicely.

French front

French side

Dutch front

Dutch side

Box flap with Loustau & Sachnovsky (importer) information. It includes a translation of the instructions in Spanish.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: ECTO-2
• Toy Line: The Real Ghostbusters
• Year: 1987
• Company: Kenner (U.S.A.)
• Size: approx. 30 cm