Review of Terror Dog, Library Ghost, Taxi Ghost
Ghostbusters Action Figures

Introduction

It took a couple years to get all 15 Ghostbusters figures released, but Diamond Select Toys has done it, and in the process they've released one of the coolest all time BAF's. Technically, it's a BAD or Build-A-Diorama, but you get the idea. The roof top diorama required pieces from every one of the 15 individual figures, and the last 3 just started shipping. These three include the Terror Dog, the Library Ghost, and the Taxi Driver Ghost.

You can find them online of course, and I've come across them at the local Toys R Us as well. Expect to pay around $25 each.

While this review is technically about the three figures, I'm going to discuss the diorama and provide a final grade there as well.

Please forgive the background behind some of the wide shots of the entire diorama. This thing is huge, and I had to improvise a place to shoot. My bar top was the best I could do on short notice - sorry about that one. I did manage to wrangle my youngest son into holding up a blanket for that very first photo, but he wasn't going to do it forever.

Packaging - ***
If you're a regular buyer of all things Diamond Select, the large, bookshelf style packages are no surprise. They are not collector friendly, as you'll need to tear them up to get the figures and accessories free. For some of the characters they can be a little wasteful, but the large diorama pieces make the bubble size necessary, and for consistency, some get a little more space than they really need.

The early figures did not include the instructions on completing the diorama assembly, but these later waves have corrected the oversight.

I will say that the Terror Dog lay out is...odd. The 3D background comes rolled up and inserted in a cardboard sleeve. This sleeve can only fit on an angle, and runs between his legs...and yes, it absolutely does look like he's humping it. And enjoying said humping quite a bit.

Sculpting - Diorama ****; the figures ***1/2
The work on these three figures is perhaps the best of the entire run so far. I'm not going to claim perfect accuracy to the on screen versions with any of these three, but the detail and quality are top notch.

The damaged, rotting flesh on the visages of the Librarian and the Taxi Driver are terrific, and this attention to detail is carried over into their bodies and clothing. Minutia, like the fabric-like texture on the driver's jacket, give them a more realistic look, and elevate them above the previous individual figures.

Out of the three, I think the Terror Dog is the best. These are a 7" scale of course, and TD has some nice heft and bulk to him. He comes with both long and short horns, so you can recreate the look of either creature. His sculpt also works quite well with the articulation, allowing you to use the joints to their fullest potential.

But the diorama is the real winner. In fact, it's the winner of the entire 15 figure run. The masonry look and texture, at least from a sculpting perspective, are amazing. This is a huge diorama, spanning 36" across and standing about 16" high. Assembly is relatively straight forward, but I'd follow the instructions to avoid frustration.

Paint - Librarian **1/2; Taxi Driver, Diorama ***; Terror Dog ***1/2
The paint work could use a little improvement across the board, but because these are monsters, you can cut them a little more slack than the actual human characters.

The diorama varies a bit in color, and it's often from piece to piece, rather than across a single piece. That means a whole chunk might stand out from the pieces around it, killing some of the realism.

The Terror Dog sports the best paint work on the figures, with reasonably good detailing, particularly on the mouth, horns, and teeth. The librarian is the sloppiest, with the wash on her hair and body looking out of place and poor. The cab driver falls in between, with some nice work on his eyes and some good dry brushing and wash effects on the skin and clothes.

Articulation - Diorama Bupkis; Librarian, Cab Driver ***; Terror Dog ***1/2
There's no articulation with the diorama, but you wouldn't really expect it. Of course the two statues are free floating, but that really doesn't count as 'articulation'.

The Librarian floats on a black plastic rod on a black round base. This rod attaches to her back, like we saw with Slimer in an earlier wave. It's a little wobbly and loose, but you can work the angles to create a stronger support and keep her suspended in the air. Of course, with no lower body there's no leg articulation, but the ball jointed neck and rotating hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists all work quite well.

The cab driver also has a ball jointed neck, rotating hinge shoulders, pin elbows, rotating hinge wrists, hinge hips, cut biceps, cut thighs, double pin knees, and pin ankles that allow for reasonable posing. The very tiny, skeletal left foot can be problematic when trying to get him to stand, but it is a workable situation if you're patient.

The Terror Dog has a jointed jaw, as well as joints at the two large horns. These turn, and can be popped off and replaced with the smaller horns if you'd prefer. His neck allows for plenty of lean and tilt action, and can move forward and back as well. The legs have rotating hinge hips, as well as pin ankles. The back legs have another 'knee' like joint, but I had a very hard time breaking these free. Still, getting all four legs to work together in multiple poses is a fairly straight forward process.

Accessories - Diorama Bupkis; Terror Dog, Librarian, Taxi Driver ***
The diorama doesn't come with anything I'd call an 'accessory'. There is a 3D printed backdrop that you can use or not, depending on your preference. If you put it in place, you'll have to remove the back stairs, so there is a trade off.

As I mentioned earlier, the Terror Dog also includes the second set of horns. This is a particularly nice touch, much better than just doing two different Terror Dogs. If they had done two, people might have wanted one more than the other, resulting in a shortage. This way, all you have to do to get both Terror Dogs is buy two Terror Dogs - no searching for the right size horns.

The librarian and cabbie also add one extra to go with their BAF piece - a huge stack of books and a steering wheel, respectfully. Nothing super exciting about either, but at least they make sense relative to the characters.

Fun Factor - ****
Now that we have a completed diorama, the Fun Factor on the entire series jumps through the roof. While not every figure makes sense being on the rooftop, sense has never stopped me from doing something in the past, and I'm not about to start now. Look at the last photo in the review and tell me these things are fantastic fun when you have them all together!

You could also argue that the diorama is scaled even better to the 6" Mattel line of figures. I've included a photo with the Mattel Egon below, with the DST sTerror Dog sneaking up behind him.

Value - ***
Even at $25 each, these are a solid value. It's the huge diorama pieces of course, making up for that extra $5 or so of cost for a figure in this scale.

Things to Watch Out For -
Well, Zuul of course. Other than that, you should be good to go.

Overall - Ghosts ***; Terror Dog ***1/2; Diorama ****
The figures have had their ups and downs, but DST should be proud of the overall final result. The diorama is simply terrific, well worth picking up all the figures to obtain. This last wave are also the best figures in the series, at least in terms of sculpt and paint quality, and that bodes well for the next series as well.  They've already announced that the next few waves will be based on Ghostbusters 2, and will include parts for a firehouse diorama!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Diorama ****; the rest ***1/2
Paint - Librarian **1/2; Taxi Driver, Diorama ***; Terror Dog ***1/2
Articulation - Diorama Bupkis; Librarian, Cab Driver ***; Terror Dog ***1/2
Accessories - Diorama Bupkis; Terror Dog, Librarian, Taxi Driver ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - Ghosts ***; Terror Dog ***1/2; Diorama ****

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the set of three for $75.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The last set of three included Walter Peck, Gozer, and a Slimed Peter. Earlier reviews include Quittin' Time Ray, Slimer, and Janine, with Ray, Louis, and Winston and Dana, Egon, and Peter.

Recently, Playmobil released their Ghostbusters sets, and I reviewed the Ecto-1.

Other Ghostbusters figures include the Mattel 12" Zeddemore, and the 12" Ray and Venkman. In the six inch scale, they also released the SDCC exclusive Egon, Ray, Venkman, and Winston. Mattel's classic line was also re-released recently, and they did a wave based on the new film with Rowan and Jillian and Patty, Abby, and Erin.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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