Packaging and Contents
I usually don't focus on the boxes in my reviews but I felt this set's packaging deserved a bit of focus.
Setting itself apart from your standard Lego set and maintaining Lego Ideas (formerly Lego Cuusoo) clamshell design, you can see this box was designed with the collector in mind. With the 30th anniversary logo on display and the way the minifigures are clearly displayed and labeled on the top, this set is definitely aimed at an adult Lego fan like myself rather than the random kid walking through the toy isle.
This set's pieces came packaged in six unlabeled bags, also setting it apart from modern sets, just not in a good way. This unnecessarily made the build more time consuming and more difficult than it needed to be. I've bought and built older sets that aren't labeled, and do agree that modern sets tend to hold your hand through the building process quite a bit, but I don't think the difficulty of the build should be a result of how things were packaged. It's just tedious to open all six bags and sort them before actually starting construction of the set.
The instruction manual is also different from the norm. It's a glue bound booklet that includes information on the Ghostbusters movie as well as the designers of the set. It's a well put together booklet and my only really gripe is the black paper the building instructions are printed on, which makes it difficult to differentiate some pieces, especially the clear from silver studs.
The Minifigures
Instead of talking about each individual figure I'll be reviewing the four minis as a whole.
Here we have mini versions of Ray Stanz, Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore, and right off the bat it's pretty easy to tell which character each minifigure represents. As shown in the picture above, each mini comes with two printed faces; a happy/neutral look and a more scared look, no doubt the result of the ghosts they've been busting. The hair pieces also match their movie counterparts pretty well, capturing the personalities of the characters, especially Venkman's smarminess.
There's also a surprising amount of detail on the figures themselves. At a quick glance they look similar except for the initials and names printed on the front and back, but upon closer inspection you can see that body isn't simply recycled.
The straps, pockets, and zippers are the same throughout, but the wrinkles on the body of the jumpsuit and the pouches (or lack thereof) along the belt are different for each figure. Even Ray and Winston, who have similar wrinkle patterns, have their pouches at different spots. Yes these are minor details, but they go a long way into making this already great set exceptional.
The Proton Pack is also well done. Instead of being one small custom piece, it's a pretty neat addition to the set, with a heft and weight that's substantial. It's also a fun little build within the build.
The Ecto-1
While the minifigures are cool, this is the reason why most people will be buying this set, and it's well worth it.
I had a lot of fun with this build. It's incredibly detailed, looks true to the movie counterpart, and frankly, I was amazed at the way it was constructed. It will definitely influence the way I construct custom build from now on as it shows how far a little outside the box thinking can go.
Every part of this build is fantastic. I especially love the use of printed bricks for the license plate and Ghostbusters logo on the sides and rear. And considering the size and durability of the vehicle, I'm surprised that three minifigures can fit inside. Although, at the same time, I'm a little disappointed that only three figures can fit inside with no space to store the proton packs. But I won't let it bother me too much since the scale seems right and having an Ecto-1 large enough to fit everything would be comically oversized.
As you can see from the pictures above, the top of the car can be removed to fit the figures inside without hurting the structural integrity of the build. A lot of detail went into the roof of the car and it shows. Lots of studs of various colors and other small pieces came together to make it vibrant and it turned out great. I really can't gush about the Ecto-1 more.
The Verdict
If you're a fan of Lego and the Ghostbusters it is an absolute must have. Even if you're just a fan of the movie I'd still recommend the purchase. Minor gripes, such as the way the pieces were packaged or the amount of figures that fit inside, are negligible. This is a must own.
Go buy it.
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