Unproduced or Unreleased Ghostbusters Merchandise and Toys, Part 1

Unproduced or Unreleased Ghostbusters Merchandise and Toys

Greetings everyone! Thomas here, and once again we are traveling to the past with our way back machine and taking a look at some of the unproduced or unreleased merchandise and toys from the Ghostbusters franchise!

So let's just jump right on in and kick it off with the very beginning, with a slew of Kenner prototypes!

Kenner

15" Backpack Heroes - Egon Spengler

In 1991, Kenner wanted to try something new and different with "The Real Ghostbusters" toyline and they thought that what if they scaled the figures up to 15 inches, add a voice module that would play clips of each character and better detailed Proton Packs? They then took it a step further and wanted to incorporate another concept in the way of the Backpack Heroes and have a ghost figure pop out of the Proton Pack on their back.

I am unsure why they abandoned the concept, and only one prototype even exister (pictured below). It was a resin, hand painted prototype of Egon Spengler in his original cartoon flightsuit.

As you can see, the prototype is extremely accurate to how Egon appeared in the show, until you get to the actual Proton Pack. It is much more detailed than how it appears within in the show and unfortunately, will never see the light of day, though Mattel's "Real Ghostbusters" figures were pretty close to this concept.

Backpack Heroes - Standard

Similar to the 15" Backpack Hero concept, these would have been the standard Kenner figures with bright and garish flightsuits and oversized Proton Packs that would have ghosts that popped out of them.

Inflatable Gooper Ghost aka Green Ghost aka Slimer

This was an idea for 1992, it was apparently meant to be aimed at a younger audience similar to the plushies of Stay Puft and Slimer released earlier within the line and the inflatable line was believed to have focused on ghosts only.

Nutrona Blaster Toy Weapon

This next piece was revealed via the  Toy Fair Catalog in 1987. It appeared to be a laser tag game of some kind that utilized two blasters and two sensor vests. Below is the description that accompanied the advertisment.

With The Real Ghostbusters Nutrona Blaster Laser Light Weapon, a child can pretend to be a member of The Real Ghostbusters team, either alone or with friends! The set includes an infrared weapon, target/sensor, belt and a reversible overlay which can be placed on the face of the target/sensor. One side of the overlay is The Real Ghostbusters logo, the other side is the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, so that a child "becomes" one of The Real Ghostbusters team or the ghost.
The target/sensor can be set up across the room, up to 80 feet, so that a child can practice shooting alone. The eyes of the target overlay blink red so the children know when to shoot. Each hit is registered on the target and after the sixth hit, the target sounds off letting them know that they're a winner! For bigger challenge, an child can team up with friends. One child chooses to be the ghost, the others, The Real Ghostbusters, to create their own ghostchasing adventures.
Requires 6 "AA" and 1-9 volt batteries not included. Ages 4 and up.

Ghost Blaster Toy Weapon

Shown off in the Toy Fair Catalog of 1991, this toy weapon would have come with 10 flying/shoot discs.

"Capture ten ghosts at once with the new Ghost Blaster! By repeatedly pulling the trigger, kids can rapidly launch ten soft plastic disks which fly for 10 feet! Guaranteed to handle the fiercest ghosts in your neighborhood."

 Slimerizer Toy Weapon

Yet another toy weapon that was revealed in 1991 with the Toy Fair Catalong, it's interesting to see that Kenner had plans to keep the toyline running well into the 1990s.

"Ghosts won't have a chance against the new Slimerizer! By pumping the handle, kids can shoot three foam slime projectiles over 20 feet! Slime balls can also be mounted on handle when not in use!"

And lastly, because no look at the unproduced Kenner toys would be complete without it:

Egon's Lab Playset

This was yet another planned item for 1991, but the toyline was subsequently canceled. It seems that there were a few different iterations of it planned, what's interesting to note is the inclusion of the "Ghostbusters 2" logo in one of the versions of the playset.

Keep your eyes out for Part 2 of this look into the unproduced figures/playets/merchandise of the Ghostbusters franchise. Next week we will be looking at the "Extreme Ghostbusters" cancelled and unproduced figures!

As always, thank you for taking the time out to read and don't forget to give our main page over on Facebook a like!