Did you buy the Ecto-1 subscription? Was the fact that the Four Horsemen were working on the line a major factor in your decision? Then Mattel has some bad news for you.

Hey TG,
Saw a response to another post where you listed various lines that the 4H are doing, but Ghostbusters wasn’t listed, probably just a simple oversight. But I gotta ask, are the Four Horsemen still on Ghostbusters? Or are future figures being done by Mattel in-house sculptors like the 12″ Figures?
Thanks!

While the Horsemen did some work on the original bodies for the 4 main Ghostbusters, the current 2011 figures are done by Mattel’s in-house sculpting department! The Horsemen are busy on DCUC and MOTUC and they can only sculpt so much at once!

Wow. I mean…look, I don’t think it’s geekish overreaction to say this is a pretty huge deal, and something Mattel should have made clear before the Ecto-1 subscription went on sale.

If Mattel knew about this beforehand, and there’s no reason to think they didn’t, then the fact they didn’t announce it at SDCC appears–and possibly was–intentionally deceptive. Everyone knew the Horsemen had worked on the initial figures for the line, and collectors assumed–quite reasonably, I think–that the Horsemen would continue to sculpt the line.

I’m not saying the sculptors in Mattel’s in-house department aren’t talented, but let’s face it, that’s going to be a wait-and-see sort of thing. 4H sculpts are pretty much guaranteed to be good (as long as you like their style, and how the figure looks after Mattel’s production process is a separate issue).

I do understand that the Horsemen are very busy right now, and maybe this was unavoidable, but Mattel should have made that clear up front. Now, thousands of Ghostbusters fans are on the hook for action figures that won’t be sculpted by the Four Horsemen. I didn’t get the Ecto-1 sub, and I have to say this makes me glad I didn’t. This is a huge disappointment.