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My Ghostbusters Childhood In A Box Unboxing Review

 By Paul Rudoff on Apr. 22, 2021 at 11:30 PM , Categories: Real Ghostbusters, Reviews & Merch
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I just picked up some vintage Ghostbusters merchandise, the bulk of which came in one huge lot of about 36 items. Let's take a look at all of the items in this massive lot, which I'm calling "My Ghostbusters Childhood In A Box"...

I actually owned many of these items when I was a kid, but got rid of them (or sold them) at various points in the past 30 years. Then there are other items here that I've never owned at all. Almost all of these items are from the 1980s and 1990s, and are not recent releases (aside from two at the very end), or a Hasbro re-issue.

Some of the items (as noted below) will be re-sold. A large portion will be kept, as I didn't buy the lot just to re-sell it all. All of the books will be scanned in and given to Spook Central VIPs throughout 2022 or 2023, as part of a future Real Ghostbusters Book Preservation Project. A couple of items may be physically sent out to Spook Central VIPs as a holiday gift.

Click on all of the images below for nice, large photographs showing some item details. Also, there are some items that I need help providing background information about. Please post a comment below if you know more about the items I have questions about.

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I'll start by listing the items that I'm re-selling. Feel free to e-mail me with a reasonable offer if you're interested in something in this section.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Proton Pack (Backpack Only)

I'm sure many of you remember this classic blue plastic backpack which measures 14"x10"x3". I owned one, as this Halloween 1988 photo of my 11-year-old self is evidence of. Yeah, 30+ years ago I was still cute. The decals that have been applied to it are worn and aged. Includes straps, which are sized to fit a child, not an adult. As you can see, it does not include the neutrona wand or any accessories.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters No Ghost Logo Armband

This originally came together with the Proton Pack, as my Halloween 1988 photo is also evidence of. It measures 10.75" in length; designed for child arms, not adults. Very minor wear from usage. In good condition, I would say.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters GhostZapper Toy Weapon With Film Cartridge

This fun little item, which I remember owning when I was a youth, displays ghosts on the wall and makes sounds. The cartridge has Stay Puft, Gozer, Slimer, Skull, Terror Dog, and Slug from Ghosts R Us. Requires two C batteries + one 9-Volt battery (not included). I tested it out, and it DOES work! Below is a video I recorded showing all of the ghosts and sounds.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

Play Video


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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Water Zapper Toy Weapon

I don't recall ever owning this item before. It's a simple toy. You fill it with water, then pump the barrel to spray the water. Since I want to keep it dry, I did not test it out, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Play-Doh Box & Parts

Obviously, this is not the complete playset. It's a complete (but worn) box, the 14"x10" placemat (worn, but no rips or tears), the Ecto-1 roof top, and the Ghost Trap Play-Doh presser bottom. I know that I had the complete set 30+ years ago. If you're missing the box, placemat, or these parts, this will help you complete your set.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here. - UPDATE: ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD!

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The Real Ghostbusters Collectors Case, Style No. 20900

Like many of you, I had a large collection of Kenner Real Ghostbusters figures. I would keep them in this case made by the Tara Toy Corp. in 1988, which is designed to hold 12 Kenner figures. It features fantastic drawings on the front and back. The 9"x4"x13" case is slightly dented in at the top and does not include the tray(s) that hold the figures.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here. - UPDATE: ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD!

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Milton-Bradley The Real Ghostbusters: A 3-D Game of Tricks and Traps! Board Game

This classic board game that my family and I enjoyed playing was not originally designed to be Ghostbusters-related. This is just a re-skin of a 1970 Milton-Bradley board game called "Which Witch?" It's near-complete in a worn box. Comes with the gameboard, player pawns with stands, spooky spinner, ghost cards, die, and other game items. It's only missing the Ray Stantz player pawn (the stand is there), the plastic skull, and one ghost card.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here. - UPDATE: ITEM HAS BEEN SOLD!

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Superior The Real Ghostbusters Gumball Machine Coin Bank + Extra Ghost Topper

This unique item was manufactured by Superior in 1987. I think that you fill it with gumballs though a hole in the bottom, then put a coin in the slot and turn it to get a gumball, while depositing the coin into the base. The coin bank itself and its topper show moderate to heavy signs of wear, and it's missing the bottom. The extra topper is in great shape. Its operational status is unknown as a dispenser, so it's best for display use only.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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The Real Ghostbusters Children's Elastic Belt by Lee NYC

Lee NYC manufactured this soft stretchy belt which features the show title logo, the No Ghost logo, and Slimer. It is dirty with wear on the buckle from age and usage. I'm not sure if it can still be adjusted. In its current form, it measures 16". The full length would be 26" if the clip could be moved. I didn't try opening the clip. This is for children, not adults.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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Home-Made/Custom Ghostbusters No Ghost Logo Analog Wall Clock

This plastic clock operates on a single AA battery (not included) and measures approximately 10.25" in diameter. I have TESTED it, and it DOES WORK! The second hand moved around, so I assume the minute and hour hands do, too.

I have this item listed on eBay, which you can buy here.

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These items are NOT FOR SALE, so don't bother asking me if I'll sell them.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters Ghost Trap

A Kenner classic that is in good condition, and it does work. There is a minor crimp in the hose at the spot where it enters the trap, and no matter how many times I try to fix it, it keeps reverting back. I'm happy to have this again.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters PKE Meter

This originally came together with the Proton Pack. Since it's not an electronic item, there was no concern that it wouldn't work. The dial on the front makes an extremely loud click that feels like it's gonna break open the casing. The "display" label is dirty and worn, which is my only real complaint. You know, I look at this, and then I look at the Spirit Halloween PKE Meter, and it shows just how far we've come :-)

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The Real Ghostbusters Colorforms Play Set

This item features plastic/vinyl pieces that stick onto a spooky-looking playboard. I was utterly surprised to find that this is in Like New condition and appears to be complete, with a completely unused sheet of Colorform decals/stickers. This brings back so many memories, as I know for a fact that I had this as a kid and played with it. It's nice to have it back again, and in an unused state!

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Milton-Bradley The Real Ghostbusters 100-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

The drawing by E. Kong - I wanna say it's Emily Kong, but I can't find the artist's own website that used to have her illustrations from these puzzles on them - features Ray zapping a purple ghost in Egon's Workshop area of the firehouse while Slimer cowers underneath a workbench ready to snap open a trap that sits above him. The 11"x16" puzzle is complete and is in overall fair condition for its age. Milton-Bradley made several more Real Ghostbusters jigsaw puzzles. I probably had them all as a kid.

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McDonald's The Real Ghostbusters Happy Meal School Supply Set (1987)

The set includes the Containment Chamber Pencil Pouch, Lenticular 6-Inch Ruler, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Pencil Sharpener (Sealed), Pencil & Slimer Circling Firehouse Pencil Topper (Sealed), and Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Notepad & No Ghost Logo Eraser (Sealed). I'm pretty sure that I sold the set I had since childhood back in 2014 after my father died. That was a set of all-loose items. I never sold my set of Happy Meal boxes. It's nice to have the school supply set back again, and with most items still SEALED!

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Two McDonald's The Real Ghostbusters Happy Meal Bike Accessory Items (1992)

This is not a complete set of the four items that were offered at the time. Included here is the Canadian release of the Egon Spinner, still sealed in its original packaging; and a loose Ecto-1 Siren, which still works. I never owned any of these items before. It looks like I have a set to complete now :-)

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Four The Real Ghostbusters Carnival Hardcover Books

Back in 1989, UK publisher Carnival released a series of 4.5"x7" hardcover books that re-tell episodes of the animated series, complete with images/framegrabs taken from the show itself. Included in this lot were the books "The Revenge of Murray the Mantis", "The Cabinet of Calimari", "Ghostbuster of the Year", and "Drool the Dog-Faced Goblin". There are a few others in the set, all of which I have. At some point in the future, the whole set will be scanned in and turned into PDFs that will be given to the VIPs who support Spook Central.

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Three The Real Ghostbusters Wanderer Coloring Books

Simon & Schuster released several books under their Wanderer imprint in 1987. Included in this lot were three of them: "Activity Fun Book", "Invasion of the School Ghouls", and "On Parade". The latter two are "A Storybook to Color", which just means that it's a coloring book with a story. Surprisingly, all of these books are completely unused with no writing or coloring in sight. Not surprisingly, the pages have yellowed quite badly due to age. Thankfully, since they're all black and white, it will be easy to eliminate the yellowing after I scan them in.

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Golden The Real Ghostbusters Sticker Fun Book

The "stickers" in this book are really sheets of drawings you cut out, lick the dry adhesive on the back, and put in the book in a designated spot to complete a drawing that you can then color in. It's like the old postage stamps that you had to lick. Sticker books these days actually have real, legitimate stickers, not this lick-and-stick crap. You kids these days don't realize how good you have it :-) Like the Wanderer books, this is completely unused and yellowed, but not as badly.

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The Real Ghostbusters Puffy Stickers (Yellow Card)

Made by Henry Gordon International, Inc. (HGII) in 1988, this sticker sheet is brand new and still sealed in its original packaging. I'm happy that they included Winston, and absolutely THRILLED that Janine is there, too. I do wonder why Egon is missing. Surely, he could have been included in place of the second Ray, who is wearing white lipstick and looks possessed! Well, in addition to this set on a yellow card, HGII released two other sticker sets. One had all four guys, Janine, the logo, and the title on a blue card. The other had two Peters, Winston, Janine, Slimer, the logo, and the title on a green card.

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Bootleg Ghostbusters Puffy Stickers

The seller described this as "1980s Ghostbusters Puffy Stickers, international release from Japan". I don't think that's correct. This set of "Puffy Stickers" is definitely a bootleg. There are zero markings on them, other than "Made in Taiwan" and the name "Puffy Stickers". One look at them tells me they're from 1984 or 1985, at the very latest. They reek of being made right after the first movie came out in 1984. Some of them seem like they're ripping off what little official merchandise was available at the time. I don't know what to make of the polar bear in the background of one of the "We Came, We Saw, We Kicked Ass" stickers. (Yes, I know "it's" is missing, though the phrase still works without it.)

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I must have missed him in the movie!

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Topps Ghostbusters II Near-Complete Card & Sticker Set

This should have been a complete set of 88 cards and 11 stickers. Although, technically, there were 88 cards, it was due to the fact that there were two #32 cards ("Back In Action!"), and NO Card #30 ("Who Ya Gonna Call, Judge?"). Otherwise, cards and stickers were in near-mint/mint condition. Once I get a mint Card #30, this will be my third complete set. I already have a near-mint/mint set that I assembled a few years ago from a full box I bought, and I still have the non-mint set I assembled over 30 years ago. That latter set is my "scanning copy".

[UPDATE - 5/4/2021]
I contacted the seller about the missing card, and he went ahead and bought me one from another seller at his own expense. It arrived today. So, now I have two complete mint sets, and my original 32-year-old non-mint set.

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The Real Ghostbusters Soundtrack Album Cassette Tape Copy

This is the soundtrack featuring the pop songs sung by Tahiti. I already own two original copies, so I don't need this copy duplicated on a 1990s-era Memorex 60-minute cassette. One in standard cassette packaging, which I bought 30 years ago. That's the one I opened, have listened to many times, and used to make the MP3s you'll find on Spook Central here. I also have a second copy, sealed in carded packaging, which I bought online over 20 years ago for $10-$15, if I remember correctly. I'm sure that I could get several hundred dollars for it now, but I have no interest in selling it (or opening it). I have enough regrets in my life, especially concerning things I've had to sell from my collection. I'm not letting that be another one. Anyway, I would give this cassette copy to one of the Spook Central VIPs, but does anyone even have a cassette player anymore? Besides me, of course.

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The Real Ghostbusters Pinback Button

The seller described this as a "1986 Real Ghostbusters official button pin". I'm not entirely sure that that's correct. This very generic-looking pinback button with the "The Real Ghostbusters" logo on it DOES look official, and it DOES look like it's from the 1980s, but there are ZERO copyright markings on it (other than "TM" for trademark). Not even a little something along the edge. Could this have been a promotional thing? Even so, I would think there would still be a copyright notice on it. I asked Matthew Jordan, the Ghostbusters Wiki's resident merchandise expert, about this. He thinks that it may have come with birthday cards, but he couldn't confirm that. He said that there's also a chance it came with a Marvel UK comic or a Look-It Magazine, but he couldn't find any concrete proof. If any of you recognize this button, please post a comment letting us know of its origin.

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Kenner The Real Ghostbusters GhostPopper Logo Target

Hasbro just re-released the GhostPopper (reviewed here) with a retro reproduction box that contains this same target. Well, this is the original version of that target. It's been cut out from the original box, is missing the other cut-out piece that goes into the bottom slit to make it stand, and has some wear on it.

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Ghostbusters 2005 DVD

A sealed copy of the DVD of the first movie that was released in 2005. This specific DVD is the dirt-worst version of the movie, with the 2009 Blu-ray coming in a close second. Even the packaging is horrible, with a photo of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on the back captioned as "Stay Puff", and Dana's last name missing the second "T". I would give this DVD to one of the Spook Central VIPs, but I can't imagine any Ghosthead not already having the first movie in a better format. So, I'm not really sure what I should do with this DVD. It's not worth selling, as you could pick it up for $5.00 at Target not too long ago.

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Ghostbusters 2009 No Ghost Logo & Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Keycovers

This is a brand new, sealed set of key covers released by Kalan in 2009. The packaging features the green-glow caution-stripe motif that was popular with Sony at the time.

VIP-EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURE - All 60 images that I took of the items.

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