Talk about the your favorite Ghostbusters Collectibles from Mattel, Kenner, and more.
#4939973
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fev3s92TVg


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Hasbro above, screen used below.

https://www.ghostbustersmania.it/2020/0 ... rona-wand/

So I'll try to do a review of the Ghostbusters Afterlife Plasma series Spengler Neutrona Wand and compare it to the Matty.

Looks:

Ok so first of all it's heavier. By a lot, which is a good thing because the primary negative side to the Matty wand was the very light weight.

Secondly the new wand is bulkier. Slightly larger overall. Longer and also the gun box is bulkier. Though as I'll list in the negative aspects of the Spengler wand, the prop Hasbro produced is still smaller and thinner than the film used prop. I don't know if that is because Reitman decided to make the throwers more bulky overall in Afterlife than they were in the '84 film.


The decision they made to include a wooden grip on the front and tape on the back I think is the best thing they could change, (because they need new merchandise in the franchise) without changing the prop entirely. Personally I think the wooden front doesn't look great (it's also thinner on the Hasbro prop compared to the real prop, as is the barrel). I think I'd just paint the wood black to get it looking a little more menacing.

Also, losing the authentic front grip like on the Matty means the prop loses that feeling you get when you hold one of these for the first time. The double grip and the position of your hands really makes you think you are holding on to something that is going to go berserk. It's not like a rifle or a gun, but the double offset grip is congruent with needing to hold it strongly when firing.

So the flat wooden front grip kind of loses that.

The tape on the Hasbro prop is placed in a perfect position though so that it actually strengthens your grip on the handle by being better to hold than the bare grip on the Matty.

The lights are also more refined on the Hasbro. Firstly they dim on and off, and not just turn on instantly. It implies more nuanced functionality.

Also the white balance or tint of white used in the top 3 slit lights is darker and yellower. The whole light composition gives the Hasbro a much more sinister and "real" look compared to the Matty. Like it actually does something scary. The Matty I suppose you could consider as a brand new and unused, unweathered brand new thrower maybe.


Functionality:

Ok, the main difference here is obviously the kinetic vibration engine in the Hasbro. It is lightyears ahead of the Matty. The engine is heavier, stronger, but also more refined and able to produce much finer vibration throughout the prop.

Apart from the motor being better, it is also used very creatively. The prop rumbles when you turn it on and rumbles or "hums" differently depending on the selected power output. It also rumbles differently when you are adjusting the power level. The whole thing really feels alive.

I always thought the proton packs and the thrower would have tactile feedback if it were ever to exist in real life. Not just recoil but tactile feedback, like you could feel the rotations of the cyclotron through the thrower (like gyroscopic; resisting motion) and when firing the revolutions and feedback would increase immediately through the thrower and recoil, etc. The Hasbro prop functions exactly like I imagined!

Such creative use of that awesome motor.

Power level adjustment:

Functions exactly like the Matty wand, with the power adjuster dial selecting the power output. No stream, quarter stream, half stream, three quarter stream and full stream. With the bargraph lining up with the 5 circular decals on the right. The Matty only had 2 options, half or full stream, but the Hasbro has all 5. But it's not entirely correct. The lowest setting (empty decal) should have no stream and just be activated. The firing should start with quarter stream, so two lights on bargraph lit.

That also makes sense as the screen used prop from '84 had +1, +2, +3 written on the round power adjust dial. That means, normal mode, +1, +2, +3. So quarter stream, half, three quarter and full stream. 4 modes.

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But it's a small oversight, and doesn't detract from the awesomeness of this prop at all.

I know a lot of people think the bargraph just goes up and down constantly because of that one scene in GB84 on the rooftop. But that makes no sense from a functionality standpoint or the decals. I tend to think that scene was just the thrower calibrating itself now and then to determine the power output.

I'm glad Hasbro did exactly what Matty did as the functionality is really quite evident from the prop, the buttons and the decals used.


Buttons:

The metal switches are lightyears ahead of Matty. They are heavy duty and give a very satisfying feeling when you power it on. It feels real as opposed to light and toylike on the Matty.

The trigger button is also spring loaded like the actual prop and looks more realistic.

The power adjust knob, the end of the clippard and the knob next to it are cool to the touch, indicating they are aluminum. But they feel plastic and much lighter than aluminum. But be sure that they are aluminum. You can remove the 2 screws on the Clippard and take it off, but be careful. On one of mine the bolts on the other side simply fell into the gun body, requiring a lot of work and drilling to take apart the whole thing and retrieve them.

But all in all, turning this thing on is a real experience. Sounds, lights, feedback, etc. Exactly what I had imagined it would be like. You really think it's gonna do some harm.

Also the stationary hum is very impressive.

Firing

When you fire it, the wand tip is also much more creative and realistic than the Matty. I mean, a designer (Kevin Evans?) has what, 3 inches and a few led bulbs to create an engaging effect and they've really hit it out of the park.

Together with the sound and tactile feedback it really feels like it's firing that stream. The Matty feels like it's just lighting up. The Hasbro feels like it's actually firing.

A little disappointing that it doesn't work with the orange beam shooting in and the blue sparks shooting out like in '84 but I think that making it like that would have been less optimal for the firing effect in the barrel.

Also the turning off of the stream is not instant. It actually kind of fades out slowly with sound. Very well done from a creative standpoint. Whoever was on this design team did an outstanding job. The way a movie shows an effect on screen is different from the screen used prop. But making mass produced merchandise that gives you the same effect or feeling is really a skill onto itself. And they did it.


The fact that you have to push the spring loaded barrel back in is weird though. It feels wrong. Like something this complex should not depend on you having to touch and manually push in the tip of something that just fired 25 megawatts of energy. I understand that the screen used prop functioned that way, but in universe it feels wrong and doesn't make sense. No way would they be touching that. But that's my own interpretation.

Does it detract from the value? not one bit.


Videogame functions:

A brilliant decision to include these. You cycle through them with the orange button on the barrel. They are all created to the same standard as the beam. With awesome sound effects and very cool light effects for each mode. From an in universe standpoint it would make no sense that the thrower has those abilities in the same body as used in the '84 film though. The videogame backpack had so many additions to provide that extra functionality. So doesn't make sense but very cool to include.

Negatives and overall comparison between Hasbro, Matty and screen used prop:

Hasbro is thinner and smaller than the movie used prop, with the most obvious place being the thinness of the front grip compared to the screen used prop. Again, I don't know if Reitman decided to increase the dimensions of the original prop to make it look more impressive in the new movie. But the Hasbro is thinner than the Matty as well.

If anyone ever made a run of 3D printed front handles that were thicker and more realistic (maybe even painted and weathered better) and fit over the Hasbro prop, I'd pay good money for it. This prop is just asking for that.

Hasbro, push to retract barrel is a little weird. The screen used prop may have worked this way but in universe it's weird that a user would touch something that just fired 25 megawatts of energy to retract it. The Matty solution (automatic extend/retract) is a more realistic operation.

Hasbro, first activation sound, lower right metal switch, is way too short. It ends abruptly.

Second activation switch, upper right switch, is more impressive on the Matty. The lights power on in stages. On the Hasbro it's just instant.

Activation lights overall are better and more nuanced on the Matty. Flickering on, etc. Well, the Matty does some better, the Hasbro others better. I.e. the grill light fades out on Hasbro and not on Matty. The hat lights flicker on on Matty not on Hasbro, etc.

Bargraph doesn't scroll up and down when hitting the third activation switch on the Hasbro like it does on the Matty.

The Hasbro also fires even if the second activation switch is off. One could argue the second activation switch just enables the bargraph and the grille light but on the whole it makes no sense that that switch would not enable something more that helps getting the wand ready to fire. So it firing with the second activation switch off is weird. The Matty won't and will flash warning lights indicating incorrect operation.

The Hasbro also fires with the barrel retracted, which the Matty doesn’t. The Matty will not fire and blink the red light indicating that you are not operating the wand correctly. The Hasbro just fires which is not realistic or thought through as well as the Matty.

Matty is made of a thinner plastic and is lighter, but the Matty feels beefier in dimensions. The rear and front grip structural tubing is thicker on the Matty giving the wand a beefier feel. The gunbox is larger on the Hasbro wand though.

Power adjust dial and acrylic wand tip are more realistic on the Hasbro. Power adjust dial is actual aluminum.

Clippard is more realistic on the Matty (compared to a R-331 or R701). On the Hasbro they made a sticker attempt to resemble the 3D embossed text.

Trigger button is a little bigger than screen used prop on the Hasbro. It's a little smaller than screen used on the Matty. It is however (visibly) spring loaded on the Hasbro so more screen accurate.

Hasbro metal switches are a little bigger than screen used prop. Matty are more screen accurate but not metal. The feel is much better on the Hasbro though.

Green tubing is thinner on Hasbro than on the Matty and the screen used prop.

Clippard is smaller on the Hasbro compared to the screen used prop (which has a huge Clippard). The Matty wand clippard is slightly larger than the Hasbro.

The slow blo sticker is way too large on the Hasbro compared to the screen used and is often applied slanted. It is easy to remove and straighten though.

Hasbro, barrel release location is too high compared to Matty and the screen used prop. It is much more screen accurate on the Hasbro though as it's metal covered by adjustable green rubber (exactly like the screen used prop).

Hasbro, flat front grip loses the unique Neutrona thrower offset hold.

Hasbro has no infrared receiver and crossing the streams functionality like on the Matty, which goes berserk when you cross streams.

Hasbro weathering is not that great to be honest. Screen used prop looks so much nicer. The silver weathering on the Hasbro comes off (very) easily using a que tipped dabbed in 75% or higher proof alcohol. So easy to adjust.

Gun box grill light transparent slit covers are recessed on the Matty and flush on the Hasbro. I guess Matty is slightly more screen accurate, but seeing as the original prop had no covers at all it doesn't really matter.

Overall the Hasbro is an amazing piece. Much more heavy and solid than the Matty. Much better operation, stronger vibration, firing, stationary hum, etc. Not as beefy looking as the Matty (or screen used prop) though.

The Matty is great too, and the Matty props all had those "weird" undocumented effects. Like the trap would rarely "howl" with this strange sound, and you never knew how it happened or why. The PKE would sometimes activate the wings when turning on, sometimes not. You never knew why. The mysterious audio port on the end of the Matty thrower handle, etc. The Hasbro doesn't include any of those mysterious Matty weirdness but still, it's awesome.

I can't wait for more props.

if these guys ever did a muon trap...
Last edited by One time on October 31st, 2021, 3:39 pm, edited 20 times in total.
#4940096
I don’t have a microscale unfortunately. But the Hasbro I would guess is atleast 2x the weight of the Matty.

PS: I was wrong. The clippard end and other knobs arealuminum. But be careful when you unscrew it. The nuts holding the bolts in are inside the case of the gunbox. When you unscrew the bolts the nuts fall in on the inside of the gun requiring you to disassemble it entirely to get them.

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Last edited by One time on September 30th, 2020, 11:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
#4940111
Just found out the Matty is the only one you can get to turn on like in GB2 courtroom scene (Do, Ray, Egon).

You hit switches 1 and 2. Right side lower and upper switches and make sure switch 3 (left side lower switch) is off.

You wait for the prop to turn itself off due to inactivity.

Then you hit switch 3 to ON like they do in the courtroom scene.

The wand powers on exactly like in the courtroomscene in GB2. Vent light and bargraph turn on. The Hasbro wand doesn’t do anything.

Come on Hasbro guys and gals, a little more attention to detail!
oidoglr liked this
#4940128
Nice in detail review. Thank you.

What is considered to be the correct color of the original lighting and bar graphs?

I really like how the vent light is a warm white color, likely matching the incandescent 2700K or 3000k halogen lamp they jammed in there on the original hero packs.

For those looking remove the rubber tape, there are two filled in screw holes on the back of the rear grip face I haven’t seen mentioned yet. I think the back of the rear grip tube is wider because it’s a fixed cap. Must be how they fit the rubber piece on at the factory with hopefully not too much glue under there.
#4940190
Badmen wrote: September 29th, 2020, 7:52 pm Nice in detail review. Thank you.

What is considered to be the correct color of the original lighting and bar graphs?

I really like how the vent light is a warm white color, likely matching the incandescent 2700K or 3000k halogen lamp they jammed in there on the original hero packs.

For those looking remove the rubber tape, there are two filled in screw holes on the back of the rear grip face I haven’t seen mentioned yet. I think the back of the rear grip tube is wider because it’s a fixed cap. Must be how they fit the rubber piece on at the factory with hopefully not too much glue under there.
You are very welcome. As for the color of the vent light and bar graph; there are so many people (actual builders) who are much more knowledgeable than me here who could answer that better.

If you ask me it comes down to your opinion on weathering. The white of the Matty may look more accurate under certain lighting conditions to certain scenes. The yellow of the Hasbro matches other scenes better.

I've always had a soft spot for the pristine, brand new oiled look OMNI magazine cover pack from '84. Unweathered and brand new. In that regard the Matty wand matches that best.

But I'm starting to value the fact that good weathering really adds an entire dimension to the prop that is intrinsic to the garage made and heavily used nature of all Ghostbusters props. Not having them weathered feels like it's leaving something out.

In terms of the Afterlife movie there is no question. The entire appeal of the Spengler's Neutrona Wand is the 30 year history of it and what has happened, so the insane weathering and yellow white balance of the lights makes it look perfect in my opinion.

Compared to the Matty, it looks much more real and sinister.
#4961460
One time wrote: September 29th, 2020, 4:15 pm Just found out the Matty is the only one you can get to turn on like in GB2 courtroom scene (Do, Ray, Egon).

You hit switches 1 and 2. Right side lower and upper switches and make sure switch 3 (left side lower switch) is off.

You wait for the prop to turn itself off due to inactivity.

Then you hit switch 3 to ON like they do in the courtroom scene.

The wand powers on exactly like in the courtroomscene in GB2. Vent light and bargraph turn on. The Hasbro wand doesn’t do anything.

Come on Hasbro guys and gals, a little more attention to detail!
The Hasbro wand is based on Afterlife movie, not OG. Plus, in the original movies there are scenes where the wand behave differently so it depends just on the special effect of the movie. The Hasbro wand behavior is perfectly coerent with the Afterlife movie and this was confirmed by the guy who worked on the props of the movie.
#4974651
This is an update for the Hasbro wand review.

If you are fans of '84 GB1 then this clip on 84 front grip from Etsy is amazing. It's the single easiest and most satisfying mod I've seen for the Spengler wand. The grip simply snaps on (very rigidly).

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He also has these snap on Spengler font grips which are the right width as the screen used prop.
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What I did:
I wrapped the rear (and front) Hasbro grips with that stretchy black electrical tape. This prevents the barrel from being that squeaky plastic that some of these wands have on the left side of the front grip. The tape also covers up the brown of the front grip and causes the snap on pieces to have a rock solid grip.

The barrel is just that frosted translucent tape.

I haven't sanded and painted the 3D printed grips yet because I wanted to show what they looked like out of the box.

Also Hasbro's own silver weathering is easily removeable by any alcohol that's higher than 90%. I hope they use the same stuff on the Proton Pack.
Last edited by One time on January 18th, 2023, 8:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

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