ADVANCE LOOK: Mattel's Ghostbusters 2 - VIGO

[JeffSaylor]

Now you see him, now you don't...

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As we approach the final quarter of 2011, Mattel's Ghostbusters Classics toy line continues to grow but at a much slower rate than expected. While several versions of everyone's favorite ghost-catching specialists have all been offered to fans in action figure form, this toy line has been long overdue for some major film-based villains. That changed with the Comi-Con release of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (read our review HERE) and continues this December with the memorable Ghostbusters II villain, Vigo the Carpathian.

Vigo comes packaged in the traditional blister card design that everyone has become accustomed to with the Ghostbusters 2 logo at the top.

The back of the card features the same desktop imagery with a character bio of Vigo the Carpathian.

While the sculpting on this figure features a good amount of detail and is much taller than other 6-inch scale Ghostbusters figures, Vigo does seem a bit toned-down and cartoonish rather than bearing a closer resemblance to the look of the character in Ghostbusters 2. While the head sculpt is pretty cool and evil looking, it looks nothing like the movie. Vigo's outfit however, looks much better and is nicely detailed and movie-accurate.

The paint application on the face is very basic but not horrible. Vigo's unique leather outfit is colored pretty well with some minor dry-brushing and washes but the colors look very similar and there is very little color contrast as a result. Again, this is a very simple figure when it comes down to paint and sculpt and is treated more like an animated version of the character versus a highly-detailed movie-accurate figure.

While there are not too many poses that come to mind for displaying Vigo in, the figure is a bit movement-prohibitive because of the types of articulated joints and his outfit. Unfortunately, the figure cannot even be posed as he appears in the painting since there is no swivel joint at the forearms on the figure. Vigo features the following range of articulation:

- Ball-Socket head
- Ball-Socket Shoulders
- Hinged Elbows
- Swivel Wrists
- Swivel Waist
- Swivel-Hinged Crotch
- Hinged Knees
- Swivel Calves
- Hinged Ankles

Perhaps the coolest thing about Vigo is the packed-in lenticular card with the image of the painting he comes out of in the film. This was a nice added touch by Mattel as the painting is a very iconic element of the character and great display option. The lenticular Vigo painting image shifts from the full portrait of the ruthless Vigo looking menacingly evil to the alternate Vigo-less version.

As an added bonus, the back of the lenticular Vigo painting also features the whimsical portrait of the Ghostbusters in togas from the end of the film. While the Vigo painting was a very nice pack-in, it would have been a lot better if it was mounted on a cardboard stand with imagery of the museum’s surroundings.

While Vigo is not necessarily the best Ghostbusters figure in the line so far, he is definitely the best looking villain... after the gorgeous SDCC exclusive Stay Puft, of course. Vigo the Carpathian will be available exclusively on mattycollector.com just in time for Christmas this December, so keep your calendars marked to purchase your before he disappears!

Review and Photos by Jorge Pelaez

Review Sample Courtesy of Mattel

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