Think of the ultimate tool for separating grownup ‘80s kids from their hard-earned cash and it’s hard to imagine it will look any different than what Hasbro’s revealing at the New York Toy Fair this weekend: A Transformers meets Ghostbusters mashup that sees Ecto-1 transforming into a ghost-trapping robot toy. And we are giddy to exclusively show it to you.
Put this character in the next Ghostbusters sequel, please.
Do transforming robots from Cybertron turn into ghosts when they’re dead or deactivated? Neither the ‘80s animated series, nor the recent run of Hollywood Transformers movies have answered that question, so Ectotron, who comes with his own proton pack and paranormal activity-detecting goggles, might only be designed to battle human spectres.
Ectotron transforms from a 18cm-long replica of the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 vehicle to a robot (and back again) in about 22 steps, which isn’t terribly complicated as modern Transformers toys go.
It doesn’t come with the Ghostbusters themselves — you’ll have to leave that part to your imagination — but it does include a transparent Slimer figure so Ectotron will have an actual ghost to bust right out of the box.
The toy will be released in the US early June for $US40 ($56), exclusively available in-store at GameStop. An Australian release has not yet been confirmed.