LEGO Ghostbusters Ecto 1 & 2 Review

I have not seen the actual movie yet, but I really wanted to get this set. I needed a car for my Ghostbusters to get around town. LEGO has produced two versions of the Ecto 1, the original with the original cast, and the 2016 version with the 2016 cast. I already have the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters (click here to read my review), which came with the original characters. So, I decided on the newer version of the car in order to increase my ghost-bustin’ crew. Now, before anyone says anything, I do realize that the two teams are not contemporary. But, I figure it is my city, so I can have them coexist if I want to! Plus, two teams helps to fill out my Firehouse a little more. I also intend to build a haunted house some day, so it would be nice to place some Ghostbusters there and not have to empty out the Firehouse to do it. Finally, I like the idea of the car being a converted hearse. I think it is very appropriate for the theme, more so than the original ambulance.

Set Summary

Name: Ghostbusters Ecto 1 & 2
Set #: 75828
Cost: $74.99 CDN
Brick Count: 556
Minifigure Count: 5
Other Figs: 1 (Mayhem entity)
Of Interest: The set contains a motorcycle
Manuals: 1 (143 pages)
Release Date: July 2, 2016

Summary Review: 93%

Value: 80% (Just a touch above the current average brick price, but not bad.)
Build: 100% (Nicely detailed, fits four Minifigs and equipment.)
Minifigs: 97% (Super detailed and numerous Minifigs.)
Enjoyment: 95% (I love this set, and would not change it.)

Review:

VALUE: 80%
With a price tag of $74.99 here in Canada, and 556 bricks, this set costs $0.13 per piece. That is an ok value,hitting the average of $0.13 per brick that I calculated using the LEGO January Catalogue (click here to read my analysis). The licensed sets tend to be a little more pricey, but this one is really not that bad. I give the Ecto 1 & 2 four on five as a value score.

BUILD: 100%
I really like this set. I do not have the original Ecto 1, nor have I ever seen it in person, so I cannot compare the two. But, I can say that this one is very well done. My first thought when I started building was that this was going to be a tank. I feared that it would be disproportionately large, and would look funny in my city. But, I was content with the final product. It is a bit large, but not unbelievably so. It does fit four Minifigures at once, and is technically supposed to also accommodate a coffin. So, I think that the size works just fine.

The details on the car are phenominal. There are some stickers here and there, but all the side panels on the car are printed, and that includes the ones with the Ghostbusters logo. The rooftop has a nice assortment of equipment, the front and back of the car have Ecto 1 license plates, and the rear of the car has space for proton pack storage. I really like that there are opening doors on the sides of the car, and windshield wipers!

The roof of the car is removable to allow easy access for placing Minifigures. There is also a sticker on the dashboard to add some detail. The Minifigures all fit in the car rather nicely. There is the added detail of a parking brake in between the driver and passenger seats. I always love when little details like that are thrown in.

In summary, I really enjoyed the build for this set. The size was initially a concern for me, but it turned out to not be an issue at all. The car fits nicely with my city and is amazingly detailed and functional. I have no complaints, and I give it a full 100%.

MINIFIGURES: 97%
The set comes with five proper Minifigures and one ghost/demon fig (Mayhem from the movie). Mayhem is fully posable, like a regular Minifigure. He has a LEGO skeleton body, a Minifig head, and re-coloured versions of the horns/ears and wings from the Minifigure Series 14 gargoyle. He qualifies as a sixth Minifigure in my book. He does not have a double sided face, nor does he have any printing on his legs or torso. The torso is, however, nicely sculpted, so I will not deduct marks for lack of paint. It is a translucent dark grey to make him appear ghostly, which is appropriate. The same is true of his wings, but they have some printing on them. As a Minifigure, I give him 7/10.

Next up is Kevin. He has a double sided face, one side being normal and the other being possessed. He has a lot of detail with front, back, and side printing on his legs and torso. He comes with a motorcycle as his accessory, and is overall a very nice Minifigure. I give him 9/10.

Then we have the Ghostbusters proper. Each one of them features a double sided face. They also have intricate printing on the front, sides, and back of their torsos. Each one also has a unique uniform. I like Patty’s and Holtzmann’s hair pieces, they are new as far as I know. At the very least, I don’t have them in my collection yet.

Each of the Ghostbusters comes with a buildable proton pack, and at least one accessory from the film. The proton packs differ from the ones that came with the Firehouse Headquarters. The printed tile on each is a little more detailed, and the packs themselves have a more finished look to them as black-coloured LEGO ingots were used to cover studs. While the appearance is a little bit upgraded, the packs themselves are a little less sturdy than the originals, and are able to fold a little too easily. That is a very minor complaint though, and not worth a mark deduction. Each of the Ghostbusters gets a full 10/10 from me.

Overall, these Minifigures get a design score of 93% when it is all averaged out. If you are a Minifigure purist, and do not consider Mayhem to be a Minifig, then you are getting 1 Minifigure for every 111 pieces. Like I said before, I do count Mayhem as a Minifig, which means there is one Minifig for every 93 pieces. That is excellent in my book, and earns Minifig to brick ratio score of 5/5.  The Minfigure ratio score and the design score give these Minifigs an overall rating of 97%.

ENTERTAINMENT:
This set took me about one hour and twenty minutes to build. That breaks down to $0.62 per minute of build time. That is actually fairly good compared to other LEGO sets. It earns a build-time score of 4.5/5. In this case though, for me personally, I don’t feel like build-time is a great indication of the overall enjoyment I will get from this set. I built the set in 80 minutes, but then I spent at least another hour enjoying photographing the set, and I have plans to do a LEGO-fied post with it as well. So, I will get hours of additional entertainment from it.

In terms of my personal feelings for this set, I give it 100%. I would not change a single thing about it. I also love that it is fully compatible with the Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters. It fits into the garage fairly well. You have to remove one of the desks on the ground floor, and the doors will not open (or close) if it is in there, but it does fit. It is awesome to have this car cruising around my LEGO city!

So, based on my first day experiences with this set and my overall feelings about the design, I give the Ecto 1 & 2 set an entertainment score of 95%.

Overall Score: 93%

In conclusion, this is a wonderful set for any Ghostbusters fan. I have not seen the movie, but I love the set design and Minifigures of 75828. The car is spacious and detailed. It fits four Minifigures, and it can be placed inside the Firehouse Headquarters. The price is ok, but the overall score did take a bit of a hit there. All the same, it still earns a high score of 93% overall, and I highly recommend it.

Until next time,

-T.N.B.