UPDATE:
We asked Hasbro Pulse on January 16th about the missing “chrome brushed” decals. Through e-mail, the company bounced us around a couple of different people with no resolution. However, we got a response through Twitter as of today, February 14th. It wasn’t exactly what we wanted to hear:
So, the advertised stretch goal item was changed during production, and Hasbro is investigating it. This doesn’t tell me if the issue is going to be fixed for those of us who plopped down $399 for a Proton Pack. While decals sound like a minor issue, telling backers they’re going to get a very specific type of unlock only to deliver something we could print at home for less than a couple of dollars shows me that Hasbro is not dedicated to holding up their end of a deal.
I followed up with Hasbro, asking if the company will send out the correct decals, but I have not heard back.
The original story continues below.
In our review of the Hasbro Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack, we mentioned that one of the stretch goals included “custom 1984 decals with a brushed chrome look.” Unfortunately, what backers ended up getting were standard decals on glossy paper with no metallic shine whatsoever. These were no better than something you could print at home.
Of course, Hasbro has an out with small print that says, “FINAL PRODUCT MAY VARY.” Considering this was part of the first stretch goal, it’s not a good look to send out cheap decals when we are told something different would be included.
The stickers already applied to the pack by Hasbro also lack the metallic look. Was this a cost-cutting move the company hoped no one would notice? It’s bad enough that all of the Afterlife decals were already stuck to the Proton Pack because if you want to replace them with the ’84 versions, it will be a chore.
Additionally, our pack suffered from either faulty wiring in the hose or a bad connector which would cause the Ghostbusters Proton Pack to shut off if the hose was bumped lightly or moved in general while wearing the replica unlicensed nuclear accelerator. This issue was also documented by a backer who received theirs from Zavvi. Other backers also mentioned the hose problem along with other power issues on Reddit.
We contacted Hasbro a couple of days after our review via e-mail and Twitter for comment. HasLab responded with an automatically generated ticket saying someone would get back to us. Unfortunately, as of publishing this article, we’ve not heard from Hasbro.
As far as the pack itself goes, I still stand by my praise. For $399, you do get a beautiful full-sized replica with lights and sounds. However, Hasbro did promise certain things, and the company either didn’t deliver or failed during the QC process.
There is a temporary fix, which involves adding a small amount of electrical tape to the connector. Check it out below:
Other backers have also noticed that the pack shuts off quickly, even with new batteries and the rumble motor turned off. We got roughly 30-45 seconds of runtime in Afterlife and ’84 modes. This isn’t ideal for wearing this replica to a convention. We tried multiple combinations of settings to get the lights to stay on longer, and nothing worked. Thankfully, modders have already started to solve this issue, but it may be beyond what most people are willing to do. These modifications include adding rechargeable batteries and rewiring the system:
In other news, whoever did the artwork for Egon’s journal allegedly lifted an image from an unofficial Ghostbusters source. Bob Moseley from Bob’s Prop Shop noticed that a “sketch” of the Ecto-1 found in the journal might have been sourced from a photo of one of his custom-made replica vehicles. Check out the video below:
[Source: HasLab]
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