Originally published September 5, 2017. This page preserves a historical announcement or event; availability, dates, and pricing are no longer current.
I have to say, I was a little taken aback by the news that Sideshow Collectibles is selling Blitzway now. It initially felt unusual to see another figure manufacturer’s products in Sideshow’s catalog. As strange as it is, it is definitely a move that will make plenty of collectors happy especially those wanting to pick up the Blitzway Ghostbusters figures.
Sideshow and Payment Plans
The main benefit is access to Sideshow’s payment plans for Blitzway collectibles. At the time, the site offered the Ghostbusters figures only in packs. This is really a significant amount of money to spend at once. Since they are shipping next month, you only have two months to split the payment into, but hey, better than nothing.
I mentioned this when Molecule8’s John Lennon went onto the Sideshow site, and while I have plenty to say about that project now, the main point still stands: this is just very nice for collectors. While there are other retailers who offer payment plans, it is nice to have the ability to keep everything centralized with Sideshow.
The Ecto-1 and Upcoming Releases
It is going to be coming soon, and when it does the Ecto-1 will not be cheap. Seeing it in person reinforced that impression: the model is large and highly detailed. Blitzway founder Won Choi told me at Comic-Con 2017 that the prototype alone cost $300,000 USD to build. Some of these details are awesome, but are not conducive to spending money wisely. Luckily the Payment Plan will help break that down a bit when it finally goes up for order. However, there is one more thing about this little partnership that I think is significant.
The Ghostbuster packs and the Tyler Durden figures are the only products available from Blitzway on Sideshow at the moment. I would imagine that will change shortly. This is 100 percent speculation, but I cannot imagine Blitzway would make this move if there was not more coming.
We just had Hannibal and Sharon Stone announced, hopefully more is on the horizon. This is of course just me crossing my fingers since I love Blitzway’s products. Regardless of what the future holds, the fact that Sideshow Collectibles is selling Blitzway figures now can only be good news for collectors.
Reading this order announcement today
The payment plans and delivery estimate above refer to September 2017. The Ecto-1 was a separate vehicle, not part of the Ghostbusters figure packs discussed here.
Distinguishing the Original Figures From Later Versions
This announcement concerns the Ghostbusters figures being offered in 2017. Blitzway now also has products explicitly labeled ver.2, including a Special Pack with Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore. The later package advertises additional portraits and Slimer. Its packing list should not be read backward into an order announcement for the earlier figures.
For an original set, identify the release on the box before comparing loose accessories or assuming a bundle is complete. A group photograph can include a vehicle or extra prop that was purchased separately. The Ecto-1 discussion above is particularly easy to misread because it appears beside the figure packs, but it concerns a separate collectible. Keeping the figure release, bundle contents and vehicle separate gives a much clearer picture of what the original order covered. The historical payment schedule explains how that order was offered at the time; it does not describe a plan available today.
