Playmobil Ghostbusters Archival Materials (Apps, Comics, Coloring Pages, Manuals)

From May 2017 to October 2020, German toy maker Playmobil released a series of figures and playsets based on Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, and The Real Ghostbusters. The sets are no longer being manufactured, because Playmobil no longer has the Ghostbusters license, so much of the materials related to the toyline are no longer online. Thankfully, a lot of it has been saved by fans, such as myself and Matt Jordan.


To go along with the toys, an official Playmobil Ghostbusters game was created. Your character - either created, one of the four guys, or Ghostbusters II Janine - runs around the firehouse zapping and trapping ghosts. Ghostbusters News uploaded some gameplay video years ago.

Ghost alert at the Ghostbusters Firehouse! A blackout has caused a mechanical failure in the containment unit. All captured ghosts have been set free! Grab your proton pack and catch as many as you can...

• Choose between five different PLAYMOBIL Ghostbusters, or create your own Ghostbuster.
• Catch as many ghosts as possible and dump them in the containment units.
• Watch out! Whenever the timer runs out, more ghosts are released.
• Use the fireman's pole for a faster escape.
• Upgrade your skills and equipment step by step.
• Become a Ghost bustin' master!

The Android version of the game was located on the Google Play store at url ID "com.playmobil.ghostbusters". It's no longer there, though APKPure still has the description and screenshots. They also have both versions of the game archived, though I am providing them below for permanent archiving.

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Requires Android 4.3+
• Version 923 (May 11, 2017) (68.9 Mb) - What's New: Improved game performance on P.K.E Meters, fixed some paranormal bugs.
• Version 916 (April 27, 2017) (73.1 Mb)

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS: View this page on your mobile device, download the app .apk file to your device, and install it as per these sideload instructions. (Should that link die, just Google search "sideload Android".) Please don't e-mail me or post a comment asking how to install this. The information is out there.

An Apple iOS version of this app was made, and the official page for it is still online as of this writing, but I do not know if it can still be installed or downloaded. As far as I'm aware, Apple doesn't allow sideloading, so if they're not providing it, I think you're out of luck.



In February 2018, the "Playmogram 3D" app was created to allow for some interactive fun with the four Ghostbusters II figures, as well as with an unrelated "princess" series of figures. Instead of a pack-in ghost, each of the Ghostbusters came with a ghost trap and an inverted pyramid ("hologram cone"), which can be attached to the trap. Place the trap on your smartphone/tablet screen, while the Playmogram app is running. and you'll see a ghost hovering over the trap. You'll see it better if you use the included black paperboard "darkening cover". Press the "trap" icon in the app to trigger a trapping animation which makes it look like your "real life" trap is sucking in a ghost. You can see this in action in my Playmobil Spenglers review. The first version of the app only included four ghosts. The second version, released a year later, added two new ghosts in honor of the Ghostbusters 35th anniversary. These new ghosts were branded with the 35th anniversary logo on the ghost selection screen, where they are listed first. All of my screenshots can be found at the Ghostbusters Wiki, and also downloaded in this zip file.

Experience magical PLAYMOBIL holograms with your smartphone or tablet! Turn your smartphone or tablet into a hologram projector with the exciting new PLAYMOGRAM 3D sets! Whether in the glittering realm of ice princesses, or in the thrilling Ghostbusters adventures, PLAYMOBIL fans can now immerse themselves in a magical virtual world, thanks to awesome hologram effects! Each of the play sets includes a PLAYMOGRAM 3D pyramid and a PLAYMOBIL figure with complete Ghostbusters equipment or animal companion. To start the virtual fun, just download the free PLAYMOGRAM 3D app, select a ghost or animal, and place the hologram pyramid on the marker on the display. Just like magic, the characters are suddenly hovering in mid-air. With the touch of your finger, you can catch the ghosts in the trap and release them again, or you can freeze the enchanted animals to glittering ice sculptures. Immerse yourself in the digital Playmobil world!

The Android version of the game was located on the Google Play store at url ID "com.playmobil.playmogram". It's still there as of this writing, but will surely be removed at some point. APKPure still has the description and screenshots. They also have both versions of the app archived, but I am providing them below for permanent archiving.

DOWNLOAD THE APP
Requires Android 4.1+
• Version 2.0 (January 28, 2019) (77.7 Mb) - What's New: Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary, We have two new ghosts for you to catch!
• Version 1.0 (February 21, 2018) (75.2 Mb)

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS: See above.

An Apple iOS version of this app was made, and the official page for it might still be online (the page doesn't load for me) as of this writing, but I do not know if it can still be installed or downloaded. As far as I'm aware, Apple doesn't allow sideloading, so if they're not providing it, I think you're out of luck.

There was also a Walmart-exclusive Slimer (2016 film) trapping video. Although it was part of an unrelated phone deal promotion (as detailed in my Playmobil Spenglers review), it can be used with the Playmobil trap. You can download it here: regular and flipped. On January 26, 2018, a promotional video for the Ghostbusters II figures and Playmogram app - titled "Playogram 3D Ghostbusters II" - was uploaded to Playmobil's Youtube account. The video has since been made "private", essentially rendering it "deleted", but I saved a copy.





This would be a good time to look at some of the other commercials and promotional videos, since I have many of them saved. They're all pretty self-explanatory, so I'll just list the ones that I saved without any further description. Just like the video above, all of these have since been made "private" on Youtube, aside from the first one. Please be aware that I uploaded all of my original files, with no alterations to the video dimensions or audio volumes.









Sometime around May 29, 2017, Playmobil created a 14-page digital comic book to help promote their line of Ghostbusters toys. It was available for download from www.playmobil.us/play/ghostbusters/ (one of two Playmobil Ghostbusters sites, the other being ghostbusters.playmobil.com). The website is long gone, but the comic PDF files still remain on their servers. Urls are listed below for reference. You don't need to use them because they have all been archived here. Click on the language names below to download the locally-hosted files.

• English "Who You Gonna Call?": http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COMIC_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_01_EN
• English "Something Strange Again in the Neighbourhood": http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COMIC_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_01_nordic_en
• Spanish: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COMIC_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_01_ES

I have not sussed out any other languages by changing the two character code at the end, so there might be more.



Along with the comic book, there were some coloring pages and activity sheets. Matt Jordan saved these, so you have him to thank. Again, the files still exist on Playmobil's server (urls listed below for reference), but they have all been archived here. Click on the names below to download the locally-hosted files.

COLORING PAGES
• The Guys: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_01
• Peter & Slimer: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_02
• Stay Puft: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_03
• RGB Winston with Aqua Scooter: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2018_01
• RGB Guys: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2018_02
• 35th Anniversary: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_COLORING_GHOSTBUSTERS_2019_01

ACTIVITY SHEETS
• ID Badge: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_ARTS_GHOSTBUSTERS_2017_01_en_US
• Dominos - English: http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_ARTS_GHOSTBUSTERS_2018_01_en
• Dominos - Spanish:http://playmobil.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/PLAYMOBIL_ARTS_GHOSTBUSTERS_2018_01_es



These have all been archived on the Spook Central Patreon page, where you can download them all in a zip. If you only want to download individual manuals, they have also been archived on the Ghostbusters Wiki on the respective product pages.

• 9219 GB1 Firehouse
• 9220 GB1 Ecto-1
• 9222 GB1 Slimer with Hot Dog Stand
• 9223 GB1 Venkman and Terror Dogs
• 9224 GB1 Spengler and Ghost
• 9346 GB2 Spengler
• 9347 GB2 Venkman
• 9348 GB2 Stantz
• 9349 GB2 Zeddemore
• 9385 RGB Venkman with Helicopter
• 9386 RGB Spengler with Cage Car
• 9387 RGB Zeddemore with Aqua Scooter
• 9388 RGB Stantz with Skybike
• 70170 GB2 Ecto-1A
• 70318 Ghostbusters Playbox



Finally, some odds and ends that didn't really belong in the other sections.

1. Playmobil's original press release (dated June 21, 2016) announcing the partnership was saved by the Internet Archive.

2. When I wrote my Playmobil Spenglers review in May 2018, I took a lot of photos and scanned in all sides of the box and the manual. These have all been archived on the Spook Central Patreon page.

3. In 2019, in an effort to compete with the highly-successful The Lego Movie (2014), Playmobil: The Movie was released. The Ghostbusters Ecto-1 has a quick cameo, as seen in this video. The car's iconic siren is heard as it passes by.

That's all I have for this. There might be some small minor things missing, but all of the major stuff is here. If you want to buy any of the Playmobil Ghostbusters toys now, you might be able to find some of the figures of the guys (from Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters II) reasonably priced from Amazon Marketplace sellers or other aftermarket retailers. Expect to pay double the original price for Slimer and The Real Ghostbusters figures. Triple or more for the Ecto-1, Ecto-1A, Firehouse, Stay Puft, and the rest. Yeah, we all should have tried to complete our collections while these were still "in print". Shame that Playmobil didn't keep the license for a longer period of time.