Behind The Making of Fright Features Egon Spengler Costume

Are you wondering what inspired someone to create a costume out of the classic Fright Features Egon Spengler action figure from The Real Ghostbusters Kenner toyline? Find out what the process was like in our interview with ghosthead Shane Mercado below.

Chad: What was your first introduction to Ghostbusters and what made you love the franchise?

Shane: Well I better introduce myself first! My name is Shane Mercado. People online know me as GoofyDoofy389. I’m from Long Beach, California and I’ve grown up with Ghostbusters for years now. I first discovered Ghostbusters through a parody on my LeapFrog Tablet. There was an app where you could go online and watch videos that were stolen from YouTube and one of those videos was called “Super Mario Busters” from the amazing James Farr. It was interesting to me because I loved Super Mario a lot, but I have never seen it in this way. So a couple of weeks go by and I stayed the night at my Nana’s house. Usually, my grandpa puts on some TV for me and then goes to sleep and I watch till I go to sleep, but on the movie channel that night they were having a Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 double feature. I was obsessed!

I recognized it from the parody, but seeing the movie itself made me realize a whole new world. One I have never seen before. When I got home I told my mom about it and she got a bit freaked out since the Zuul fridge scene freaked her out as a kid, but she thought it was awesome. Then, that year on Christmas, I got The Real Ghostbusters DVD box set and every day after school, after I got my homework done, I popped in a DVD and watched for hours and hours. It was like a magical experience for me. The ghouls and the guys and the designs were beautiful! I remember finishing the series and starting again. So far I’ve seen the entire show about 5 times. I might go for six!

Shortly after, over the years, I was on and off about Ghostbusters since there was a time where I was exploring new things. Then I met a friend named boog. Now, boog is a super swell and amazing guy and he essentially got me back into Ghostbusters when Ghostbusters: Afterlife was coming out. He was working on his own Ghostbusters outfit as well and he was modding a small scale Spirit Halloween Proton Pack and he did an amazing job. I’ve shared anything and everything Ghostbusters with this guy and I still do! He still supports me heavily on my project. I’d say now is the best and highest point of my Ghostbusters hyper-fixation. It’s not stopping anytime soon too!

Chad: It’s always nice to see Generation Z ghostheads, we could use more of them. How much of your friend group is interested in Ghostbusters and what aspects of Ghostbusters are they most interested in? Do you think the upcoming animated Netflix series, Ghostbusters: Night Shift, will bring in more fans from your generation?

Shane: While I have lots of friends that love Ghostbusters, specifically my online ones, I want to say I got my IRL friends into Ghostbusters more. Specifically, my friend Kobe! He was always an Egon Spengler fan, but I got him to watch the series more. I remember dragging him out to Hollywood to go get my The Real Ghostbusters: A Visual History book signed by authors Troy Benjamin and Craig Goldberg, and to also meet Laura Summer, original voice for Janine Melnitz in The Real Ghostbusters, and he loved it a lot and got his Ghostbusters poster signed. I remember making my 3 IRLs sit down and watch the movie at a sleepover, Kobe obviously loved it and so did Antonio. Codey was crushing on Sigourney as Dana Barrett, but he liked it which was great! I do think that they would have interest in other future Ghostbusters projects. I think that Ghostbusters: Night Shift will be bringing in more fans which I think is a great thing! While I may not know too much on the series, I do know that other Netflix projects have brought fans to many other things. I have high hopes that Ghostbusters: Night Shift will bring more fans from my generation and also newer generations!

Chad: You have gained a reputation on Twitter as a Janine Melnitz fanatic, going so far as calling yourself a yumeshipper. What about Janine, specifically, appeals to you? Is your fondness limited to the original Janine from The Real Ghostbusters or do you dig the later revisions equally?

Shane: Ahaha, I knew there was going to be a Janine related question! So this goes down quite the deep rabbit hole for me, but I’ll explain it the best I can. This all started when I was about 15. I was getting back into Ghostbusters and I met some more awesome Ghostbusters fans who were also yumeshippers and so I joined their Discord server since I wanted to make more friends, of course. This was around the time I was re-watching The Real Ghostbusters and one fateful day I watched the episode “Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster”. From then on, history started.

For me, what appeals to me about Janine is how brave she can be. There are times where, sure, she’s scared, but even the Ghostbusters get a little scared sometimes. She is a strong and amazing woman. Her design and personality is so unique it’s like no one I’ve ever met. I fell in love, which as embarrassing as it is to admit, I’ve never felt before! Since then, I started a Yume alt account under the name “JANINEKISSER3042”. I know, but I’m serious! My focus of Janine does mainly apply to the first and only true Janine design to me, the original. Laura Summer does an amazing job with voicing Janine. As I mentioned earlier, I got a chance to meet her. She was shocked when she saw a 16 year old Gen Z with a Janine Animation Cel! I never said I had a crush on Janine, but I did tell her that Janine was a huge comfort character of mine and she said she was glad she was able to give Janine the voice of my comfort character.

While I don’t exactly hate the Janine redesigns, I just can’t accept the fact that they destroyed such a beautiful woman and turned her into a regular motherly-type character. I did like the redesign that resembled Ghostbusters 2 Janine, but that’s probably the only redesign I truly liked.

Chad: I couldn’t help but notice when you started working and sharing photos of your unique costume based on The Real Ghostbusters Fright Features Egon Spengler from Kenner toys, which was recently reissued a few years ago. What was your first experience with this toy and were you aware of it before the reissue hit?

Shane: So for me, I saw this toy in a YouTube video for The Real Ghostbusters toys since I was a wee little lad. I used to love watching toy videos, especially Ghostbusters toys. I got this toy as a Christmas gift when the reissues hit. I personally also loved the design so much! I always thought to myself that it would look amazing as a suit and it has always been in the back of my head till I started to finally work on it. Sadly, I lost mine a long time ago and I still haven’t gotten another one yet, but I think I will soon. I still have my Fright Feautres Ray and Janine sitting on my shelf. I think it ought to be time to complete the set with the reissues!

Chad: You told me making a Fright Features Egon Spengler costume was a dream of yours for awhile. What about this classic action figure made you want to bring it to life?

Shane: So, originally, I used the Fright Features Egon Spengler outfit for a self-insert concept. I used the outfit, since I always have short hair. Instead of having unique hair, I decided to have a unique outfit instead! It’s also always been my dream to be a part of my local Ghostbusters group, the Orange County Ghostbusters, ever since I saw the Ghostheads documentary. I was going to go with the standard movie style costume, but then I really thought about it and I thought “Nah, I think I’m gonna do a build from The Real Ghostbusters” since I had a much deeper connection with the cartoon.

However, instead of doing an outfit that’s based off of the original Ghostbusters — which I have seen plenty of, I thought it would be cooler to do an outfit that’s based off the Fright Features Egon figure. My suit isn’t 100% accurate. If you want a cosplay that’s true to the Fright Features Egon outfit, I would highly recommend checking out Borzou over on Instagram. He did a purely accurate outfit and even helped me a bit on finding certain things. I couldn’t do it without him!

Chad: What was the most difficult part of the construction process? What have you learned along the way while putting it together?

Shane: I’d say it was the sewing part. While I have learned to sew patches on from my battle vest, which I still need to finish, I think the time and patience it took to sew everything down was the most stressful part. The placing, the threading and the sewing of course! I know that most Ghostbusters fans usually iron-on their patches, which is okay, but there was a little man in my head screaming “SEW IT ON!”. I have, however, learned how to properly sew fabric on for the red shoulder pads. I think they came out as perfect as they could and I’m super proud of them.

Chad: The most recent photos you shared on Twitter are absolutely wonderful! What are some things you would like to add or improve upon?

Shane: I still have lots of stuff planned for this outfit! I’m surprised that people love the outfit so far, even though it isn’t even close to done. In my eyes, while the outfit itself is done, there is still so much I want to do. I have red boots that are coming in today as we speak and elbow pads arriving soon. I already placed an order for Real Ghostbusters Ecto Goggles and a Belt Gizmo by EctoProps. Then, I want to save up for a PKE Meter from EctoProps as well.

My ultimate goal is to get a Real Ghostbusters Proton Pack and also a Ghost Trap too! I sadly missed the opportunity to get one from the amazing VikingProps. However, I did send an email to see if they were restocking by chance. I did find someone that’s here locally, so my best bet is to commission them when I get enough money. I also want to add more patches. I love patches, a little too much! I also want to add as much Janine Melnitz stuff as possible so if anyone has any Janine pins or buttons, PLEASE! I will pay top dollar!

Chad: Now that the costume is nearly complete, do you have any plans for public appearances? Will you be donning this for Halloween?

Shane: Like I mentioned earlier, I really want to join my local Ghostbusters group —the Orange County Ghostbusters. I got the amazing opportunity to meet them a couple of times and they are awesome! They even have their own Janine Melnitz! Her name is Andie and she’s super awesome. Vic, the UPS driver, is also an amazing guy. He spotted me when I first saw them with my Ozzy back patch.

When I turned around, and they saw my Ghostbusters stuff, they wanted photos with me and I brought up the idea of joining. I got their card and I have sent an email, but I haven’t heard back yet, which is okay! I want to make this outfit the best it can be. Yes, I will definitely be wearing this for Halloween. There is a house that does a Ghostbusters theme every year and it would be a good opportunity to show up and be a wild Ghostbuster in nature! If not, it’s okay, I’ll go as Not Man from Anthrax!

Chad: Thank you for your time! Is there anything more you would like to share with the community? Anything Ghostbusters-related you are looking forward to?

Shane: Of course, and thank you for this amazing interview! I have never done anything like this before. It was both scary, but also exciting to be able to share about myself to the amazing Ghostbusters community! I am heavily looking forward to the reveal of Ghostbusters: Night Shift and, also, to see what Sony has planned to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Real Ghostbusters!

I’d also like to share some advice for everyone. For ghostbusting advice, keep a bright smile. Have a fun attitude and never be afraid, because remember, you are the face of Ghostbusters to someone! For general advice, I want to say this. If you are every feeling like you are at rock bottom and are stuck in the dumps, take the energy you are using to be upset and put it towards improving yourself. 5 months ago, I was going through pure hell. A woman I loved, even though we broke up, started dating another person and bragged how amazing he was. I had no job, I made a grave mistake and lost a friend that I have known since middle school and I developed an eating disorder where I eat when I’m upset.

Then, I realized I cant just give up like this. So I got up and I pounded the pavement as hard as I could. Now I have a job, a REAL job. I made up with my friends, while we may not be friends anymore we are on very good terms. I may still be single, but thats okay. I’d rather have Janine instead! As the amazing thrash metal band Anthrax once said, “Life can be a real ball”!