The two front doors and the rear cargo door of our 1:8 scale Ghostbusters Ecto-1 partwork model are supposed to have the iconic ‘No-Ghosts’ logo on each one. These doors arrive in Stage 80 (Front Left Door), Stage 91 (Front Right Door), and Stage 102 (Rear Door).

There has been some online disagreement regarding the Ghostbuster Logo stickers they have us apply to the these doors. Regardless of that, I was more concerned about the positioning, size, and texture of using the supplied stickers. Thankfully, the graphics master Mike Lane has released two versions of this Door Transfer Kit mod. While both are more accurate and include positioning templates, one includes a set of vinyl stickers, and the other includes a set of rub-on dry transfers made from special transferable Pantone® inks. You can even get the logo in the traditional style or the rarely-seen ‘Sedgewick’ style.

Since I wanted my door logos to appear to be painted on, I went with the rub-on dry transfer traditional version:

Installation

The Right Front Door (Stage 80)

Step 1

First, use the supplied two-stage cleaning wipes to wet and dry the exterior of the door. A clean and debris-free surface is important:

Step 2

Cut the appropriate positioning template from the supplied card:

Step 3

Carefully align the template to the door and tape it into place. In this case, I aligned the rear and bottom edges as well as the rounded corner:

Step 4

Carefully cut one ‘No-Ghost’ logo from the supplied sheet.

For the Rub-On Dry Transfers – Be sure to include the ‘alignment lines’ above and below the logo:

Step 5

Center the logo in the square notch of the template, aligning the lower alignment line to the edge of the template, and tape the top edge with clear tape, as shown.

Make sure this clear tape is not placed over any part of the logo itself:

Step 6

With the logo secured in the correct place, carefully remove the template from the door.

For the Rub-On Dry Transfers – While holding the clear tape in place, use the supplied black stick Spudger to firmly push the logo onto the door. This should be done with top to bottom movements.

For the Vinyl Stickers – Gently lift the logo and remove the backing paper. Roll the sticker onto the door from the top down.

Avoid pressing on the alignment lines and work slowly. If you see any bubbles, gently lift the logo and press them out:

Step 7

Once you are happy the entire logo has been applied, gently remove the plastic sheet (rub-on dry transfers) and check out the result!

While the vinyl sticker version of this mod is quite durable, the rub-on transfers are very thin (to appear painted on). This looks great, but this also means the logo could become scratched during handling. To prevent any damage from occurring, I have been taping the used clear plastic sheet back over the logo to protect it as I complete the doors and body of the Ecto-1. Ignore the small alignment line at the top, that was still on the clear sheet and is not adhered to the door:

The Right Front Door (Stage 91)

While the Right Front Door should follow the same process as before using the Passenger Side Door template, my updated Right Front Door that arrived with Issue 107 already had a logo sticker on it.

To remove this stock sticker, I gently warmed it with a hair dryer and peeled it off. Then, I used a microfiber cloth and some Tamiya X-20A Thinner (alcohol based) to gently clean off any adhesive residue left behind. You can also use some isopropyl alcohol (IPA), but please do not use any harsh chemicals or hard pressure here or you might risk removing some of the part’s white paint:

The Rear Door (Stage 102)

The Rear Door was the exactly same process as the Right Front Door. Remove the existing sticker and any adhesive, apply the template, rub the new logo into place. Simple and easy and great looking!

Videos

Mike Lane has also created videos on YouTube that cover the installation of each version:

Rub-On Transfers

Vinyl Stickers

Thoughts

Mike Lane made this logo installation as easy as it could be and everything you need is included with the mod. The color is better, the size and position are correct, and the rub-on transfers are so thin it looks like the logo is painted on the door. This is exactly what I wanted!

If you would like your own set of these logos, check out Mike’s Door Transfer Kit page at his site!