Saw this over at AICN.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/59942

BTF producer / co-writer Bob Gale apologized for the poor quality of Mattel's Hoverboard. His full statement can be found here:

http://beyondthemarquee.com/16302/

Another hit to Mattel's flagging reputation of quality control. I would imagine those who preordered Castle Grayskull are a bit nervous right now. However, MOTU does seem to be the one line that Mattel does care about so I'm sure Castle Grayskull will turn out just fine.

Non-MOTU collectors will undoubtedly think twice before forking their money over to Mattel in advance for products unseen. This is disappointing because the Hoverboard was such a great idea, and sadly brings us one step closer to Mattycollector's inevitable destiny of becoming only Mastersoftheuniversecollector.com.

Okay, what'd I miss? I wasn't planning on getting it, but what happened with the hoverboard?

YOINKS!!!!

And I don't understand the "Lenticular" issue either. I mean, has anyone been to a DVD aisle lately? It seems like EVERY DVD box (especially Disney) has some fancy lenticular cover. It can't cost THAT much!

UH OH...

http://beyondthemarquee.com/16302/

"Last week, I received the first of my hoverboards. I had seen the review on “Beyond the Marquee” a few days earlier (http://beyondthemarquee.com/15970/), so my expectations were lowered. Nevertheless, I was disappointed. Jon and Steve’s review was spot on, and my issues are basically the same as theirs. The plastic stand is poorly designed and damn near impossible to make work. And although it was indicated that the board would somehow glide across certain smooth surfaces (like carpet), mine certainly didn’t. I too thought the sounds the board makes were underwhelming. But I would have forgiven all of these things if they had just gotten the lenticular quality of the movie board correct. This, in my opinion, is the product’s biggest problem. It’s supposed to be a prop replica so, at a $120 pre-sale price, it should look perfect. But it misses that mark. It’s not a disaster — far from it: the colors, dimensions, weight are great with a solid build quality, and the box graphics are a lot of fun (even though it’s missing the sticker that says “warning: does not work on water!”). And if it was $70, I’d give it an A. But at almost twice that price ($130 now), it is, at best, only a B. And dammit, I expected an A.

[EDIT]

I put myself out there to promote this, so now I want to publicly stand here with egg on my face and apologize. This product, at this price, falls short of the top notch standards that you and I have come to expect for something that carries the Back to the Future brand."

I found it to be WAY too expensive, myself, so I opted out. This makes me even MORE glad that I did so.

Sorry about that. I didn't see your post.

I know better than to try and scoop you guys

Wow, that is pretty bad when someone like Gale is apologizing. Holy moley...

Ive seen a few post at Matty getting taken down for posting the same thing

I'd be more interesting in Gale apologizing for "Mr. Payback".

Was thinking while reading your posts "My God, what a train wreck...", then I see the gif! Genius!

well now bob gale is really trying to confuse people. In this letter he sounds like he is making excesses for it lol


http://www.bttf.com/bob-gale-provides-p ... arison.php

I think its over priced for what it is, but thats Mattel most of the time, but as a fan of the movies it looks pretty good to me

I didn't buy it because I don't normally go in for these types of things. I wanted to, and I did consider it, but ultimately, I opted out.

I also think it was vastly overpriced.

I can walk into any Target or Walmart or whatever and find "snowboards" in the seasonal sled aisle for around $20-$40 that could easily be converted to a "hoverboard" at retail for under a $50 price point.

That being said, I think, based on those side by side images from Bob Gale, the board looks fine. Yes, there are a few minor tweeks I would've liked to have seen made, and some of the measurements seem to be a bit off, but overall, THAT IS THE HOVERBOARD I remember from the film.

Oh well, to each their own. But again, I'm glad I chose to sit this one out.

The problem with Mattel's hoverboard is an unfortunate example of the company's overall strategy when it comes to quality. Mattel made a deliberate decision to cheap out and replace the top hologram sticker with an inaccurate one. Like Bob Gale said, for the price they were charging, it's just unacceptable.

So many other toy companies out there (Hot Toys, Takara, Sideshow, etc.) are making amazing props, figures and collectibles. Their products have the highest possible attention to detail, and collectors are willing to pay a premium for it.

What is just plain wrong, in my opinion, is fooling collectors into thinking they are buying one of these high end prop or collectibles at a premium price, but then pull a last-minute switcheroo on quality or accuracy so they can make an extra $2 profit for each hoverboard.

If a giant corporation like Mattel can't (or refuses to) match the quality that much smaller companies are achieving, then they should stay out of the premium collectible business and stick to making cheap toys.

not saying I disagree with you, but its not like companys like Hot Toys dont also have issues with some of their products.

The thing for me, is Mattel is a mass market toy company, not a high end collectible company, so I wouldnt pay anything that wasnt being sold as a toy from them.

I'm inclined to agree with you too, fball. Mattel is, at heart, a mass market toy company. And maybe they will eventually decide to stick to that genre. But would you really take out and play with a "toy" that cost $120? And use a website dedicated to adult collectors to offer it?

Also, let me provide some quotes of what Mattel stated on Mattycollector.com on their hoverboard offering page:

"Back to the Future™ Hoverboard (Prop Replica)"

"Movie-accurate down to the smallest detail and fully sanctioned by Universal Studios"

"Check out this video featuring a visit from BTTF co-writer/producer Bob Gale to the Mattel studios!"

Sounds like Mattel was marketing a movie accurate prop to me, with full blessings by the filmmakers, and not necessarily a normal aisle toy you would play with. If they absolutely had to cut a detail, why not make it the dumb "whooshing" sound?