MattyCollector "Mattel Hoverboard" discussion

[who45]

Mine shipped on the 14th and I have yet to receive it. Hamilton

you may have had that in the matty despatched email.............. but mine said 4th and according to the label it didnt leave the usa until the 14th.

seems to me the delay is the collection to the postal service.

if yours gets packed up and another 200 packages are stacked in front of yours - theres only "x" amount of space on a vehicle and if yours gets left at the distribution centre while the later packed ones actually get collected - which is why i think the delay has happened on the boards - thats what i think happened to me

 

[Spyhunter2k]

I don't have the board. I didn't buy it. I sticked the Velcro on my new decals, which are plastic laminated. The tape sticks very (!!!) well on the decals. It's just the Velcro that peeled off.

Roland, most two sided adhesive tapes/sheets have an adhesive layer that is too thin to stick well to the rough underside of the velcro. You can use clear sovent-based contact adhesive, such as Goop, to apply the velcro. You'll just have to take steps to avoid a mess, such as taping off both the graphic background and the velcro itself when pressing the velcro down.

Why use medium-bright green?

On most surviving boards, the green velcro looks some shade of light green, with it appearing slightly brighter on some boards than others. Depending on the manufacturer you get your velcro from, you could order velcro that is "light green," "neon green," fluorescent green," or "lime green," and probably end up with something that looks close enough to match at least some screen caps and/or surviving boards.

Same with the pink—depending on the manufacturer, the pink could be order in "neon pink," fluorescent pink," or "hot pink" and potentially be the correct shade. That said, some manufacturers make BOTH a "neon green" AND a "lime green," and BOTH a "neon pink" AND "fluorescent pink." Unless you want to drive yourself crazy like I have ordering a bunch of samples, you kind've just have to go with one...

 

[Benjamoose]

I'm looking forward to getting a set off you when they're ready Roland!

I'll wait till I see your set applied to a board first though. What with you not owning one, I assume I'll be waiting till your first customer receives one, heh heh.

Out of curiosity, do your decals have some form of sticky backing already? Perhaps a peel back? Or will they need something adding ourselves?

Two other questions:
- How will this handle the recessed channel velcro currently present on the standard Matty board?
- Will this be safe to stick over the top of the current decals for those of us that want to preserve the originals. We wont have to remove them to apply yours right?

 

[plasmapulse]

Board received (Netherlands). € 32,- custom duties/taxes. Some air bubbles on the top side. Bottom side is fine. Sides are not very good.

I don't know what to do with it (upgrade, sell it locally as is, ask for a replacement or refund).

 

[U2fan24]

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to share some pics. I made a stand for my mini hoverboard using some plastic packaging from a light switch cover. It blends in really nice on a glass table!

I cut it so that it fits snug over the battery pack

Also here is a foam insert/plug I made for the hole of the hoverboard.

 

[Vinz]

That looks awesome! Very nice.

 

[U2fan24]

That looks awesome! Very nice.

Thanks

 

[Mikado33]

Roland it's for the mattel hoverboard? If Yes i take a full kitt sure

 

[Janum]

Board received (Netherlands). € 32,- custom duties/taxes. Some air bubbles on the top side. Bottom side is fine. Sides are not very good.

Glad to hear it has already arrived "next door", still haven`t received mine and the waiting is killing me. € 32 is a lot of money though...

With razorsharp quitting producing hoverboards, bttf123 not shipping to Europe and my lack of knowledge and skills to build my own hoverboard, an upgraded Mattycollector board is my only shot for now.
Roland`s upgrade kit really is a silver lining, this is why I am still quite optimistic.
If only the Chinese lived up to their promise to ship the V3 Mags soon and my childhood dream of owning a hoverboard and the Mags would become true. I already cleared the central spot on my cupboard in the living room for the hoverboard and the Mags...

 

[Kerr Avon]

These Digital River people are quite possibly the stupidest support line I have ever called. First, their thinly veiled Indian accents with names like "John" and "Shane" Don't even try, it's just insulting to my intelligence.

Second, India has better math scores than the US? Well apparently I got the shallow end of the gene pool THREE times calling them. I ordered two of the boards and my total was $283.67. They never arrived and after constantly getting my 'wait for the delivery' pushed back further and further I gave up, not to mention with the quality being so suspect, that I asked for a refund instead of more boards being sent out. I called and asked for a refund, a few days later I get an email saying $141.84 has been refunded. HALF of what I paid, or one board and shipping for that one board. I at first emailed them and explained the situation and they gave me an RMA to ship back the other board I never received. I called back to talk to someone instead and said I wanted a refund on both, so a few days later I got another refund of $131.10. Now I don't know what system the Rupee or whatever money it is they use there, but they don't seem to understand how a decimal based finance system works. I called back and explained that I was still short $10.73 for the refund and they said they could refund me another $21.

Huh?

They didn't understand, or couldn't count, that they already refunded the first half of total shipping. I had to explain to the person that I only wanted $10.73 back, not another $21. I should have taken their money and run as penalty for making me deal with idiots, but I was too damn honest for my own good.

I swear I'm not sure I want to ever deal with Matty again with the quality of their phone support. Even if the Ecto Goggles they are working on looks good.

 

[Roland]

Roland, most two sided adhesive tapes/sheets have an adhesive layer that is too thin to stick well to the rough underside of the velcro. You can either clear sovent-based contact adhesive, such as Goop, to apply the velcro. You'll just have to take steps to avoid a mess, such as taping off both the graphic background and the velcro itself when pressing the velcro down. ...

Thanks for the idea of using contact adhesive. The seller in the construction market gave me the following adhesive and he was very confident that this will work very good with the Velcro:

To avoid a mess, I will stick the Velcro on white self-adhesive Vinyl sheets and cut them out when the glue is dry and hard. But even if I would cause a mess, it would be prop accurate. Look at the original board on the following picture. :lol

... On most surviving boards, the green velcro looks some shade of light green, with it appearing slightly brighter on some boards than others. Depending on the manufacturer you get your velcro from, you could order velcro that is "light green," "neon green," fluorescent green," or "lime green," and probably end up with something that looks close enough to match at least some screen caps and/or surviving boards.

Same with the pink—depending on the manufacturer, the pink could be order in "neon pink," fluorescent pink," or "hot pink" and potentially be the correct shade.

I had bought a few different "neon", "fluorescent" or "reflex" green Velcro strips and there was no one of them that look like the Velcro on the screen used boards. Not in reality and not on the photos I made. The green was to bright and to yellowish under any lighting conditions. And to be honest: whenever I have seen a Hoverboard replica, that used neon green Velcro, the color looked so wrong on the photos.

So I had searched for any similar green Velcro without fluorescent effect and found the one on my photos above. Maybe it's not exactly the same as the screen used one, but I like it and I'm sure you will like it, too.

... I'll wait till I see your set applied to a board first though. What with you not owning one, I assume I'll be waiting till your first customer receives one, heh heh. ...

My first "customer" is forum member Vinz. He will get my first finished decals for free as a "thank you" for his help with the scans of Matty's original decals. I will start my sale in a few days, but the production and the shipping of the decals will not start before I have the "OK" from Vinz that the Decals don't need any corrections.

... Out of curiosity, do your decals have some form of sticky backing already? Perhaps a peel back? Or will they need something adding ourselves? ...

I use laminating sheets with self-adhesive background. You just have to remove the backing paper and stick the decals on your board. No extra adhesive required.

... Two other questions:
- How will this handle the recessed channel velcro currently present on the standard Matty board?
- Will this be safe to stick over the top of the current decals for those of us that want to preserve the originals. We wont have to remove them to apply yours right?

If you use my extended decals (with Velcro), I recommend that you remove the original Velcro and fill up the channels, for example with cardboard. But I will sell a regular version (decals without Velcro), too.

My laminating sheets stick very good on hard, flat surfaces, so I can't give you a guarantee, that your original decals wouldn't damage if you remove my decals again. I recommend that you remove the original decals before applying my decals.

 

[Ojobenito]

Hi Roland.
New decals look great. I live in Europe and I've just realized that you live in Germany, so maybe I'll save some money on shipping & customs and order a set.
I've some questions though.

First of all, the green velcro. I've seen quite a few original boards (not in person, but on photos and videos), and I think the most correct velcro for green is not light or fluorescent, but the one called "lime green". Don't you think that lime green is better than the "regular medium green"? Pink velcro looks great.

Second, did the original boards have that little border on the sides with no hooks on the velcro on the green stripe? I think that couple of mm were cut off of the sides of the velcro on the movie boards (or at least most of it, there was not much "velcro edge" and mostly was cut off if not completely. Am I right?

Third. Are your decals glossy or matte? Even if the originals were matte, I think a little bit of glossy would fit better so it doesn't look so "cheap" so, how are your decals?

Finally, most of the stunt boards had a silver stripe around the edge instead of a pattern sticker like hero boards or mattel board. I don't like that silver stripe, and I'm curious about that edge decal when it wasn't a silver decal. Were they like mattel's board, with 1 row of little dots alligned? Was it another pattern? Most boards i've seen have that decal missing or very damaged.

Thanks a lot for you effort.

PS: I usually take this overboard on the video below as a reference, because I think is one of the most well conserved boards. You can see the green velcro color, that the green velcro "border with no hooks" I talked about was cut, etc (maybe can we ask for unglued velcro so we can cut that border if we want to?), etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT8Gb1PrQO8

 

[Clock88]

First of all, the green velcro. I've seen quite a few original boards (not in person, but on photos and videos), and I think the most correct velcro for green is not light or fluorescent, but the one called "lime green". Don't you think that lime green is better than the "regular medium green"? Pink velcro looks great.

I would agree to going with "lime" green... This photo (that Roland posted a while back) is a good comparison to the velcro you have on the decal.

 

[Vinz]

My laminating sheets stick very good on hard, flat surfaces, so I can't give you a guarantee, that your original decals wouldn't damage if you remove my decals again. I recommend that you remove the original decals before applying my decals.

Looks awesome so far! The green velcro could be just a HINT brighter, but I think it looks great!

I'll be more than happy to check the details for you. My board is eagerly anticipating the decals. :lol I can also get as many pics as you want, i'll crank my camera to the highest settings possible.

 

[U2fan24]

Hey,
Are there any video links for the new holographic pattern?

 

[sim888]

Just a heads up, board arrived today in Oz, so hopefully that's a good sign for anyone else down under (and other far flung locations!)...


Sent using Tapatalk

 

[chris.jones]

Hi Roland,
Awsome work that you are doing there. Thanks for that so far. I also noticed that you are not having a Matten hoverboard. So if you Need any help or even my hoverboard as a model let me now. I am living in Germany too so the conversation and everything shouldn't be a problem.

Best

Chris

 

[DpM]

Just been told I have a letter at my folks house where I chose to have the board delivered.

Customs charge no doubt

 

[Roland]

Hi Roland.
New decals look great. I live in Europe and I've just realized that you live in Germany, so maybe I'll save some money on shipping & customs and order a set.
I've some questions though. ...

My international shipping costs are the same, no matter where you live in the world. It's just cheaper within Germany. You can save money on customs of course if you live in an EU country, but I don't believe that anyone has to pay customs for my decals.

... First of all, the green velcro. I've seen quite a few original boards (not in person, but on photos and videos), and I think the most correct velcro for green is not light or fluorescent, but the one called "lime green". Don't you think that lime green is better than the "regular medium green"? Pink velcro looks great. ...

Looks awesome so far! The green velcro could be just a HINT brighter, but I think it looks great! ...

I would agree to going with "lime" green... This photo (that Roland posted a while back) is a good comparison to the velcro you have on the decal. ...

You should know that this photo (which is a part of a larger photo) has wrong colors. It has too much yellow and so the green Velcro is too much yellowish, too. I agree that the screen used green Velcro is brighter than mine, but it's more bluish than "lime green".

Last night I ordered another two rolls of green Velcro. Both are brighter than my current Velcro and one of them is even a neon color. Should be delivered tomorrow. Let's wait and see.

... Second, did the original boards have that little border on the sides with no hooks on the velcro on the green stripe? I think that couple of mm were cut off of the sides of the velcro on the movie boards (or at least most of it, there was not much "velcro edge" and mostly was cut off if not completely. Am I right? ...

I don't think that they cut the borders, since the Velcro on the screen used boards is still 1 inch wide. You're right: the border is slightly smaller than on modern Velcro, but I think this was how the Velcro looked in the 1980s. I could offer a version with decals and completely uncut and unglued Velcro, so you could cut it yourself the way you need it.

... Third. Are your decals glossy or matte? Even if the originals were matte, I think a little bit of glossy would fit better so it doesn't look so "cheap" so, how are your decals? ...

The original stunt board decals have a glossy surface and the sheets I use for my decals are glossy, too.

... Finally, most of the stunt boards had a silver stripe around the edge instead of a pattern sticker like hero boards or mattel board. I don't like that silver stripe, and I'm curious about that edge decal when it wasn't a silver decal. Were they like mattel's board, with 1 row of little dots alligned? Was it another pattern? Most boards i've seen have that decal missing or very damaged. ...

I will offer pattern stickers for those people who don't like the silver strip. For the moment I'm not sure, if I will offer a few of them printed on Vinyl or just for download and you had to print it yourself.

My pattern design will be slightly diagonal, not so straight as on Matty's design.

By the way: I have never seen any original stunt board with pattern design on the edges. They all have that silver strip.

... I'll be more than happy to check the details for you. My board is eagerly anticipating the decals. :lol I can also get as many pics as you want, i'll crank my camera to the highest settings possible.

Thanks, Vinz. I really appreciate your help.

Hi Roland,
Awsome work that you are doing there. Thanks for that so far. I also noticed that you are not having a Matten hoverboard. So if you Need any help or even my hoverboard as a model let me now. I am living in Germany too so the conversation and everything shouldn't be a problem.

Best

Chris

Thank you too, Chris. If I should need any additional help, I will let you know.

 

[Wes Santana]

Roland,

Thank you so much for been working on that and to be so generous and open mind for trying other possibilities with the suggestions of our RPF friends!

By the way... talking about minimum details, I didn't notice that before, but in the word "HOVER", the letter "O" it's a little upper in the white stripe above the word. Is that correct at the original board? (I'm asking here right now, but I'll try to find looking for the original pictures). And the yellow of the background of this words, should not be a little bit more orange? (Just a very little bit...?)

And appears that was not just me that was noticing something about the green velcro, right? :lol

I think in the end, we will have a lot of versions to please anyone! But considering your eyesight for details, and all your past work with Back to the Future's Props reproduction, if the green that you choose came better than the others possibilities suggested, that will just confirm once again how good you are in this kind of props accuracy.

And independent about the questions above, for now, I'm very happy with the results.
I think any change now will let the thing itself just a little better that already is!

Thanks again!:thumbsup