Marty McFly's Skateboard - Valterra Splatter Deck Conversion

[DeLoreanDMC81]

James, do you mean if I made them when would they become available? I just want to make 100% sure that's what you mean.

First I'd have to get my hands on a great pair of copers that everyone's happy with. I'm not sure how to accomplish that yet. Someone will have to take a leap of faith. After that, I could make the mold in just a few days. The originals would be completely unharmed and immediately returned. Then, it's just a matter of my doing the castings and making sure they come out the right color. Certainly if everyone wants me to do this, the whole process would happen on the table for everyone to see, comment on, etc... I'm down to do it, if that's what enough of you would like. The end result would be copers identical to the originals. I know some of you here don't know me very well, but I know my way around making molds. These copers should be a cakewalk.

Yes sir, that's was my question. I would have no idea where to even find a pair at?

This may be a stupid answer, why not take the one's off the hero board and make a mold of them? That way you wouldn't have to go out a find any. And all you'd really have to do is mold just one of them, since they are both the same, right?

If not you may have to buy a pair from Z Flex, trim them down and mold them.

Just some suggestions.

James

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And Emma, your board looks absolutely amazing!

Cheers!

James

 

[Dream34]

I have received replies from both Joe with WGB and Shane with Madrid, for the record let me say that neither of them have anything to do with the cluster and miscommunication dealing with the boards, they are simply trying to clean up the mess of another person who has consistently said one thing, then done another (or nothing at all). The person that created this mess and the issues is likely going to face some consequences much further up the food chain. I just wanted to clear the air as Joe is taking the heat for this and dealing with rectifying issues that were never in his scope of responsibility. He has also been very responsive to many requests regarding the screen used board(s). He really is a 1st class guy and when he's in my home town I'm picking up the tab for some drinks.

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

And Emma, your board looks absolutely amazing!

Thank you!

 

[Dream34]

Based on what Knightlife has told us about the trucks on the screen used board being Trackers I decided to do a little research. Going in I knew they were not "Ultra Lights" as those trucks have a distinctive base plate that over the years has been made from various materials including nylon and carbon graphite but never metal. In addition the ultra light base plates differ in design from the metal ones and that design is not consistent with those on the screen used boards. In the photos provided by Knightlife you can clearly see the base plates are metal because the paint has worn off in several spots revealing metal underneath. I then thought it was possible that the trucks were six tracks which are just like the ultra lights, but with a metal base plate. The problem is that based on what we see in the screen shots and photos of the screen used boards the hangar length appears to be about 5". For reference the Sure Grip Invader 800 trucks used on the 25 anniversary replicas had a hangar length of just under 5" and they appeared very consistent with the size of the trucks on the screen used boards. At the time the boards were assembled in late 1984-early 1985 Tracker manufactured a truck called the extrack, which has an axle length of 8" and a hangar length of 5". They apparently still make this truck, but only in polished aluminum. I'm going to pick up a set, paint them black and see if they look correct. Here is a link to the trucks on trackers site http://trackertrucks.com/product/classic-tracker-ex-tracks/ They only have a photo from one angle; however if you search for images you will notice that the base plates and axles of these are consistent with the trucks on the screen used Valterra decks.

 

[knightlife]

Based on what Knightlife has told us about the trucks on the screen used board being Trackers I decided to do a little research. Going in I knew they were not "Ultra Lights" as those trucks have a distinctive base plate that over the years has been made from various materials including nylon and carbon graphite but never metal. In addition the ultra light base plates differ in design from the metal ones and that design is not consistent with those on the screen used boards. In the photos provided by Knightlife you can clearly see the base plates are metal because the paint has worn off in several spots revealing metal underneath. I then thought it was possible that the trucks were six tracks which are just like the ultra lights, but with a metal base plate. The problem is that based on what we see in the screen shots and photos of the screen used boards the hangar length appears to be about 5". For reference the Sure Grip Invader 800 trucks used on the 25 anniversary replicas had a hangar length of just under 5" and they appeared very consistent with the size of the trucks on the screen used boards. At the time the boards were assembled in late 1984-early 1985 Tracker manufactured a truck called the extrack, which has an axle length of 8" and a hangar length of 5". They apparently still make this truck, but only in polished aluminum. I'm going to pick up a set, paint them black and see if they look correct. Here is a link to the trucks on trackers site http://trackertrucks.com/product/classic-tracker-ex-tracks/ They only have a photo from one angle; however if you search for images you will notice that the base plates and axles of these are consistent with the trucks on the screen used Valterra decks.

Wow. Those do look right. It would be amazing if those end up being correct. Nice work, Dream34.

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I have received replies from both Joe with WGB and Shane with Madrid, for the record let me say that neither of them have anything to do with the cluster and miscommunication dealing with the boards, they are simply trying to clean up the mess of another person who has consistently said one thing, then done another (or nothing at all). The person that created this mess and the issues is likely going to face some consequences much further up the food chain. I just wanted to clear the air as Joe is taking the heat for this and dealing with rectifying issues that were never in his scope of responsibility. He has also been very responsive to many requests regarding the screen used board(s). He really is a 1st class guy and when he's in my home town I'm picking up the tab for some drinks.

Thank you, Dream34, I appreciate that a lot.

 

[OUTATIME1978]

Knightlife do you have any track info from the pm I sent a few days back?

 

[Spyhunter2k]

Based on what Knightlife has told us about the trucks on the screen used board being Trackers I decided to do a little research...

Wow. I do love some good research!:thumbsup

I think the explosion deck is the closest we can get as far as new decks available. I wonder how much $$ it would take to trim the deck down slightly to the shape of the Marty deck (I hesitate to call it the "Valterra" deck since it's now all-but-established that the screen-used boards were actually higher level, slightly concave Madrid decks in Valterra clothing).

In the end, I'm wondering how close to $300 I'll get by buying an explosion deck, Tracker trucks, Fly wheels, Flypaper grip tape, Z flex angled copers, orange bushings (what brand/source?), bearings (what brand/source?), Madrid stickers, etc., and nylon or silk-screen graphics...

If we get established sources for all of the necessary components that will give us a board in the end that is just as accurate, or more, than the official repros, for less money, then that will be really cool. I still think it's awesome that Madrid is offering an official repro, and the one I have will always be with me, but I'd like a second that I can actually ride...

@knightlife, what do we need to do to get the COA from you or Madrid? Call them, PM you? Will our name and order number be the only info you need? Should we wait to request this until the other stuff (correct copers, extra stickers) are ready, or go ahead and request these now? Thanks!

 

[knightlife]

This may be a stupid answer, why not take the one's off the hero board and make a mold of them?

James, sometimes the answer is so close you just don't see it. That's a great point. I'll could ask Jerry Madrid if I can just mold the copers from his production board. He shouldn't have a problem with it. Great idea. Couple things to consider, these copers would come out of the molds with all the wear that are on the production board. I'd mold them both so that the wear on the front and rear copers isn't identical. Also, the decals would be molded in. I doubt once you put another decal over that spot, you'd even notice, but that is food for thought.

BUT, while I was at Madrid, the day before yesterday, they dug a lot in the warehouse and actually found ONE white, flat-bottomed coper. They also found a stash of black, flat-bottomed copers. They said they have an excellent white plastic paint and said they can absolutely paint them white. Madrid is more than happy to work with me to swap out replacement copers to everyone here who wants them. The copers are the brand Maxi-Lite and have the logo on the flat part. Madrid said they would just gently sand off the logo and and paint them white.

Anyway, here are probably the best two solutions. I don't know if we can really do it both ways, so maybe you guys should vote.

Also, I got a stack of the coper stickers from Madrid to distribute to you guys. Send me a PM. These are for those of you who already have flat-bottomed copers. Whether I mold and cast new copers for everyone or we go the Madrid route, the new ones will come with stickers, so please ask for them unless you have flat-bottomed copers already. I need to not run out before I make good with those folks.

 

[Spyhunter2k]

James, sometimes the answer is so close you just don't see it. That's a great point. I'll could ask Jerry Madrid if I can just mold the copers from his production board. He shouldn't have a problem with it. Great idea. Couple things to consider, these copers would come out of the molds with all the wear that are on the production board. I'd mold them both so that the wear on the front and rear copers isn't identical. Also, the decals would be molded in. I doubt once you put another decal over that spot, you'd even notice, but that is food for thought.

BUT, while I was at Madrid, the day before yesterday, they dug a lot in the warehouse and actually found ONE white, flat-bottomed coper. They also found a stash of black, flat-bottomed copers. They said they have an excellent white plastic paint and said they can absolutely paint them white. Madrid is more than happy to work with me to swap out replacement copers to everyone here who wants them. The copers are the brand Maxi-Lite and have the logo on the flat part. Madrid said they would just gently sand off the logo and and paint them white.

Anyway, here are probably the best two solutions. I don't know if we can really do it both ways, so maybe you guys should vote.

Also, I got a stack of the coper stickers from Madrid to distribute to you guys. Send me a PM. These are for those of you who already have flat-bottomed copers. Whether I mold and cast new copers for everyone or we go the Madrid route, the new ones will come with stickers, so please ask for them unless you have flat-bottomed copers already. I need to not run out before I make good with those folks.

View attachment 556967View attachment 556968View attachment 556969

Joe, in one of the pics you posted earlier of the screen-used board, the flat bottom was almost completely worn off of the back coper. Not sure what shape the front was in. These Maxi-Lite flat-bottomed copers actually look pretty accurate to me. If so, I think I'd rather have a set of these as opposed to copies of the damaged/worn ones from the screen-used boards.

Also, as a third option, you could mold the Maxi-lites and reproduce them in white as opposed to Madrid painting the black ones. I know it's more work for you, but I would much prefer that to paint.

 

[knightlife]

Two things.

For those of you who just want a straight up blank Madrid McFly deck so you can build your own, I think that can be arranged. I got a blank deck from Madrid during the process. You guys should know that the other decks, like the re-issued classic Madrid explosion decks, might be very close, but the 30th WGB decks really are very accurate. Madrid even threw out the jig they made for us in 2010 and made a new one for us because I was so insistent that everything be as perfect as possible on the 2015 boards. I re-confirmed that the 2010 jig was destroyed when I was at Madrid a couple days ago.

I don't know if totally accurate boards can be pieced together for less than $300, and I don't know how much Madrid would charge for a totally blank deck like this, or even what their policies are on that. But, it's clearly possible, and I can ask.

 

[knightlife]

Joe, in one of the pics you posted earlier of the screen-used board, the flat bottom was almost completely worn off of the back coper. Not sure what shape the front was in. These Maxi-Lite flat-bottomed copers actually look pretty accurate to me. If so, I think I'd rather have a set of these as opposed to copies of the damaged/worn ones from the screen-used boards.

Also, as a third option, you could mold the Maxi-lites and reproduce them in white as opposed to Madrid painting the black ones. I know it's more work for you, but I would much prefer that to paint.

You make a good point. But, if I'm going to make molds and cast copers, I'd rather mold the real ones than the Maxi-Lites. I went back and looked at the photos again, and actually on the production board that Madrid has, the copers look like they're in pretty perfect condition and the details don't really match the Maxi-Lites all that well, so molding the production board copers seems like maybe that's the way to go. More accurate, plus there's some cool heritage.

MADRID BOARD "C"

 

[knightlife]

And, just for comparison, here's the "A" board copers. Lots of wear on them, so I'm stoked the Madrid copers are so clean. The "A" board is not accessible anymore anyway. It's been valued at over $20,000 so it won't be seeing much more daylight.

"A" BOARD

 

[knightlife]

And, in the interest of being thorough, here's a shot of the Maxi-Lite copers. They're flat, but otherwise not really a great match...

 

[Roland]

Joe, do you have more of those hi-res pictures of the screen used boards? In the next weeks I will post a full set of all Hoverboard decals (updated Mattel board and all the boards of Griff & gang) for free download. I would like to add Marty's skateboard from part 1 to my set, but I would need more hi-res pictures of the original boards.

 

[knightlife]

Wow. I do love some good research!:thumbsup

@knightlife, what do we need to do to get the COA from you or Madrid? Call them, PM you? Will our name and order number be the only info you need? Should we wait to request this until the other stuff (correct copers, extra stickers) are ready, or go ahead and request these now? Thanks!

To everyone: I will help you all track down the boards you ordered, get your tracking info to you and you will all get your COA's. It's rough to ask for patience from a group that feels like they've already been ignored, but you're dealing with new management now, and if you've been following this thread, you know the boards are being tracked down, they are shipping, tracking numbers are being sent out, and they're all valid - even though a couple of them took some time to get in the FedEx system.

I've got the stickers in hand already, I'm hot on the trail on maybe the best coper solution there is (outside of finding a stash of vintage copers which would be cool but isn't likely). I am dedicated to helping you all get everything you've been promised.

Please, from here out, send me PM's about shipping and tracking numbers. I will respond to your PM's. On the other hand, when you get your tracking numbers or your boards, feel free to post about it. Those posts are ones most often forgotten, and they're really appreciated.

 

[knightlife]

Joe, do you have more of those hi-res pictures of the screen used boards? In the next weeks I will post a full set of all Hoverboard decals (updated Mattel board and all the boards of Griff & gang) for free download. I would like to add Marty's skateboard from part 1 to my set, but I would need more hi-res pictures of the original boards.

Yes. But, I can save you the trouble and just post the actual vector I created for the 30th Anniversary boards. I can't post it until after Jan. 1st, 2016, but that's not far off. You do really great work, Roland. Thank you for your help with the hoverboard skateboards. I picked up a set for myself and one for Bob Gale (co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the Back to the Future trilogy) when I was at Madrid a couple days ago. I gave Bob his boards yesterday and he really, really loved them. I told him you helped with the Rising Sun, No-Tech and Odd Man Out and he said he would send you a thank you.

 

[yankyfan09]

Two things.

For those of you who just want a straight up blank Madrid McFly deck so you can build your own, I think that can be arranged. I got a blank deck from Madrid during the process. You guys should know that the other decks, like the re-issued classic Madrid explosion decks, might be very close, but the 30th WGB decks really are very accurate. Madrid even threw out the jig they made for us in 2010 and made a new one for us because I was so insistent that everything be as perfect as possible on the 2015 boards. I re-confirmed that the 2010 jig was destroyed when I was at Madrid a couple days ago.

I don't know if totally accurate boards can be pieced together for less than $300, and I don't know how much Madrid would charge for a totally blank deck like this, or even what their policies are on that. But, it's clearly possible, and I can ask.

View attachment 556995

I would be very interested in a blank deck if it's possible and depending on what the price would be. Way better then making my own or buying an old valterra and converting it.

 

[knightlife]

Roland,

For the record, I actually had Madrid remove the trucks from the production board and we scanned it in. I'll upload everything as soon as I can.

View attachment 557019

 

[Roland]

Yes. But, I can save you the trouble and just post the actual vector I created for the 30th Anniversary boards. I can't post it until after Jan. 1st, 2016, but that's not far off. ...

In the spirit of the RPF, I would never use another replica for creating my own replica. Only pictures of screen used props. It's no trouble for me at all. I really love to make that stuff and share it with other BTTF fans.

... You do really great work, Roland. Thank you for your help with the hoverboard skateboards. I picked up a set for myself and one for Bob Gale (co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the Back to the Future trilogy) when I was at Madrid a couple days ago. I gave Bob his boards yesterday and he really, really loved them. I told him you helped with the Rising Sun, No-Tech and Odd Man Out and he said he would send you a thank you.

I'm glad that I could help. I wasn't sure if you actually used my files for your skateboard (I asked Ken, but didn't get any response) and now I'm really curious to see the finished boards. Do you have any pictures? I never expected that you would give a set to Bob Gale. It makes me very happy to know that he loves them.

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Roland,

For the record, I actually had Madrid remove the trucks from the production board and we scanned it in. I'll upload everything as soon as I can.

View attachment 557019

A scan of the "naked" board would be really awesome and very helpfull!

 

[knightlife]

In the spirit of the RPF, I would never use another replica for creating my own replica. Only pictures of screen used props. It's no trouble for me at all. I really love to make that stuff and share it with other BTTF fans.

A scan of the "naked" board would be really awesome and very helpfull!

I get not copying another replica to make a replica, I'm just not following why you would need to redo it at all. Once I post the vector file, it's done... isn't it? Unless it's just something you want to do so you aren't sharing someone else's work in the collection of things you share, in which case I certainly won't stop you.

Either way, after New Years, I'll post all the pics, scans and files of the hero boards and you guys can Kung Fu them to your heart's content. I can't post them all before then because it's a conflict of interests between WGB/Madrid/Universal and me. That said, if there are any specific details that anybody here is dying to see, I'll definitely continue to do what I can.

Here are photos of the four boards you helped with, Roland. They're pretty bad ass. The pink McFly, the No-Tech, the Odd Man Out and the Rising Sun. We had some other people working on graphics for the boards as well, but yours were more accurate. I did the Pitbull graphics myself. I built the EFX Pitbull prototype so I had already done all the work on that board. I don't have a Madrid Pitbull yet, when I was there a couple of days ago, the clear grip coat was still drying. I know this is just the Valterra/Madrid McFly board thread, but the other boards in the same 30th Anniversary collection are relevant, I think.