Marty McFly's Skateboard - Valterra Splatter Deck Conversion

[maton]

I'm hoping the first batch had the correct colour wheels and close enough coppers but I'm guessing the different shade of yellow and different coppers are like you said that Madrid could only lay there hands on those parts due to high demand but I could be totally wrong!!

Me too Rich. Your wheels look great. Hopefully knightlife can help find out what happened and hope they can help sort it.

 

[maton]

Just checked the WGB site and all of the skateboards, including the Madrid/Valterra are showing out of stock. So far as the copers are concerned I just bought a pair of flat bottom copers on ebay. Once they arrive I will post some photos and I would be happy to let them be used to make molds if you guys decide to do a casting.

That would be cool. Be great to see some pics of the copers when they arrive!

 

[retro]

It's taken this long to hear back from my friend, unfortunately - she's having real issues with her tooth, sadly.

Here are some pics:



It looks as though I have the black bushings. So they should be red? I'll have to chase that up.

How about the copers and wheels - did I get the "right" ones?

[EDIT]
For those not receiving replies from Ken, I just got one... I assume from him, as it was unsigned. This was a reply to my e-mail of 21 December... so pretty much 4 weeks to reply! (I appreciate Christmas probably slowed that down a bit)

Unfortunately, he didn't answer any of my questions - he merely apologized for the delay and checked that I had received my skateboard. Not really one for customer service, is our Ken!
knightlife - any update on the blank boards yet?

 

[OUTATIME1978]

Retro,

looks like you have the correct yellow wheels, but the coppers are wrong compared to mine and yes your bushings should be red/orange. I still am waiting to get a reply again from Ken from over 3 weeks back via Facebook regarding my COA

 

[retro]

Retro,

looks like you have the correct yellow wheels, but the coppers are wrong compared to mine and yes your bushings should be red/orange.

It's copers



Hehe, sorry! I couldn't resist the BTTF reference!

Thank you for confirming - that's what I was afraid of! :unsure What's the difference in the copers? And your ones are different from the hero board anyway... correct?

I still am waiting to get a reply again from Ken from over 3 weeks back via Facebook regarding my COA

I received my COA in the box, fortunately. It's just a real shame they seem to have some volunteers on a new project, when they could have tasked them with helping reply to messages - even if just the Facebook messages (easy to make someone "staff" on a page which allows them to reply as the page). As I said in my reply to Ken, they should really set up an auto reply if it's going to take them weeks to reply to e-mails. The same can be done on Facebook.

I'm still waiting for a reply to my Tweets of 17 October, by the way - before I ordered! I nearly didn't order because nobody could be bothered to reply!

https://twitter.com/eggplantuk/status/655172794163007489
https://twitter.com/eggplantuk/status/655173395110326273

And the one a few days later:
https://twitter.com/eggplantuk/status/656611108011294721




It looks as though the Twitter account was abandoned on 6 October as they haven't replied since.

 

[maton]

Oh dear oh dear. What is going on at Madrid?? :confused

Thank you for confirming - that's what I was afraid of! :unsure What's the difference in the copers? And your ones are different from the hero board anyway... correct?

Correct, both the first style and the second style copers on these replicas are not the correct shape, but the ones both you and I have got are completely the wrong look. Ours are curved and too short and the first style ones, although wrong, at least have a similar look to the screen used boards, with the cut out square notches and a longer length to them, covering the truck.

I really hope my copers don't come like that

Any news on your replacement board Pitbull? Interested to see what parts your board turns up with?!

Hoping knightlife will pop by again soon and help sort out what's going on. I'd be interest to know if Madrid had both these coper styles made? or did they buy them from another company?

 

[Pitbull]

I have no news knightlife disappeared on us and ken has my board i sent back and I still have not received my new board. I live in NY and have kens address god forbid they try screwing me which i hope wont be the case here.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[Dream34]

Honestly, I think a lot of the problems with the accuracy of the components (trucks, wheels and copers) are more on Madrid and less on Ken or Joe. When it came to recreating the deck and stickers accurately Joe did the research and Madrid was able to produce likely the closest replica ever. I think the real problem was that once that was done Madrid decided to go with "as close as we can get off the shelf" parts, largely because they didn't realize just how much collectors of these things scrutinize every detail. I'm going to guess that getting tracker to do an exclusive run of trucks and molding/producing a large number of the correct copers would have been possible, but would have driven up costs significantly. I think it's unfortunate,but at the end of the day this board is still closer than anything on the market previously. In my case I've already tracked down the correct copers and grabbed a few pairs. I'm also going to see if I can find the correct vintage tracker trucks and if not I'll just get the polished aluminum reissues and hit them with a few coats of black paint. At any rate the one I bought to skate is a quality product, much better than the Valterra boards sold in toy stores in the 80's.

Hopefully Joe is able to rectify some of this, I know he was able to get some of my issues resolved so I know he has no problem addressing things within his sphere of control.

 

[Spyhunter2k]

Honestly, I think a lot of the problems with the accuracy of the components (trucks, wheels and copers) are more on Madrid and less on Ken or Joe. When it came to recreating the deck and stickers accurately Joe did the research and Madrid was able to produce likely the closest replica ever. I think the real problem was that once that was done Madrid decided to go with "as close as we can get off the shelf" parts, largely because they didn't realize just how much collectors of these things scrutinize every detail. I'm going to guess that getting tracker to do an exclusive run of trucks and molding/producing a large number of the correct copers would have been possible, but would have driven up costs significantly. I think it's unfortunate,but at the end of the day this board is still closer than anything on the market previously. In my case I've already tracked down the correct copers and grabbed a few pairs. I'm also going to see if I can find the correct vintage tracker trucks and if not I'll just get the polished aluminum reissues and hit them with a few coats of black paint. At any rate the one I bought to skate is a quality product, much better than the Valterra boards sold in toy stores in the 80's.

Hopefully Joe is able to rectify some of this, I know he was able to get some of my issues resolved so I know he has no problem addressing things within his sphere of control.

Anyone know if the Tracker trucks will bolt up using the same holes drilled in the decks for the current trucks?

 

[Dream34]

They should, the decks were drilled with the old school bolt pattern.

 

[retro]

Honestly, I think a lot of the problems with the accuracy of the components (trucks, wheels and copers) are more on Madrid and less on Ken or Joe

I'd say part and part. They didn't know / couldn't remember exactly what hardware was used on the original and probably had a limited amount of time to track them down. Clearly, it wasn't anything made nowadays in bulk, which was necessary to produce enough. So you have to compromise. Both parties probably underestimated the demand, so it outweighed the supply.

That might also have some effect on the Tracker situation. Tooling isn't cheap, so they'd probably be unwilling to do a limited run, especially if it was low. And it would certainly have driven the cost of the skateboards up. We're very lucky Madrid said yes.

However, the blame ultimately has to go on the lack of transparency on the website. Using phrases like "the most screen-accurate McFly board possible" and "completely redesigned the 30th Anniversary boards to match every possible detail" sound great on the surface, but cover their backs when you look closely, by using the word possible. Sorry guys, it wasn't possible for us to make them any more accurate! They then used images of the 2010 board, only mentioned in small print right at the bottom of the text. This means that you really didn't know what you were ordering, as there weren't any photos! As this was done by fans, there should have been foresight that collectors would want accuracy, particularly after the last attempts. At least describe what's maybe not going to be the same as the hero board, when you've had it in your hands!

That said, the photos that are up now (were they changed?) look a lot like the final boards. They even have black bushings like mine did!

Oh, and don't the wheels on the hero board pic on the road look like the lighter shade someone got recently?

 

[NickyMabbs]

Oh, and don't the wheels on the hero board pic on the road look like the lighter shade someone got recently?

I think the lighter wheels looking closer to the colour on the hero board screen grab is due to the colour grading on the footage being less saturated. The yellow on the Valterra graphic looks slightly washed out also which closely matches the wheels. The lighter shade I've seen on the replica board looks like it is somewhere in between cream & yellow.

I only ordered my board a few weeks ago & Ken mentioned it would be available as there have been some cancellations. I'm slightly worried that it will not materialise now as communication is a bit poor, however I'm also waiting for a desktop display from the Kickstarter Campaign - 'Saving the DeLorean', so hopefully I can contact Joe through that if I have any issues.

I am tempted to cancel for a refund though, save the hassle of checking on here for updates everyday & possibly having an inaccurate board shipped halfway across the world to the UK.

 

[retro]

I've had a reply from Shane. He said:

Our quality control should have caught the incorrect bushing setup.

With higher than anticipated orders, we had to utilize multiple sources for copers. We have more copers being produced in the other style.

He assured me he'd see to it that I'll end up with a board I'm happy with and would send out the new parts once they are available. It's great that the manufacturer will speak with customers directly and are keen to remedy any issues.

I think the lighter wheels looking closer to the colour on the hero board screen grab is due to the colour grading on the footage being less saturated.

I only ordered my board a few weeks ago & Ken mentioned it would be available as there have been some cancellations. I'm slightly worried that it will not materialise now as communication is a bit poor

I am tempted to cancel for a refund though, save the hassle of checking on here for updates everyday & possibly having an inaccurate board shipped halfway across the world to the UK.

My board is with my friend in America, fortunately... but will be coming to the UK! It sounds as though you placed your order well after the cut-off date, which is a little disappointing from the point of view of the limited run not being adhered to... but it's great to hear you're getting one! We have no idea what the final run was, sadly - that info would be good and is not on the certificate.

You could e-mail Madrid directly and request that they ensure you have the correct hardware. Shane told me to hold tight and he'll ship the parts once they're in - if they haven't shipped your board, I'm sure they'd oblige if you asked them to wait until they have the correct copers. They're only going to have to ship a second parcel to the UK, so it makes sense all round! Hopefully, you have an order number - as Shane previously told me that no orders had been passed onto them since the cut-off in October.

As for colour grading, that's a possibility! Colour balance will vary hugely depending on cameras and lighting conditions, anyway - remember the whole white/blue dress thing!

 

[knightlife]

Maton, Glad to see your board arrived. Madrid is still looking for more copers. I'll let you all know how to get replacements for the more modern copers they sent out if/when they become available. Thanks for the compliments, Maton, much appreciated.

So my board arrived in the U.K! It's very cool indeed! I did unfortunately get the different copers ( the second style ), and the trucks did come with red bushings. I would have prefered the first style copers. @knightlife So, if Madrid do find more of the first style copers, could I get replacement ones? The board did come shrinkwrapped and my COA in an envelope in the box, which is great! The back truck was offline, so I had to unbolt it and line it up properly. Anyone else have this issue? Also, the Madrid sticker on the back coper is just slightly offline. I can try and unpick it gently and try and line it up straight, which I may have a go at tonight, not sure how that will go though and if I can get replacement ones, then that would be better. As we already know the Fly and Madrid logos are printed on the wheels, but the shade they are printed in isn't too bad and from a distance do look nice. The artwork and colours, along with the decals on the board itself are stunning, nice work Joe

Here are some pictures for you guys.



View attachment 574903View attachment 574904View attachment 574905
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View attachment 574909View attachment 574910View attachment 574911
View attachment 574913View attachment 574917

 

[knightlife]

Madrid changed the wheels and copers because they ran out of both and had to order a new batch of wheels. As for the sticker, no idea why Madrid put that in some boxes but apparently not others. If anyone wants the 30th Anniversary sticker, I'm happy to send you one.

View attachment 575598


Maton your wheels and coppers are certainly different to mine! Wonder why Madrid changed them during production.? Plus I did not get a 30th anniversary sticker !

- - - Updated - - -

Me too. But, I'm sure they'll be wrong. Might as well start thinking of a solution now...

I really hope my copers don't come like that

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Dream34

Just checked the WGB site and all of the skateboards, including the Madrid/Valterra are showing out of stock. So far as the copers are concerned I just bought a pair of flat bottom copers on ebay. Once they arrive I will post some photos and I would be happy to let them be used to make molds if you guys decide to do a casting.

 

[knightlife]

I'm not sure why the change happened ? @knightlife might be able to answer this? I believe Joe thought the wheel and colour was going to be exactly the same as the first batch?

This was his post back on 29th Nov


So the question is, did the colour change happen on purpose, to get the colour to match closer what the screen used boards look like now or were the second batch of wheels and the colour of them, all that Madrid could get, because they ran out of the first batch of wheels? Maybe Joe can ask for us. The copers are completely different yes and I dislike the shape of them and the sticker on the back truck being offline too.

Guys, this whole skateboard issue definitely started because of bad communication. But, it's become exponentially worse because of production problems at Madrid. They didn't even notify anyone when they ran out of copers, they just started including the more modern ones. As for the wheels, we actually went down to Madrid just to see the new wheel sample, which we told them wasn't quite the right color. They assured us the color would be corrected and that it would exactly match the first run.

Madrid is just as frustrated as everyone else now, just for different reasons. They understand that the die-hards care a lot about straight stickers and shades of yellow. They're just faced with running out of parts and the reality of differences existing between production runs. That said, the more modern looking copers really affect the look of the boards the most. Madrid is looking for more copers and if/when they find more, I'll let everyone here know how to get replacement copers.

 

[knightlife]

Retro,

Looks like you got the 1st gen wheels, the wrong copers and the wrong bushings. When asked about the bushings, Madrid swore that any black bushings that left their factory were a mistake. They know they're supposed to be red/orange. Madrid will send out correct bushings to anyone who got the wrong black ones. Send me a PM with your address and I'll forward it to Madrid. And, apologies for Ken's customer service skills.

It's taken this long to hear back from my friend, unfortunately - she's having real issues with her tooth, sadly.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 578059View attachment 578060View attachment 578064View attachment 578065

It looks as though I have the black bushings. So they should be red? I'll have to chase that up.

How about the copers and wheels - did I get the "right" ones?

[EDIT]
For those not receiving replies from Ken, I just got one... I assume from him, as it was unsigned. This was a reply to my e-mail of 21 December... so pretty much 4 weeks to reply! (I appreciate Christmas probably slowed that down a bit)

Unfortunately, he didn't answer any of my questions - he merely apologized for the delay and checked that I had received my skateboard. Not really one for customer service, is our Ken!
@knightlife - any update on the blank boards yet?

 

[knightlife]

knightlife didn't go anywhere. I had a bad leak and learned that I had to replace the entire roof of my mancave/office building. 10k later, and it's just finished today. As you can imagine, I was a little distracted. Pitbull, Ken doesn't live in NY. He lives in Canada. And, nobody's trying to screw you. That said, you'll probably get the more modern copers, and who knows, maybe black bushings too. Hoping that Dream34's copers are the answer to that, and I'm just going to go ahead and order you a replacement set of orange/red bushings.

I have no news knightlife disappeared on us and ken has my board i sent back and I still have not received my new board. I live in NY and have kens address god forbid they try screwing me which i hope wont be the case here.

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[knightlife]

Dream34, what you said here is exactly right and really appreciated. I made sure the deck, graphics and decals were right, and we had assurance from Madrid that the hardware was going to be correct too. They do care about the die-hards, but their line in the sand is in a different place than ours. I'm eager to see how Dream34's trucks and copers work out, because I'll be molding/casting the copers and swapping my trucks out too. I will continue to do what I can to help.

Honestly, I think a lot of the problems with the accuracy of the components (trucks, wheels and copers) are more on Madrid and less on Ken or Joe. When it came to recreating the deck and stickers accurately Joe did the research and Madrid was able to produce likely the closest replica ever. I think the real problem was that once that was done Madrid decided to go with "as close as we can get off the shelf" parts, largely because they didn't realize just how much collectors of these things scrutinize every detail. I'm going to guess that getting tracker to do an exclusive run of trucks and molding/producing a large number of the correct copers would have been possible, but would have driven up costs significantly. I think it's unfortunate,but at the end of the day this board is still closer than anything on the market previously. In my case I've already tracked down the correct copers and grabbed a few pairs. I'm also going to see if I can find the correct vintage tracker trucks and if not I'll just get the polished aluminum reissues and hit them with a few coats of black paint. At any rate the one I bought to skate is a quality product, much better than the Valterra boards sold in toy stores in the 80's.

Hopefully Joe is able to rectify some of this, I know he was able to get some of my issues resolved so I know he has no problem addressing things within his sphere of control.

 

[retro]

Retro,

Looks like you got the 1st gen wheels, the wrong copers and the wrong bushings. When asked about the bushings, Madrid swore that any black bushings that left their factory were a mistake. They know they're supposed to be red/orange. Madrid will send out correct bushings to anyone who got the wrong black ones. Send me a PM with your address and I'll forward it to Madrid. And, apologies for Ken's customer service skills.

Yeah - Shane said their QC should have noticed the bushings. Thanks for the offer of help - Shane's already beaten you to it and confirmed I'm down for the correct copers when they come in (so they're expecting more of the originals) and correct bushings, and confirmed the address. He seems keen to ensure everyone has a board they'll love!

Do we know what the final run of the splatter decks was, approximately? It's great to have a COA for the "limited 2015 replica"... but limited to what?