MattyCollector "Mattel Hoverboard" discussion

[Davlin]

@ Autoprops713 : Again, thanks for keeping up posted, tip to the hat to your source as well. It is very interesting to know about their efforts to define a "generic screen accurate" board. Still, there would have been some points on which I could have turned a blind eye. But the hardware size problem... It just feels like a design error, which is not possible to correct now.

Looks like they are trying to save the ship as much as they can, but it seems to be a lost cause already. Bummer.

How come they would lose money on this ? Aren't they supposed to have done some budget research beforehand ?

 

[autoprops713]

Thanks for the info, Dave.

Is the guy typing up this email working on the project currently? Or is he sort of "getting info from down the hall"?

So there is no chance for the hardware to be fixed because it's part of the sculpt (not just the board)? Would it be really expensive to fix because of it's cast in steel at the factory?

Scott has seemed to appreciate the suggestions on the board of the hardware flaws (as if they will implement the changes), but if the hardware is totally finished it would seem like a lost cause. I wish he would just come out and say it if that's the case. In the you tube video, he even mentioned, "We KNOW that the rivets and things are off..." (pointing at the bottom hardware).

My friend who is sending me these updates is helping out all he can with the hoverboard but was not on the project constantly from the beginning. I think he is doing everything he can at this point but as some of you have commented, a lot of inaccurate tooling has already been made. I don't want to get into details on what is going on there since as you can see there are some differences in what my friend writes and what Scott is saying. Keeping your job at Mattel is tough enough without added conflict between employees.

However I got involved when I noticed collectors were very concerned about the details including the molded accuracy of even the board bevels. As a fellow collector I wanted to help you guys with added detail information regarding this.

The injection molded board is done as far as what you will receive as a final product. Is it way off? I don't think so. Can it be fixed? Yes, but I'm 95% sure it will not be. The magnets and brackets are also off but I don't know if that's because of toy standards or manufacturing issues. I highly doubt those will change too.

I think at this point it's all about correcting the graphics and even then maybe not making them more accurate (lenticular issue) but making them more acceptable to a collector. Notice I didn't say RPF collector because I think most of those have already checked out because of the board bevel issue. I can understand that.

Dave

 

[egoing]

Just Damn........... The freaking company who made the lenticular is an e-mail/phone call away from Mattel. The Hero Board is the still the way to go. It will make a more dynamic display piece, the board should be layered with multiple elements. The Lenticular, rotating foot pad, velcro and fur strap. A flat Foil decal is full of fail.

 

[steveo3002]

could you remind your source the magents were the same on most hoverboards , so the mold would be good if they decided to make other styles

 

[plasmapulse]

could you remind your source the magents were the same on most hoverboards , so the mold would be good if they decided to make other styles

The mould would be too big since oversized hardware is one of the issues. Other board would be suffering from this as well. If Mattel wants to make other boards they could redo the hardware and make a Marty-board that is more accurate as some sort of second edition.
Or is this just a silly idea?

 

[who45]

on a positive note - there admitting they will make a loss on this board - so that says to me it wont get re released in the future.

plenty of people not associated with this kind of site will go ott to have one via ebay if any of us are not happy and want to pass it on.

one question i do have tho - how many pre orders have mattel actually taken - im curious on the figures now to how many are being produced

i shall keep my order - its all a gimmicky thing and i never intentionally ordered it on the basis it would be 100% accurate - like the statement says with alot of boards on the set they have factored into all of them combined to make the most cost effective one ... so which board do you base it on as every scene will probably have used a different board for each scene - i wasnt suprised on this to be honest - ill simply get my hands on it then make me decision rather than let whats been revealed change my mind

 

[tripoli]

I agree, Matty will take a loss and probably feel a bit bitter about the experience and most likely not touch the project again. They have done the same thing with their other lines even though they could take advantage of the already produced tooling.

Matty NEVER lets out the numbers produced. I don't know if this could change for the Fox Foundation with a press release, but in the past it has been business policy not to do so.

I most likely will hold onto my board as a base for a future project, or give it to my kids who are BTTF fans. I really was looking forward to this, who knows, they might turn this around. Given the postings and videos, I don't think there is a change of heart there but I will keep the faith for now Matty can hit another home run with this one. I have my doubts, but I will keep on hoping.

 

[steveo3002]

The mould would be too big since oversized hardware is one of the issues. Other board would be suffering from this as well. If Mattel wants to make other boards they could redo the hardware and make a Marty-board that is more accurate as some sort of second edition.
Or is this just a silly idea?

yeah i meant suggest they make accurate magents now , that can be used for accurate replicas of the other boards if they wish

 

[Ojobenito]

I don't know how many reserves did they get. They just said that if they didn't get enought to be profitable, they won't be producing it.

I still think they won't lose money. As stated, the molds and hard parts had this errors since the beginning, because they used the molds from their prototypes and look-a-like models (with little tweaks here and there, maybe). I don't think a rework on the stickers to make ir more accurate brings down the whole castle. They can make less profit, but not lose money.

Also, it's not our faul that their marketing and promises were kind of a lie to get a lot of preorders. They promised something, so they should make it as they promised. It's not our fault if they don't do it the right way. They could've tell the truth and say "we're going to make it a hoverboard toy, wich is similar to the original", but they promised a picture-perfect replica, they showed us the videos we've all seen, and they promised what we all know, and they asked for our money months ago for it to become true. It's not our fault if they screwed up a lot of things on the long way producing the board.

I wasn't looking for an exact replica neither. I don't mind if a piece is 0,1" larger or shorter, but what they did with the lenticular sticker (it looks that they're fixing it, because SDCC was awfully bad looking), the footpad (that, again, looks like a giant green button, and it won't be changed), or the battery pack (they just need to do it like their first prototype, with a 1-2mm depth big hole around each screw, is a complete mess.

I'm wondering what would be getting if some users didn't post some things here and on their forum....

 

[tripoli]

In all fairness to Matty, there are several different boards and although you would assume they would try to make it like the hero, it was never said specifically which board they would replicate.

Master Replicas had this same issue when producing light sabers as there were many different pieces used for the same saber. Which saber do they choose that will most placate the masses at large, was a viable issue. So there is "an out" for Matty in saying they want to do a certain board.

There is also the issue of producing some thing the majority will feel looks like a board that would have been produced in the "future" by Mattel. The collector at large wants a clean looking replica that catches their imagination of what it should be like. MR did tweaks taking out imperfections as the public would not realize most screen used props are made quickly and without a high attention to quality and detail. With the exception of some hero props used in close ups. Given the screen shots seen above, even the closely shown hero shot boards were less than perfect.

This is not a total excuse for Matty to do whatever they want, but it does give them quite a bit of leeway in what they finally produce.

It would be a shame for them not to come back and do a hero with magnets/hovering effect, lenticular, right ratios, but they are a toy company. I guess it comes down to how much pride and passion they have for their products.

 

[tripoli]

If I were Matty, I would wait a few years, source out the lenticular, get the ratios absolutely right, add a magnet hovering base and produce the 2015 "hovering" hover board for collectors. It gives them time to do it right, to get the right people in and the time to do it correctly and to price it out accordingly.

 

[who45]

id even say put the release date back to have it looking really correct if thats what it takes - dont rush it just to get it out in december and say 6/10 is the best we can achieve - but with business its all about now getting the costs back asap for whats been spent tooling, packaging, designing and getting components.

i also wonder to myself - if it had have been bttf endorsed rather than mattel branded and made, would the accuracy of the hoverboard been alot stricter - eg no lenticular we wont endores it

 

[Pitbull]

Re: Matty Collector "Mattel Hover board" discussion

not for nothing but it's strange how so many people can complain about a width of a magnet meanwhile Diamond Select Toys put out a lenticular cap that looks and feels like garbage :confused Where are the complaint threads?? Those caps are COMPLETELY INACCURATE.I honestly don't own one thing that was mass produced as far as a prop goes that was 100% accurate out the box.Believe me this hover board being NON-ACCURATE is a bummer but at the same time 25 years later it's pretty awesome Mattel is even giving it attention.Accurate or not it will be cool to own an officially licensed Hover board regardless.

We are a different breed over here and were all pretty capable of making our very own Screen Accurate Hoverboard....NO?


All in all everyone has the right to complain just because it was falsely advertised in the first place.

 

[Ojobenito]

Re: Matty Collector "Mattel Hover board" discussion

not for nothing but it's strange how so many people can complain about a width of a magnet meanwhile Diamond Select Toys put out a lenticular cap that looks and feels like garbage :confused Where are the complaint threads?? Those caps are COMPLETELY INACCURATE.I

Diamond Select Toys never said they were going to release a perfect replica, nor they would bring Bob Gale with the original caps to measure every single inch of the cap, nor they asked for the money months before producing it, nor they promised a screen-accurate replica for months.

They just release the cap, we could see it, and then pay or not. That's the difference. Btw, I don't have a Diamond Select cap, I think Mirajcaps were much more accurate, si I chose to pay for them AFTER seeing the caps.

 

[steveo3002]

yeah they just put the caps out for sale ...you like it you can buy one , if not move on

mattel promised the world and cant provide after taking folks money

 

[Pitbull]

My last paragraph sums up what you guys are trying to say to me I get it.All I'm trying to say is at least Mattel was nice enough to hear the fans and deliver something after 25 years.If I remember correctly at least the hover board will look like something we bought back in 89 lol

 

[Pitbull]

Also for me it' just gonna be a conversation commercial toy piece that was put out in masses that's all.

 

[brivette007]

I actually just bought one of those caps. Yeah, it's pretty crappy compared to the Mirajcaps one. But I still like it, mainly because I paid little to nothing for it (giftcards for my birthday :love)

But yeah, most mass-produced prop replicas I have seen have been crappy/inaccurateAn example, I have a Luke lightsaber replica where the clamp piece (or bunny ears) is plastic and molded on, rather than being metal and functional. And another one that has accurated clamps, but the prop is way bigger than it should be.

Plus you know almost all mass produced replicas have the copyright and company name stamped or printed on them too.

So the hoverboard really didn't surprise me even when I first heard about it. Yet I still pre-ordered it, because like pitbull said, matty's actually making it after all these years. Besides, I can always make one of my own, or get one from here if anyone ever does another run of them.

 

[Clock88]

The hoverboard without yellow stripes on the top and bottom... don't tell Mattel!

(not to mention the vertical mattel stickers)

 

[DL4567]

The hoverboard without yellow stripes on the top and bottom...

(not to mention the vertical mattel stickers)

Oh wow, look at that! Just when I thought I knew everything there is to know about the hoverboards....