MattyCollector "Mattel Hoverboard" discussion

[Alan Castillo]

For starters, the "it's just a toy" argument is these days the equivalent of Godwin's Law with collecting.

One can say what one likes, but they are still toys. Some more expensive than others, that's the only difference :lol

If you can't see that, then we agree to disagree and I'll leave it at that

Secondly, based on what level of income? You're presuming that for everyone ordering one, that it's a drop in the bucket. For some of us though $200 is a significant amount of money. In fact as a full time university student, it is the equivalent of more than 3/4 of a week's income.

In that sort of situation, $200 is far from "chump change" and so naturally I'm going to take it more personally when someone tries to screw me out of that much money. That's forgetting about the principle of the situation.

Nobody is trying to screw you.

Once again, if you feel so strongly over these things, just ask for a refund and never buy anything from Matty again.

Again, it really is that simple.

Or get into buying expensive toys when you can better afford it. That's the reality of life I'm afraid

I never said that a price is cheap or anything on those lines - my point was not to start a discussion on comparative economics. I was just pointing out that there are more fundamental things that one should dedicate this amount of worry and frustration over. That's all.

Perhaps it is the fact that you have yet to face the more serious (and real) problems in life that make you feel the way you do.

In that case, fair enough. But I assure you that in 20 years time you will kick yourself for worrying about this comparatively trivial matter.

Just trying to save you the trouble.

Perhaps I was wrong in trying to do this, as 'worry' priority only comes through age.

So don't mind me, just an old fart giving a lecture, nothing to see, move along :lol

And yet they're insisting on adhering to their schedule.

It's coming out next month - considering the lead time on production needed; that's going to be it.

And yet they've refused to delay the product, so this point of yours is completely moot.

As I said, I suggest if you must, you 'explode' only when you see the actual finished prototype.

As far as I am aware, that has yet to be presented.

There is no doubt that they know what is 'wrong' with the board, so if you don't like the final prototype, then just ask for a refund.

I'm afraid you have absolutely no other choice whatsoever.

 

[Janum]

First of all, thanks to everybody for giving updates about the board and how it should look like.

I ordered the board and was really looking forward to it. I didn`t really know much about accuracy and couldn`t understand why so many people on mattycolector.com and here got upset. But after reading through this thread and learning about all the details I have to admit I am also really disappointed in Mattel.

They got all the details and this Toyguru guy (as far as I understand it`s Scott Neitlich from the video) gave short replies saying he will give all the information to the design team.

I don`t think there is much hope that the final model will be different from the one on NYCC as Toyguru said "You will see a final board at NYCC next week! We went for as accurate as we could to the movie. It won't please every fan, but we did our best." This was on October 1 on mattycollector.com. I have the feeling that he is just as disappointed as we all are and that his hands are tied cause the final decision wasn`t up to him.

I am very disappointed but I think I will still hang on to my order. Some people pointed out that you will still be able to get a good price on ebay and I really like the stand.

Maybe razorsharp will reconsider his retirement, at least that`s my hope and I can use the stand for his version

 

[bowspearer]

One can say what one likes, but they are still toys. Some more expensive than others, that's the only difference :lol

If you can't see that, then we agree to disagree and I'll leave it at that

Actually your post is an oxymoron. You are effectively saying, on a medium dedicated to expressing a passion about something, that it's ridiculaous to be passionate about that particular thing. If anything is ridiculous though, it is that hypocritical position you have chosen to take.

Nobody is trying to screw you.

Once again, if you feel so strongly over these things, just ask for a refund and never buy anything from Matty again.

Again, it really is that simple.

Wrong. The fact is that what Mattel have done is under many consumer laws, a Bait and Switch. Furthermore not only was this bought through a preorder but Mattel have made a grandstanding claim that they will not allow people to cancel preorders. In other words they locked us on on one thing and are now trying to sell us something different. I know that in Australia and I suspect also in Europe and the US, such a move is illegal.

Or get into buying expensive toys when you can better afford it. That's the reality of life I'm afraid

Except this isn't a toy, it's a prop replica. Furthermore who says I can't save up for expensive items? Implying that I somehow don't have a right to do so as a full time student, is to be frank, a rather elitist statement.

As I said, I suggest if you must, you 'explode' only when you see the actual finished prototype.

As far as I am aware, that has yet to be presented.

Then you are being willfully ignorant as you have seen photos of it (the NYCC version) in this thread.

As to the rest of your post, given that it's borderline inflammatory, I'm going to ignore it.

 

[Alan Castillo]

I have said what I have to say bowspearer, take it in whichever way you choose to.

 

[bowspearer]

Maybe razorsharp will reconsider his retirement, at least that`s my hope and I can use the stand for his version

Seconded.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

As to the rest of your post, given that it's borderline inflammatory, I'm going to ignore it.

no offense, but i think you are reading too much into Alans words.....I understand you are upset and furious over mattycollector....but Alan means well...

i think Alans words are unbiased and a taste of reality....

unfortunately, the nycc hoverboard is the final product which doesnt differentiate much from the sdcc board....

mattycollector is a toy company and the board is a toy...they can label it a prop replica....but in actuality it is a toy from a toy company....

keep in mind the die hard fans that will know the difference between a screen accurate board and this plastic board is a small fraction of their general market......they will not be able to meet the expectations of hardcore collectors....but i am sure they will make the majority of their market happy with their board....

this happens all the time with prop companies

 

[Alan Castillo]

Don't worry Michael.

I don't take anyone who calls me an elite ridiculous ignorant hypocritical flamer seriously :lol

Hope the board turns out OK anyway :thumbsup

 

[EvilRocketeer]

Don't worry Michael.

I don't take anyone who calls me an elite ridiculous ignorant hypocritical flamer seriously :lol

definitely 5 words that i will never expect from you....well maybe the flamer part is questionable haha

i dont know if it is just me, but i smell a few sockpuppets in this thread.....

 

[bowspearer]

no offense, but i think you are reading too much into Alans words.....I understand you are upset and furious over mattycollector....but Alan means well...

Actually Alan's argument was what I don't have time for. I long ago grew tired of the argument of "you're being such a fan" on a fan forum - which was what the first part of his argument amounted to. As to the second part, I don't appreciate being criticised for saving and sacrificing what little money I have for something special and then valuing that money - especially when I have had that money taken under false pretences.

keep in mind the die hard fans that will know the difference between a screen accurate board and this plastic board is a small fraction of their general market......they will not be able to meet the expectations of hardcore collectors....but i am sure they will make the majority of their market happy with their board....

Except it's not only the diehards here who are less than happy. I'd hardly class myself as a diehard, but I've been reading posts by those who are to keep myself informed. Also this is one too many times of dealing with this from Mattel. Furthermore I've heard several people making rumblings about having second thoughts about preordering Castle Grayskull because of what's happened with the Hoverboard, so it's more than just the diehards who care about this.

 

[bowspearer]

i dont know if it is just me, but i smell a few sockpuppets in this thread.....

If you mean people like me with low post counts posting in just this thread, then yes, it is just you. The fact is that this was the first place to post pics of the board and the first place to discuss it, so you're getting traffic you normally wouldn't get here, like me.

 

[Alan Castillo]

definitely 5 words that i will never expect from you....well maybe the flamer part is questionable haha

i dont know if it is just me, but i smell a few sockpuppets in this thread.....

:lol

Maybe not sockpuppets, but the amount of new members we have seen over the years who join the RPF with the sole agenda of aggressively bashing a licensee, and then vanish, is astonishing isn't it.

My hope is that once it is over (eg this hoverboard matter), they turn out to be members who contribute to other areas / forums, and overall being of the board :thumbsup

 

[bowspearer]

Maybe not sockpuppets, but the amount of new members we have seen over the years who join the RPF with the sole agenda of aggressively bashing a licensee, and then vanish, is astonishing isn't it.

Forums don't exist in a vacuum. The fact is that you guys were the first to post pics of the "final version" (in fact you guys came out at the top of google searches at the beginning) and there are people here who are experts on prop replicas, so people who aren't die hards, are going to interact here.

The fact is that any sympathy for Mattel in this case is entirely misdirected. Perhaps you haven't had dealings with Mattycollector in the past, but as anyone else here who has dealt with them in the past can tell you; they personify incompetence- be it in production, design, sales and customer service.

If it was an otherwise generally excellent company, then it would be reasonable to grant them a little bit of latitude in this case. However this is a company that has had a track record for lies and incompetence and this happens to be the most expensive item they have produced to date. This was also the piece that should have been about the easiest for them to pull off or if there was a problem, it should have been entirely with the electronics that people don't really care about.

Yet outdoing even their usual terrible form, they've completely managed to screw this up. This isn't people being unreasonable with a company- this is people dealing with the latest in a litany of screw-ups when said company has already worn their patience wafer-thin.

People should not be expected to just passively consume in this situation.

 

[tripoli]

Matty made claims and took a prepaid nonrefundable payment for a product they did not full fill on with their original promises. Absolutely a bait and switch.
In accuracies are being caught, early, Matty was made aware and how to do the fixes, absolutely.
Matty replied back snidely at times saying they had things under control, which they did not, absolutely.
The final product shows MOST all the concerns documented by members was in fact not followed through or implemented, absolutely.
Toyguru/ Scott Neitlich looks like a jerk now, absolutely.
Now we have to decide if you want the board or not, absolutely.

Guys, yep, you can argue about what happened but in the end, the board is what it is now.
It is a toy. This whole forum is about big boy toys.
Not worth the personal insults between each other, because your friendship here and over time is worth much more that this board. And when it gets to the point a toy is worth more to you than the friendship of years here or anywhere else, I recommend you step back for some real perspective. Take a walk in a park, hug your GF/ wife and kids, find something that give you a bit of perspective on the important things in life.

 

[Ojobenito]

A new photo. With very good light conditions to see all even more clearly (the footstrap, now more clearly, is even more awful, cheap, and it has no sense they used that material):

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2012_NYCC/Mattel_Matty_Collector_WWE_NYCC/Mattel_Matty_Collector_WWE_NYCC-13.jpg

Also, Scott is there and he lends his hoverboard (final model) for taking photos. Let's hope someone takes a photo of the bottom part of the board:

Photo by terry_mcfly • Instagram

 

[hoverboard]

A new photo. With very good light conditions to see all even more clearly (the footstrap, now more clearly, is even more awful, cheap, and it has no sense they used that material):

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2012_N...E_NYCC/Mattel_Matty_Collector_WWE_NYCC-13.jpg

That footstrap looks like a piece of bubblegum. Not quite the original look...:facepalm

 

[Ojobenito]

You know? The only solution I see to get an almost decent replica is do some DIY work on it:

- Rip off retail velcro and level up the recessed areas with something like paste so that area gets even with the rest of the board.

- Buy new velcro and apply it. 2 pieces on each pink strap (also on the footpad pink straps), 3 pieces on the footpad, and also on the green line across the board. Anybody knows what colour should match best with the originals? Any shop or ebay or something to buy accurate velcro?

- Rip off that AWFUL footstrap, buy some pink fur and apply it

That would make the top face a decent replica except for the PROMISED lenticular (once again, LIARS, I won't get tired of saying it) :angry

We still have to see the bottom part. My biggest concern is the battery back. The SDCC battery pack was awful. Their "look a like" model from a year ago was perfect. I don't understand those kind of changes, so let's hope for the best.

 

[Janum]

i dont know if it is just me, but i smell a few sockpuppets in this thread.....

If you think of me because I was able to find some positive words about Scott Neitlich, I have to disappoint you.
I just followed the timeline of his excitement, promises, excuses and avoidance at the end and it just seems to me that he should not be the only one being held responsible for this result. It seems like he avoids all these questions either because he isn`t allowed to or is pissed off himself.

I agree however, that Mattel ignored a lot of help coming from here. I didn`t know anything about the board accuracy and within two hours of following this thread and checking links and images, I was in the picture.
A team working on a project like this should be able to create a perfect replica, I can`t understand how they ignored all the help, they even posted pictures on facebook how they compared the props used in the film. It`s a complete mystery to me why they ignored the obvious flaws, even I could spot them quite quickly.
Was it not possible to produce the quantity of pre-orders cost-efficiently in so much detail?
Did they have to use the cheap strap on the footpad because it would be impossible to produce these amounts with the accurate strap? I don`t know why, the strap bothers me the most...
Did they have to settle for the inaccurate version because they ran out of time cause they focused on other projects?
Did they just not care about the changes because they expect most of the customers to be satisfied?

Either way, there is no excuse for the outcome - IF the NYCC model really is the final version. The more I got to know about how an accurate model should look like, the more it began to bother me and I think this is part of the problem that Alan Castillo tried to point out to bowspearer. Get out and stop thinking about it ALL THE TIME. Remember, I ordered it months ago and didn`t care much and for the last two days I have been doing research on the board and web and all the bad news wind me up as well. In this respect I can understand bowspearer 100%.
I have to agree with bowspearer that it is hard to let it go because it is not just a toy and if we are talking about a prop that was advertised as being movie-accurate, the expectation are that high and to be honest, everybody here is interested in the best possible outcome.
The advise from Alan Castillo and tripoli is a good one, just turn off the computer, think about something else, and if you have calmed down after some time you do have the right to be upset and disappointed but don`t let it get to you so much. I have to do the same now.

 

[Clock88]

Any photos of the bottom yet?

 

[Ojobenito]

Any photos of the bottom yet?

I'm searching like a maniac in forums, twitter, flickr, etc.... but no luck at this moment...

 

[Clock88]

The color scheme is really friggin' bad...

Should look more like this...