NeoLev Back to the Future Part II Levitating Miniature Hoverboard Collection

Back to the Future Part II miniature Hoverboard set from NeoLev is one of the cool BTTF collectibles to come out this year. And hopefully there will be many more.

This is the Limited Signature Edition with laser-engraved signatures of Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis and hoverboard designer John Bell. I managed to get the set numbered #121 of 488. You can order a set here from BTTF.net.

It makes for a great display piece especially on your desk, thus allowing you to constantly nudge the boards to see them oscillate in action. These hoverboards are approximately 1:15 scale. The boards are made out of foam with pyrolytic graphite backing which allows them to levitate over the magnetic base.

Technical specifications listed below, followed by video and pictures.

Hoverboards:
    Five Pyrolytic Graphite Hoverboards to scale from movie
    Accurate decals placed on foam of the following Hoverboards:
    Marty McFly (pink board)
    Pit Bull (black board)
    Rising Sun (white board)
    No Tech (green board)
    Question Mark (black board)
    Optimal rectangular geometry for maximum levitation
    Near friction-less movement (oscillates for very long time)
    Dimensions Varies: 1.7-2.2 long x 0.60.7 wide x 0.1 thick
    Weight: 1 gram each

Base:
    Two rows of track for simultaneous boards to hover back and forth
    Sleek, durable black acrylic support plates
    Full colored Back to the Future logo decal
    Custom-made high grade NdFeB magnets are slightly angled to simulate 6 long half pipe track
    Magnet assemblies and acrylic materials product safety tested per ASTM 963 for Ages 8+
    Laser Engraved Universal/NeoLev logo
    Dimensions - 6.8 long x 2.1 wide x 1.3 tall
    Weight - 12 oz.

Bob Gale shares his experience on Secret Cinema Presents Back to the Future

Last week Bob Gale made a surprise visit at Secret Cinema's presentation of Back to the Future in London and he recently talked about his experience, which I have posted below. The event is still running until the end of August, so if you are a BTTF fan and if you can make it there, sounds like an amazing event worth attending.

After my three weeks of US trip, I was in London for couple of hours last week but it was only for my connecting flight back to India. I wish I could have attended this event, as it would have been a rare experience to be amongst such a large crowd of devoted BTTF fans in the fictional settings of Hill Valley.

Great Scott! Secret Cinema's presentation of BTTF is absolutely fantastic, and a must for any BTTF fan who can go! They've done an amazing job on every level. The cast, who play characters from the film and various townspeople, is outstanding. They are all in character the entire evening and do wonderful improvisations with the audience.  

If you walk into the Realty Office, a salesman will try to sell you a home in Lyon Estates. If you visit the Texaco Station, the uniformed staff will give you a dexterity test to see if you can join their team. Visit Peabody's ranch and the family will baptize you into their clan. Doc Brown conducts static electricity experiments with visitors to his house. The movie theater is actually running "Cattle Queen of Montana." Mayor Red Thomas is running for re-election and will try to solicit your vote. George McFly bicycles around town, asking if you've seen Biff. If you have a burger and fries at Lou's cafe, you'll see Goldie Wilson sweeping up, and Biff might come in to harass you.   

Not only do they re-enact scenes from the film, but they create additional vignettes as a result. For example, after Marty is hit by Sam Baines' car, the neighbors across the street call a neighborhood watch meeting out of concern for the strangers who have been appearing in town. I went 3 times and didn't see everything. There are live bands playing music from the 50s and 80s, and a radio station broadcasts period music and local news, live in real time. 

At 9 pm, after a town parade around the square, the movie begins, and it's enhanced with live actors mimicking the on screen action, culminating with lots of spectacle for the clock tower scene. The technical aspects are also excellent. It's an amazing rush to be surrounded by 3500 people who love the movie, who have dressed up for the 1950s to celebrate it, and who react with total enthusiasm throughout the event.  Giga-kudos to Fabien Riggall and everyone at Secret Cinema for one of the finest BTTF experiences in history!

-- Bob Gale

Thanks to Bob Gale, I got my first BTTF autographs

Time Machine Restoration chief Joe Walser already had my mailing address, but I had no idea Bob Gale would be sending me something. I was totally surprised and ecstatic when I noticed Bob Gale's name on the poster tube.

It was so thoughtful of Bob Gale to send me this cool poster and this wonderful personalized letter. A hearty thanks to Bob Gale for taking time to send me the letter and the Back to the Future poster autographed by him, Robert Zemeckis and Christopher Lloyd. On my own, there is no way I would ever get a chance to get all of their autographs on a poster. And a big thanks to Joe Walser and Terry Matalas for having me on the TMR team in the first place.

Now I am wondering whether I should frame this poster or wait until I bring it at We're Going Back 2015 and get more autographs on the poster from the rest of the BTTF cast and crew. See, I am becoming greedy already :-).

Click to enlarge.

  

Diamond Select Toys to release Mr. Fusion prop replica from BTTF

DST (Diamond Select Toys) is planning to release the Mr. Fusion prop replica from Back to the Future. The replica will have sound and smoke effects. DST had a prototype on display at Toy Fair 2013, but no release date or pricing information was given. Check out the photos and video below.

I am highly skeptical when it comes to BTTF products from DST, especially after they released their inaccurate Flux Capacitor replica; with its wrong enclosure color being the biggest sore detail. Then there is the simple Outatime license plate replica which had inaccurate font and text placement. No DMC logo on their DeLorean models which also had wrong side wiring details among other things. So beyond their BTTF minimates, I haven't really been happy with their BTTF products.

So when I learned that DST is doing another BTTF replica, I was kinda surprised that they are still considering to make more BTTF products. In some ways I am now actually hopefully that they can really make this a solid replica, i.e. if they are willing to make the necessary changes. Starting off with the mold of the white base, which needs to be altered and made shorter. The extra screw holes at the top need to go. And the area behind the Mr. Fusion logo needs to be hollow and transparent just like the Krups coffee grinder. There are more details that need tweaking, but the ones mentioned are more prominent.

There are talented individuals with access to accurate prop details and dimensions who are more than willing to offer their assistance in developing a great Mr. Fusion. DST, all you guys have to do is take up on their offer and rework on your prototype design. Fans are willing to put up with a late release, as long as the final product is more screen accurate, instead of rushing this existing prototype into final production. DST, so please gain the good will of BTTF collectors by being open to the idea of making changes to this Mr. Fusion.

(Click to enlarge) 

Image Source: Superherohype.com and Figures.com

Factory Entertainment to release Back to the Future Shakems

Factory Entertainment has acquired the Back to the Future license and they will be rolling out some cool BTTF products in 2013. Starting off with their Shakems line, which are similar to bobbleheads as in mini statues with spring action. The first four BTTF Shakems are as follows.

Doc Brown Shakems
Marty McFly Hoverboard Shakems
DeLorean Time Machine Shakems
Manure Truck Accident Shakems

(Click to enlarge)

These are prototypes and are still in approval stages. Yes, there are no actor likeness on these products and due to the bobblehead type nature of these products, they appear to be more cartoonized versions of the characters. Still the sculpts looks good and costume details are captured quite nicely, but Marty's face needs to be more expressive. Also Doc's costume needs the orange markings and his shoes could use the brown color touch up. Overall it's refreshing to see a company releasing BTTF products beyond DeLorean models. I love the DeLorean Time Machine and I'm looking forward to Hot Wheels releasing their Elite BTTF DeLorean Models in 1:43 and 1:18 scale later this year.

But I also want to see more characters from the BTTF universe being released in the figure and statue format. These Shakems from Factory Entertainment is a good start towards that. And I have to say, that Biff's car filled with manure display is just brilliant. This is what I want to see, a company doing the unconventional and really embracing their acquired licenses. It's great to see that memorable and hilarious moment from the film being captured in a sculpture format like that. More movie scene specific sculptures please.

Mattel acquired the BTTF action figure license along with actor likeness rights back in 2011 and then backed out from producing the figures. Hot Toys has acquired the BTTF license along with likeness rights, though I am not sure if we will see any figures in 2013. From what I discussed with Factory Entertainment, they seem very passionate about the BTTF franchise and I think they will do the BTTF line justice. Also FE makes movie prop replicas, so maybe down the line we can finally have a company doing accurate BTTF prop replicas.

Last month I got the Universal Monsters - Frankenstein Limited Edition VFX Bust from Factory Entertainment. And it's a gorgeous piece of art. I can only hope FE manages to get actor likeness rights and releases more similar BTTF character products in the future.

To know more about Factory Entertainment, check out their website below and follow them on Facbook and Twitter.

http://www.factoryent.com/
https://www.facebook.com/factoryent
https://twitter.com/Factory_Ent

Along with Back to the Future, Factory Entertainment is releasing products from Jaws, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Shawn of the Dead and others. Thanks to Figures.com and Action Figure Times for all the photo coverage.

(Click to enlarge)

 

 

  

A message from Bob Gale on the completion of the BTTF Time Machine Restoration

I can't wait to see the BTTF DeLorean Time Machine in person and see the fruits of labor due to the hard work of Joe, Terry and the rest of the TMR team for which we all fans will be always indebted to. Hopefully I get to see it when I visit US in 2015 or maybe even prior to that.

And a big thanks to Bob Gale for supporting this project and the whole TMR team from day one. Also considering my contributions are comparatively miniscule, I am honored and humbled for being mentioned.

Time Machine Restoration

A message from Bob Gale, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer 

of the Back to the Future Trilogy

11 February 2013

Great Scott!

Are you telling me we restored a time machine out of a DeLorean?  And with STYLE?

Damn straight!

Congratulation, kudos and giga-props to the DeLorean Time Machine Restoration Team!

The job you guys did has exceeded my expectations! 

Take it from me, the vehicle has NEVER looked this good, not even on the first day it rolled out of Kevin Pike's shop – and I was there.   To say that the restored Delorean A-car is totally awesome is a major understatement!

A giga shout out to Joe Walser: he is truly THE MAN!  It was his dogged determination, his obsession with quality, his unflagging dedication, and his in-depth knowledge of the vehicle inside and out, all of which he imparted to an incredibly talented crew of skilled technicians, mechanics, fanatics, lunatics, and OCD-ers (and every one of you guys kick ass!), that got the job done.  With style.  And with the amazing Terry Matalas always there to keep the proverbial train on the tracks...or, I guess I should say, to keep the modified time car on the tracks.

Special thanks to everyone who bought a patch. Or two. Or all three.  Those dollars really helped.  And every penny was channeled directly into the flux capacitor...or the wiring...or the stainless steel restoration...or any of a countless number of other aspects and details.  So display those patches proudly – you really made a difference.

And thanks to everybody who has friended us here on Facebook – and to Vivek Bhat for keeping that time car on the tracks online.  All of us on this project have been gratified to know how many friends we have. It's nice to know that people care, even just a little.  It made it a lot easier to get through some incredibly long days and nights. 

It's taken over two years to get here.  There are endless stories to be told about what was done and how it was done, the bullets we dodged, and the almosts, the what-ifs and the alternate time lines.  But those are tales for the future.

Right now, we celebrate a job well done.  

Congratulations, everybody!

Meanwhile, keep checking in for updates about Universal's plans for the display of the restored Delorean Time Machine, which we'll pass on once we know what's going on.

To be continued...!

          -- Bob Gale

Bob Gale offers comparison photos of Mattel Hoverboard and his screen used Hoverboards

Bob Gale recently expressed his concerns on how the Mattel Hoverboard didn't meet his expectations. You can read more about it in his open letter to fans here.

I like most BTTF fans was very pleased to see that Bob Gale addressed those quality issues directly and though he didn't have to, he offered an apology to fans who had pre-ordered the hoverboard based on his endorsement of the product from few months ago. There are few creators especially in the movie industry who even after so many years will go to such lengths to remain thoughtful about their fans. We're really grateful to have Bob Gale on our side.

After reading his letter I directed him to this Mattel Hoverboard thread to show how fans are appreciating his response in the letter. He was glad to see that his comments were taken positively by fans and he mentioned that he never takes his fans for granted. I also mentioned how many fans including RPF (Replica Prop Forum) members offered to help Mattel with all the necessary accurate details (including member Roland who has been offering his accurate hoverboard designs free of cost), none of which were considered by Mattel.

Few members on the RPF were hoping Bob Gale would provide comparison shots between the Mattel Hoverboard and his screen used Hoverboards. He noticed those requests and has now provided the comparison photos along with the following description.

About these photos, and the hoverboards

The accompanying photos show my two boards flanking the Mattel replica.

As far as I'm concerned, the basic design and colors of Mattel's board are just fine. 

Bear in mind the following: for the movie we had several different versions of the hero board, based on how it was to be used or seen in the film. Every version was a little different, both in color and material.  Neither of my boards have the real lenticular finish that's seen in some of the movie shots. 

One of mine (at left in the 3-shot) is the actual one used in the burning of the almanac scene. It's made of foam and has a wire stand on the bottom so that it could be filmed from above and appear to be hovering. That's why the middle part on the bottom is bigger than the one that Marty takes from the little girl: to accommodate the stand.  It was never meant to be seen in any other way. The round rear pad with the velcro strap was lost. 

My other board is made of solid wood. It's a stunt board, and was used by the 2nd unit. I have no way of knowing if it was hung from wires or sat on a piece of pipe. This board has no “magnets” on the bottom or any detail; it too was only to be seen from the top, and only in very wide angle shots. 

In the images, you can see how different the green color on the top is between the boards. Remember too that my boards are over 23 years old, and no doubt, the color has changed a bit over the years. Furthermore, in the movie, the colors would look different under different lighting conditions, and was again altered by the normal color correction we did in the film.  This is why no one should be troubled by Mattel's colors.  

I hope that satisfies your curiosity!

Hot Wheels Elite - 1:43 BTTF DeLorean Time Machine Photos

Hot Wheels Elite have released photos of their new Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine which will be part of their Cult Classic Collection of model cars.

Scale: 1:43
Collection: Cult Classic Collection
Limited Edition: no more than 10,000 pieces

To be released in December 2012 and you can pre-order them at the BTTF.com Store.

As per the Hot Wheels Elite website these are Deco Master Pictures and Not Final Images.

(Click on images to enlarge)

One of the most common inaccuracies in the previous BTTF DeLorean models was the side wiring, which should not go above the tires. And the three cylinder capacitors should be red in color and not grey.

These two details used to bug me all the time. I wrote to Sunstar and DST early on, they acknowledged their mistake but didn't bother to fix them. Sunstar did fix the red color but not the wiring for their final BTTF 3 Railroad DeLorean model. Hot Wheels thankfully got those details right.

"Back to the Future remake talk was a joke. Quotes taken out of context."

Moviehole.net reported earlier today about the possibility of a Back to the future remake by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (creators of the Harold & Kumar movies and directors of American Reunion).

Jon Hurwitz confirmed on Twitter that their quotes were taken out of context for that article and it was intended as a joke.

Here are few of his tweets addressing the remake talks.

Contrary to some Internet rumors, @McSchlossberg & I are not trying to remake Back to the Future. Quote taken out of context. That is all.

@JimothyDullton I'd kill us too. We were joking about it in the context of hating the idea of the Karate Kid remake. Would never go there.

@GeekTyrant @JoeyPaur We do NOT want to remake Back to the Future. Joked about it. I'd want to punch anyone in the throat who remade it.

Still seeing stories popping up claiming Hayden & I want to remake Back to the Future. Think I'd prefer to be accused of murder. #sacrilege

@JeffYorkes It's totally bumming me out. We were joking around about it in an interview and its been taken out of context. So lame.

@slashfilm LIke your article, but the truth is, we were joking around and it was taken out of context. Nobody respects BTTF more than us.

Hurwitz then responded to this Slashfilm article with additional quotes through Twitter.

"It all started with us talking about how as diehard Karate Kid fans, we were furious when KK was being remade. Then it got into a conversation about the business of remakes. And we talked about how KK proved that nerds like us make up such a small portion of the public and people embraced KK. Then we talked about how for business reasons all classics will one day be remade. We speculate BTTF will one day be remade, because its so fucking awesome the world needs those stories. But if it were to be remade, we hope its WAAAAAY in the future. We were totally joking when saying we wanted it. Joking about remaking BTTF is like when Larry David jokes about Hodgkin’s or Trey & Matt joke about AIDS. One of the few truly taboo topics."

Back to the Future poster THE SCIENTIST by artist James White

If you love movie posters and BTTF, it's been an exciting time in the last few days. Last week we had the Mondo Back to the Future posters by Phantom City Creative (Justin Erickson & Paige Reynolds).

And today artist James White (who like PCC is also from Canada) has showcased his poster for Back to the Future with this fantastic and sleek design for Doc Brown titled THE SCIENTIST.

From his blog:
Here’s a poster design of everyone’s favorite scientist, Dr. Emmett L. Brown. In between doing full movie posters I like to do practice pieces to improve on some skills and techniques I’m exploring. This one started that way, as did THE SMUGGLER. 

I’d like to think this was the expression Doc had on his face right before that lightning struck the DeLorean at the end of Part II. Stone cold determination, bravery and curiosity toward the unknown. But lets face it, he was probably screaming like a loon. His character was always my favorite from the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy. So here he is, heroic, immortalized in blue and purple. 

“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” 

Artist James White also did this cool poster for Drive as a fun project, which was then officially released in a limited run back in January.

But the week prior to the Drive poster release, James did an interview with Burlesque Design where he listed Drew Struzan's BTTF poster as one of his top 5 favourite movie posters. Since then I've been wondering if James would ever consider making his own BTTF poster.

I have been following him on Twitter in the last couple of months and his following tweet from last week is when I realized things were about to get heavy.

 "Was hoping to get this fun poster done today, but ran out of time. Which is ironic considering what I'm creating ..."

And this was from yesterday.

 "Finalized tomorrow's poster launch, regular and variant versions. Science, you are in my crosshairs. #88mph"

Mondo to release Back to the Future poster

Dreams do come true. And one of mine certainly has, thanks to Mondo.

Back to the Future is the new license acquired by Mondo and they will be releasing their first BTTF poster. I speculated this possibility in my previous article.

The Mondo BTTF posters will be representing all three movies. When framed together the posters form the DeLorean and show the time periods from the trilogy. There will also be a variant poster with all 3 posters combined.

These posters will be available online at a random time on Friday, March 2nd. Follow Mondo on Twitter and Facebook to know when the sale goes live. It will mostly likely be SOLD OUT within 2 minutes. So have your mobile notifications enabled to know when the tweet with the sale link goes online.

Back to the Future Poster by Phantom City Creative. 18"x24" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 420. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. Sold as a set with Back to the Future Part 2 and Part 3. $88/set

Back to the Future Part 2 Poster by Phantom City Creative. 18"x24" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 420. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. Sold as a set with Back to the Future Part 1 and Part 3. $88/set

Back to the Future Part 3 Poster by Phantom City Creative. 18"x24" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 420. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. Sold as a set with Back to the Future Part 1 and Part 2. $88/set

Back to the Future variant poster by Phantom City Creative. 16"x36" screen print. Hand numbered. Edition of 115. Printed by D&L Screenprinting. $120

The 2012 Time Travel Calendar - Don't leave your 'present' without it

Finally got myself the 2012 Time Travel Calendar from designer Alex Griendling.

This geeky calendar chronicles time travel events from various films, TV shows, comics and video games. This calendar is a follow up to the 2011 calendar with more new additions, including the events from the Back to the Future: The Game accompanying the existing events from the BTTF movies.

Anyone who loves time travel and sci-fi needs to have one of these. You can buy it from this store page.

Read more how this calendar was funded via Kickstarter.

Mondo hints at the possibility of a BTTF and Ghostbusters poster

Back in November 2011, I posted about the Marty McFly art print by Tyler Stout and was hoping that Mondo would someday release a BTTF poster.

Mondo Creative Director Justin Ishmael Interview
Yesterday Scott Wampler from Collider.com posted a great in-depth interview with Mondo Creative Director Justin Ishmael. They talked about the 2011 poster releases, Mondo Mystery Movie Series, things we can expect from Mondo in 2012 and much more. Click on the above link to watch the whole interview.

During the interview Justin answered questions pertaining to Mondo's most requested prints that included Back to the Future, Ghostbusters and Attack the Block. Watch the clip below for Justin's response.



With two new BTTF books already in the pipeline and now with the Mondo BTTF poster, looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for Back to the Future fans and collectors.

Hasslein Books to release two new BTTF books

For years I've been waiting for someone to publish a new Back to the Future book which would offer a comprehensive look at the BTTF Universe. Now thanks to Hasslein Books that wish is going to come true in 2012. The two BTTF books are currently titled "A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon" by Rich Handley and "Back in Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology" by Greg Mitchell.

Visit the Hasslein Books website, like the Hasslein Books Facebook page, follow them on Twitter @HassleinBooks to get more updates on the BTTF books and their other releases.

I have stressed this many times in the past that whenever a company decides to release a BTTF product, the one person they need to get on board as a consultant is Stephen Clark. And I am glad to see that Hasslein Books is taking this right approach with their BTTF books.

"I'm pleased to announce that Stephen Clark, who runs BTTF.com, the official Back to the Future Web site, and is one of the main voices of BTTF fandom, will be writing the foreword to my next book, A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon, due out in 2012. Welcome aboard, Stephen--it's my honor to have you involved with this project."
Rich Handley (Editor, Co-founder) - Posted on December 6, 2011

Also they will be donating $1 per sale from every Back to the Future book they sell to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which is another great initiative from the folks at Hasslein Books.

"Exciting news from Hasslein Books! We're currently in talks with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to discuss plans to donate $1 from the proceeds of every Back to the Future book we sell, including "A Matter of Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Lexicon" and "Back in Time: The Unauthorized Back to the Future Chronology" both due out late 2012/early 2013. Stay tuned for more info on these and other upcoming books! "
Paul Giachetti (Art Director, Co-founder) - Posted on December 10, 2011

"Paul and I had a great conversation today with the folks at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and it's official--we'll be donating one dollar per sale from every Back to the Future book we sell."
Rich Handley - Posted on December 17, 2011


If you're a fan of the Planet of the Apes movies, be sure to get your copies of the two Planet of the Apes books by Rich Handley.

Timeline Of The Planet Of The Apes: The Definitive Chronology




















Lexicon of the Planet of the Apes: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia

The original Planet of the Apes film is one my favourite sci-fi films and the recent Rise of the Planet of the Apes film rekindled my love for the franchise. And I was quite ecstatic to find out about this neat connection between the BTTF and POTA franchises, thanks to Charles Bocock who unearthed this unique piece of detail.

Vote for LEGO BTTF DeLorean

Back to the Future and LEGO fan Masashi Togami has built these awesome LEGO BTTF DeLoreans from BTTF Part 1 and 2, along with Marty & Doc mini figures.





http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/96
You can vote, check more pics and details in the above link. After crossing the mark of 1,000 votes, Masashi got the following official message from the LEGO CUUSOO Team.

Congratulations on crossing over 1,000 votes! We usually give this message at 500, so this is coming a bit late. Better late than never!

Our team is impressed with the detail in your DeLorean model and the Doc and Marty minifigs. Given the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future is coming up in 2015 we see the potential of some BTTF commemorative LEGO models. Keep the ideas and the supporters coming! Best of luck in your journey to 10,000 supporters.

The LEGO CUUSOO Team

http://gizmodo.com/5850882/please-help-make-these-awesome-lego-fantasies-come-true/gallery/1
Click on the above page to know more about the LEGO Cuusoo platform and the reason for wanting 10,000 votes.

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/96
Currently the LEGO BTTF DeLorean page has about 1545 votes. Now we need your help to get to 10,000 votes. Please register and support the page, you can even use your Facebook login id.

Once you have voted please share the above link on Facebook, Twitter and across other websites. Masashi will be donating part of the sales cut received from LEGO towards the The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Vote, share and let's make this LEGO BTTF DeLorean a reality.