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Back To The Future writer slams Mattel hoverboard - SciFiNow

Back To The Future writer slams Mattel hoverboard

Back To The Future writer Bob Gale apologises for backing the “disappointing” prop hoverboard

Mattel hoverboard Back To The Future
Mattel hoverboard Back To The Future
Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) with the ‘real’ hoverboard in Back To The Future Part 2

Back To The Future writer Bob Gale has withdrawn his previous support for Mattel’s collectable hoverboard – inspired by the device Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) picks up in Back To The Future Part 2 – in the following epic missive on the Back To The Future fansite:

“I was convinced Mattel was going to do us – and themselves – proud, and that the final version would be something every fan would want to own… I put my money where my mouth was: I dropped a grand and ordered eight of them for myself.

“The plastic stand is poorly designed and damn near impossible to make work. And although it was indicated that the board would somehow glide across certain smooth surfaces (like carpet), mine certainly didn’t. I too thought the sounds the board makes were underwhelming. But I would have forgiven all of these things if they had just gotten the lenticular quality of the movie board correct.

“This, in my opinion, is the product’s biggest problem. It’s supposed to be a prop replica so, at a $120 pre-sale price, it should look perfect. But it misses that mark. It’s not a disaster–far from it: the colours, dimensions, weight are great with a solid build quality, and the box graphics are a lot of fun (even though it’s missing the sticker that says “warning: does not work on water!”). And if it was $70, I’d give it an A. But at almost twice that price ($130 now), it is, at best, only a B. And dammit, I expected an A.

“I put myself out there to promote this, so now I want to publicly stand here with egg on my face and apologise. This product, at this price, falls short of the top notch standards that you and I have come to expect for something that carries the Back To The Future brand. To those of you who bought one because of my endorsement and are upset with the product, I’m very, very sorry. Please accept my apology. I share your disappointment, and you have permission to put my photo on a dart board and throw sharp objects at it.”