Hot Toys Back to the Future II - 1/6th scale DeLorean Time Machine

[kyekye]

Have to commend Sideshow on their speed. Received last Thursday, sent back Friday morning, they just shipped it today, and the replacement arrives this Thursday!

Yours is moving fast!
I sent mine on 3/2 via UPS - It still hasn't reached them yet (Probably tomorrow)

 

[T8OO]

Thank you very much! I was sweating the whole time, trust me! After doing the first wheel however, I realized that they had to be pulled out a lot further than I thought. It's almost as wide as the tumbler when the wheels are fully extended...

Can you advise if my theory was correct that if they aren't pulled put far enough the rubber was catching the chassis?

 

[user 67236]

Hopefully you will be around in 2045 to enjoy it.

It doesnt matter. I can wait. And if not i prefer to not have nothing than paying 1k for a hot wheels car.

 

[Galacticat]

I really think that a significant reason for breakage is not just the failure to pull the wheels out- but also pulling out at ANY kind of angle.

I think it would be a great idea for Hot Toys to release some kind of warning/video instruction on the wheels transfiguration. Or maybe given the number of small fragile parts, they expect a certain high percentage of breakage, and build that into the price (maybe that is one reason this thing was $850 or something)


The quality issues aside- I agree it does look REALLY cool... the details are really good, and the lighting looks great.

 

[Danny-Boy]

It’s unacceptable especially for the price. People are going to want to convert it to hover mode and back as often and freely as they want. That’s the biggest draw. Just knowing that it’ll break on them at some point is disgusting.

 

[davejames]

Yeah I'm a little irritated by people blaming this all on "user error". As even people doing it correctly are still clearly nervous as hell every time they touch it, and the instructions don't tell you just how careful and precise you need to be. And there's really no reason the joints should be that fragile anyway.

 

[dblaze]

Can you advise if my theory was correct that if they aren't pulled put far enough the rubber was catching the chassis?

I can't say for sure that all of them were not broken on arrival, but I strongly believe that the tires catching on the chassis is the biggest cause for damage... Just pull them out far enough and straight and you should be OK...

 

[Brent72]

It doesnt matter. I can wait. And if not i prefer to not have nothing than paying 1k for a hot wheels car.

To not have nothing? That means having something. Lol

 

[Brett Banner]

Yeah I'm a little irritated by people blaming this all on "user error". As even people doing it correctly are still clearly nervous as hell every time they touch it, and the instructions don't tell you just how careful and precise you need to be. And there's really no reason the joints should be that fragile anyway.

^^^Exactly this. Like we’re all a bunch of noobs or something.

 

[cdx008]

I wonder if this means their first batch is now sold out? Their date shifted over to May-July

 

[Xeno Junkie]

Wow, all these breakages are terrible! While some people are saying, “The wheel wasn’t pulled out far enough”, it still shouldn’t cause such a break. The joint should have been MUCH stronger to endure the movement of the wheel being able to pivot down as well as support the weight of the vehicle without worry.

These breaks are 100% a design/ material flaw.

 

[K1LLJOY]

Mine should be arriving tomorrow.

 

[Apone]

I didn't try to glue it back in. I just set the chair back into the groove and I'm currently awaiting a reply from side show

Mine was the same exact way

 

[Rydeck]

Hot Toys often does not have a mind for the long-term. Too bad JazzInc (generally) doesn't make things Hot Toys is already making. I'm sure the craftsmanship would be better.

 

[T8OO]

Hot Toys often does not have a mind for the long-term. Too bad JazzInc (generally) doesn't make things Hot Toys is already making. I'm sure the craftsmanship would be better.

As I said earlier in the thread. My experience with JazzInc hasn't been any better than Hot Toys.

 

[Rydeck]

As I said earlier in the thread. My experience with JazzInc hasn't been any better than Hot Toys.

I missed what you said about your JazzInc experiences.

I was thinking of JazzInc's Vulture figure where they tested and added stiffeners to make sure the wings hold up. Not a 1:1 comparison to make with Hot Toys since Hot Toys didn't release a Vulture figure, but I get the feeling that Hot Toys has a 'good enough' mentality with some releases. Perhaps it only appears different with JazzInc because JazzInc communicates during the development process and Hot Toys doesn't.

 

[Galacticat]

Although I do think that breakage can probably be avoided with certain somewhat extremely careful and specific steps (in most cases) I also totally agree that "user error" is not the issue here. The wheel configuration/housing/joint issue is absolutely a serious design defect. And yes, I do say that as an attorney who used to do at least some product defect litigation. This sucker is defective as all get out.

Hot Toys should be offering a fix to collectors who have this thing, even the ones who don't have breakage yet. The rate of breakage is just way way too high. When you have the car on its back and you are transforming the joint- you can see exactly what the issue is. You can actually SEE the joint bulge where that screw piece scrapes by...

They should have made the joint housing out of metal, not THIN THIN barbie car plastic. It would have added what, $5-10 to production costs? They must have known it was a huge risk, and took it anyway rather than spend a dime more on production cost or more likely- production time... (my guess is that probably the factory could easily and quickly mold and crank out the joint pieces in thin plastic- but a sturdier joint out of thick plastic or metal would have taken 6 months or more).

I wonder how much they knew about this issue. I suspect they did know and figured they would get more sales with the wheels looking more "screen accurate" like collectors were demanding, than they would loose on returns due to breakage. Or maybe they just never tested it, which seems unlikely but is at least possible given how relatively quickly they changed the design on this...

I'll be curious to see (and jealous) if the later production will have this issue fixed or addressed in any way...

 

[davejames]

I feel sorry for the people buying this years down the road on the secondary market at sky high prices. Awareness of the issue will have faded by then and they'll likely have no idea what they're in store for.

 

[Galacticat]

I feel sorry for the people buying this years down the road on the secondary market at sky high prices. Awareness of the issue will have faded by then and they'll likely have no idea what they're in store for.

I was also thinking how hard it would be to actually SELL something like this if your space/interest dwindled- you'd want to make sure the buyer was aware of the issue and could tell them how to go about it- (turn on its back- pull directly out all the way not at angle) but who knows if they would listen and if they did not- there seems like a good chance of breakage- at which point they'd demand a refund...

So yeah I think this is a forever piece, haha

 

[pixletwin]

Just received this email:

Hello pixletwin,​

We wanted to let you know that the estimated arrival date for your DeLorean Time Machine has changed. Based on the latest production information, we now expect your item to arrive into our warehouse in May-Jul 2023. We apologize for any inconvenience, but we do look forward to shipping out this item to you when it arrives. If you need to update any information on your order A******, you can do so easily through your online account.​

Happy Collecting,​

The Sideshow Team​