Tag Archives: Back to the Future

#2929: Gigawatt

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GIGAWATT

BACK TO THE FUTURE X TRANSFORMERS (HASBRO)

It’s been seven whole years since my one Back to the Future-related review, but it’s been significantly less time since my last Transformers review.  In fact, when I wrote the one BttF review, I wasn’t yet actually doing proper Transformers reviews.  So, there’s been no crossover.  Well, I guess now’s as good a time as any to do that, since, you know, there’s actually an official crossover and everything.  That sure makes my job easier, doesn’t it?  Well, let’s have a look at Gigawatt!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gigawatt is the third offering under Hasbro’s Transformers: Collaborative banner.  He was initially released as a Walmart-exclusive last summer, but has been slowly trickling his way out to other retailers starting at the tail end of last year.  He seems to have finally started hitting in larger quantities in the last month or so.  In his robot mode, Gigawatt stands about 5 inches tall and he has 20 workable points of articulation.  As with Ectotron, Gigawatt makes use of a pre-existing mold for his core starting point.  In this case, he uses the internal engineering and a good number of parts from the Siege Sideswipe figure.  Sideswipe was one of my favorite Siege molds, and is rather masterful in its simplicity relative to just how good it looks.  This figure keeps everything really good about the original mold, and re-skins it with the assorted parts needed for his updated alt-mode.  It looks very good, much like the original release.  Among the wholly new parts specifically for the robot mode is the head; it’s similar to the Sideswipe head, but now it’s got some sweet new goggles, for science purposes, of course.  I also really dig the new torso piece, which features a version of the flux capacitor, as well as the date readouts from the main console.  It really sells all the important elements of the time machine, all in one convenient robot package.  Gigawatt includes a blaster rifle (with removable “stock”) and a “whip.”  The “stock” and “whip” both come more in handy in the next section.

Gigawatt’s alt-mode is kind of the major selling point here.  As a BttF-branded tie-in, there’s really only one logical choice of vehicle mode, and that’s Doc Brown’s modified Delorian DMC-12.  As with pretty much any BttF tie-in version of the vehicle, it doesn’t actually sport any of the specific Delorian branding or markings.  It’s clearly the same car, of course, and it’s a good recreation of it at that.  The transformation sequence is effectively the same as Sideswipe’s, so it’s a fairly intuitive one, but it also looks quite convincing in vehicle mode.  The design of the car allows for the wheels to be switched into hovercar mode, and you can also use the “stock” of the gun to add the Mr. Fusion, or hook the “whip” up to be the antenna used to catch the lightning strike at the end of the first movie.  It makes it quite an inclusive selection of looks from the movie, which is certainly fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ectotron was a lot of fun, so as soon as the possibility of this one was floated, I knew I was on board, even moreso when he was shown off and confirmed to be using Sideswipe’s mold as a starting point.  It’s been a long wait to get one, but he was ultimately worth it.  I love his design, I love how he transforms, I love the extras he comes with, and I just love him in general.  A really, really nice figure, just all around.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#0418: Back to the Future Part II Minimates

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MARTY MCFLY, DOC BROWN, BIFF TANNEN & DISGUISED MARTY

BACK TO THE FUTURE MINIMATES

Minimates are really great, just based on how many properties you can get in one style thanks to them. In many cases, they’re the only way of getting toys from popular movies, as was the case for the longest time with Back to the Future. The first Back to the Future set was something of an experiment for Diamond, to see how boxed sets based on popular movies would do. It was a break away hit, ending up selling out pretty much everywhere. So, naturally Diamond continued on to the next two films in the trilogy. They weren’t quite the success of the first set, but they did alright. Today, I’ll be looking at set number two.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four figures were released as a boxed set, the second in the line. All of the figures are based on the looks seen in Back to the Future Part II.

MARTY MCFLY – FUTURE

Marty is the star of the movies, and he has a fair number of looks over the course of the three films, so he was a natural fit for multiple figures. His first figure in this set is based on his appearance while he’s exploring the 2015 timeline. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he’s got 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with a unique set of feet to represent Marty’s self-lacing shoes, as well as add-ons for his jacket and hair. All of these pieces were new to this figure, though the feet and hair would see a few re-uses down the line. All of the pieces are well sculpted, thought the hair seems a little bit off for Michael J Fox. The paint is okay, but not amazing. Everything is clean, and there’s some great detail work on the clothing. Unfortunately, the face looks nothing like Fox, and it’s only compounded when added to the hair. I don’t really know what happened, but that’s just not him. Marty included a hoverboard that, aside from the forgivable omission of the Mattel logo, is a spot on recreation of the one from the movie.

DOC BROWN

Doc was a very close second to Marty in terms of role in the films, so it’s no surprise that he made his way into each of the boxed sets. Like the previous Marty, this figure is based on Doc’s appearance in the scenes set in 2015 (and also the end of the first movie). Doc is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he has the typical 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard body, but he has his own unique head, as well as an add-on for his jacket/shit/tie. Both pieces were new to this figure, and only the head has seen re-use. The both are well sculpted, although the holes in the temples are a little distracting. The paint work on Doc is quite nice. Everything is nice and clean. The slightly iridescent yellow used for the coat looks fantastic. The detail lines are all nice and sharp, and the likeness on this figure is much better than the one on Marty. Doc includes a pair of sunglasses that hook into the holes on the head. They look fine, but they sit a little too low, and it would be nice if there were a way to have them at the top of his head like they are for most of the movie.

BIFF TANNEN

Biff starts out the series as a rather despicable character, but he goes practically into supervillain mode in Part II. This particular figure represents Biff in the alternate 1985, after old Biff has altered the time line. He represents Biff at his worst, so he’s a pretty good choice for a figure. The figure is about 2 ½ inches in height and sports 14 points of articulation. The figure makes use of the standard body, along with add-ons for the jacket/shirt and the hair. Both pieces are new to this figure, and they are very well sculpted. The only thing that’s a little off is that the hair is perhaps a little too full in the back. 1985 Biff had a very definite bald spot. Biff’s paint is good, if a little drab. That’s true to the movie, so I suppose there’s no room for complaint. At the very least, the face looks a fair bit like Thomas Wilson’s Biff, so that’s good. Biff included no accessories. It would have been nice to at least get the Almanac or even the revolver he tries to shoot Marty with. Oh well.

MARTY MCFLY – DISGUISED

The second Marty in this set is based on Marty’s look in the second half of the film, after he’s travelled back to the 50s again. In order to avoid his past self, who’s already there, he has to wear a disguise. The figure is a little over 2 ½ inches tall with the hat, and he has 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for his hat/hair and his jacket. Both pieces are new to this figure, and they both look pretty good overall. The hat might sit just a tad bit too high, but it’s not terrible. The jacket is a nice, basic leather jacket, and it ended up being re-used a few times. Marty’s paintwork is decent. His torso, waist, and legs are identical to Future Marty, which makes sense, I suppose. He’s got some decently detailed shoes, which is cool, but he’s got the same likeness issue with the face that the other Marty had. Disguised Marty included no accessories, which is a shame. An extra, sunglass wearing head or a walkie talkie would have been cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After missing out on the first set, I was a little discouraged about getting the rest of the figures. Fortunately, not long after the release of the third set, I was able to find the later two boxed sets, as well as two of the supplementary two-packs, at Baltimore Comicon. While the Marty likenesses are disappointing, and there could definitely be a few more accessories, this is a pretty decent set.