Hot Toys Back to
the Future Marty McFly (MMS-257)

NoisyDvL5

So the clothes. The outfit? The costume? I like it. It’s spot on. The down vest, the jean jacket (once you pop that collar) suspenders, two shirts, it’s all well-tailored. And looks sharp on the figure. It’s such a unique costume and they nail it so well, that I could probably pop an Eric Stoltz head on there and few would question just who he’s supposed to be.

So are there aesthetic issues? A few. The neck is probably the biggest. It’s just a tad long for when he’s in his full getup, and gets more noticeable if you try to pose him in the shirts and suspenders as he appears at the end of the film. The whole look really doesn’t work at all unfortunately. The suspenders really pull down on articulation gaps in the shoulder, the clunky elbows (which work great) become visible, and the neck seems never-ending. I think my pics also exaggerated this because I used a new setup and Marty doesn’t have his chin down in hardly any of the shots – and that’s usually how you see him in the movie. Clothes-wise, the only issue I had is the button on his jeans. It disappeared somewhere during the shoot. Oops. The Velcro is also visible on the fly too – it’s the weakest part of the figure.

Finally, the accessories. This was the exclusive Sideshow release so I snagged an extra guitar and strap from the music tryouts in the beginning of the film. Also included is the camcorder from the mall, the Walkman and headphones, his watch, a flyer to save the clock tower, his backpack, and his skateboard. Oh, and sunglasses. Most of these are awesome! The camcorder is my favorite because it works best with the expression and my iconic Marty/Doc combo is from the Twin Pines Mall scene. The backpack, skateboard, guitar, and headphones are all up there as great pieces. The flyer is a nice touch too. The watch is a little bland, but they’re better than the sunglasses. He’s not really supposed to wear them, they’re just for the movie poster look where he’s pulling them off his head, but there’s not really a good hand for that pose.

There are also eight hands, three for the right hand and five for the left. Most are specifically suited to one particular accessory (as shown in the instructions) and all are great. I like the ones with the thumbs out so I can do the cool thumbs in pocket pose. I had the most trouble with the one for his skateboard/backpack combo. The hand just doesn’t want to hold the weight of both. Also included is the standard HT stand doll stand with a twist. This one has the waist clip instead of the crotch clip. It gets in the way with the suspenders and various layers. I need to grab a different clip to swap in there.

Overall, I’m thrilled. The longer I’ve had him, the more I seem to be happier with the purchase. All the accessories are cool, but I think he’s getting the camcorder for the shelf. I would like the neck to be shorter, but I can pose him in ways to minimize how tall it looks (which I failed to do in the pics). It’s the spot-on costume details, right down to the buttons, and the great face sculpt that end up selling him as another great addition to the MMS line. And I was right about his being a new drug: I can’t wait for the eventual Doc Brown. I’d consider anybody else they made. And I’m terrified about the time machine. Oy. That’s for later though. Right now? Well, I need to go ahead and pop a certain movie in the Blu-ray player.

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13 thoughts on “Hot Toys Back to
the Future Marty McFly (MMS-257)”

  1. Excellent review as always, sir. That said, I am not pleased with the figure’s look. Honestly, my distaste for Hot Toys increases daily at this point. That Keaton Batman was a grail for me, but looking at it now, there’s something off about it… and it seems there’s something “off” about just about every HT figure. For the prices they charge, that’s unacceptable.

    On the other hand, it also seems that I am alone in fretting about this, so stay the course, Hot Toys…

    Meanwhile, I share your love for the BttF franchise. I desperately hope NECA gets the license someday.

    1. Completely agree. I don’t understand why everyone seems to gush over this one, but to me it looks totally off. Which is a damn shame, as I would have broken the embargo I have in place on ordering any more of these until my credit card is payed off for a good Marty McFly.

      And good friggin lord, that Keaton. What a colossal failure that one is, especially compared to the first movie one. Maybe if they spent less time doing stupid BOBBLEHEAD DOLLS they could get their sculpt quality back up to what it used to be.

      Their consistency has gone way down as of late. When they nail it they still NAIL IT (Gamora, Robocop, etc), but they seem to be missing the mark more often than not anymore. But why focus on getting the face sculpts back up to snuff when there are a hundred minutely different Iron Mans to make, right? Combine that with how sharply they’ve gone up in price from even just a year ago and I don’t know how many more of these I’m going to get. Especially with NECA’s larger scale figs looking so, so good (and for only a third of the price).

        1. That’s better than their official pics. Still doesn’t seem quite right, especially compared to the first movie figure which looks like it literally just walked off the screen and onto my shelf. Yes, they only had half the face to worry about there, but still, considering that the only (official) way to get it is to buy a set of two of these, which will likely be $600-ish (I haven’t looked if it’s up for order yet because disappoint), it damn well should have been perfect. Oh well, money saved.

          1. It’s $345 from Sideshow – the 2pks aren’t Mattel-priced thankfully! And, even better, you can usually clean-up on eBay if you only want part of it. There will be folks wanting just Bruce Wayne or that prefer the armored look of Batman over the original and have no need for the Bruce. I got most of an extra Steve Rogers for a custom at great prices.

            As for perfection, nothing is perfect. There will always be something for each of to decide if we want to deal with it. I’ll definitely be picking up the 2pk to get Bruce & the Armored Batman. I’m gonna have to buy him some new clothes though, the tuxedo just doesn’t do it for me.

            1. That…makes no sense. How is a set of two of these – one of which has a very complicated costume, numerous accessories, and lots of alternate hands – less expensive than Thanos or Ultron*, both of which come with almost nothing? Heck, if I didn’t hate the Returns suit and the face on Batman wasn’t painted so as to look like he’s wearing lipstick and blush, that might be worth trying to t.

              And oh yeah, eBay is great for these. I’ve got me a Dark Knight Two Face, First Avenger Cap, and Dutch Schaefer thanks to scavenging parts thereabouts. I likely will just do that for Bruce if the final head looks closer to the pic attached above.

              And wow, people sure are crazy. The Nicholson Joker is by far the best likeness they’ve ever done, in my opinion. That one is amazing.

              *Ultron I can understand given how all of it is newly sculpted/tooled and how hella intricate it is, but Thanos pisses me off.

    2. I’ll still buy NECA stuff to be sure. I’m kinda wondering if Funko can go Legacy since they’ve done ReAction.

      As for things being “off”, you don’t want to know this, but they often look better in person. That said, it’s a unique experience – I think my Jack Nicholson Joker is one of the best but I’ve had people over and they point to him saying “They’re all amazing, except him”. People are crazy. lol

      1. That would be fantastic if they could. Maybe they will? I still hold out hope that they’ll give Goonies the Legacy treatment, but apparently the ReAction figures didn’t do so hot (They needed glossy finish, guys! It’s the Kenner way!) so it’s not likely. But Marty, Doc, Biff, they all have so much variant potential. Maybe SDCC will bear fruit.

  3. Excellent review. I think the head is a little off. It’s still good as you can tell who it is at a glance but the likeness just isn’t as good as some of their other figures. Having said that I am not a big fan of BTTF (or time travel movies in general) but I love Teen Wolf so maybe it’s because I keep thinking of his likeness from it instead of BTTF.

  4. For real, though, how were there never any BTTF toys back in the day? Yeah, you’re right about a micro machine (or likewise) set or two, I remember I had the future Texaco station from #2 with a tiny flying delorean and I think another car. I’ll always remember that, I saw it while my mom, grandma, and I were at the mall and I snatched it up because there just was just never anything from BTTF, and then the next store we went into had the BTAS Bruce Wayne which I had spent months searching for, and I wasn’t allowed to get it because I just got the car set. So it instantly became a source of bitterness, lol. Then there was a set of happy meal toys, or I think they might have been from burger king actually, from the cartoon series. But that was IT. It’s funny, when stuff like Robocop and Rambo and other things not AT ALL appropriate for children had multiple full lines, how was there never ANYTHING from BTTF?

  5. I guess what I don’t get about Hot Toys, and it’s made more obvious with Marty, is why Hot Toys doesn’t use an endoskeleton. Longevity issues aside (and I assume that’s not a problem, since most sixth scale collectors baby their toys), you go to the trouble of having this ultra-representational face sculpt and then you see the wrist joints, the elbow joints, heck, even that neck, and they look totally disjointed. One a smaller figure, it’s no big deal, and I actually like seeing articulation areas because it reminds me that I have an action figure and not a pricey collectible. But on articulated statues like this, it really seems nothing should be visible.

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