AFJ REVIEW: BACK TO THE FUTURE ICED TIME MACHINE SET VEHICLE 1:15 SCALE!

I have lived and breathed Back to the Future for over three decades. Don't get me wrong, I love those other trilogies, some so insanely famous they are simply known only as, "The Original Trilogy." However, BTTF really changed things for me as an 8-year-old seeing the film after a long summer away from home for sleepaway camp. I remember my Dad telling me about this great movie mom and he went to see with "Alex P. Keaton" from Family Ties when they came upon Visiting Day. I was itching to see a big summer movie by the time I got home in late August and Back to the Future changed the movie landscape in my young eyes.

From the first bars of Alan Silvestri's whimsical and emotional musical score, I still get hairs on the back of my neck sticking up when I see the title page with the date. Not only did I have my folks send me the Back to the Future soundtrack to camp but at now 9 years old in 1986, BTTF had become my whole life so I even had them send the Silvestri musical score on audiotape as a precocious 9-year old. What kid asks their parents, "I want to hear not just the music by Huey Lewis, but the background music." I was clearly obsessed with all things McFly, Brown & Hill Valley, CA.

By the time I saw Part II at 13, it was just a few days after my Bar Mitzvah and it was a tradition for the family to go to the movies the night before Thanksgiving. I was blown away. It was like the perfect second chapter film narrative complete with an amazing post-credit preview scene for the third film. Clearly, Part III was almost finished, letting the BTTF faithful know that, "Yes we've got you covered in the Old West to finish this iconic trilogy off."

However, where was the merchandise for these three monster films? There was literally nothing outside of some McDonald's toys from Part II. It made me scratch my head because this is a film that is in the National Archives. The National Archives! That's big! That's historic! Thankfully the toy makers around the world heard our cries as we entered the 21st Century and although we have only received some small figures from FUNKO and some MINIMATES from Diamond Select, no real 6-7-inch BTTF figures have been made save for the exorbitantly expensive HOT TOYS version which I could afford it was available to purchase in 32 "EZ PAYMENTS." So what are Junkies left with? The greatest time travel machine on Earth and one of the most recognizable vehicles on the globe.

Our pals at Diamond Select have shipped us a bunch of BTTF DeLorean's over the years since AFJ's inception. What I love about this particular new DeLorean is that they tried something different and it has paid off handsomely. This DeLorean is NOT the Hover-conversion one we see in Part II. The wheels do not invert nor is their "MR. FUSION" as seen at the end of the first film and playing a key role in the second film. No, this is the DeLorean we see at the Twin Pines Mall when Doc is accosted by the Libyan's and eventually shot and killed. Then, of course, Marty uses the vehicle to go back to 1955 to escape the Libyan's by getting the car up to 88 MPH.

First the extras, the car lights up perfectly at the top with the push of the button and you feel this thing can peel out any second. You get two trails of fire made of a fine and sturdy plastic that really impressed me. The yellow Plutonium box that we first see in the film when Marty's skateboard rolls into it at Doc's lab. The Plutonium box is nothing short of very impressive. In fact, all 12 canisters of the dangerous substance singularly are removed from the Plutonium box so you can have some real fun with this stuff and do some cool re-enactment of your own. Finally on a stand with a perfect diagonal is the "OUTATIME" California license plate we all know and love. Nice touch.

Now onto the real deal. The most epic high-end sports car to fracture the space-time continuum. First of all, it looks wonderful and has some real weight to it unlike some of the previous iterations of the DeLorean. Remember Junkies, this is the car from the first film. And yes we did see the flying car at the end of Part 1, but I don't really count it because it was just a one-off. What I loved so much, and I am totally surprised that they did not put it on the box, is that this is the "just returned from Time Travel" DeLorean. The box is extended by about 4 inches because of all of the extras it comes with which is a rarity on a vehicle. And as any BTTF lover knows, the car gets ice cold when making time jumps. Well the wizards at DST have changed that with an almost battle-damaged version of the DeLorean and it looks glorious. There are clear spots of ice and frost all around the vehicle and it is really noticeable if you put each car side to side. While I was cleaning it with compressed air, which gets very cold, I was able to make additional "cold spots" on the hood and doors. Just really nifty old school fun and great "playability,"

The interior is just amazing with no details spared. Their even is a nifty gadget where you can open the hood from the back forward should you want to change the three batteries hidden inside the secret compartment under the hood. The cockpit easily fits the FUNKO Marty & Doc figures and I bought extras just for this review because let's face it, it does not look like we are getting any BTTF figures anytime soon.

The two fire trails are a lot of fun to put behind the vehicle and make it seem like the car is revving up to go back, or is it forward to the future? Either way, even the sleek DeLorean's windows are clearly fogged up from the cold. Just really terrific details that DST tends to always get right. I was really hoping for a pole attachment for the back of the car to recreate the finale of Part I when Marty goes back to the future. So far none of the DST iterations have included the pole with the hanger on top that is the conduit for the lightning that carries 1.21 Gigawatts sending the DeLorean to its coordinates. Although I am not a maker of custom figures, I think I may actually try to add something to this vehicle. I just love it that much!

Back to the Future Iced Time Machine Collector Set Vehicle

Diamond Select Toys revisits their bestselling electronic 1:15 scale Time Machine from Back to the Future with a 30th Anniversary edition box set! Having just arrived in our time from 1985, this Version 1 Time Machine has a thin coating of "frost" over its entire surface, to replicate the effects of time travel. This collector set even includes flaming tire tracks, a license plate you can pose like it's spinning, and a case of plutonium! (Well, not actual plutonium, of course.) The Back to the Future Iced Time Machine Collector Set Vehicle comes packaged in a full-color window box and measures approximately 12 1/2-inches long. Features lights, sounds, 4 all-new accessories, as well as opening gull-wing doors and an opening hood. Requires 3x "AA" 1.5V batteries (included). Ages 8 and up.

To get yours today for just $59.99, ORDER HERE: http://bit.ly/1Mszw38

THE FINAL WORD

This DeLorean is everything and more that I was hoping for. Save for the aforementioned pole (and Einstein the dog), this baby has it all and you can probably find it for less at around $45 if you are savvy enough on the web. I would have liked it if the fire trails could be attached to the back of the vehicle but still, a very cool addition that ups the playability. Fans of the film will not be disappointed as they rev this DeLorean up to go back. Definitely, one of the better-constructed models I have seen in recent years and glad to see that DST is trying something new. I love that they dip their toes in uncharted waters and try new things. It's a vanguard move that paid off.