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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Marty McFly and Einstein - Back to the Future
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Hot Toys
Date Published: 2021-11-22
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Introduction

A few years back, when Hot Toys was still regularly doing licenses outside of Marvel and Star Wars, they produced several for the classic Back to the Future movies. They made some very weird choices, producing a Delorean from part 1, a Marty from part one, but then a Doc and Marty from part 2, and no Doc from the first film. So while part 2 is arguably the weakest of the three films, we got a Marty and Doc that go together, but don't go with the Delorean, and a Marty that goes with the Delorean, but not with any Doc Brown.

It's taken them three years, but they finally made a couple new announcements that seem to be rectifying the error. We now have a part one Doc Brown available for pre-order that will hopefully be out by March of 2023 (yes, you read that right), and a Marty and Doc from part 3 scheduled to ship around the same time. But that's a long time from now, and how do you get people to buy a Doc Brown from part one if they missed the Marty from part one, which is now three years old and getting older?

Easy, you re-issue Marty. And maybe you can take the opportunity to improve a couple things and convince even those of us with the first Marty to pony up some cash again...

And thus you have tonight's review, Marty McFly from part one, with Einstein as an accessory. He's not cheap, running around $285 from Sideshow, the only retailer to carry him in the U.S. He was a special edition internationally too, making it hard - but not impossible - for you to pick him up. If it seems counter intuitive to make him hard to get when you want as many people as possible to buy him to ensure good sales for Doc, you'd be right.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Packaging - ***
Nothing particularly unique or exciting with the shoe box design this time. Yes, they used the Drew Struzan artwork, but that's pretty standard stuff, and while it's all collector friendly, it's nothing ground breaking.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Sculpting - **1/2
The first release of Marty was reasonable, but not Hot Toys best work. I thought it's biggest issue was age - it looked like a 30 year old Michael J. Fox, not a 20 year old version.

They re-sculpted this version, I assume in an attempt to get it closer. They failed. When I first saw the promo photos, I thought they had simply resculpted the hair, and used the same face. In hand it's clear they also did some minor work on the face, tweaking it in several places.

Speaking of the hair, they altered the style, and ended up giving it less detail. The strands blend together, and it's well below the quality of their usual work.

Back to the face. It's still super realistic, and I like the slightly perplexed expression. But it's not closer to Michael J. Fox, at least not in hand. What's weird is it looks better in photos than in hand, something that rarely happens. If you were to show me the photo below, even with the costumed covered up, I have no doubt I'd be able to identify him. If you were to pop off the head and hand it to me, I don't think I'd have as much luck.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

Still, if I were only going off the portrait, he'd still get three stars here. Like I said, it's still a super realistic and life-like sculpt, even if the accuracy is off. But a big reason you're buying this set is Einstein, and there's were they make another misstep.

If you didn't look at any photos of the actual Einstein, you'd be reasonably happy with this dog. The detail work isn't as good as it should be, but the scale isn't bad and the expression and pose work great. But this is Einstein. And this. And this. And the dog we got looks like a brother from the same litter, but not Einstein.

Part of this is definitely the paint, which does not match at all. But part of it is the sculpt, especially with the nose and ears. It seems like this was a case of 'close enough, nobody will care because it's a dog', and they simply didn't put enough effort and care into the final result.

And yes, I was able to get Einstein to sit in the Delorean with the door open and a little finagling.

By the way, I've complained about this for years, but at this point it seems like Hot Toys is the last company who can't get the scale of sixth scale hands correct.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Paint - ***
Much like the sculpt, the paint was a bit of a disappointment this time, but it's more about Einstein than Marty.

Don't get me wrong, Marty isn't perfect. While the work on the face is the usual perfection when it comes to realism, with the freckling and spotting, it's also too old looking for Marty, and creates much of the age problem overall. They also didn't do the hair sculpt any favors, as the monotone color hides what little detail there is.

Like Marty, Einstein does have a very realistic paint job, but it's definitely not Einstein. There's way too much white in the face and muzzle, and had they gotten the color closer, it would have gone a long way to improving the sculpt.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Articulation - ****
Marty is sporting a very articulated body, with very little to encumber it beyond the normal.

The ball jointed neck, with a joint at the jaw line and at the torso, can lean and tilt with the best of them. While the multiple layers of clothing can restrict the shoulders a bit, it's not as much as you might expect, and with the elbows and wrists, you should be able to get pretty much any natural arm pose.

Those same layers - t-shirt, shirt, jacket, vest - do make twists and turns a bit tough, but he can crunch at the chest quite well, and there's enough twist to make most skateboard poses possible. That's aided by the hips, knees, and ankles of course, all of which are quite mobile. You can work out one and two feet on the board poses with a little effort, and you shouldn't need a stand even for action stances.

Einstein has one point of articulation at the neck. However, you can't move the head much due to the sculpted fur. But it's not really for posing, but rather for removing the head. When you buy the part one Doc Brown, you'll get two stop watches, one of which will go around Einstein's neck. But putting it there will require popping off the head.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Accessories - ***
While there's quite a few accessories, almost all of them are simply re-issued from the original Marty. That doesn't do a lot for their score here.

He has the same eight hands as before, with a pair of relaxed hands on him and three sets of varying grips in the box. These work with specific accessories. Swapping hands was easy, but there's a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.

There's the camcorder, walkman, wrist watch, backpack, skateboard, and 'save the clock tower' flyer, all included with the first release as well. The quality is great, and they exhibit all the same details this time around, like the note on the back of the flyer or the rough surface on the skateboard. Unfortunately, just like the first time, there's no corporate logos anywhere.

There's the usual crotch support display stand, with movie logo of course. Missing from this release that was included originally are the sunglasses, and there was a special edition that also had the guitar.

The only new accessory is Einstein, which was a great idea that was not particularly well executed. Even with his issues he's the reason I bought the figure, but not everyone will be that gullible.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit matches the original release, but there is one rather interesting change.

It consists of the t-shirt, shirt, jacket, vest, suspenders, socks, pants, and shoes. The pants are still a bit high waisted, but it's a minor nit overall, and the tailoring, stitching, and quality of the costume is excellent. Everything fits cleanly, even with the multiple layers.

Everything is in scale too, including the collars and pockets. Like the first release, he has the three specific buttons on the front of the jean jacket. And speaking of buttons, they've included some extras of the tiny faux buttons on the jacket and vest just in case you need them.

The one big change is the vest. By itself, you probable won't notice it, but they made two clear alterations. First, this version is a darker red. Second, the stitching pattern is different, particularly around the pockets. I think the more rounded tops on the vest pockets is more accurate, and the color seems to be as well, making this vest the better release.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Fun Factor - ****
While there's a few nits to pick, this is still a highly posable figure with some nice display options. You can get pretty creative with the skateboard, and if you have the Delorean, there's some additional poses that look killer.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Value - *1/2
Here's where he really takes a hit. Remember, the original was just three years ago and was $225. Charging $285 for this definitely feels like gouging, and there's simply no way Einstein is a $60 addition, particularly with a completely re-used outfit and accessories.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Everything is sturdy and well made, and you shouldn't have any issues with breakage or damage.

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Overall - ***
If you didn't get Marty originally, this figure is a great option. Even at the higher price tag, I'm betting he's lower than the current ebay prices for the first release, and you get Einstein - albeit an imperfect version - as part of the deal. You'll be able to get you Doc - eventually - to go with him and create a great display.

If you already have the first Marty, it's a much harder call. I bought it for two reasons - to get Einstein, and to pose him without the vest. You might not feel the compulsion, especially at this price point.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - **1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - *1/2
Overall - ***

Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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Where to Buy 
Sideshow was the only official retailer in the U.S. with this release, where it's $285. You can always search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
You'll want to check out the earlier Marty from part one, the Marty from part 2, and the Doc from part 2.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

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Back to the Future Marty McFly (Einstein) sixth scale action figure by Hot Toys

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

This page copyright 2000 - 2021, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved.