30 Years is the cutoff. That’s as long as I will wait for a figure line to be produced. Little did I know that you have to be careful what you wish for in the toy world. No sooner did I realize that it was 2015 than did I realize that my dream was finally coming true. However my dream was somehow turning into a financial nightmare. Yes, I am a die hard Back to the Future fan and we have never gotten the figures we deserved for the classic 80’s trilogy. Some have Star Wars as their trilogy, mine was always BTTF. My love of time travel and all things 80’s usurped George Lucas’ space opera and I made mine McFly since I first saw the DeLorean take off at the end of Part I in 1985 when I was 8 years old looking up at the screen with marvel. The one good thing about getting older is that older memories are more clear and you can distinctly remember things from lengthy periods of time like say 30 years. Example: I can distinctly remember at the end of Back to the Future thinking, “they better make toys for this movie.” Last year we were given the equivalent of a peace offering with a couple of Funko ReAction figures to whet Hill Valley-ites palette. But it wouldn’t be until the seminal year in the franchise of 2015 that BTTF fans were hit with a punch worthy of taking down Biff Tannen in the high school parking lot.
It struck again and I knew my pockets were not deep enough. The good people at Sideshow Collectibles & Hot Toys revealed just exactly I was praying for: the ultimate Marty McFly figure that would kick the ass of every Marty McFly figure that was ever attempted over the past three decades. This wasn’t just a figure, this was like they cloned a piece of Michael J. Fox himself to make the most epic piece of 80’s memorabilia in the history of the company. This wasn’t just a toy they were selling, at least not to me. They were selling dreams. Oh, and did I mention that the dream came with a full 1/6 scale replica of the DeLorean time machine as well? As if adding incredible insult to a ridiculous injury, Sideshow Collectibles & Hot Toys were practically saying, “Hey cripple? Nice tie!” and kicking me while I was down already trying to recover from the exorbitant cost of just purchasing Marty. For the both plus shipping, taxes and all that jazz—a cool $1000. Now it wasn’t just the figure I had to buy but I had to get the very instrument that takes my favorite young hero back to the 50’s, forward to the 21st Century and then back even further to the Old West?? It was all too much for this Junkie to process and way too much power for these toy companies to be wielding. But it made me realize something important. The dawn of a new day in toy collecting was upon us and only the strong with deep pockets will survive.
See you have to go into this nouveau riche era of figures throwing out all of your preconceived notions about “toys.” These aren’t just figures, these are insane pieces of art that have the most ridiculous detail you can imagine outside of renting the actual Michael J. Fox for a weekend for your family to inspect. The toys have surpassed anything an assembly line could produce. This is like if Steve Jobs got a hold of a toy company, this is what would happen. Insane meets magic. Creativity meets realism. Dreams clashing with reality. I remember reading about Hot Toys Chairman Howard Chan a few years ago after being wowed by his creations at Toy Fair. How he slept in his one room office for a night because he couldn’t get one tiny detail correct on his first soldier prototype figure years ago. The guy wouldn’t leave the office until it was perfect. He would accept nothing less. Now over a decade later, Chan’s legacy and philosophy that if he got the exact likenesses of big time properties, the collector will pay more makes him look like a prescient genius. Because the truth is that Chan’s targeted demographic of guys my age have taken the righteous tasty bait that he put out there for us and keep coming back. And it seems like every new piece he comes out with is better than the last. Whether it is owning a piece of our childhood again with the ’89 Michael Keaton Batman or jonesing for some modern day fandom with the outrageously large and expensive Avengers: Age of Ultron Hulkbuster, there is no figure that these companies produce that is just “eh.” Each and every piece will stop traffic. And the car would probably get dented before the figure would.
But lets come down to earth for a minute here. It doesn’t make me less of a collector that I cannot afford every Hot Toy that gets released. You need some serious job security or a solid trust fund to be able to afford more than say, one Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles purchase a year. And you definitely need a rock star of a wife that supports the hell out of your “habit.” You’ve gotta weigh all of these factors into the purchase of a Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles because its not just like coming home with the whole new wave of Marvel Legends and you’re out over $100. No, no, no. This is an investment we are talking about. This is where you start weighing whether or not your little one needs braces or can they live with a crooked smile so that I can get my fix? Yes, that is what it means to make a commitment of this size. And the truth is, these babies pay for themselves. Lets be honest, these pieces (I call them pieces b/c saying toys just cheapens them) are conversation starters. Even if you can only afford one a year and just to be clear, if you can afford one on top of all of your other collecting duties, you’re doing okay in my book. One of these pieces is worth its weight in gold in stories and sheer epic coolness that will cement you forever as the “cool dad.”
Its not even SDCC yet but I have my change bin filled and it is all going towards my epic Back to the Future shrine of Marty and the DeLorean. Bless Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles for delaying the two items yet again giving me even more time to stall and make excuses of why I cannot afford to do something else. Like eat or drink. I will make any excuse I can to grow what I have come to call my “Hill Valley Trust Fund 2015.” Bigger sometimes does mean better, especially in action figure collecting. But again, these aren’t really action figures, these are slices of our childhood come to life on an epic scale we never thought possible. And in our world, maybe thats ok. Or at least we will do all we can do to rationalize it is for one more day. The air up here is just a little sweeter smelling and cooler and I already have my next one picked out due in the second quarter of 2016. Guy’s gotta dream right?
Editor's Note: While you are dreaming, check out this "posing" video for the figure!
Jarrett Kruse is the owner & founder of Action Figure Junkies (AFJ), the number one toy group on social media. His crowd funding campaign with Toybacker.com kicks off this summer as Captain Junkie and the "Junkie-verse" come alive with a web comic and a line of action figures.