Hmm, a thought occurs. Do young people actually care about the Back to the Future films? How much actually needs to be said here? I mean, it was basically everywhere in the 80's, and the VHS boom, but nobody seems to have tried to reboot it yet, or add another cinematic sequel. Thank god. I think the last time it was relevant though when reality caught up to the space year 2015, which had been the future seen in the second film. So, let's keep to the big picture stuff. The Back to the Future trilogy was an extremely popular movie series, that did much to popularise time travel as a narrative device. If you're doing baby's first time travel episode, you're probably touching the same points BTTF did. Or just doing a Terminator pastiche. It's also one of those stories that seems deeply nostalgic for America of the 1950's as opposed to the more interesting decades on either side of that, and is also very-very 80's. Probably more 80's than Transformers is as a brand. A collaboration in the form of this toy perhaps isn't a shock, then. But I do wonder what the licensing deal was like...
Righty, Gigawatt is the second of the modern run of transformers crossovers, parent, or at least an uncle, to those rather pleasing Hot Wheels releases. This example I have here is from the later re-release for the 40th anniversary, and possibly the less desirable one. The originals had a supposedly limited run of 1985, heh, and there’s some packaging differences I can't be arsed to get into. It's a nice retro styled box BTW, just wanted to say that somewhere. Said box also presents the toy in vehicle mode, which is quite obviously where most of the effort went. It's an almost perfect representation of the DMC DeLorean time machine as it is seen in the first and second films, depending on where you put the accessories and what you do with the wheels. There is a noticeable absence of the DeLorean logo, maybe a shame there, but more pressing is the case of visible head syndrome. Otherwise it's pretty much perfect, and I don't feel like putting the films on to double check. It's got the numberplate and everything, with lots of paint. Rather than simply a replica however, there's play features beyond rolling wheels, folding wheels in fact, for the future tech flight mode. The wheels like to pop off a lot, but there's a useful port for a figure stand there.There's also a plugin "Mr Fusion", and a bumpercar type pole for recreating the climax of the first film. The gull wing doors are present too. Meanwhile, the gun for the robot mode unobtrusively plugs in behind the front lights. So, in so far as deluxe sized cars circa 2020 go, this is rather nice, although we shouldn't forget the crossover premium at play here, and so this cost rather more than a deluxe.
With the transformation we discover the meaningful weaknesses of the toy though. Gigawatt is a retool of the aggressively overused Siege Sideswipe mould, and if you didn't know that going in, the transformation would probably give it away. There are new steps added to the process, involving the front wheels and chest plate, but these seem to have added problems. As mentioned, those wheels like to pop off a lot, and the chest was so stiff at first I thought I was doing something wrong. Paint chipping and wear is reportedly an issue for that area too. Otherwise the retooling isn't actually bad, and mould degradation isn't a factor, but it has implications for the robot mode.
Said robot mode has both character and the fundamentals, in a black and gray colour scheme. It's got a very wide chest, with a flux capacitor front and center, providing much visual interest. The head sculpt seems to be wearing Doc Brown's goggles, but the face isn’t him. If anything, it's like a deeply forgettable comics character called Wrung. It is here where the Sideswipe comparisons become unavoidable, as an awful lot is used unchanged, and often cast in a different plastic from the newer vehicle bits. A vast majority of the arms, the upper legs, pelvis and the slots for Sideswipe's shoulder launcher are all here and immediately recognisable. I would dearly love to know the practicalities of all this. Is it the case that they just reused a CAD file? Or does the Sideswipe mould have a distinct runner/sprue for the robot bits? And/or was there a lot of Sideswipe going into landfill? I wanna know the numbers!
The net effect of all this is that Gigawatt looks very generic and low key in robot mode. Yes, there's the chest plate, which makes him super-wide, but ignore that and you've got a gray and black robot who could be absolutely anyone. The black eats what detail there is, and there's a set of unpainted flux capacitors on the knees. Maybe we could have had some blue in here? Marty McFly liked his denim. On the plus side, there's a very solid set of play features, with a lot of 5mm ports and blast effect compatibility. He's got a pretty good gun, which you can plug the Mr Fusion bit into in two places. You can also use that as a "watch" in an undocumented feature. The door wings also have 5mm ports, and are a good place to stow that pole. Articulation is decent, if loosing a bit in the knees. Generally a good robot mode.
Gigawatt is a pleasing prop replica crafted atop a good deluxe. A deluxe that has been used far too often, yes. A deluxe that hasn’t changed that much in robot mode, yes. But it was a fundamentally good deluxe, that has new accessories, and has been made quite pretty. The value proposition is where it runs in to problems. These are generally quite expensive, and as there’s been 16 (and counting) uses of this mould, alternatives are plentiful. I however got this for £15 new, and was quite happy with it :)
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