If you’ve been collecting any form of toy over the last decade, you know all about mini-mates. Born out of the mini-figure boom of a few years back, the figures produced by Art Asylum were an instant hit. The Marvel figures were clearly the most popular, but the style was applied to all kinds of licenses.

Diamond Select took over the mini-mate line last year, and are now producing not only the Marvel and DC characters, but some truly unique and unusual licenses. One of those is the classic Back to the future. This set includes Marty McFly, Biff, Doc Brown and Lorraine McFly, and is hitting your LCS and online stores now.

Back to the Future mini-mates!

With all the time travel shows on right now – between Journeyman, and Hiro on Heroes, and even Lost, where time might be a question – you have to admit that while BTTF wasn’t exactly great science fiction, it was at least entertaining. If you’re looking for the more sci-fi version, I suggest Primer. But there’s no Marty McFly in that flick!

Packaging – ***
All four figures come packed together on a bubble/cardback style of package. The graphics are decent, and the size is good (no wasted space!), but you won’t get all hot and bothered over it.

Sculpting – ***
The mini-mates aren’t exactly the most specificly sculpted figures – they’re pretty basic, even by basic standards. And yet, somehow, they managed to get these pretty recognizable. It’s partly due to the hair sculpts, which are particularly unique, but also for some of the clothing. Marty is so recognizable as Marty because of the red down vest, and Doc Brown has that wild funky hair.

As usual, you can swap the various body parts if you’d like, but with a character specific series like this I don’t know that it’s all that important. Of the set of four, Biff is the least recognizable, followed by Lorraine, but there’s no doubt about Marty and Doc Brown.

Paint – ***1/2
The quality of the paint ops are always critical for the mini-mates, due to the simplistic sculpts. Much of the recognizable look of the figures depends on the quality of the paint work, particularly the tampo painting of the faces. Fortunately, the work here is generally great. There’s a little slop, but it’s so minor that it’s not going to be an issue for any but the most anal.

There’s quite a bit more detail here than usual as well. Biff actually mirrors the usual work, with the face having the most detail, and just some basic details on the clothing. However, the other three figures here have much more detail, from the pattern on Marty and Doc’s shirts, to the cool giraffe on Lorraine’s skirt.

Articulation – ***
These are very articulated for small mini-figures, but I’ve never been completely thrilled with the actual mobility of the joints.

Each of the figures has a ball jointed neck, ball jointed shoulders and hips, pin jointed elbows and knees, and cut joints at the wrists, ankles and waist. That’s quite a bit for a figure that stands about 3″ tall. However, most of the joints are a bit limited in their range of movement.

The best part of these joints is that most of them – like the shoulders, hips, wrists, waist and ankles – allow for the body parts to pop off and be swapped around. I’m not sure that it works particularly well with this license, but it’s always a nifty idea. All the figures stand up great on their own too, which is always important.

Accessories – Marty, Doc Brown **1/2; the rest Bupkis
While the hands on the mini-mates can certainly work with accessories, there are often very few included with the figures. That’s the case with Biff and Lorraine, but Marty and Doc Brown both have one addition.

Doc Brown comes with his funky invention/hat, which is actually attached to a whole new head. That’s a nice touch, since he can have a different expression entirely. But it’s still not quite as cool as Marty’s included skateboard, which he can stand on with the help of a post on the board and a hole in his foot. And yes, the wheels turn.

Fun Factor – ****
Yep, they’re plenty of fun. These are the kind of figures that you can put on your desk at work, and you’ll see people actually playing with them while they talk to you. It’s just a natural thing!

Value – ***
One of the problems with mini-mates has often been price, but you can pick up this full set of 4 for around $12 – $13 if you’re careful. That’s a good deal on the current specialty market, especially for something this…unique.

Things to Watch Out For –
Not a thing. They’re sturdy, can handle play, and have little issue with paint consistency.

Overall – ***
Okay, I’m not sure how many of these little guys they can really sell – is BTTF really a license that can sell anything, let alone mini-figures? – but at least they gave it a good shot. If they don’t sell well, it won’t be because they aren’t well done, but rather that the license just doesn’t have the appeal they thought.

Where to Buy –
Online retailers include:

– Alter Ego Comics has the set for $12.74.

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