Playmobil Back To The Future DeLorean Playset Review

Reviewed by Rachel Cassey-Holland

In 1985 I turned 11 and, even now, I can clearly remember the huge excitement and anticipation surrounding the release of the then next huge Box Office smash – Back To The Future. Starring the incredible Michael J. Fox as the lead character, Marty McFly, and the inimitable Christopher Brown as “Doc” Emmett Brown with his dog, Einstein, the film took us on a thrilling, state of the art sci-fi adventure comedy for just under two hours. Of course, the other superstar of the movie was the iconic stainless-steel DeLorean playing the role of the time machine.

I’m not sure that anyone who left the cinema afterwards could have failed to be inspired by what they had seen, and countless children all over the world must have dreamt or wished that they were Marty McFly. The success of the film meant that there were two fantastic sequels and the cult aspect of the film never really died away. Even now, 35 years down the line from the time of the film’s release, the hype has remained pretty much intact and the film still enjoys cult status and thrills children and adults alike. Every year since 2015 there has even been a “Back To The Future Day” on October 21st – the same day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown first arrived into the future. The film certainly remains an important memory and very cool, defining moment from my childhood. My husband tells me that the DeLorean became the car of his dreams for a while and I am sure that he was not alone!

When I was offered the chance to review the Playmobil Back To The Future DeLorean, to say we were excited is an understatement! Playmobil, owned and produced by Geobra Brandstätter GmbH, first started producing their characteristic toys in 1974 and, by 1975, they were selling them on the global market. Playmobil sets are a firm favourite the world over with children and adults alike – even though they are typically aimed at children aged four to twelve. I have three boys, ages 10, 9 and 6, and we already own several Playmobil sets. A Playmobil speedboat is a permanent fixture in our bathroom and has taken part in many a bath time for quite some years now. Each set contains figures with the instantly recognisable Playmobil smiley face, adapted to suit the theme of the set.

The Playmobil Back To The Future DeLorean (product number 70317) is relatively new to the market, having first become available for purchase in November 2019 (according to Amazon). The set contains 64 individual pieces and is marked as being suitable for age 6 upwards due to the number of small parts. It comes in a medium sized box emblazoned with clear pictures of what it looks like, depicting the scene where Marty McFly accelerates his way accidentally into the past on the front. The box is strong and sturdy, meaning that you can keep it if you wish to store the time machine safely. Inside the parts are separated into five separate bags so that building is both quick and logical, with a very clear instruction guide detailing labelled and numbered parts, which is an absolute godsend for ordering missing parts from the Playmobil website (I love you for this, thank you Playmobil!).

Included in this box along with the three figures (Marty, Doc and Einstein the dog), the DeLorean, and the parts required to build it is as follows (per the Playmobil website): 1 skateboard, 1 camera, 1 remote control, 1 walkie talkie, 1 case, 3 plutonium rods, 1 pantograph. My three children each had their own parts to work with and, because the instructions are so clear and easy to follow, the DeLorean was put together in no time at all. The only struggle we had in the whole building process was putting the tyres correctly into place on the wheels – even my husband and I struggled with this because it is a very tight fit. Smaller and weaker fingers weren’t able to finish the job completely, however this is not a criticism and is truly a positive, because it implies how sturdy they will be once properly in place. As a mum of three boys I have spent an unreasonable amount of time replacing tyres and wheels on toy cars, so I speak from experience! Once the DeLorean was built, my husband (who is an absolute Back To The Future buff) and I took a little time to appreciate how true to life the time machine really is. Whoever designed it must have watched the film through more times than I care to think about because it is absolutely and incredibly accurate. Features include the doors which open upwards – something that excited my boys more than anything else – but not forgetting also the folding wheels for hover mode, the illuminated flux capacitor inside the car, the blue illuminated exterior and the detailed dash display/control panel. The illuminations are operated by a small button on the underneath of the car at the back and there are two settings for this, however a note of caution here, as per the instruction guide, that anyone adversely affected by flashing lights should exercise caution if putting the lights into this first mode. The lights do switch off automatically after a short while as well, ensuring battery saving.

It was finally time to add the decorative stickers to both the car and the case for carrying the plutonium rods in to make it look complete and to add the finishing touches. I was really pleased with the size of the stickers – they are not too small and fiddly or flimsy and much easier to put into place than the stickers you usually find on that other well-known colourful construction toy! Younger children often don’t have great dexterity and mine struggle a little due to having slight hyper-mobility in their finger joints. There were no problems with placing these stickers well as the detailed instructions tell you exactly where to put them. All that we needed now was two AAA batteries, which are not included in the box.

Having added the pantograph to the DeLorean and placed one of the plutonium rods into the back of the car, we turned our attention to Marty and Doc. The attention to detail yet again is exquisite here, from the detail on their clothes (McFly even comes complete with checked shirt, vest and rolled up jacket cuffs for his wrists), their hair, shoes, the detail on the skateboard – no stone has been left unturned to ensure that your Back To The Future Playmobil experience is as realistic as possible. This same level of detail has also been applied to the equipment that they use. Once we had equipped Doc with two watches, his tool belt, the walkie talkie around his neck, and Marty with the video camera, it was time to put the DeLorean to the test.

Ok, so this is not a remote-controlled car, but if you love the film and you love cool cars this doesn’t particularly matter. Each and every one of us was absolutely thrilled with it. I even had to dedicate each child a timed turn before passing it on to the next, including my husband! With this set the thrill comes from the very clever level of detail put into the design and making of this car and then the opportunity to stretch your imagination and lose yourself in your very own interpretation of the film. If anyone was to ask my children what they would have changed about the entire set it would be the ability to make Einstein the dog be able to sit in the front seat to re-enact the first test drive of the time machine in the parking lot. His colourings are great, and he even has the digital clock around his neck, but he doesn’t fit inside without a shove and pushing the door down to keep him inside. As I say, this is a very minor point and in no way detracts from the overall experience.

The RRP of this set is £49.99 and can be bought online from www.playmobil.co.uk. Some might think this is quite expensive for a non-remote-controlled car, but you are paying for the wow factor of the design and the solid, robust, high quality build of this product, along with the knowledge that this will last for many years. For an additional £6.99 you can also purchase an additional mini set containing another Doc Brown and Marty McFly wearing different clothes and a guitar and newspaper (product number 70459) if you really want to go to town re-enacting the film. For any Back To The Future fan, young or old, I think this would be a fantastic present. Had I not been able to review it I would most certainly have considered buying it for my husband as a Father’s Day present – it’s that good. It would also make a perfect special present for under the Christmas tree for a die-hard Back To The Future fan. I’d like to thank you for this amazing opportunity to review such an ingeniously designed brilliant, family-friendly toy.

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £49.99

This product can be purchased from Playmobil here.