As the first big news to come out of this year’s New York Toy Fair, Mattel announced that they are finally releasing the toy hoverboard that was featured in 1989’s Back to the Future. 

The hoverboard will be offered as part of their Matty the Collector adult off shoot brand.  Here’s what the Matty the Collector website has to say:

Finally! This totally awesome 1:1 replica of the hover board from the BTTF 2 and BTTF 3 films includes multiple whooshing sounds and will glide over most surfaces (does not actually “hover” – check back in 2015 for that feature). We’ll be taking orders for it March 1 – March 20, 2012, and the final product will be shipped around November/December 2012. Because this is such a high-cost item, there will be a minimum number of orders required to go into production. If we don’t receive the minimum orders, won’t go into production and customers will not be charged. The price will be announced later this month. (Note: Hover board does not work on water.)

So there ya go.  It will make “wooshing” sounds and will glide, not hover.  My guess is that as a “collector” item it will be fairly expensive.

I will not be purchasing a hoverboard mock up to look at.  Anything that looks even remotely like a toy is considered fair game in my house and this thing would be destroyed by Nate sliding it down the front steps or by Kitty  “decorating” it with stickers.  The last collectible I got was a Ralphie (from “A Christmas Story”) action figure that Kit lost all the pieces to.

I used to love to collect things.  I had a great Batmobile telephone that I got when I was 15 that my kids ruined, I had a beautiful figurine of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz that my kids ruined, and Super-Dad’s beloved pull string Mickey Mouse toy has suddenly gone missing – probably because a kid ruined it.  See a theme here?  I won’t buy any more “collector’s items” until my children are in their teens.

What about you? Do you have a collection that you’ve managed to protect from your kids? Do you have a particularly bad story of your kids ruining a prized possession? Share in the comments or in on the Parenting Geekly Facebook page.