New Wave Toys Zoltar Mini Replica

 I've been a fan of New Wave Toys for quite awhile because of their Replicade line of mini (working!) arcade games. If I had the room, definitely would be collecting all their releases and accessories to have a mini slice of 80s arcade heaven. But when they opened pre-orders for their latest replica, I didn't hesitate.

Now, of course a lot of people associate our pal Zoltar with the movie Big and there's no denying that movie did more for Zoltar's career than any arcade ever would. But I also have a fascination with these automated fortune tellers. If you pop over to this Flickr gallery, you can see a few variations I've encountered. 

 

I think it's tied in to my feeling that amusement parks are places of fun but there's a little something spooky just out of sight. Now that I think of it, I did record Something Wicked This Way Comes off cable as a kid and watched it A LOT.

Anyway, let's get a look at Zoltar!

This is my first "big" purchase from New Wave but I have to presume they put the same level of detail in all their products. The exterior box looks like a shipping crate.

The actual box-box has some great art and copy on it that gives it a retro feel.

Zoltar is a 1:12 replica and stands about a foot tall. Wanda is from the 6" Marvel Legends line to give an idea of how...big Zoltar is.

I really tried to get a good pic of him where one of his eyes wasn't crossed but it's no easy task when he's in motion! 

 

In addition to the cabinet, it also comes with some itty-bitty tokens, a USB charging cable, and a fake power cord. And what would even be the point of Zoltar is he didn't dispense fortunes? It comes with two rolls of 55 cards featuring all the original fortunes.

That's a quarter to show just how freakin tiny the tokens are. But guess what? You can actually use them in the machine! There's also a "free play" button to activate him without using a token.

You may be asking yourself what happens to the tokens.

There's a change box built in!

The controls on the back include a power switch, volume wheel and "mode" switch. You can pick from off, attract (which causes him to entice you every few minutes) and IR (which activates him if the front facing IR sensor detects someone nearby).

I'm glad I jumped on this when I did because they're currently out of stock. But before you go paying crazy reseller prices, they will be making more. Whether you're a fan of Big or just mechanical amusements, I can't recommend this highly enough. It's a really cool piece to have on display and sure to spark conversation.