1/8 DeLorean Time Machine

[brokenbolt]

Hey Guys,
While this isn't your typical car kit I thought some of you might enjoy this. It is one of the most famous movie cars of all time... get it?



This is a 1/8 scale Delorean time machine from Back to the Future. When complete it will weigh around 25 lbs, have opening doors, lights, and no... it will not travel through time

The company sends you a set of parts every month which you build up then wait patiently for more parts the following month. Definitely a way to build patience! The first set of parts build-up to make the rear facade of the car. More pictures of the build and parts are on my album.




Bumper has individually molded taillight lenses, bumper cover, and the license plate even has tiny little registration tags you have to apply. Way more difficult to put on than 1/1 scale registration tabs!!




To give you a sense of scale. A almost complete tire assembly. The hub cap is a separate piece and the completed tire looks very real. Definitely the most realistically produce wheel I've seen on a model kit.




Front steering and suspension parts. The suspension knuckles are made up of several parts (mostly metal) with real springs. Granted, the springs don't work on the front since they would need tiny ball joints but the rear spring DO work once installed.




Attached to the frame. The frame is all metal and with the addition of the other parts it really starts to feel hefty.




Gotta cock the wheels for the beauty shot!




Or drop em into flight mode to impress the ladies




Rear engine cradle attached to the frame. More parts made mostly of metal.




Rear wheel knuckles installed and in flight position. These springs actually work and with the weight of all the parts I suspect they will compress a bit.




Frame with wheels attached. Yes, it's big and heavy. Only gonna get heavier though. Engine is up next!

[brokenbolt]

I begun to receive parts for the Deloreans internal combustion engine - which has always powered the Delorean despite the addition of Mr. Fusion which only powers the flux capacitor. Worth mentioning if you are planning any trips through rugged terrain where gas stations may not be available for a quick fill up.



This is the transmission which does appear to be an automatic transmission whereas the time machine Delorean was a manual. That issue aside it does look pretty nice when assembled and won't be something that stands out.



Some nice details are the transmission fluid pan which is a separately molded part.



Attached to the engine block. The block has a nice level of detail and is quite hefty feeling as it comes together. I do believe those springs in the rear suspension will be getting some compression once the model is finished!



The engine block which is made up of several individual pieces that screw together in a clever way that hides them from view. (I'll try and get a picture of the inside of the block before I attach the top-parts of the engine.



The addition of plastic molded details are a familiar sight to anyone whos every built a 1/24 car kit; however, they appear to have taken advantage of the advantages of the larger 1/8 scale as an opportunity to capture them all very realistically.



The top of the engine will be getting some neat looking details soon - and will be the most visible area of the engine on the completed kit. It's not screwed down so I'll see about taking a few internal shots of the block before sealing it down.

The only thing I've noticed worth mentioning is that many of these assemblies could benefits from super glue. The gaps on these parts vary and aren't the worst if one just leaves it screwed together, but since most of us here own super glue and clamps it wouldn't be a bad idea to do it on the engine block.

[firun]

Looks good so far!

[360spider]

1/8 seems HUGE!

[brokenbolt]

Originally Posted by firun

Looks good so far!

Originally Posted by 360spider

1/8 seems HUGE!

It is huge! And heavy - should weigh around 25 lbs when complete!

Decided that the engine looked a little too new and clean so I broke out some oil paints I have and added some weathering




The weathering looks a bit stronger in the photos - in real life its a bit more muted. You can see a bit of the original color of the metal on the mounts near the bottom.




Front of the engine with the value covers and intake parts installed. Looking more realistic as it's built.




I also applied a thin dull coat of paint on the value covers to make them look like a different type of metal.




Also gave a coat of color to a few small parts. Anyone who's seen an engine up close knows all the individual components are different colors. A good example of how a little bit of paint can make this kit really start to shine. The hose on the engine parts is actually a rubber tube!

Then I got some Tamiya weathering chalks and added a bit more weathering on the engine and some on the frame.




Only weathered the frame areas that will be visible on the completed model.




Definitely helps the suspension areas stand out better. Looks like a little weathering helps this kit really shine!

[brokenbolt]

Weathering the engine using washes




Made a video demonstrating the first step in weathering the engine.

[360spider]

Weathering looks real nice!
Engine detail seem very good, but I guess it has to be in this scale.
Very nice work so far.

[Niro750]

I'll keep an eye on this. I have one on the go but I was waiting on some Facebook users mods before I went past the floor pan.

[brokenbolt]

Originally Posted by 360spider

Weathering looks real nice!
Engine detail seem very good, but I guess it has to be in this scale.
Very nice work so far.

Thanks. Yeah the size helps for sure. Plus they seemed to have went the extra mile breaking down the parts so many of them are rendered realistically.

Originally Posted by Niro750

I'll keep an eye on this. I have one on the go but I was waiting on some Facebook users mods before I went past the floor pan.

Good to meet another builder. It's been pretty fun so far and some of the mods the FB builders are doing will definitely improve the overall effect.

[rallymaster]

Great work on this model even if it's more a question of assembly the size and détails require a real work on it. Will be a great model !

[brokenbolt]

Don't let the scale fool ya... there are plenty of hardcore builders in the Facebook group going to town detailing/repainting this!


I don't have a good place to do airbrushing or using other smelly chemicals (putty, glue, etc) so the fact all the parts come with a decent coat of paint appeals to me.


Of course, since I had some spare oil paint and an engine that looked way to clean I couldn't resist a little weathering!

[brokenbolt]

Sorry it's been so long for an update everyone. The last 30 days have been very stressful but I have been working on the kit a little bit to keep my mind off all the stress.



Weathered some of the new parts



Planning on using some of the Tamiya weathering powder after the new coat of paint dries



It's all starting to come together!



Got the radiator parts put together



They won't be really visible on the finished kit but I weathering the parts anyways.



The radiator has nicely molded detail and a coat of a lighter colored paint really helps the detail pop-out from the all black parts.

Also threw together another video demonstrating how I added weathering to the new engine parts. Have a look!

[brokenbolt]

Put together a short time-lapse video of the frame and suspension build. Check it out:





Full video here:

[brokenbolt]

Work in the interior has commenced and I'm finding the details pretty accurate so far. One pleasant surprise was finding out the seats are made of vinyl with a foam backing so that they actually feel like real seats…










Most of the assembly of the interior is pretty straight forward. One exception has been the wiring!





To be fair it’s not as painstaking as it looks and the wires on the dashboard are all for decoration (these aren’t the wires the power all the lights.) So you can man-handle them and not worry about breaking anything electrical.











Starting to look real enough to travel through time with.

[kans0002]

wow, this is awesome. I love how you share pics and also video. very nicely done!