Tag Archives: Back to the Future

Build Small

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Sometimes you don’t need ten thousand pieces to build something blogworthily good. A few hundred might be all that’s required, and previous bloggee IBrickedItUp is proving that today with three top-quality small-scale creations.

Each combines clever techniques, an eye for detail, and excellent presentation to great effect, and all have building instructions available too.

IBrickedItUp’s Jeep Wangler crossroads (plus some neat street furniture), City Bus, and ‘Back to the Future’ DeLorean DMC-12 time-machine can all be found at their Flickr photostream, alongside a range of other real-world vehicles recreated in miniature from a small number of relatively available pieces.

Click the link above to take a closer look, and see what your pieces could create.

Insert Out-of-Fuel DeLorean Here

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This steam locomotive might look familiar to you… Built by Rogers Locomotive and Machine works in the 1890s, locomotive ‘No.3’ was a coal and later oil-fired steam locomotive used for various steam locomotive things; hauling freight, transporting passengers, and constructing various railroads across California during the early 20th century.

After three decades of service Locomotive No.3’s owners, the Sierra Railway Company, went bankrupt during the Great Depression, and it was laid up for fifteen years in a siding. The locomotive somehow dodged being melted down for the war effort, and after the Second World War ended it was acquired for film use, whereupon ‘No.3’ began a career that saw it star in around forty movies and TV shows, including ‘High Noon’, TLCB favourite ‘The Great Race’, and – perhaps most famously – ‘Back to the Future, Part III‘.

Restored in the 2010s, Locomotive No.3 is still running today, and thus may yet add even more stardust to an already incredible legacy. This wonderful recreation by firefabric of Eurobricks captures probably the world’s most seen steam train beautifully, and it includes a LEGO Powered-Up motor and LED lights hidden inside.

There’s much to more of the model to see, including full build details, at the Eurobricks discussion forum, and you can step into one of almost forty movie sets via the link in the text above.

Display for the Future

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LEGO’s 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine set (aka the best LEGO set ever made) is sadly not a set we own here at TLCB Towers. Thus, full disclosure, this is not a review of the rather swish-looking display case in which 10300 is pictured. And nor are we getting paid to promote it.

But we are happy to support third-parties entering the Lego Community, and the display specialists at iDisplayIt provided our Festival of Mundanity Winners with some cool LEGO-compatible display stands too.

This is iDisplayIt’s latest product, and you can check out their stackable display case for the 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine via the link to their store below, where a range of LEGO-compatible stands and cases can be found.

iDisplayIt Store

LEGO 10300 ‘Back to the Future’ Time Machine | Set Preview

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Great Scott! We’re going Brick to the Future!

This is it. The single coolest LEGO set ever made… it’s the brand new Creator Expert 10300 ‘Back to the Future’ Time Machine!

In partnership with Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures (but notably not the DeLorean Motor Company, probably because they went bankrupt before the first ‘Back to the Future’ movie was released, and most people don’t know the DeLorean was a real (and rubbish) car anyway…), LEGO have brought the most famous movie car of them all to life in brick form.

Constructed from nearly 1,900 pieces, 10300 measures 35cm long and features a mini-figure Doc Brown and Marty McFly, hoverboard, radioactive plutonium / a banana for flux-capacitor fuelling, and a light-up flux-capacitor too, putting LEGO’s new light-up part to much better use than on its debut on the 42127 The Batman Batmobile set.

And that’s not all, because 10300 allows builders to time travel between all three ‘Back to the Future’ movies, with a variety of accessories that capture the Time Machine’s various amendments and evolutions during the trilogy.

These include the hook used for lightening strike power in Part 1, the hover system (“Where we’re going we don’t need roads!”) enabling flight in Part II, and the more rustic western modifications that ensured Marty could get home in Part III, before the Time Machine met its destruction in front of a locomotive.

The ‘Back to the Future’ Time Machine set looks like an absolute triumph, and if you’re as excited as we are you can hit 88mph for yourself when 10300 reaches stores in April for around $170 / £140.

Coolest. LEGO. Set. Ever!

Time Loop

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The DeLorean-based time machine from the ‘Back to the Future’ movie franchise has been built so many times in Lego form it ironically feels like we’re in a time loop.

Still, there’s always time for another, particularly when it looks as good as this one.

Flickr’s Jerry Builds Bricks is the latest creator to have a crack at Doc Brown’s flying DMC-12, producing the rather excellent Lego version pictured here.

Take a look via the link above, or alternatively travel back in time to our post charting the remarkable story of the real car here, which features more cocaine than you might expect…

What’s the Matter? Chicken!

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There’s clearly one vehicle that’s the most famous from the ‘Back to the Future’ movie franchise, even though it was actually a fairly poor car and one mired in one of the greatest auto industry scandals of all time.

Far less famous, but a far better car, was Marty McFly’s Toyota Pick-Up (that’s all they called it) SR5 in ‘Back to the Future – Part III’, which Eurobricks’ RM8 has recreated brilliantly in Technic form using his previously blogged Toyota Hilux as a base.

An XL motor powers all four wheels whilst a Servo controls the steering, with a third-party SBrick allowing the model to be controlled remotely via bluetooth. Solid axle suspension features front and rear, as do opening doors, hood and tailgate, working LED headlights, plus the model features a removable body and cargo bed.

There’s more to see of RM8’s superb SR5 at the Eurobricks forum by clicking here, and the obligator title reface can be found by clicking these words!

They’ve Saved the Best Trip for Last…

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Released in 1990, the final instalment in The Back to the Future trilogy put an end to very probably the most famous movie car of all time. In fact, we suspect many people wouldn’t know the DeLorean DMC-12 is a real car, so synonymous with the movies has it become. It was rubbish though, so that’s probably a good thing. We’ll stick to the movie car, recreated here in ‘Part III’ guise by Flickr’s Łukasz Libuszewski alongside some bemused native Americans. Head to Łukasz’s photostream via the link above for one last trip to 88mph.

Getting Back Was Only The Beginning

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It might seem like time is repeating itself, such is the regularity of Back to the Future DeLorean time machine builds appearing here, but there’s always time for one more. Especially if it looks as utterly brilliant as this one…

This incredible replica of the DeLorean DMC-12 time machine from ‘Back to the Future Part II’ is the work of Dave Slater of Flickr, and the attention to detail contained within it is astonishing.

Every pipe, tube, light and flux capacitor element has been expertly recreated from LEGO pieces (plus a few third-party lights that look spectacular), whilst the DMC-12’s gull-wing doors (standard from the DeLorean factory) and its folding wheels for flight mode (something of an optional extra) are present and work beautifully.

Dave’s DeLorean is very possibly the finest example of the infamous movie car yet and there’s a whole lot more to see of his magnificent build at his Flickr album. Click the link above to go where you don’t need roads.

Now if only we could go back in time and post this before The Brothers Brick…

Brickheadz to the Future!

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Lego Brickheadz DeLorean Back to the Future

LEGO’s new Brickheadz sets have spawned an invasion of brick-headed cuteness, with fan-built characters popping up everywhere. Now they can pop up anytime too, thanks to this delightfully cutesy Brickheaded Delorean DMC-12 by Flickr’s jp_velociraptor in full Back to the Future spec!

Lego Brickheadz DeLorean Back to the Future

Inside the flying time-machine are a Brickheadz Doc Brown and Marty McFly (of course!), and the model can transfer between flying and driving modes as per the movie car too. Click the link above to hit 88mph in the cutest way possible!

Lego Brickheadz DeLorean Back to the Future

Brick to the Future

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Lego Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine

Certified LEGO Professional Ryan McNaught (aka The Brickman) is back! The Brickman Awesome event is touring Australia and New Zealand throughout 2018, having taken over 4,500 hours to create and built from a whopping 1.5million LEGO bricks! 290 of those hours and over 65,000 pieces belong to this, Ryan’s incredible replica of Doc Brown’s Delorean DMC-12 time machine from the Back to the Future movie franchise.

Lego Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine

Created in conjunction with Universal Pictures the DeLorean took a team of seven people to design and build, and includes lighting and in-built smoke machine hidden underneath one of the largest plate-built exteriors that Ryan’s team has ever built.

Lego Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine

There’s a whole lot more to see of Ryan’s unbelievable Back to the Future time machine replica at his photostream via the link above, and you can also check out some of the other models built for the Brickman Awesome exhibitions – including a 460,000 piece, 7.5 meter tall, half a ton replica of NASA’s SLS rocket – by clicking here.

Back To The Future’s on TV Again!

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Lego Television

We’ll watch the Back to the Future trilogy literally every time it’s on television, which means it plays quite regularly here at TLCB Towers. Flickr’s Primoz Mlakar has gone one step further though, as cinema’s most iconic movie car is permanently showing on his TV.

This absolutely wonderful period-correct 1980s Sony television, complete with the famous flying DeLorean from Back to the Future Part II, has caused our collective jaw to drop here in the office, and we cannot recommend taking a closer look highly enough. This is the build of the year so far.

Back to the Future Part III – Delorean Time Machine – Picture Special

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Lego Back to the Future Part III Delorean Time Machine

Time is standing still here at TLCB Towers. It’s been hours and we’ve accomplished nothing. Because of this. The single most amazing model that we’ve posted this year. Built by Flickr’s 지현 주 (aka seter82), it is, of course, the incredible final DeLorean DMC-12 time machine from the iconic Back to the Future franchise, and it’s the hardest one to make of them all.

Lego Back to the Future Part III Delorean Time Machine

Often overlooked by model makers, the time machine from Back to the Future Part III is the most intricate and highly detailed of all of the movie cars, modified to operate before gasoline was discovered via a push from a steam engine. Steampunk, surely, began here.

Lego Back to the Future Part II DeLorean time machine

Seter82’s astonishing recreation of the Back to the Futrure Part III DeLorean is one of the most beautifully replicated movie cars we’ve ever seen, in any context, and it even gives real-world recreations from the Back to the Future franchise fierce competition. With a perfectly recreated cabin, complete with all the paraphernalia Doc required for time travelling, a 100% movie-accurate exterior, plus functions such as opening gull-wing doors and hood, and adjustable steering wheel and seats, Seter’s DeLorean is a build that you can revel in for hours.

Lego Back to the Future Part III Delorean Time Machine

Which is what we’ll be doing. You can join us at Seter82’s Flickr photostream by clicking here, where a huge gallery of incredible imagery is available to view – however, unless you have a real time machine be prepared to lose a good part of your day. Because Seter’s DeLorean is as real as it gets.

Lego Back to the Future Part III Delorean Time Machine

Not a DeLorean

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Lego Toyota 4x4 Pick-Up BTTF

Ah, Back To The Future, an office favourite here at TLCB Towers and the film that made a star of the iconic Delorean DMC-12, a car that was… total and complete crap.

If you’re unfamiliar with the true story of the DeLorean, which is very nearly as remarkable as the film, you can read it here, but today we’ll be moving on from that steaming turd of a car, saved from obscurity only by a chance decision by Universal Pictures, to feature a vehicle from the movie that’s the total opposite of the DMC-12.

This is, of course, a humble Toyota 4×4 pick-up, known as the Hilux in most of the world, and it’s everything the DeLorean wasn’t. Hugely successful, superbly built, and unbreakably reliable, the Toyota truck was the dream vehicle for 1980s Marty McFly. His version featured a few mods too, which have been faithfully recreated in Technic form by regular bloggee paave.

Paave’s creation doesn’t just look the part either, as underneath is a four-wheel-drive fully remote controlled drivetrain, working leaf-spring suspension, and opening (and locking) doors, hood and tailgate.

You can see all of the images as well as a video of the Toyota in action at both Eurobricks and MOCpages – click the links to go back in time.

Lego Toyota 4x4 Pick-Up BTTF

21103 – Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine – Review

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Lego 21103 Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine

The Lego Car Blog Review My Set Competition is drawing to a close, so there’s just enough time to fit in one more fan review! Today’s reviewer is a previous bloggee himself, and today he’s on the other side of the screen after joining us here at TLCB to pen the final reader review of the competition. Over to Nils O to pick up the story…

A Dream (Almost) Come True…

The LEGO Ideas set of the Back to the Future (BTTF) time machine could have been one of the best LEGO sets ever. For me the project on LEGO Ideas (then still called CUUSOO) is still one of the best on the platform. The pictures of the car / time machine are so cool that as a BTTF and LEGO fan you just want one thing: To own that model!

The set that hit the shelves was another thing entirely. If you want to be nice you could call the look weird, but let’s be honest; it’s ugly. I think most BTTF fans still want the set, but they also want to do something more; modify it to make it look better.

But first things first. 21103 comes in a high quality black box featuring a cool BTTF design. There’s a book with instructions for the time machine from all three parts of the movie franchise, including a hover function and 1950s’ wheels and ‘electronic components’, and the parts are included for all three versions of the car. There are also unique mini-figs of Marty and Doc which are instantly recognisable, and additionally you get a skateboard, but no – no Hover Board.

Lego 21103 DeLorean Box

But what you do get is a handful of excellent printed parts (yes, printed parts, no stickers) (Hurrah! Ed.): License plates for 1985 (‘OUTATIME’) and 2015 (bar code), a time computer and, of course, a Flux Capacitor. The only part I’m not a 100% happy with is the Flux Capacitor. I just don’t like the 1x2x2 panel, for me a 1x2x2 printed brick or a 2×2 printed tile would have been a better choice.

After building the set (I built the version from Back to the Future Part II) the second thing you notice (after realising how ugly it really is) is the untypical fragility of the set. You can’t really touch it without something falling off. I had to modify the thing, especially the 4-wide roof which didn’t look right. Surprisingly I could build a 6-wide roof and matching A-pillars and doors just using parts from the set. So, why didn’t the LEGO designers do something similar? We will never know. Continue reading →

Back to the Future Day!

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Lego Back to the Future Ford Super Deluxe

We rarely post virtual creations here at TLCB, but today is Back to the Future Day (the date that Marty travels forward to in back to the Future Part II) so it seems appropriate to go digital!

This lovely LDD recreation of Biff‘s Ford Super Deluxe from the Back to the Future franchise comes from Flickr’s Peter Blackert, and you can climb on your hoverboard and head over to view more by clicking here.