Aoshima 2024 New Tool Back to the Future DeLorean Time Machine

[spencer1984]

Backstory:

In the mid-1990s, one of my earliest purchases from HobbyLink Japan was the Back to the Future II DeLorean. I think it may have been my first time building one of Aoshima's kits, and I loved it: great detail, unique assembly, and excellent casting quality. Much as I liked it, though, I didn't do a very good job. The only reference I had was a VHS copy of the movie, my supplies were limited, and my skills weren't nearly enough to overcome either of these.

The only surviving picture, taken back when film cameras and scanners were the only option.

About 15 years later, I wanted to take another crack at the Time Machine. I wanted to try to make the "First Appearance" version as it came out of Doc's truck - the only time in the series that it wore the OUTATIME license plate. Polar Lights' kit was available by this point, and Aoshima had reissued their kits several times including some with prefinished bodies. I thought that if I could combine these, I could get what I wanted. Modifying the PL chassis to fit the Aoshima kit was as far as I ever got.

As often happens, I got the hardest part finished and then got distracted.

Then in late 2023, Aoshima announced their all-new tooling of a "Part I" Time Machine. It was exactly what I had been planning to build, but with current manufacturing standards. I placed my preorder, it arrived in May, and as soon as I got my work bench clear I started in.

[spencer1984]

The Kit:

First impressions were very good. A huge box held nearly a dozen parts trees in black, gray, dark gray, clear, and chrome. Details were sharp and well-defined, the wiring is all separate pieces, and the body is delicate and well-proportioned.

The 16-page instruction booklet seems thorough, and the decals are so sharp you can actually read the gauges and time circuit readouts.

[spencer1984]

Building the Chassis:

I'll be doing this mostly box stock, just to see how good a job Aoshima did.

The kit starts with the chassis, which went together flawlessly. Only minimal cleanup was needed, and the parts very nearly snapped together. I finished it with satin black, BMF, and a light weathering to reflect its short time on the road before Doc got to work. The green lenses were done by coloring the BMF with a Sharpie, then covering them with a thin layer of PVA glue. I also added tire lettering, courtesy of Fireball Modelworks. The rear tires used his WL-25 Goodyear Eagle GT lettering in 1/24 scale, and the fronts are 1/25 scale to better fit the smaller tires. Wheel vanes were touched with silver, leaving the cast dark gray in the recesses to add some depth.

Next: Interior!

 

[FoMoCo66]

Cool!

[DJMar]

I'm digging it!

[TNT]

That looks nice. But dangit now i want one.

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys! Definitely a winner of a kit from Aoshima, the old one was great but this is still way beyond that.

[Tabbysdaddy]

That looks nice. I'll be watching. 

[spencer1984]

Interior:

More solid work from Aoshima. Just about everything is cast separately, which makes painting a breeze but assembly requires extra patience. Tamiya's AS-32 Medium Sea Gray looked like a pretty good match to the warm gray of the DeLorean's interior, and a few light mist coats of Duplicolor's Filler Primer gave a pretty decent color and texture match for the carpet. A light weathering shows some wear and will help provide extra depth once the seats are installed.

The Dymo labels for everything on the center console were included as part of the decal sheet.

Ideally the wiring should be several colors, but the absolute best results would come from replacing it all with custom stranded wire. I wanted to see how well the cast wires fit, and was impressed - just a small step where the dash top and right side come together, otherwise everything fit together seamlessly. My only complaint is that the instructions get a little crowded at times, making it hard to figure out what the painting instructions are trying to say. Fortunately, there's no shortage of reference photos online to verify correct colors and placements.

I still can't get over how sharp these decals are.

A quick test fit to the chassis and everything lines up nicely. The only change I made to the interior was unintentional: I dropped the base of the Time Circuit Control (clear box on the center console) and in an effort to find it I knelt on it and broke off the T-handle. The replacement handle was taken from my old Aoshima build, not an exact match but close enough and it lets part of that build live on.

Next: Rear Deck!

Edited July 18, 2024 by spencer1984

[spencer1984]

Rear Deck/Bulkhead:

Probably the most complex and fiddly part of the kit. Over 80 parts, many of which are fine lines and tiny circuits. Fortunately everything fit together beautifully, and parts breakdown was generally along color breaks to make painting a little easier.

The blue and red anodized cylinders were done using Tamiya Pearl Blue and Clear Red over silver, respectively.

The mesh panel here was part of a "Detail Up" parts set also sold by Aoshima. It has PE, turned metal, and printed chrome components, and is specifically designed for this set. Metal versions of the red, blue, and silver cylinders were included in the set, but I ended up not using those thanks to a packaging error on Aoshima's part: instead of three large, two medium, and two small, I got three large, three medium, and just one small:

Fortunately, the plastic kit parts were good enough that these weren't a huge upgrade, and now I have them for some future project.

Again, the Dymo labels were all provided as decals. Not much else to say about it, just continued excellent work from Aoshima.

Next: Body!

Edited July 24, 2024 by spencer1984

[spencer1984]

Body:

The body was cast in multiple parts, which allows for a more accurate shape than previous DeLoreans. The main body has more angled sides and the rockers have a nice roll to the chassis that looks great. Assembly is far better than I expected, with supports under both door sills giving it a surprising amount of strength once assembled.

My one note is that the headlights look too new to me - rather then the old lined Fresnel lenses of sealed beam headlights, these are totally clear like what you'd see with a modern lens. I can't argue with the fit or casting quality, though!

The main body is painted Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver, the nose and tail are TS-99 IJN Gray, and the blacks are a combination of several matte and semigloss paints.

Next: Subassemblies Unite!

Edited August 5, 2024 by spencer1984

[LennyB]

Looks good ? You are right about those headlights, they look too clear. Have to go back in time and get a period correct set. 

[jaymcminn]

This is looking fantastic so far! I was really excited when I saw the parts breakdown of this kit because it pretty much guaranteed that a factory stock version would be coming. 

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys!

3 hours ago, LennyB said:

Looks good ? You are right about those headlights, they look too clear. Have to go back in time and get a period correct set. 

I have some in my parts box, but don't know if I want to try to replace these or not. I'm also thinking about making a set of decals to try to mimic the sealed beam appearance.

1 hour ago, jaymcminn said:

This is looking fantastic so far! I was really excited when I saw the parts breakdown of this kit because it pretty much guaranteed that a factory stock version would be coming. 

Yup, the stock one is due out this month - very much looking forward to it!

[spencer1984]

Overall Assembly:

Bringing the subassemblies together, and for the most part everything looks good!

There is one glaring error, however, and one I'm kind of surprised to see given the rest of the kit:

The interior doesn't fully close around the back, leaving gaps on either side where you can look through and see the rear wheel openings.

Not too hard to fix, but it does feel like something that should have been covered (literally and figuratively). I just cut a couple of small filler panels from 0.020" styrene stock and painted them to match the interior:

If you decide to go this route, be aware that the two sides do not match, and so you won't be able to make one as a pattern and then repeat it (the driver's side needs to be longer to account for the offset in the rear bulkhead).

With that done, the only things left are the external wiring/conduit, the doors, and the rear vents. So that'll warp it up for this thread, next update on this project will be in the Under Glass section.

[stavanzer]

Wow! What a Build!

[Superbird McMonte]

That’s awesome! Looking forward to seeing it done!

[thebavarian]

Nice car. The Detail Up set looks very good to upgrade the kit.

[spencer1984]

Thanks, guys! Yeah, that detail set was definitely worth it if only for the perforated bands around the outside.

[Mattilacken]

Great kit! And great build! Will be following to the end!

[spencer1984]

Thanks! The finished pics are now posted in the "Under Glass" section: 

 

[Funkychiken]

Very sharp build!

[spencer1984]

Thank you!

[David G.]

Thanks for posting this WIP Bill. It's very helpful knowing what's in the kit and a pleasure to see what you do with it.

Thanks,

David G. 

[spencer1984]

Thank you!