While this LEGO recreation of the famous Back to the Future DeLorean time machine may not be the scientific breakthrough a real time machine would be, it most definitely is a great artistic feat. After being granted rights by NBC Universal, Ryan McNaught assembled a team to build this near-perfect version of the DeLorean from the first film out of 65,143 bricks.
The build is a bit smaller than the real DeLorean Time Machine, but it’s so detailed that it looks as if it were built in 1:1 scale (and has the side effect of making certain bricks look bizarrely large). The commissioned model includes awesome features like working lights and smoke dispensers, which are masterfully built in and give a great atmospheric effect to the model.
Of course, the DeLorean’s extensive modifications are all recreated faithfully, right down to Doc’s custom California license plate.
Ryan’s model is a far cry from LEGO’s own official DeLorean Time Machine set, which was released in 2013 and used only 401 pieces, but even at secondary prices, it’s safe to say the official one costs a whole lot less to build.
No Mr. Fusion, so it looks like this is the first version. Now, an odd issue that pops up periodically is that the gear strapped to the car belongs to Universal, but the car underneath it does not. I know the family has complained repeatedly over the last several years about the fact that Universal has been licensing the BttF DeLorean without having any rights to the base car itself. It appears they settled out of court, but if this had been built three years ago, Ryan could have been in for a nasty surprise.