During this build of the Eaglemoss 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean partwork
, we will use more than thirty different kinds of screws. They vary in types and sizes, but are all Phillips-head and appear to be metric. Eaglemoss designates each kind of screw with a two letter code, such as AP, BP, AM, CM, etc. The first letter indicates the type/size of screw and the second letter indicates which material that screw is driven into:
- P = Plastic
- M = Metal
Before I started my model build, I heard that a few of these screws can be difficult to install (specifically some of the metal screws). I figured that I would need to purchase a metric tap set in case I needed to add threads to some of the holes. However, to use a tap set effectively, I needed to know the screw diameter and thread pitch of every single screw.
Using a set of precision calipers and a thread pitch gauge, I measured all of the screws I have encountered so far. It turns out that most of the screws are not standard metric sizes, so a tap set would be pretty much useless. This means the best way I’ve found to pre-thread a hole is to use the appropriate screw, drive it in, and back it out, before attaching the part.
I thought the information I collected was still useful, so I created this page to share it. The tables below contain all of the screw measurements I have collected so far in my build. I also included the screwdriver bit sizes I found to work best for each screw (Eaglemoss only supplies #0 and #000 screwdrivers, which it turns out, are not ideal). Any missing data in the tables will be added when I receive those screws in later issues.
Please note that these values are based on my own observations, so they may not be perfect (use at your own risk).
Screw Sizes - Plastic (in mm)
| Name | Screwdriver Bit Size | Head Type | Head Diameter | Head Height | Thread Diameter | Thread Length | Thread Pitch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.00 | 1.75 | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| BP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.50 | 1.30 | 2.30 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| CP |  | #00 | Pan | 2.00 | 0.75 | 1.25 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
| DP |  | #1 | Flange | 4.50 | 1.00 | 1.75 | 2.5 | 0.7 |
| EP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 4.5 | 0.8 |
| FP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.50 | 1.25 | 2.30 | 4.5 | 0.9 |
| GP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 | 4.0 | 0.8 |
| HP |  | #1 | Flange | 5.80 | 1.25 | 2.40 | 4.0 | 0.9 |
| IP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.00 | 1.75 | 3.0 | 0.7 |
| JP |  | #000 | Flange | 4.20 | 0.80 | 1.45 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
| KP |  | #000 | Countersunk | 2.80 | 0.80 | 1.60 | 3.5 | 0.7 |
| LP |  | #00 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.00 | 1.75 | 5.0 | 0.7 |
| MP |  | #000 | Pan | 2.00 | 0.90 | 1.20 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
| NP |  | #000 | Pan | 2.40 | 0.80 | 1.60 | 3.5 | 0.6 |
| OP |  | #000 | Pan | 2.00 | 0.70 | 1.20 | 4.0 | 0.5 |
| PP |  | #000 | Pan | 2.40 | 0.80 | 1.60 | 2.0 | 0.7 |
| QP |  | #000 | Pan | 2.00 | 0.80 | 1.05 | 3.0 | 0.7 |
| RP |  | #1 | Pan | 3.00 | 1.05 | 1.70 | 7.0 | 0.5 |
Screw Sizes - Metal (in mm)
| Name | Screwdriver Bit Size | Head Type | Head Diameter | Head Height | Thread Diameter | Thread Length | Thread Pitch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 3.5 | 0.4 |
| BM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.4 |
| CM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.25 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 0.4 |
| DM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.75 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 0.4 |
| EM |  | #1 | Flange | 6.5 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| FM |  | #0 | Flange | 5.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| GM |  | #1 | Flange | 5.5 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| HM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.75 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 9.5 | 0.4 |
| IM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.5 | 1.25 | 2.3 | 18.5 | 0.4 |
| JM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.75 | 1.25 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| KM |  | #000 | Pan | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| LM |  | #000 | Pan | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 0.4 |
| MM |  | #000 | Pan | 2.5 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| NM |  | #1 | Pan | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0.4 |
| OM |  | #1 | Pan | 4.1 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 5.0 | 0.4 |
| PM |  | #000 | Flange | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.4 |
| QM |  | #000 | Pan | 2.4 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 0.4 |
| RM |  | #1 | Pan | 4.6 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 0.4 |
| SM |  | #00 | Pan | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 0.4 |
| TM |  | #1 | Flange | 6.3 | 1.25 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 0.4 |