Behind the driver’s seat on a real DeLorean is a small lockable storage compartment. You can see it clearly in this photo of the actual ‘A’ Car, even though it was missed on our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean partwork build-up:
While this may seem like a minor oversight, it also meant that Mike Lane could give us yet another fantastic detail mod for our DeLorean! This is his Bulkhead Storage Lid with ‘Bailout’ Ball and Wire mod:
Installation
Bulkhead Storage Lid
Thankfully, installing this mod is as simple as peel-and-stick (even after the model is completed as you see here):
To better match the real car, I actually placed this all the way down the bulkhead (towards the ground) and as far to the left side of the car as possible. This meant the lower edge of the Bulkhead Storage Lid did not follow the angled part of the lower bulkhead and stuck straight out. However, the adhesive is good enough that I only needed to run my finger along the bottom and it bent and stuck to the bulkhead just fine, as seen here:
‘Bailout’ Ball and Wire
As a special bonus, Mike Lane also includes a replica ‘Bailout’ Ball and Wire. This ball does exist on the real car, attached to the red bottle on the rear bulkhead, as shown below. This particular prop is an O2 bottle that was used by aircraft pilots that needed to eject or ‘bailout’:
Since I had already completed the car, drilling a small hole in the gauge end of the bottle was near impossible. Instead, I came up with an alternate solution. I used a lighter to heat the end of a piece of 22 gauge Craft Wire I had inserted into the end of my Pin Vise Hand Drill. If you chose to do this, it is at your own risk as you could easily burn yourself, so please be careful!
After holding the end of the wire in the lighter’s flame for maybe 10 seconds, I poked into the end of the bottle, melting a tiny hole:
This hole was the perfect size to then super glue the wire end of the ‘Bailout’ Ball and Wire into place:
Thoughts
When I compare the final picture of this Bulkhead Storage Lid with ‘Bailout’ Ball and Wire mod to the real car, it is almost the exact same! This is a quick and simple mod and looks great. Thanks again to Mike Lane, keep them coming!