I just installed the Hood Box Upgrade Kit from Mike Lane and this is easily one of my most favorite mods!
Category Archives: MODS
Faraday Conduits
Below the doors of our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean model are these mesh tubes (conduits), seen here on the ‘A’ Car:
The tubes supplied with the model have two things that bug me. First, our tubes should be about 1/2″ forward from where they have us mounting them. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about that other than drill and tap new holes in the floorboard.
The second thing is the size of the tube and the colors of the clamps. This we *can* fix thanks to Model Modz! They have just starting selling a set of replacement Faraday Conduits. These consists of a pair of metal tubes with a 3-D printed mesh exterior. Two purple clamps are then slid over the mesh to allow mounting to the car using the original screws.
Installation
Remembering back to Issues 101 and Issue 103 where we installed the original tubes, we will need to flip the car upside down. I recommend taping the hood and doors closed beforehand and putting the model on a soft towel.
Then, we just have to temporarily remove these two (2) KM screws, remove the stock tube, and put the new Model Modz version instead:
After tucking the wires back into place, you can repeat this on the other side. Then, when you flip the car back upright, the tubes look like this:
And that’s it! When you compare the two tubes against each other, you can really see the improvement:
Thoughts
Model Modz is always striving to bring us some of the best mods for our partwork builds and this one is no different. I think these new Faraday Conduits are great and I really love the purple clamps. A big shout out to Chloe and her crew for helping to make our models really come to life, thank you!
Bulkhead Storage Lid
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!
Die-cast Licence Plates
If we go all the way back to Issue 01 of our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean partwork build-up, you can find my very first Mod Zone where I installed the original plastic Magnetic Licence Plates from Mike Lane. Since then, Mike has upgraded this product! Now, his new Die-cast Licence Plates come with three plates in a nice storage case (including the more recent Ready Player One version). All of these plates are metal:
Installation
As I am keeping with the original film, I chose to use the OUTATIME version. Accurate registration stickers are included and must be applied:
These new plates are then attached in the same way as the originals. There are two options: either we can stick them in place permanently, or use the included adhesive magnetic sheet like I did:
I already had the other magnetic sheet from the original plate still installed in the bumper recess, so I did not need to install the new one:
Therefore, all I needed to do was get these magnets together and, poof, the new die-cast plate is installed. Doesn’t it look amazing!
Removing these metal plates, or swapping them, is easily done with the included removal tool (guitar pick).
Thoughts
While these look nearly identical to the previous plastic plates, they have much nicer raised lettering. This means they are even more accurate to the license plates on the real car. I am extremely happy with this mod. Furthermore, I really appreciate that Mike Lane not only comes out with new products, but goes back and improves on the ones he already has. That is someone who loves what they do. Thank you fine sir!
Keys and Key Tag Set
I have been waiting a long time to install this mod into my 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean partwork model. While this mod could be installed as early as Issue 47, I wanted to wait until the car was completed so I would not risk damaging or losing this tiny detail. This is the 1:8 Keys and Key Tag Set from Mike Lane!
The Mike Lane key set consists of a metal sheet containing various key shapes that you can pop out and fashion together in any way you desire. This includes full keys as well has half keys that can be mounted to a ‘key hole’ and appear to be inserted. There is also a tiny key tag with writing and key rings to let you build a full set if you so choose.
I went with the inserted key set that has all of Doc’s keys on it as we saw in the films. It took a few minutes to get into my car via the passenger door and glue this mod into place on the steering column, but it was worth it. This is one of those mods that might not even be noticed, but when it is, it has an impact! Thank you Mike!
The Cannon Set
This model forgot to include a very visible part of our Reactor Deck. Let’s fix that with The Cannon Set from Model Modz!
The EL Light Mod – Part Four
The addition of the orange EL wire into the Reactor Drum has finished up my EL Light Mod Installation. It has taken a while to get to this point in the build, but we are finally fully lit!
* For the header picture above, I grabbed the exhaust cowls from the next few issues and the reactor top from Issue 04, and threw them on the reactor platform so it would look very close to the final appearance of the build.
Static Cling Window Protectors
Ever since I installed the front windshield into our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean model back in Issue 62, I have been worried about scratching it. Fingerprint oils and even dust can damage plastic over time. As a basic protection layer, I put some strips of painter’s tape together and cut them into the shape of the windshield:
While this ‘tape’ solution worked pretty well, it has had some drawbacks. It is not meant to last, the tape adhesive itself could damage the plastic if left in place long enough, you cannot see through it, and the more it is removed and replaced, the more it falls apart.
Then, as I was installing the windshield into my 1:8 scale Nissan GT-R (R35) build, I noticed it had these thin, clear vinyl protective films on the inside and outside of it:
I actually ‘stole’ the interior film and started using it on the outside of my DeLorean windshield instead of the blue tape. If only someone would produce this kind of removable protection for our DeLoreans… Well, it turns out, someone has!
Our good friend, Mike Lane, has recently started offering his Static Cling Window Protectors!
This kit includes pre-cut, adhesive free, clear vinyl films for all of your model’s windows: a windshield film, both side window films (upper and lower sections), as well as wet/dry cleaning cloths. It is really difficult to take pictures of clear vinyl on white backing, but I tried my best!
Installation is as simple as you can imagine. Simply clean the plastic surface with the wet cloth, then the dry cloth, then peel the appropriate film from the paper and smooth it across the ‘glass’. Here is the windshield film in place.
The bubbles underneath are normal and will reduce over time. Also, I was not trying for a perfectly clear application as I will be removing these films for any issue’s featured photographs. That means they will be going on and coming off a lot until I finish the car!
The side windows are applied in exactly the same way.
I installed these after I completed Issue 110, but they can be added any time after the windows are installed:
These Static Cling Window Protectors are easier to work with than the tape, they more durable, they do not use any adhesives that might damage the window plastic, and they are transparent! At the time of this writing, Mike only has these for the DeLorean model, but I imagine he will be making these for many other models, such as my Ghostbusters Ecto-1. I hope so, because I 100% recommend them!
The EL Light Mod – Part Three
With the installation of the EL wire behind the Flux Bands of our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean completed, PART THREE of my EL Light Mod Installation is now available!
The EL Light Mod – Part Two
I have completed Part Two of the The EL Light Mod from Model Modz installation. This excellent product improves the lighting of the Flux Bands and Reactor on our 1:8 scale Back to the Future DeLorean. Check out the installation HERE!