LEGO® review: 10300 Back To The Future Time Machine

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.

Hold onto your hoverboard, we're heading back to 1985! err, then 1955, then 1985, 2015, 1985 again, revisiting 1955... oh, you get the idea! Available from 1 April 2022 is the LEGO® 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine, containing 1872 pieces and will retail for £149.99 GBP / $169.99 USD / 169.99€ EUR / $269.99 AUD / $219.99 CAD. Will you be buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'.

To say that I was excited for this set is a massive understatement. There were rumours that what turned out to be last year’s 10290 Pick-up Truck was going to be a large scale DeLorean and as much as I like that burgundy beauty, the DMC really does hold a nostalgic place in my heart as a direct result of ‘The Back To The Future Trilogy’.

So when this box turned up and I saw what LEGO had produced it was certainly a "Great Scott!" moment.

In 1985, Back to the Future was released in cinemas and became the highest grossing film of that year. As a kid, it was one of the first films I actually asked to see. The cinema I saw Back to the Future in is no longer there, but my memories of waiting in line to buy tickets, forgoing the concessions stand to bag the best possible seats, and my palpable excitement as the Universal ident was finally projected onto the screen are still clear in my mind.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…

Just under two hours later, Marty, Doc and their time-travelling DeLorean had laid permanent fiery tracks both in my brain and my heart… that’s the power of love, makes one man weep and another man play with LEGO, or something like that!

An enduring appeal has fuelled the legacy that spans thirty seven years, two sequels, a theme park ride and a recent adaptation as a musical (not to mention a previous LEGO set). As part of my research for this review I rewatched all three films and I feel that (with obvious "2015" exceptions) they had all aged pretty well. 

The Parts in 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine

“Unfortunately, this proved impossible because suitable replacement parts won't be invented until 1947.” 

New moulds in 10300

• 1x Windscreen tapered 1x14x6 (10 at top) in Transparent/ Trans-Clear (6369024 | 80573) 
• 6x Slope 45° 2 x 4 Double wedge in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6369819 | 80545)
  

The windscreen was designed by element designer Mani Zamani, and the new slope part was designed by element designer Yoel Mazur in a collaborative, problem-solving fashion with the set designer (and former New Elementary colleague!) Sven Franic with Mike Psiaki. You can see some exclusive pictures of DeLorean prototypes as well as other possible solutions for the slope on our Facebook or Instagram feeds. 

 

One of our eagle-eyed contributors had already spotted one of the 80545 slopes lurking around on the back tail of the 75325 Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter... perhaps that set should be retitled the ManDeLorean Starfighter?

 

Let’s take a quick look at the two new moulds. Both were designed to solve the specific needs of the DeLorean's shape, but as always elements are designed with making them work within the LEGO System, so that they are potentially useful in future models.

The DeLorean's windscreen is delivered together in the extra (12th) un-numbered bag with all the larger bits and wrapped in a piece of static cling plastic for protection. The team have made this temporary measure to prevent scratches but are looking for a sustainable alternative.

The taper is the same as 1x2x3 slope. The only other similar part was Windscreen 1 x 12 x 4 Tapered (19212) released in two sets, not seen since 2017 and currently commanding a price that will have you wishing you owned a Grey's Sports Almanac and a time machine.

The new 80545 slope is pretty interesting. It is very similar to Slope 45° 2 x 4 Double (3041) but with a one plate step-up every four modules making it one brick high at the lower end and one brick and one plate high at the other.

This step up creates a 5° incline to the double slope. 

For Castle builders these are going to be awesome for creating all manner of buttresses (flying or otherwise). My eyes see interesting spaceship features though.

Exclusive recoloured parts in 10300

• 2x Technic Pin 1/2 in White (6388018 | 4274) – a later double check revealed that these actually have been available before, but only in eight other sets and most importantly, not since 2005 (+1 spare included) 
• 1x Equipment Shepherd's Crook / Staff in Black (6390370 | 49492) a little unusual for a part like this but there is a "spare"! 
• 4x Zipline, 22L with 2 Connectors - Flexible in Black (6381295 | 27965) (+1 spare) 
• 2x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Clip Light [Thick Ring] in Sand Green (6391133 | 4081) 
• 1x Window Frame 1 x 3 x 3 in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6381253 | 51239) 
• 2x Technic Slope Long 1 x 6 with 3 Holes in Light Bluish Gray (6381246 | 2744) 
• 1x Tile 2 x 6 in Dark Pink (6381248 | 69729) 
• 1x Tool Grappling Hook with 90° Shaft in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6391135 | 15534) 
• 4x Wheel 30 x 14 in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6381254 | 56904) 

Rare parts in 10300 

in one other set 

• 4x Technic Axle Pin 3L with No Friction Ridges and 2L Axle in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6385183 | 65249) in one other set, 10298 Vespa 125, only available in white previously and introduced in 2021 
• 2x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 2/3 with Studs on Sides in Bright Reddish Violet/ Magenta (6322832 | 4595) in one other set, 31119 Ferris Wheel 
• 4x Technic Beam 1 x 4 Thin in Medium Azure (6374811 | 63782) in one other set, 42133 Telehandler 
• 4x Technic Disk 3 x 3 with Wheel Rim Print in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6370494 | 82462) in one other set, 10298 Vespa 125 

in two other sets 

• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 12 x 3 Raised Arch with 5 Cross Supports in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6311438 | 30938) in two other sets, 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain and 71722 Skull Sorcerer's Dungeons 
• 4x Tyre 49.5 x 14 in Black (6319995 | 70490) in two other sets, 10290 Pick-Up Truck and 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van 
• 4x Technic Pin 1/2 with Friction in Bright Red/ Red (6378120 | 89678) 2x Bracket 3 x 2 x 1 1/3 with Bottom Stud Holder in Brick Yellow/ Tan (6395373 | 73562) in two other sets, 10284 Camp Nou - FC Barcelona and 75309 Republic Gunship 
• 1x Leg Skeleton in Bright Red/ Red (6391121 | 6266) in two other sets, 75828 Ecto 1 & 2 and 30425 CRU Masters' Training Grounds 
• 4x Tile 2 x 2 Curved, Macaroni in Cool Silver Drum Lacquered/ Metallic Silver (6345721 | 78560) in two other sets, 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery and 21327 Typewriter 
• 2x Plate 1 x 5 in Medium Nougat (6343854 | 78329) in two other sets, 21327 Typewriter and 80108 Lunar New Year Traditions 
• 10x Plate 1 x 1 x 2/3 with Hole in Stud in Medium Nougat (6383946 | 86996) in two other sets, 21179 The Mushroom House and 80108 Lunar New Year Traditions 

in three or more other sets 

• 1x Equipment Stein/Cup with Trans-Orange Drink Pattern in Transparent/ Trans-Clear (6306748 | 68495) in three other sets, 76388 Hogsmeade Village Visit and 71028 Harry Potter Collectible Minifigures Series 2 - one came with Hermione Granger & one came with Ron Weasley 
• 1x Brick Curved 1 x 1 x 2/3 Double Curved Top, No Studs in Sand Green (6335233 | 49307) in three other sets, 21328 Seinfeld, 76200 Bro Thor's New Asgard and 75318 The Child 
• 4x Bar Holder with Clip in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6339866 | 44873) in four other sets 
• 2x Technic Beam 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends in White (6360069 | 44864) in four other sets 
• 2x Plate 2 x 3 with 1 x 1 Cutout in Dark Brown (6336664 | 73831) in four other sets 
• 1x Tile Round 1 x 1 with Hollow Bar in Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange (6223719 | 31561) in five other sets (+1 spare) 
• 1 x Steering Wheel with 4 Studs on Center in Black (6299938 | 67811) in five other sets 
• 8x wedge 4x3 open with cutout and 4 studs in lbg (6381293 | 47755) in six other sets, but not seen in this colour since 2014

Exclusive printed part in 10300 

 

Slope 30° 1 x 2 x 2/3 with DMC logo in Black (6311480 | 85984) has the honour of being the only exclusive printed element and this particular print makes sense, as LEGO tries to print parts if they think stickers might be applied incorrectly. The DMC logo would become DWC if applied upside down, and as the slope is mounted at 90° that might be a very easy mistake to make.

New Parts in Minifigures from 10300 

Doc Brown in ‘2015’ clothes 

• Doc Brown head with future shades and alternate expression (6376744 | 3626)
• Doc Brown legs (6376746 | 970)
• Doc Brown torso (6393294 | 973)

Marty McFly in ‘2015’ clothes 

• Marty legs (6376743 | 970)
• Marty torso (6392791 | 973)

I'm pleasantly surprised to see these alternate versions of Doc Brown and Marty McFly since rumours suggested the set came without display figures. And what fabulous versions of the time travellers to include! Both feature many wonderful details: Marty's Nike Air Mags, 2015 jacket and turned-out pockets, Doc's specs, subtly patterned trousers and flamboyant shirt. The pair are a terrific addition to the existing Doc and Marty from 21103 and the variant Marty (with Hover Board) & Doc (with updated hair) from LEGO Dimensions.

The Build

“Please excuse the crudity of this model, I didn’t have time to build it to scale or paint it.”

 

Instructions

The instructions are all bound within a single fairly hefty book and packed with the stickers in the usual way.

Sven appears in the booklet looking very dapper. He also designed the 10279 T2 VW Camper which makes for a brilliant companion model, if you own it of course. Check out Eero's excellent review of that set here.

Stickers

Just fourteen stickers are included over two sheets, only one of which is printed on clear sticker material.

Bag 1

One of the first things to notice is the handy colour coding of front and back. The red handle is held into place to ensure the mechanism added for the wheels in bag three is aligned correctly. It's a technique I've not encountered in a set before.

Bag 2

It’s already clear that there are complex and delicate intricacies being employed to create the iconic shape.

Bag 3

Wheel mechanism! With the gears meshed and in place the blocks that held the handle together are now moved to their final homes. The urge to test it is great, but if you can, wait to add the wheels for the full glorious effect.

Bag 4

The base construction of the front and back bumpers uses some great snot techniques with brackets and bricks going in just about every direction.

Bag 5

The method of construction involves several little sub-assemblies that appear to be held on by just two studs, which at first doesn't feel remarkably secure, but then in the next step they just lock into place! Each of these little sections slowly add body work detail that had me grinning from ear to ear as I fit the beginnings of the wing and wheel arches into place while using those new slopes to incredible effect to perfectly recreate the front face of the DMC.

Bag 6

More iconic details, this time the rear lights, are perfectly and effectively realised in familiar parts. The rear wings use a similar method to the front, again utilising the 47755 open wedges to create the wheel arches.

Bag 7

"...I had a revelation! A vision! A picture in my head! A picture of this! This is what makes time travel possible: the flux capacitor!"

There's some brilliant construction here that creates the flux capacitor from a grappling hook which allows the use of a light brick to illuminate the enclosure. Time to shield your eyes! Owners of the LEGO Ideas version will be pleased to note that 'shield' has been spelt correctly.

The time circuits are displaying the very first time travelling journey made by the DeLorean (a Catalan Sheepdog just exited stage left!). The Windscreen is just fantastic and again, perfectly creates the distinctive wedge shapes of the DeLorean.

Bag 8

A neat and very well "hidden" button is added to activate the light brick for flux capacitor here. The roof construction contains the hinge points for the gull wing doors and are nicely integrated. There's also the beginnings of some pretty accurate greebling and the box part of the big cooling vents.

Bag 9

The gull-wing doors add so much to the authenticity of this car, though I couldn't get them to stay open long enough for my photographs and had to wedge them open. It's simple enough with a 2x2 block placed sideways on top of the chair headrest for anyone who wants to display the doors open. The doors are actually too heavy to stay open but the friction pins really do slow the the descent in a very pleasing way ...and those shut lines are breathtaking!

Bag 10

The flux dispersal bands are attached to the ‘C’ pillars and again I'm marvelling at how accurately all these shapes reflect the Time Machine. The Hoverboard and Plutonium case make for nice interlude side builds and add so much in terms of recreating the world that the DeLorean inhabits.

Bag 11

Now, it’s choice time. Here is the point where you have to decide which is your favourite time machine - I, II or III? For the purposes of this review I obviously needed to build each one.

There are still a few steps that are nearly universal to the three versions, then it is ready to be completed in one of the three ways. The hood is so very satisfyingly neat, it sits flush, opens really smoothly and integrates with the new slope perfectly.

Back to the Future

Here, as Doc Brown first presents the iconic DeLorean Time Machine to Marty, is the finished model and even though my hopes were pretty high for this set, I can’t help being astounded by the fact that it actually exceeds them.

It’s just beautiful.

From. Every.

Single. Angle.

We also have the hook (that channels the lightning into the flux capacitor) to display the Time Machine as it appears at the end of the movie.

Back to the Future Part II

The number plate needs to be changed and this is my only criticism of the set. It is not possible to remove the window pane that carries the number plate sticker from the outside and there is no edge to catch on the sub-assembly that allows access to it either. It's not a major problem but a minor bit of deconstruction is necessary if you want to change the number plate in order to build the second and/or third versions of the Time Machine with the futuristic barcode number plate in place.

This is where the wheel mechanism comes in to play with its big red handle. You probably won't be able to wait until this point to activate the wheels (as I suggested earlier) because it's far too exciting. You will have swooshed it long before now thinking, "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need Roads!"

The wheel mechanism was one of the things that took longest to design according to Sven, who we had the opportunity to talk to before the set was released thanks to a roundtable discussion organised by the AFOLET department at LEGO. It went through many iterations but the eventual design was settle upon because of wanting to minimise the space it occupied. The change in orientation of the wheels is activated with a satisfying and reassuring "thunk". It is also designed to be possible to use with one hand.

The Plutonium chamber is replaced by (a) Mr Fusion. The Krups 233 Coffee grinder also made an appearance in Alien (1979) and it's a major part of the look of the "2015" Time Machine upgrade. Making it look just right here is important because getting it wrong would have spoilt the whole Part II variant.

Back to the Future Part III

The hood needs a little adjustment, rotating two 30414s (1x4 bricks with 4 Studs on one side). These are how the big box of tricks are attached.

 

The replacement time-circuitry that 1955 Doc has to build from schematics that Doc in 1885 has drawn up are fairly accurate represented too. Also, there are extra wheel hubs to replicate the whitewall tyres and red and silver radar dishes to create the look of the wheels that Marty goes back to the Old West on.

If you don’t want to take any of the sub-assemblies apart to build the alternate versions, you need a maximum of five (fairly common) supplementary sourced elements. These are the parts that are required more than once and will minimise how much you need to take apart to swap between options:

Back to the Future Part II

• 2x Slope Inverted 45° 2 x 2 [Ovoid Bottom Pin, Bar-sized Stud Holes] in Black (6425507 | 3660)
• 1x Brick Special 2 x 2 with Grooves and Axle Hole in Dark Bluish Gray (6236949 | 90258)

Back to the Future Part III

• 1x Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger on Side, without Groove (6266251 | 44567)
• 1x Flexible Hose 8.5L with Tabless Ends (Fixed Ends same color as Tube) in Black (6327402 | 73590)

You'll also need that "spare" Shepherd's Crook:

• 1x Equipment Shepherd's Crook / Staff in Black (6390370 | 49492)

21103 vs. 10300: LEGO Ideas DeLorean Time Machine comparison

LEGO Ideas 21103 The DeLorean Time Machine was released as CUUSOO #4 in 2013 and based on the project "Back to the Future (BTTF) - DeLorean Time Machine" by 'm.togami'. This original set I feel paved the way for many licensed sets that have followed. The new larger version shares much with the Ideas set’s remit in that it is possible to build a version of the car that represents how it appeared in each of the three films.

 

For more detail on this, our Medium Azure and Vibrant Coral patrons can enjoy the full version of my exclusive comparison article between the LEGO Ideas and LEGO Creator Expert Back to the Future DeLoreans on Patreon right now!

Comparing the LEGO version to real DeLorean Time Machines 

So, let’s talk about accuracy, or faithfulness to the onscreen car. The Delorean Time Machine Wikipedia page is a good starting point for reference. I travelled down some fairly niche roads, watched videos about recreating obsessively accurate “Time Machines” and the lengths that some people have gone to. This documentary, 88MPH: The Story of the DeLorean Time Machine features some interesting background and if you’re a fan it’s well worth your time.

 

Attribution: wikipedia DeLorean DMC at the Petersen Automotive Museum

To recreate any of that detail in LEGO, well, that takes a special kind of genius. Sven Franic is therefore perhaps a visionary genius like Doc Brown, because he has done an unbelievable job and pulled off an astounding replica. The time and effort that must have gone into this model! The "Power of Love" is evident throughout the build.

Conclusion

"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."

I don’t normally feel this way, but I can’t ever imagine harvesting parts from this set. It’s instantly the best set I’ve built this year, because to be honest, I’m struggling to think of a set that has impressed and delighted me more for a long time, not that other sets haven’t been exciting too, but this, this is one point twenty one jigawatts of electricity, and hit me like a bolt of lightning!

There will be fans who want to modify, amend and adapt this model to “better fit” the on-screen Time Machine, but I think that's part of the beauty of Sven's design - you could/can add to it because you will be building on a very solid and accurate structure.

I'm going to recommend this as an essential purchase for fans of Back to the Future. I'm going to recommend it even if you just like LEGO, because you'll appreciate the care and expertise that has gone into recreating the subtle and iconic shape of the DeLorean and the finesse necessary to make the greebling on the Time Machine look convincing too. Especially in its three separate incarnations.

I don't think I can adequately express the joy I have experienced building this set, some of that is undoubtedly nostalgia. So the fact that this model elicits that response from me, I think shows how phenomenally evocative and accurate it is. I've felt like a kid again whilst reviewing this set. The DeLorean Time Machine might be fictional, but the LEGO time machine works perfectly and it transported me back in time. I'm excited by this, I hope you will be too.

So, as you'll be buying this set, please consider using one of our affiliate links. New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/ for Europe 'Change region'.  

 

There's a cute little animated short too if you've so far missed it!  

 

Editor: Chris Baginski

READ MORE: LEGO® Ninjago review & MOCs: 71755 Temple of the Endless Sea

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