spencer1984

The Kit: First impressions were very good. A huge box held nearly a dozen parts trees in black, gray, dark gray, clear, and chrome. Details were sharp and well-defined, the wiring is all separate pieces, and the body is delicate and well-proportioned. The 16-page instruction booklet seems thorough, and the decals are so sharp you can actually read the gauges and time circuit readouts.

Backstory: In the mid-1990s, one of my earliest purchases from HobbyLink Japan was the Back to the Future II DeLorean. I think it may have been my first time building one of Aoshima's kits, and I loved it: great detail, unique assembly, and excellent casting quality. Much as I liked it, though, I didn't do a very good job. The only reference I had was a VHS copy of the movie, my supplies were limited, and my skills weren't nearly enough to overcome either of these. The only surviving picture, taken back when film cameras and scanners were the only option. About 15 years later, I wanted to take another crack at the Time Machine. I wanted to try to make the "First Appearance" version as it came out of Doc's truck - the only time in the series that it wore the OUTATIME license plate. Polar Lights' kit was available by this point, and Aoshima had reissued their kits several times including some with prefinished bodies. I thought that if I could combine these, I could get what I wanted. Modifying the PL chassis to fit the Aoshima kit was as far as I ever got. As often happens, I got the hardest part finished and then got distracted. Then in late 2023, Aoshima announced their all-new tooling of a "Part I" Time Machine. It was exactly what I had been planning to build, but with current manufacturing standards. I placed my preorder, it arrived in May, and as soon as I got my work bench clear I started in.

Thanks!

Nicely done!

Ha, well done!

That's great, nicely done!

Nicely done! I always liked the look of the MPC kits of this era, you've shown here how good they can be.

Cool subject, nicely done!

Cool!

Nicely done, it's great to see one of these built! I found one in a box of built/damaged kits a few months ago, so this will also be helpful for figuring out how it's supposed to look.

Nice clean work, it looks good!

This kit has abunch of weird little quirks, and is always a tough one the first time you build it. But you've done some fine work here, and if you give it a second go I can almost guarantee it won't be quite as frustrating.

Thanks, guys!

Fantastic looking custom!

Nice & clean, great job!

Awesome job on this, it turned out great!

Beautiful finish on this!

Thanks!

Nicely done!

Built from the recent MPC kit that included the Godzilla diorama. Since the movie was set in the late 60s, I figured the Planetary Defense forces would have given their fleet an upgrade and replaced the Go-Devil I4 with what have been the newest L-series engine from Nissan. Other than the necessary changes to make said engine fit, the rest of the kit was built box stock. A full writeup of the build is available here, and as always any comments/criticisms are welcome! With the included diorama:

Great to see one of these built, nice work!

Great looking truck, nice work!

Nice looking Z!

Great job on both, nice work!

Beautiful work, they don't come much cleaner than that!