Hot Toys Back to the Future II - DeLorean - Mods

[Chopper Face]

The U.K. finally got our stock!

HT really screwed us with that digital switch.

So, now it’s been confirmed the ‘simple mod’ would only get you half the lights on, and since I really have zero clue what I’m looking at with all these cables and boards, and have no soldering equipment, I really don’t think it’s worth the risk of trying to attempt the far more involved mod that would allow all lights to turn on via the usb input.

Even with this thread, I’m just blanking on where to even start.

Shame.

I built my own acrylic shelving cases and the front panels remove via magnetic tape, so I’ll have to just do that every time I want to power up the DeLorean and, knowing me, that means I’ll barely ever see it lit up.

 

[cdx008]

The U.K. finally got our stock!

HT really screwed us with that digital switch.

So, now it’s been confirmed the ‘simple mod’ would only get you half the lights on, and since I really have zero clue what I’m looking at with all these cables and boards, and have no soldering equipment, I really don’t think it’s worth the risk of trying to attempt the far more involved mod that would allow all lights to turn on via the usb input.

Even with this thread, I’m just blanking on where to even start.

Shame.

I built my own acrylic shelving cases and the front panels remove via magnetic tape, so I’ll have to just do that every time I want to power up the DeLorean and, knowing me, that means I’ll barely ever see it lit up.

Partially. There is a really easy way to do this without making your cables. It’s to reuse the ones already connected to the switch. There are three. The idea was to bypass the switch and point those cables to the same locations to the light circuits. (I have another Mark 2 I’m working on so I can show pics too if you like. Though I do plan on adding real on/off switches to this one. One to power, 2nd to power on the hover lights.)

I chose to make my own cables so I can leave the original cables where they were for some reason, lol.

I sure hope hot toys corrects this on the Mark 3 because I sure as heck don’t want to yet again rip the hood open just so I can power it up

 

[Mike86]

As much as I’d like to say that I’d like to attempt the electronic/light mods when I get mine I don’t think that I will. I really don’t want to break anything especially with it costing as much as it does.

Adding stuff like the Goodyear logos and carpeting though seems pretty straightforward.

 

[Chopper Face]

Partially. There is a really easy way to do this without making your cables. It’s to reuse the ones already connected to the switch. There are three. The idea was to bypass the switch and point those cables to the same locations to the light circuits. (I have another Mark 2 I’m working on so I can show pics too if you like. Though I do plan on adding real on/off switches to this one. One to power, 2nd to power on the hover lights.)

I chose to make my own cables so I can leave the original cables where they were for some reason, lol.

I sure hope hot toys corrects this on the Mark 3 because I sure as heck don’t want to yet again rip the hood open just so I can power it up

You’re giving me hope again.
Have I screwed myself by attaching the grills already?
They're so fragile, I’d hate to have to pry them off…

 

[cdx008]

You’re giving me hope again.
Have I screwed myself by attaching the grills already?
They're so fragile, I’d hate to have to pry them off…

After doing it multiple times when doing mods, they actually come off pretty easily from wiggling it back and forth.

 

[cdx008]

Finally got it to a point where I am really happy with.
- Tracks painted and weather
- Train wheels painted and weather
- 1/4 mile sign complete (I used a magnet to attach to my display cabinet)

 

[cdx008]

In case anyone wanted to try Tom’s 3D printed wheels on their Mark 2, you will need to add these washers to increase the thickness of the included spacers meant for the Mark 1.
https://a.co/d/aqRK2jI

 

[MDLAV8R]

Finally got it to a point where I am really happy with.
- Tracks painted and weather
- Train wheels painted and weather
- 1/4 mile sign complete (I used a magnet to attach to my display cabinet)View attachment 687003View attachment 687014View attachment 687017

Amazing job. Love it!

 

[OzzyAndyHam]

Thanks @cdx008 for this indepth tutorial! I was now successfully able to rewire my Delorean to power everything on (flight mode) with a smart plug, bypassing the button switch.

Most of my time was getting the damned hood compartment off safely, as Hot Toys had some large blobs of misplaced hot glue that was keeping it firmly stuck in place.
There was only about half the expected screws missing, only had about 6 total i had to remove, with a bunch just missing entirely. Also, the electrics were originally wired differently than your photos, and again hot glue blobs over a bunch of connections.. very sloppy.

Very happy now though to have it all functioning as expected, thanks!

Now if only i was able to acheive the same effect of all lights turning on via smart plug for my JazzInc Batmobile 2022...

 

[Caludaj]

Where do you get the Circuit Board for the Modification?

 

[Caludaj]

3. Detach the existing 5V USBC output.
View attachment 639684
4. Detach the existing power input cable from LED2(flight mode) board. (Says BAT on it)
View attachment 639685

Where can I get the Circuit Board for this? Thanks in advance for the help! [email protected]

 

[Caludaj]

Thanks @cdx008 for this indepth tutorial! I was now successfully able to rewire my Delorean to power everything on (flight mode) with a smart plug, bypassing the button switch.

Most of my time was getting the damned hood compartment off safely, as Hot Toys had some large blobs of misplaced hot glue that was keeping it firmly stuck in place.
There was only about half the expected screws missing, only had about 6 total i had to remove, with a bunch just missing entirely. Also, the electrics were originally wired differently than your photos, and again hot glue blobs over a bunch of connections.. very sloppy.

Very happy now though to have it all functioning as expected, thanks!

Now if only i was able to acheive the same effect of all lights turning on via smart plug for my JazzInc Batmobile 2022...

Where can I get the Circuit Board for this? Thanks in advance for the help. [email protected]

 

[cdx008]

Where can I get the Circuit Board for this? Thanks in advance for the help. [email protected]

Oh hello there!

The circuit board is actually right under the hood.

Technically you don’t need any parts for this modification. You are able to use the cables glued to the hood to the button if you wish.

All you’re doing is routing that power wire away from the switch. This will result in flight lights being on permanently once usb c power is connected. You’ll need a new non-digital on/off switch if you still want to have controllable ground/flight lights.

 

[Caludaj]

Thanks for the information! One more question.... Do you know if it is possible to retrofit the BTTF 1 Car with the updated LIT Timer Panel and Dash Lights that were put into the BTTF 2 Car?
Thanks again for all the help and all the best from New Orleans!
Joe

 

[cdx008]

Thanks for the information! One more question.... Do you know if it is possible to retrofit the BTTF 1 Car with the updated LIT Timer Panel and Dash Lights that were put into the BTTF 2 Car?
Thanks again for all the help and all the best from New Orleans!
Joe

It’s not impossible but the issue is less so about adding a new led circuit behind it. Taking it apart to get to it isn’t that bad. Those parts in the BTTF1 Delorean are not clear and you’ll need to either drill holes or 3D print a new clear part to get light to shine through. That’s your actual challenge.

 

[Caludaj]

I would definitely be willing to try if the Lighting Parts were available. I wonder if Hot Toys would sell that Lit Time Panel and/or the Lit Dashboard as a Part. Is it possible to buy replacement Hot Toys Parts?

 

[Username]

I would definitely be willing to try if the Lighting Parts were available. I wonder if Hot Toys would sell that Lit Time Panel and/or the Lit Dashboard as a Part. Is it possible to buy replacement Hot Toys Parts?

No. Don’t even waste your time to ask.

 

[hotdogs4humanity]

My Delorean has been sitting in pieces for about 9 months but I finally got motivated to finish it up this weekend. Swapped out the leds for the headlights and the tail lights to use warm white ones that look much more appropriate than the cool white leds that it came with. I also 3d printed an extra diffuser for the tail lights so that it lights up more of the lenses. There's even some diffusion happening in the side markers courtesy of a cut up clear zip tie, it also gives the light some texture and makes it look a little more like a real one.

I painted a thicker coat inside the wheels so that they don't glow through the top of the wheel anymore aside from a little light leak through the gap between pieces. I do prefer it for the accuracy, but it definitely makes the overall lighting effects a bit less cool.

The biggest part of the project was I completely redid the exhaust vents so that the entire vent glows now. I cut some acrylic pieces to use as a diffuser inside the vents behind that tinted screen. Then I sanded off all the tint and paint on that interior screen and resprayed it with some new tint - I must have redone this step like 10 times because I kept messing up. It also involved carefully cutting away some plastic pieces inside the vents, so this was definitely not a mod for the faint of heart.

 

[cdx008]

My Delorean has been sitting in pieces for about 9 months but I finally got motivated to finish it up this weekend. Swapped out the leds for the headlights and the tail lights to use warm white ones that look much more appropriate than the cool white leds that it came with. I also 3d printed an extra diffuser for the tail lights so that it lights up more of the lenses. There's even some diffusion happening in the side markers courtesy of a cut up clear zip tie, it also gives the light some texture and makes it look a little more like a real one.

I painted a thicker coat inside the wheels so that they don't glow through the top of the wheel anymore aside from a little light leak through the gap between pieces. I do prefer it for the accuracy, but it definitely makes the overall lighting effects a bit less cool.

The biggest part of the project was I completely redid the exhaust vents so that the entire vent glows now. I cut some acrylic pieces to use as a diffuser inside the vents behind that tinted screen. Then I sanded off all the tint and paint on that interior screen and resprayed it with some new tint - I must have redone this step like 10 times because I kept messing up. It also involved carefully cutting away some plastic pieces inside the vents, so this was definitely not a mod for the faint of heart.

That is a super impressive modification! Mega props to you. Switching to those warmer lights make a huge visually difference. I like it a lot. Definitely like the idea of diffusing the lights. I’ll admit hot toys did a subpar job with all the lights that straight up look like a single LED in there and the lack of diffusion makes it more toy like. What temperature/type LEDs did you use for the front?

 

[hotdogs4humanity]

Thanks! It just feels good to finally have it back together finally after so long sitting in pieces. The front headlights (and also tail lights) are using 3000k leds, so it should be close in color to an actual incandescent headlight. I just got these off amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AUI4VRE. They are a direct swap in the headlights but I had to create a little mount bracket for them in the tail lights.

In my last picture of the headlights I was actually using some different leds, but they were 12v and they were pretty dim and a little more yellow from not getting enough power. I just wanted to show the color difference from stock and I forgot to take a picture when I put the newer ones in. When I swapped them out for 3v leds I ended up adding resistors to bring the brightness down a little bit, that way they still look like headlights but aren't acting like spotlights my wall lol.