Icons

Back to the Future Time Machine

The DeLorean fans waited decades for, and it builds all three movies.

4.4/5

Set 10300 · 2022

Pieces1,872

Minifigs2

Year2022

Set number10300

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

If you love Back to the Future even a little, this one is an easy yes.

It's a proper Icons-scale DeLorean with a light-up flux capacitor, folding flight wheels, and the parts to build the version from any of the three films. It's not flawless (the gull-wing doors won't stay open and a couple of key details are stickers instead of prints), but it captures the car so well that most of that fades away. Grab it for the display shelf and the nostalgia, not for a super technical build.

Best for: Back to the Future fans who want the definitive display DeLorean

The full review

What it is

Some LEGO® sets you buy for the build, and some you buy because the subject means something to you. This one is firmly the second kind, and that's exactly why it works. It's the DeLorean time machine at Icons scale, 1,872 pieces of the most famous car in movie history, and after decades of fans begging for it, LEGO finally delivered. The clever hook is that it's really a 3-in-1: near the end of the manual the instructions split so you can build the DeLorean as it appears in Part I, Part II, or Part III. You get Mr. Fusion for the second film, the whitewall tires and circuit-board look for the third, plus the hoverboard, the OUTATIME license plate, and a light brick tucked behind the flux capacitor that actually glows.

The catch

Now the honest part, because a good mate tells you the catches too. The gull-wing doors are the big one. They look fantastic open, but they drift shut on their own and won't hold their pose, which is either a real annoyance or a funny bit of accuracy depending on your mood (the actual DeLorean had the same problem). The other nitpick fans raised is stickers. For a set at this price, having the flux capacitor and the dashboard rely on stickers instead of printed pieces stings a little, especially since the flux capacitor is the heart of the whole thing. And while the two new minifigs are lovely, Marty reuses an older head print that looks slightly plain next to his crisp new outfit. At its original 170 dollars for under 1,900 pieces, the value ratio is fine rather than generous, since you're paying partly for the license.

Who it's for

So who should grab this? If Back to the Future is one of your films, stop reading and go get it, because the finished model on a shelf is pure joy and the movie-accurate details are spot on. It's also a friendly build, so it suits a returning adult fan or a slightly older kid who loves the trilogy. The one person I'd steer elsewhere is the builder chasing a meaty, technical challenge, since this leans more toward charm and display than clever engineering. For everyone else, it's about time.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build runs across thirteen numbered bags and it's a relaxed, pleasant ride rather than a puzzle. You start with the chassis and the folding wheel mechanism, which is the mechanical highlight: a bar underneath lets you snap all four wheels down 90 degrees into flight mode, and it's genuinely satisfying to click back and forth. From there you work up through the bodywork and the stainless-steel paneling, then the interior with its printed dashboard, and finish with the busy rear deck of vents, cables, and the reactor. The instructions split near the end so you commit to one of the three film versions, and swapping later is easy enough if you fancy a change.

On pieces, this set is more about smart reuse than a pile of new molds. There's a new windscreen element designed for the car and one new slope (80545), but the real fun for parts hunters is the recolors. Toy Story's Bo Peep crook (49492) shows up here, and there's a black version of the zipline handle (27965), both handy for your own builds. The flux capacitor itself is clever improvisation, built from a window, a grappling hook, and a specially made transparent sticker with the light brick shining through. At 1,872 pieces you're getting a satisfying amount of plastic, though a chunk of the cost is the Back to the Future license rather than raw part count, which is worth knowing going in.

Fun facts

01Set designer Sven Franic developed the final model from an original concept DeLorean that master builder Mike Psiaki had built years earlier, adding the switchable wheel configuration so it could represent all three films.
02The gull-wing doors sagging shut on the LEGO model mirrors a real-world quirk: the actual DeLorean DMC-12's heavy doors were notorious for the same behavior.
03Despite being nearly 1,900 pieces, the set introduced only a couple of genuinely new molds, a new windscreen and one new slope (80545), leaning instead on clever recolors and existing parts.
04It comes with a light brick that lights up the flux capacitor, plus swappable extras like Mr. Fusion, Marty's hoverboard, and the famous OUTATIME license plate to match whichever movie you build.