BARK to the Future DeLorean

[MattgomeryBurns]

I'm getting a jump on Halloween and all the 2015 festivities this summer by making a push car DeLorean for my French bulldog Pierre, aka Marty MuttFly! I was inspired by this Back to the Future baby from a few years back, as well as Andrewshaddox's incredible Jurassic Park Jeep.

Here's Pierre with my HC Mags back when they arrived.



It will probably take a few months to source all of the materials and do the build. I'll be using a mix of off the shelf items and scratch built things. I picked up the push car from Toys R Us yesterday, and have a bunch of items on the way.



Of course Pierre will be outfitted like Marty and have some props scaled down to fit his size, like a Hoverboard based on Roland's decals (hope that's ok!) and a Pepsi Perfect bottle for his water. I'll be accompanying him as Doc Brown.

I'm going to step up on the original design by adding lights under the wheels, the car charger Flux Capacitor, and a few other bells n whistles. And I'm open to any suggestions!



We're lucky enough to have the shooting locations in our backyard since we live in LA, so I'll snap some pics with him in front of Twin Pines Mall, Marty's house, etc. Heck, maybe we'll pop over to Claudia Wells' shop too and have her sign his mini 'Save the Clocktower' flyer

When Pierre turns 1 we can start volunteering with a local non profit that visits children's hospitals. I'm sure the kids will get a kick out it!

 

[Moviefreak]

Great stuff! I'm subscribing to this so I don't miss shy update

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Great! I'll be posting things as they come in and are completed. Stay tuned

Great stuff! I'm subscribing to this so I don't miss shy update

 

[Halliwax]

lol i love the idea! i look forward to seeing your progress

 

[EmmaInCandyland]

Neat idea! Loving your dog haha!

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Things are starting to arrive!



First up, materials for a Marty Muttfly hat! I ordered few sheets of multi-color lenticular fabric and doggy baseball hat. A local Etsy artist who makes dog apparel has graciously agreed to sew the fabric on the hat.



A few options for the vest. I think the one on the left has more accurate color.



I ordered some sample options for the lights under the hovering wheels. The smaller one is more lightweight, so I'll probably go with that. The black one is heavier but almost has a tire-like tread around the edge. I ordered the wrong power adapter for the car charger Flux Capacitor. This adapter plugs into a wall socket. I need one with phantom power.



Lastly, some thin LED rope lighting to go around the DeLorean. I'll probably need to order an extra one.



TO BE CONTINUED...

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Here's a short video of the blue lighting in action. I'm very happy with the color and the 3 different modes. I'll run this over the front bumper and up and over the back of the time machine.

 

[Jintosh]

Wonderful idea !! Mini-Marty ! And when you're done, you can sell it for "One million dollars".

 

[bmacpolo]

So cool. Good job!

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Haha! Is that an offer??

Wonderful idea !! Mini-Marty ! And when you're done, you can sell it for "One million dollars".

BTW - I took a "long lunch" today to check out the Rick Baker auction at Universal. I popped into the park to take a bunch of reference pics of this bad boy...

 

[Jintosh]

hmm...need to work on my jokes. :lol


Mini-Marty-------Mini-Me------Austin Powers-------Dr. Evil------"One Million Dollars".

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

A few things have arrived.

First up, Pierre's 1985 vest and I printed some mini clocktower flyers.


And the flux capacitor car charger, portable battery, and car lighter adapter.


Here they are in action

Waiting on some more things, then I can begin my build!

 

[Jintosh]

Nice! Maybe Mini-Marty and Mini-Venkman from the ghost busters thread can get together for Halloween.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Nice! Maybe Mini-Marty and Mini-Venkman from the ghost busters thread can get together for Halloween.

Oh yeah? Do you have a Venkman costume for your dog? I'm already thinking about my next one - Indiana Bones

 

[Jintosh]

Not quite. Actually he made a smaller proton pack for his son to wear.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

More supplies. I swear this is not a cosplay thread! I'll finally have time on Saturday to begin my DeLorean build.

Here's what arrived today...

Pepsi Perfect bottle (for Pierre's water): I found a kid's sports bottle that looks just like a mini version of the prop. The decal is from eBay.

I'm gonna have to re-order both, though - when I used a liquid sticker remover on the bottle's label, it totally ate into the plastic. And the decal took a few tries, which ended up stretching the upper right side. But I'm super happy with the shape of the bottle. It even opens like the movie version!


Marty MuttFly Shah Safari Collar


Speedometer: I'm gonna mod this aquarium thermometer into a little speedometer for the DeLorean. Didn't realize it was celsius, however, so I won't get anywhere near 88 mph.

 

[Jintosh]

Nice find on the bottle. Some labels come off just soaking in warm water.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Some progress:

Hoverboard: I printed out a version of @Roland's decals at 50% on poster, mounted it on foam board, and painted the edges. I wanted to keep it simple and just leave it flat, but of course when I was done I decided I should add a foot strap and hover components. Will get to that shortly.


And for scale:


Mr. Fusion base: Found a plastic cake container that worked perfectly.


Body: painted all the areas that would be exposed black.


Save the Clocktower Flyer: I made 1/4 size versions. I felt the size was better.



Next up: building the body, which I'm still playing around with. I decided I'm gonna have the doors hang from dowels so I can get the gull wing effect.

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Finished!



Just kidding! This was at the office last week so I had to pop him in there. For research, of course

 

[MattgomeryBurns]

Updating my project:

Body: painted the steering wheel and added DMC decal, added dowels as a base for the body, added foam blocks to level out the seat, and installed faux-leather seat. Pierre is thrilled.


Lenticular hat: so happy with how it turned out!


Hoverboard: I was gonna keep it flat and simple, but I decided to add the foot strap (a Pringles lid) and magnets. I'm not gonna bother with the battery. The magnets are furniture sliders painted chrome (before and after in the last pic).


Mini Plutonium Case: made by Anvil with a space for Pierre's Pepsi Perfect water bottle. I added the radioactive labels (printed from @Roland's file on 4x6 photo paper at 38%). And I attached the "plutonium" lettering with 1/4" vinyl letters. More pics here.