BTTF 2 Pepsi Bottle scratch build.

[Java]

I recently had some interest in having a BTTF2 Pepsi Perfect bottle. After doing some research and despite the consensus that it was scratch made, I thought it might be based on an old TAME Hair Conditioner bottle.

I tracked a bottle down on Ebay and was a little disappointed when I got it, as it was too small. Only an 8 ounce bottle. So I scaled it up. I soon realized that shape was just really *off*. I tried. :lol

Back to the drawing board and more research. There are lots of posts here, and all over the internet regarding these bottles. Read them as they are really full of a lot of info! Some of the stuff I found was eye-opening and disappointing in one fell swoop. It never was clear if the bottles that have been replicated were ever "cast off screen-used" and the ones available recently certainly weren't as evidenced by the testimony of the person making them. Rather they were reproduced using measurements of prototypes and bottles from BTTF The Ride. I even saw bottles that were made intentionally wrong so that there would be none like the original they were modeled from. :confused

Finding this post pretty much settled it for me:

Yes, previous replicas were based off the preproduction bottle. For now it will stay that way. I have no interest in devaluing ANY originals by making a replica from them. I need to get the clear vacformed bottle and then I would have a complete set of all styles variations. Preproduction Solid Wood - Production Opening Top Solid - Production Clear - Production If after a year or so, I can't find a PP Clear, I'll just make my own to match the two production bottles. It will be a dead on replica to my Diet Pepsi, just in clear. Once you see how they go together, it's shockingly simple. Oh, and regarding sizes. The Diet Pepsi and Slice ARE different sizes, but there is a perfectly logical reason

Making one from scratch (just like the originals) from accurate measurements seemed about as close as anybody was ever going to get without making replicas cast directly off a screen-used prop.

Trying to find measurements was a challenge because getting a straight answer from people was elusive. it's the Replica Prop Forum, so I decided to make myself a replica.

I found a profile that a person (starbuckcyclon - thanks) with a Ride bottle graciously shared and decided to try with that. Since I don't have a lathe I needed to try something else. Was the overall height 8.5-ish as claimed by some, or 8.75 as claimed by others? I measured a beer bottled and it came up as exactly 8.75 inches. I went with 8.75. Once the PIH auction was up and listed the size as 8.75, I was pretty satisfied. When making vac-form bucks it is common to make them smaller to accommodate the thickness of the material being used. Now, leaving room for 1/8 inch material (top and bottom) you get the 8.5 inch "buck" which yields the 8.75 vac-form. 1/8 is pretty thick. I'll let you know how it works out when I vac-form it.

I made concentric disks and placed them on a center rod.

I then filled it with "Great Stuff" and shaped it better.

I tweaked the shaped and then did an overlay with the Diet Pepsi bottle from PIH. I just need to tweak the top.

Check the pic with the beer glass I got for Christmas. Crazy!

 

[steveo3002]

cool project..look forward to seeing how it goes

 

[Jedifyfe]

I think that you are mistaken about what is available and the lineage. Gary Weavers first run of solid bottles were cast from his preproduction Pepsi Perfect bottle. We all thought it would be the same size as the screen used bottles but alas it wasn't.

Gary then won a set of screen used Slice and Diet Pepsi bottles and made his latest run based on those. I have owned both sets and I know for a fact that they are taller than his first run. His latest run is a absolutely exact to the screen used.

You are doing a great job on yours. I look forward to seeing you progress.

 

[Java]

Thanks for the nice words. :thumbsup

There are some very nice replicas out there. No doubt.

I've read lots of things regarding this prop and I didn't feel the need to post them all here. I just wanted to briefly explain how and why I decided to make my own.

 

[Jedifyfe]

That's cool. I have always loved these props so I will be watching this build.

That's interesting about the TAME bottle.

BTW, where did you get those beer glasses. I would love to buy some and put some Pepsi Perfect stickers on them to use around the house.

 

[Roland]

...

BTW, where did you get those beer glasses. I would love to buy some and put some Pepsi Perfect stickers on them to use around the house.

Is this a Weizenbierglas? If it is: In Germany such glasses are available at every corner drug store.

 

[Java]

I'll have to ask my wife about the glass, she got me a set.

They were made in the USA for sure.

 

[tk1055]

Man those beer glasses are very close, when you get a chance let me know the 411 on those. I two would love to slap a Pepsi Perfect logo on one for use around the house! (Maybe even a Guinness perfect ;-) )

 

[Droidboy]

Did anyone ever make measurements available on this?

 

[Roland]

Man those beer glasses are very close, when you get a chance let me know the 411 on those. I two would love to slap a Pepsi Perfect logo on one for use around the house! (Maybe even a Guinness perfect ;-) )

 

[Java]

Here you go.

Classic Pilsner

@Droidboy - accurate measurements are all over the place. Look and you will find.

 

[tk1055]

Roland, you are a god among men. Java I will look into those, thank you

 

[Roland]

Here you go.

Classic Pilsner

@Droidboy - accurate measurements are all over the place. Look and you will find.

Uuuuh, the US made beer glasses have a really ugly bottom. Our german's look much closer to the Pepsi Perfect bottles.

Here you can buy them: http://www.gastro-mayer.de/ohne_mar...nchen_0_3_l__shop_glas_bierglaeser_pid60.aspx

 

[Java]

Uuuuh, the US made beer glasses have a really ugly bottom. Our german's look much closer to the Pepsi Perfect bottles.

Here you can buy them: Weizenbierglas MÜNCHEN 0,3 l /-/ (Glas: Biergläser Shop) - 1,26

That's why I am making my own.

 

[Gary Weaver II]

Yes, previous replicas were based off the preproduction bottle. For now it will stay that way. I have no interest in devaluing ANY originals by making a replica from them. I need to get the clear vacformed bottle and then I would have a complete set of all styles variations. Preproduction Solid Wood - Production Opening Top Solid - Production Clear - Production If after a year or so, I can't find a PP Clear, I'll just make my own to match the two production bottles. It will be a dead on replica to my Diet Pepsi, just in clear. Once you see how they go together, it's shockingly simple. Oh, and regarding sizes. The Diet Pepsi and Slice ARE different sizes, but there is a perfectly logical reason

Wow, talk about some selective posting. Brad's right though - my newest Pepsi Perfects are directly based on my Screen Used Set - and I'm pretty sure I said so. I also hate to break it to you but you CAN NOT get any closer to the screen used profile than my replicas - short of finding the original Vac-Forming bucks used to make the originals.

The tooling for my Gen2 Bottles were taken directly from the inside of my Diet Pepsi Bottle with lowshrink tooling resin. This was possible since the side seams on my Diet Pepsi were already broken when I got it. After molding, the original wood grain was even present on the tools from the inside of the bottles. They were wetsanded down a bit to give a better tool for the clear bottles. More on that in a sec though.

But wait, it gets better. I now have a screen used Pepsi Perfect in my set and I'm more than pleased to say that my Pepsi Perfect replicas are probably 98% identical to the screen used and in some respects - even better. The Pepsi Perfects that I make have no wood grain like the original. You can't see it in the film, but it's horribly obvious on the original.

The only changes I need to make is a slight tweak to the label for the width, and add the inner solid straw. Now that I know how the original is installed I can put it into my replicas with a slightly different mounting system to keep it from getting mixed up with a screen used bottle (which is why I didn't add them in the first place to my original replica).

The stacked styrene disc and bondo idea is pretty inventive. Great job on that BTW.

-Gary

 

[Roland]

... Now that I know how the original is installed I can put it into my replicas with a slightly different mounting system to keep it from getting mixed up with a screen used bottle (which is why I didn't add them in the first place to my original replica). ...

Are you planning another run with new bottles?

 

[Java]

Are you planning another run with new bottles?

I believe there is a separate thread for this.

 

[Java]

But wait, it gets better. I now have a screen used Pepsi Perfect in my set and I'm more than pleased to say that my Pepsi Perfect replicas are probably 98% identical to the screen used and in some respects - even better. The Pepsi Perfects that I make have no wood grain like the original. You can't see it in the film, but it's horribly obvious on the original.


-Gary

Cool, then maybe you can help with the analysis.

A little bit has happened over the last few weeks.When I started making my replica it reminded a friend that he had a casting from a reliable source. It was duplicated from the movie. Sure would have been nice to have gotten this before I got started.

Anyway, it was eye-opening when I opened the package.

There is a detail I have not seen on any of the "Screen Used" bottles. So, either the one my friend has is not real OR it is and the ones out there are fake. I went on a search to see if I could find this detail in the movie.

And I did.

The base of the bottle has a ridge on it.




I asked my friend Charles (renesisx) if he had any Production pics in his collection that might show this detail. He had this pic:



That ridge is visible on the Slice bottles.




Here it is on my friend's copy.



But, the ridge does not seem to be on the Diet Pepsi bottles!

Here are the bottoms of the PIH bottles:





These new details and revelations put me on Prop Archaeology hunt in an attempt to find out what was going on here. Hopefully some of you other guys that have been analyzing these bottles can chime in too. It's pretty interesting stuff!

 

[Gary Weaver II]

Simple explanation - Multiple turned wood bottles, so you could have infinite possibility of profile difference. It's entirely possible that a wood turned bottle may not have such a distinct ridge if it were sanded just a bit too much before painting.

Some of those wood bottles were then cut in half and used to make the vac tooling for the openable bottles. By the nature of Vac Forming a ridge would have been lost due to the thickness of the plastic.

Regarding the pepsi perfect you show in the screen cap - I think that was a special solid bottle with no straw top and made for the dispenser rig. Chances are it was cast in solid clear resin and would have used one of the wood forms for a buck - so... ridge. HOWEVER, I think at one point in the past I saw a clear plastic vac-formed PP with a special mount in the bottom and no straw that may have been used for this set piece. So anything is possible.

Since I have both the wood bottles and the plastic bottles, I'll check both tonight to see if there is a ridge on the wood one.

 

[Java]

Analysis of what is on screen. There were 3 "hero" Pepsi Perfect bottles.

The one Marty gets at the Cafe 80's:



The one Marlene has at the McFly house:



And the one Doc tosses into Mr. Fusion:



These 3 bottles were all different. Notice that the Cafe 80's does NOT have a flip top. The Mr. Fusion one does not have a flip top either. There is a hole for the liquid to come out, which is right in the middle of the bottle. The cafe 80's bottle did not have a flip top. Marty cranks on that bottle trying to open it right before Old Biff whacks him with the cane. It's possible that Marty's Cafe 80's bottle was solid?



So here's the big deal. I'm doubting that the PIH Pepsi was screen used. The thing that got me thinking was the condition. It was in great shape. Pristene even. Compare to the NIKE bag which was beat. Painting on clear plastic (the blue) would scratch over the years. No such scratches. But then there is the label. I think the font is off. The Pepsi Perfect label in the PIH bottle is clearly not a single label. It looks to be blue and cutouts on a silver circular sticker. You can see the blue stripe under the word "PERFECT" buckled.

That does not appear to be the way they look in screen caps. The screen cap label is shiny and appears to be all one substrate.




Plus the gap looks bigger between the R and F on the PIH than the screen shot.




I'm not just seeing things here am I?

The tops on screen seem pretty flat.




But, the PIH doesn't seem so flat. Sure, it's subtle but it's prevalent in the flip top. I think there is a paint drip on that PIH bottle too. The screen grab flip top is straight.






But the biggest "tell" here is the filp top itself. The entire assembly on the Screen Used is blue. The PIH bottle is not.



My friend Charles (screen name "renesisx) graciously shared some continuity Polaroids that he has. This one clearly shows the flip top painted blue.



Now go back and look at the "Marlene bottle" screen grabs and you can see it is blue.