16. The DeLorean Time Machine – 401 pieces
It’s time to go back to… the past, with the LEGO DeLorean Time Machine set. Inspired by the time-traveling car in the Back to the Future film trilogy starring Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox, the DeLorean is a must-have for every 1980s child who is also a LEGO collector. At 401 pieces, the car is bigger than your average minifigure-sized vehicle and a lot more detailed. Every side and angle of the set is unique, just as if Dr. Emmett Brown cobbled the vehicle together from random LEGO pieces lying around his house. The wheels even fold up to “hover mode” for when you want to play that the car is time-traveling. It’s those movie-accurate touches that make the DeLorean fun to build and just as fun to display. Just looking at it gets me imagining what other vehicles, characters and locations from Back to the Future could inspire future LEGO sets.
The fun doesn’t stop with the car, however: additional pieces include two minifigures of Emmett Brown and Marty McFly; iconic movie props like Marty’s skateboard and the flux capacitor; a time display; and two license plates.
The DeLorean Time Machine is part of LEGO’s IDEAS line, in which every set is designed by fans and then put into production by the official LEGO company. Currently, the DeLorean is discontinued; but just like the DeLorean from the movie, it can still be found in unexpected places, like eBay.