Great Scott! Photographer recreates scene from the 1985 film Back to the Future when the DeLorean is hit with lighting and travels back to 1955 using a miniature LEGO car and sparkler

  • A photographer snapped stunning images of a Back to the Future scene he recreated in his home
  • Daniel Sands used a LEGO DeLorean, lighter fluid to create the burning tires, a fog can for smoke and a single sparkler to replicate the lightning strike
  • The process took about three hours to complete, from setting up to shooting and processing the images 

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A photographer has recreated the moment Doc Brown and Marty McFly go back in time, but in a miniature fashion.

Daniel Sands, who is also a computer programmer, has what some may call an obsession with the 1985 film and reconstructed the moment when a bolt of lighting hits the DeLorean, transporting it 1955.

Pulling out all the stops on his 'big budget' images, Sands used lighter fluid to create the burning tires, a fog can for smoke and a single sparkler to replicate the lightning strike.

The shrunken DeLorean, however, was the LEGO Icons 10200 Back to The Future Time Machine, which was a small replica of the iconic vehicle from the movie.

The iconic Back to the Future scene when the DeLorean is struck with lighting was recreated in a miniature version

The iconic Back to the Future scene when the DeLorean is struck with lighting was recreated in a miniature version

Daniel Sands recreated the scene inside his home, using common items he  found around his home - including a LEGO DeLorean

Daniel Sands recreated the scene inside his home, using common items he  found around his home - including a LEGO DeLorean

Robert Zemeckis directed the original Back To The Future film starring the young Michael J. Fox as a 1980s teenager transported to the 1950s.

The time travel comedy became an instant classic upon its release in 1985 and spawned two sequels, along with such other content as a television cartoon.

'I wanted to try to recreate the moment from the film Back To The Future where a bolt of lightning hits the Delorean and the car transports in time,' Daniel told Dorset Live.

'I was keen to create physical effects rather than use Photoshop, so I used sparklers to recreate a bolt of lightning, some BBQ lighter fluid to create the burning tires.

'I also used some 'fog in a can' for the smoke, and some wallpaper samples for the road texture.'

Sands used lighter fluid to create the burning tires, a fog can for smoke and a single sparkler to replicate the lightning strike

Sands used lighter fluid to create the burning tires, a fog can for smoke and a single sparkler to replicate the lightning strike

The entire shoot took about three hours to complete: one-hour to shoot and the rest was setting up the scene and processing the images afterwards

The entire shoot took about three hours to complete: one-hour to shoot and the rest was setting up the scene and processing the images afterwards

The result is an atmospheric recreation of Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly's trip through time in the iconic car.

The LEGO DeLorean, however, costs more than $200, but came complete with miniature figurines of Doc Brown and Marty and the iconic hoverboard.

'I've loved the Back to the Future trilogy from a very early age, having recently re-watched it with my kids who, thankfully, also loved it,' said Sands, who lives in Dorset, England.

'I bought the Lego Delorean model to add to my Star Wars Lego collection, and, during the original COVID lockdown, found an outlet for my photography hobby by taking photos of the Lego around my home.

'At the time that was mainly Star Wars sets, but I've just started branching out into other movie franchises.

'The Lego Delorean model is so full of authentic details it was an easy model to photograph.'

The result is an atmospheric recreation of Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly's trip through time in the iconic car

The result is an atmospheric recreation of Michael J. Fox's character Marty McFly's trip through time in the iconic car

The entire shoot took about three hours to complete: one-hour to shoot and the rest was setting up the scene and processing the images afterwards.

'I've always tried to make toy photography accessible for all, so I don't use expensive lighting or studio equipment, I 'make do' with things around the home,' said Sands.

'I've been known to use BBQ ash, pizza boxes and old bike lights for some of my photos - so whilst shopping for some sparklers to entertain my kids over the bonfire weekend I had the idea to try to recreate the famous 'lightning strike' scene from Back to the Future 1 using a spare sparkler.

'I'm very pleased with the result and hope it inspires others to have a go for themselves; with caution, of course.'