Also in my garage: De Lorean DMC-12 memorabilia

By Charlie Calderwood

| 22 Aug 2025

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: De Lorean DMC-12 memorabilia

“I always just liked the car,” says Russell Law in a moment of dramatic understatement, surrounded in his office by 636 models and toys of the De Lorean DMC-12.

Any 3D representation of a De Lorean qualifies for the RAF man’s collection, be it a Back to the Future time machine or not: so plush toys, Lego kits and even a plastic hat supplement the hundreds of scale models that line the walls.

Russell Law’s passion for De Lorean’s stainless-steel dream machine turned into an obsession

“I was brought up in the 1970s and ’80s when the troubles in Northern Ireland were very much front and centre in the news,” he says.

“Then this American came along and released this thing with gullwing doors… It was like, ‘Wow!’

“I saw the film when it came out in ’85 and I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s a De Lorean coming out of that van. That’s amazing!’”

The first find was a 1:18 Sun Star model of the time machine that joined a set of other movie and TV miniatures including a Batmobile and ‘General Lee’ Charger.

De Lorean DMC-12 toys and models (636 and counting) fill Russell Law’s office

That grew rapidly from 2008, when Russell swapped RAF quarters for his own home, but stumbling upon the website of a French De Lorean collector in 2010 inspired him to focus his own menagerie.

The Goldfinger DB5 and Ghostbusters Cadillac went into the loft, and Russell began seeking out DMC-12s.

“I found a lot on eBay and various websites around the world,” he says. “Name a country and I’ve probably bought a model from there.”

That includes a hunt for a De Lorean-shaped hat that was sold at Universal Studios Florida decades ago, which ended up in Bolivia: “Not all of it has come from the most legitimate-looking sites.

“Sometimes you wonder if the item will turn up, but I haven’t been scammed yet!”

There’s plenty of Back to the Future memorabilia, but anything related to the De Lorean DMC-12 is welcome in this collection

Many of the wackier pieces come from Japan, including toothpicks with mini DMC-12s on them, keyrings, soft toys and miniature radio-controlled cars.

There are 14 entries left on Russell’s shopping list, most of them cheap trinkets from Universal Studios Japan: “I’ve only seen photos and have never seen them for sale, but I think I’ll find them eventually.”

Occasional new releases further expand the collection, with models of standard De Loreans particularly exciting Russell: only 30-40 of his models are unrelated to the film.

No De Lorean DMC-12 on the driveway – yet. Russell’s daily driver is a Vauxhall Corsa SRi

The favourite, however, is his 1:8-scale Eaglemoss kit of the Back to the Future car. “It was one of those where it comes with a magazine,” he recalls.

“You get something like four parts a month – it took two years and cost a fortune! Like every model of Doc’s time machine it has its inaccuracies, but it took so long and I know every part,” he explains.

“If I got rid of everything else it’s the one I would keep.”

Surely Russell could have bought an actual DMC-12 for what he’s spent on models? “Yep, absolutely,” he replies.

The De Lorean DMC-12 has been recreated in miniature countless times, and this enthusiast is on a mission to collect as many models as he can

His own valuation of the collection is £80,000: “But they were bought over 20 years and I’ve never had a garage that could fit a De Lorean – and they don’t do well outside.

“When I’ve retired, then maybe I’ll sell the collection to make it happen.”

Russell hasn’t completely sacrificed his motoring ambitions, though by the standards of most enthusiasts his history is brief: just five cars in 39 years of driving.

A Morris Marina Coupé, Ford Capri and Vauxhall Cavalier covered his early years, but an overseas posting and access to a tax-free showroom led to him landing a Honda Integra Type R that he ran until the mid-2000s, when he bought his current Vauxhall Corsa SRi: “I know it’s on the borderline of being considered even a modern classic, but it’s quite rare and I’ve fully rebuilt the suspension.

“I’ll probably be buried in it – unless I finally get a De Lorean!”

Images: John Bradshaw

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