Out to in is correct for pattern for the lights...
From an accuracy standpoint Diamond select missed pretty badly on the design on their flux capacitors. I think it was partly due to the poor reference material they had to start with but simple details like the color and fluxing direction should have been easy for anyone to get right. I agree that non-fans of the movie will never notice and most fans will probably not realize either but it's a shame they could have made something great and it turned out half baked.
The biggest problem I have is the price tag...you're really not getting much for your money. For the same price you could go buy a real stahlin enclosure and build your own fluxing circuit with a decade counter and 555 timer. The rest of the guts can be replicated more accurately with real glass tubes from ebay (Eimac VS2 or VS4) and some 3/8" plexiglass for the diffusers. You can get castings of the relays from a few different builders, or make your own out of household materials that will look just as good, if not better than the diamond select relays. The placement of all the parts on the backing board is all wrong in the DS flux too... from a few screen grabs you can see how the angle between the upper to legs of the "Y" is too small. There are lots of other nitty gritty details they missed, especially some of the other components that mount to the outside of the case. Here's a shot of some of the extra cannon connectors and hoses that shoud be there (at least on the A/B car flux capacitors, the C car was slightly different)
Diamond select is getting better in terms of accuracy on some of their other props though. I know the Mr. Fusion (due for release next year) came a long way in terms of the initial prototype and the latest preproduction design they have showcased. I'd love to see them do another more accurate version of the flux capacitor that more closely matches the screen used props.
Diamond select [...] Mr. Fusion (due for release next year)
Holy-, what??? I had to Google it for myself to be sure. I'll be damned... But that's a whole 'nother thread in and of itself...
Anyways, considering how popular the flux capacitor storage doors were, I'm curious: how much would you guys be willing to shell out for a "good enough" flux capacitor like the Diamond Select ones? If there's enough interest, I may try to see if I can make a run of them with the tools I have on hand. I'm with everyone else on this one, $400 for a "good enough" flux capacitor is insane! I know part of it is licensing and branding, but surely the cost can be halved at least without sacrificing that instant recognition from a BTTF fan? What do you guys think?
I'm probably going to get one of Bruce's. It's the most accurate and has a lot of cool little bells and whistles...all of which matter to me. I used to make my own props because of cost and/or accuracy of the available options. However now, at this point in my life, I care about accuracy first and price second. I don't mind paying for something I know is good.
I believe the "corrected" the direction of the fluxing. If I recall, the original version fluxed the wrong direction and buyers complained. The later version reversed the direction.
Notice I didn't say which direction was correct, in-to-out or out-to-in? Because I really don't know and as I said before, neither does the average fan.
Thanks for the info. Interesting. I would've never known unless I had both of them next to each other and "fluxing" at the same time.
As for the Diamond Select ones, I know it doesn't satisfy most of the hard core fans who have pointed out all of the incorrect details....but I have a feeling that they were never meant to be? I'm thinking that this was just a toy company that got the license to build exactly what they do......build a toy for kids? I'm thinking that they had originally intended these to be played with by children and they had no idea that they would be collected by enthusiasts one day.
However, with that said the price of these things sure have gotten out of hand! The Diamond Select one should be something you'd expect to see on the shelf at Toys R Us for $39.95. For $400, I agree though that they should be much more accurate. That Mr. Fusion repro is sure expensive too!
Here you guys go! An autographed Diamond Select Flux Capacitor on Ebay for $10K or best offer! Gee, I'm thinking for that price, it should be a screen used prop. Or, at the very least it should include the opportunity to meet Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in person!
I'm thinking that this was just a toy company that got the license to build exactly what they do......build a toy for kids? I'm thinking that they had originally intended these to be played with by children and they had no idea that they would be collected by enthusiasts one day.
However, with that said the price of these things sure have gotten out of hand! The Diamond Select one should be something you'd expect to see on the shelf at Toys R Us for $39.95. For $400, I agree though that they should be much more accurate. That Mr. Fusion repro is sure expensive too!
Diamond Select doesn't really make toys for kids...they're toys for big boys. As many other companies before them (Master Replicas, United Cutlery, etc.), they are catering to the adult crowd that doesn't want to grow up. What they build satisfies 90% of the consumers out there, but they aren't always spot on. As Bruce has pointed out, Diamond Select used his FC as the model for theirs, but altered the accuracy to save on cost. Sometimes, if there's enough demand, these companies will do a second run, or limited edition version, to satisfy the accuracy nuts...but only if they can make money on them. Some companies, like Master Replicas, hired people in the replica prop community who were doing them "underground" and unlicensed as consultants to help make the most accurate prop possible, but even then, they still cut corners to save on cost. That's why if you really want accuracy, you typically have to stay away from name brands.
Here you guys go! An autographed Diamond Select Flux Capacitor on Ebay for $10K or best offer! Gee, I'm thinking for that price, it should be a screen used prop. Or, at the very least it should include the opportunity to meet Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd in person!
The original Diamond Select Flux capacitor also had 2 functions instead of 1. There were the pulsating LED's (that went from in to out), and there was also a single strobe light in the center of the box. My understanding is that the strobe lights were extremely failure prone so they removed it from the second version. The first version had 2 knobs inside instead of 1; one to set the timing of the pulsating LED's and one to set the timing of the strobe light flashing.
There are a number of options for Flux Capacitors and I was hoping we could have a civil discussion about them. Hoping to get input from folks who own flux capacitors and where they got them from and what they like and don't like about them.
I bought a Diamond Select FC when they were originally for sale (directly from their website). I think it was one of the 1,000 limited editions or something like that. I believe it was just over $200 plus tax/shipping when I got it.
Nick is right about it having two knobs for the controls. One for the strobes (still working ok) and one for the fluxing.
Like others have said, I've never had someone at a car show come up and point out it isn't screen accurate. I've never actually met anyone at a cruise night that cared really. It's a lighter grey colour than it should be and the direction of the fluxing is apparently not to people's liking, but it's fine with me.
The piping elbow that is screwed onto the top isn't the greatest quality (it's relatively thin) and one of the two rubber "feet" on the bottom has come off before (needed to be reglued). Neither were a big deal. Batteries last quite a long time, but I don't leave it on very often. It's very distracting to leave on when driving at night if you have it behind you on the parcel shelf.
I don't have mine properly mounted or secured down in the car. I don't drive around with it sitting back on the parcel shelf because of this or maybe I don't have it properly secured down because I don't want to always be driving around with it? I mostly leave it in the trunk and sometimes it's left in the basement. I put it out on display for shows and often get big laughs when people see it. Guys will come ask you "where's the FC?" before they even look and I'll point and say "right there" as they look confused and THEN they look and seem even more puzzled because their hilarious joke went south.
The main reason I stopped keeping it in the car or even putting it out on display for shows was to try and get away from showing the car with a lot of BTTF stuff. I sometimes just stick to DMC things and keep the BTTF props to a minimum. I also found people need to get their picture of the FC from straight on so they tend to lean/climb right into the car to get their camera centred in front of it. As soon as I removed the FC, voila, very few people were leaning all the way in and I would rather have it that way with Joe Public at a car show or elsewhere.
That's my 2 cents. For it's intended purpose, I think it is just fine. The screen accurate ones at the time I bought this (2008 I think it was) were about $800 and I wasn't willing to spend that.
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Originally Posted by Mark D
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