Welcome to Understeer

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we are definitely petrol-heads. And electric-heads perhaps too. We like cars is what we’re trying to say.

Because of this, we prefer our cars with rear-wheel-drive and manual gearboxes, for reasons of steering feel, the ability to go sideways a bit, and other nerdy car things that normal people couldn’t care less about. Which is why front-wheel-drive matters.

Creating safer, more predictable (understeery) handling, greater interior room, and better refinement, front-wheel-drive has been the absolute norm for anything that isn’t sporty for the past four decades.

Even brands famed for their rear-wheel-drive chassis like BMW have switched to front-wheel-drive for their smaller models, after learning their customers had no idea that their 1-Series was rear-wheel-drive, or even what being rear-wheel-drive means. Sigh.

Front-wheel-drive was dabbled with in the early years of motoring, but this is the car that proved the layout, decades before it became mainstream. It is the fabulous Citroen Traction Avant.

Possessing not just front-wheel-drive, but also the first mass-produced monocoque body and early rack-and-pinion steering, the Traction Avant was so advanced it was produced for two decades, something that was needed as its development bankrupted the Citroen company in the mid 1930s.

Today the Traction Avant is seen as the father of front-wheel-drive, and therefore most new cars on sale today (even if your car is all-wheel-drive, it’s still almost always only front-driven).

It’s surprising then that the Traction Avant has only featured here twice in a decade of publishing Lego vehicles. Cue this wonderful and much overdue Technic recreation of one of the world’s most innovative cars, as built by the very talented Nico71.

Beautifully replicating the Traction Avant’s ’30s styling, Nico’s model includes a working four-cylinder engine under the split-folding hood, four opening doors and an opening trunk, working steering, and – of course – front-wheel-drive.

The complexities of front-wheel-drive mean that – much like cars before about 1980 – very few Lego models adopt it, favouring the simplicity of a rear-driven axle. Nico’s model successfully incorporates it however, and he’s released building instructions so you can see how to create front-driven Lego models for yourself.

There’s much more to see at Nico’s Brickshelf gallery, you can watch the model in action via the video below, plus you can find out how Nico creates beautifully engineered models like this one via his Master MOCers interview. Understeer your way to all the additional content via the links above.

YouTube Video

Ural-4320 6×6 | Picture Special

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This magnificent model is a Ural-4320 6×6 truck, a Soviet-era general purpose military truck first built in 1977, and still in production today.

Powered by a naturally-aspirated V8 diesel or a V6 turbodiesel, the Ural-4320 is very slow, but able to carry a variety of loads, from troops to rocket launchers, over almost any terrain. Well, unless the Russian Army recruits behind the wheel abandon them and run.

Which is what has occurred in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with over six-hundred Ural-4320s destroyed or abandoned, and around fifty captured a repurposed by the Ukrainian military, according to Dutch open-source intelligence group Oryx. Which is marvellous.

This phenomenal fully remote controlled Model Team recreation of the Ural-4320 comes from Russian builder and previous bloggee Michael217, who has brilliantly captured not just the aesthetics of the real truck, but also much of the driveline too.

A LEGO Buggy motor powers all six wheels, each of which is suspended and fitted with a portal axle, there’s Servo steering (that turns the steering wheel too), a high/low gearbox, opening doors and hood, a detailed engine, and an open load area ready to be fitted with a variety of Russian (or Ukrainian…) equipment.

There’s much more of Michael’s amazing model to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum, you can find the full image gallery at Bricksafe here, and you can watch the truck in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

BUWizz Gathering 2023

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BuWizz – makers of the 5 star rated BuWizz 3.0 bluetooth control brick (and some monster motors too) – have powered hundreds of creations that have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog. From trucks to supercars, construction vehicles to off-roaders, BuWizz bricks have gone into every vehicle type imaginable, bringing programmable bluetooth remote control and huge power.

If you’re a reader from BuWizz’s native Slovenia (or if you’d like to visit said country!), the BuWizz Gathering 2023 arrives in July of this year.

Held in a beautiful camp setting, the BuWizz Gathering features two days of competition (with a range of prizes on offer) with events such as Stadium Trucks, Off-Roaders and Sumo, plus food, drink, and leisure activities included.

Tickets are available now and you can find out what’s on offer in 2023 via the promotional video below.

Take a look at the BuWizz Gathering 2023 website for full details.

Flight of the Bumblebee

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This marvellous contraption is a ‘Brickston Police Doubledecker Bumblebee’, and it might be the most delightfully absurd aircraft that this site has ever featured.

From the mind (and hands) of Markus Ronge, the Bumblebee forms part of an expansive brick-built story that continues from the ‘Full Steam‘ series that featured here extensively back in 2018-’19.

We’ll be following Markus’ ‘Netbrix Original Series’ as it unfolds this year, until then you can join the Brickston Police’s airborne squad via the link above. It’s Full Steam ahead!

Cougar Town

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The station wagon (or ‘estate’ to our European readers) is all but dead in the United States. The unstoppable rise of the SUV has meant literally every car now has the same shape, but back in the late 1970s enormous wagons were still part of the automotive furniture. Literally in some cases, clad as they were in ‘wood’. Or something that looked a bit like it.

This particular ‘wood’ clad wagon is a 1977 Mercury Cougar Villager, as built by TLCB regular Ralph Savelsberg in Miniland scale. The fourth generation of Ford’s mid-size sedan/wagon, the Cougar Villager was pitched in-between Ford and Lincoln, powered exclusively by V8 engines, and named after both a mountain lion and a peasant.

Such a confused brief probably accelerated the demise of such cars (and the entire Mercury brand), but nevertheless the Cougar – including its Villager offshoot – was a popular family hauler in the late ’70s. And infinitely more interesting than a modern SUV.

Jump back to when family cars could be more than a high-riding blob via the link in the text above, whilst we see if we can get hold of some ‘wood’ decals to enliven the SUVs in the office car park.

Diggie Smalls

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We like humble workhorses here at TLCB, and they don’t come much humbler or more workhorsey than a mini excavator. This one is a Yanmar Vio17, pictured here within the flatbed of an equally workhorsey Isuzu truck. Both are the work of Y Akimeshi of Flickr, who has recreated the real-world construction site staples brilliantly in mini-figure scale, and there’s more of each to see at his photostream. Click the link above to start digging.

Streamlining Deliveries

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The late ’20s and early ’30s are a much romanticised time. Art deco architecture, wild opulence, delightful dancing, extravagant hats, tuberculosis, fascism, the Great Depression…

Anyway, the vehicles and buildings from the time really were marvellous, and it’s these (rather than tuberculosis and unemployment) that Andrew Tate (no, not that one) has chosen to capture in brick form.

Andrew’s wonderful ‘Streamliner Van’ pictured above is part of a much larger – and absolutely stunning – ‘Metropolitan Club’ scene, and there’s much more to see of both it and the club at his photostream.

Put on your best hat and click the link above to join in.

Lego Technic H2 2023 | Set Previews

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It’s new set reveal time here at The Lego Car Blog, and we have two brand new officially-licensed vehicles joining the Technic line-up for 2023! Read on to find out more about LEGO’s latest additions…

LEGO Technic 42161 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica 

The first of the two new sets arriving in the second half of 2023 comes from a staple of LEGO’s real-world partnerships, and follows the enormous (and enormously expensive) 42115 Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 set released in 2020. Like its 3,700-piece big brother, 42161 adopts Lamborghini’s signature lime green, but shrinks the package down to a far more attainable scale and price point, and represents a Lamborghini we’ve actually heard of.

Unfortunately the functions are scaled down too, with only a miniature V10 piston engine driven by the rear wheels and ‘HOG’ steering, which doesn’t seem like much for c£50. However – like many recent Technic sets – technic-ness seems to be secondary to aesthetics.

Extra visual detail is supplied via a range of decals, and whilst we’re bemoaning the fact that ‘in our day’ a Technic set half the size of 42161 would include steering, a piston engine, suspension, and probably something else too, LEGO know what appeals to the nine-year-olds of 2023. And that’s 800 largely lime-green pieces and a badge with a bull on it.

…

LEGO Technic 42160 Audi RS Q e-tron

The second new set arriving in the second half of 2023 brings another real-world car to the Technic range. Sort of. This is the Audi RS Q e-tron, a prototype buggy that raced (and was soundly beaten) in the recent Dakar Rally. Still, it was an intriguing entry, using a mid-mounted 2 litre petrol engine to generate power for four electric drive motors.

LEGO’s new 42160 set recreates not just the look of the RS Q e-tron (via so many stickers), but rather excitingly it replicates the electric all-wheel-drive system too, with new hubs routing power to all four independently-suspended wheels (wearing brand new tyres).

Controlled remotely via the Control+ app, 42160 looks like it’ll be an absolute riot to drive, which will probably make up for a no-doubt infuriating build experience lining up a million stickers.

The new 42160 Audi RS Q e-tron will reach stores later this year aimed at ages 10+; expect a lofty price tag, and for its all-wheel-drive system to be supplanted into dozens of MOCs that’ll feature on this site thereafter.

Fly-Bi

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This fictional First World War era biplane was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr, and you can practically hear the rush of the propellor. Kirill Simerzin is the builder and you can take the skies a century ago via the link to his photostream above.

I Want a Painted Mac*

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The McLaren F1, once the fastest production car in the world, a Le Mans 24 Hours winner, and – if you are very rich indeed – a default choice for the car collection.

3D supercarBricks, whose Le Mans winning McLaren appeared here earlier in the year, has now turned his very talented hands to the road car, building this stunning maroon Model Team version as a commissioned piece.

The spectacular detail is achieved via some ingenious building techniques, plus 3D-printed wheels and maroon spray-paint, which aren’t strictly purist, but we suspect the owner of the real McLaren F1 (and member of the Bin Laden family) is probably used to things being rather more tailored than us peasants.

There’s more of the model to see at 3D’s ‘McLaren F1’ album, and you can make the jump to an air-conditioned garage somewhere in Saudi Arabia via the link in the text above.

*Today’s (butchered) title song.

Suggest-a-Supercar

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The models published here at The Lego Car Blog aren’t just those found by our mythical and – importantly – unpaid workforce. No, we want your suggestions too! Because they’re also unpaid.

Whilst the comments section of the Submission Suggestions page has been switched for a Contact Form due to the unsustainably high volume being posted, we genuinely do read every single one. Case in point being the creation you see here, mihao/legobee’s excellent Technic Ford GT, which was suggested by a reader using the aforementioned form.

Looking very much the part, mihao’s recreation of Ford’s 2010’s supercar featuring working steering, a V6 engine, butterfly doors, raising rear wing, all-wheel-suspension, hi/lo gearbox, and the option of adding remote control motorisation via two L Motors and a Servo.

There’s more of the model to see at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe, and if you’d like to check out our Submission Guidelines to see if a model you’ve discovered could appear here, click on these words to find out what we look for.

Orange Squash

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It’s been a while since the last Elven smushing, but fear not Fans of Elven Violence, because today’s creation squished several of our little workers before we could get to the controls.  The work of previous bloggee apachaiapachai, this neat Technic pick-up features remotely controlled twin L-Motor all-wheel-drive, steering, suspension, and BuWizz bluetooth power, with plenty of ground clearance to make the most its off-road drivetrain. Free building instructions available (one hundred TLCB points to apachai) and you can find out more about the build at the Eurobricks forum or via Rebrickable. Click the links to take a look, whilst we try to remember the best combination of cleaning products for removing Elven bodily fluids from the office carpet.

It’s a Pirate’s Life for Me

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Following our recent advertising shenanigans, this TLCB Writer is ready to find another more radical source of revenue, and Eurobricks’ Supersick_ might have the answer.

This incredible creation is a late-18th century heavy frigate, and one of the finest ships to feature here in many a year. Forty-eight brick-built cannons, a working double-deck capstan to weigh anchor, a highly detailed interior complete with cabins and stove, and working rigging that can accurately replicate real-world sailing profiles all feature, as does a skull-and-crossbones flag flying from the stern and first mast…

Which means both that this galleon is operating somewhat outside of maritime law, and also that these some very well equipped pirates.

Whether stolen from an Admiralty fleet or bought from plunder, it’s clear the piratical mini-figures aboard ‘The Supernaut’ are a mightily successful crew, which this TLCB Writer would rather like to join. Fortunately he (and you) can, as builder Supersick_ has produced building instructions for this astonishing ship.

There’s much more to see, including full build details, the real-world inspiration, digital renders, and further imagery – as well as a link to those building instructions – at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to set sail, and consider beginning a lucrative new occupation.

Ad Trial Update

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Back in March, after being approached by an advertising publishing platform, we began a trial that promised greater advertising revenue, more granularity, and the freedom to restrict ads that perhaps are less in-keeping with our morals than we’d like. So, two months on, how has it gone?

Er… well, none of the above promises actually materialised. The opposite in fact. Visitor numbers halved, advertising revenue dropped by more than that, and some boring yet quite invasive websitey stuff had to be handed over too.

So here endeth the trial, and we’re pleased to say that reverting back to our previous platform has restored our advertising revenue immediately (which we continue to give away to those who need it more than we do), and visits are on the way back up too. Phew.

So we’re back to where we started, which isn’t a bad place to be after all, but do let us know if anything negatively affects your user experience (and thank you to those that did get in touch with feedback during the trial).

The lesson here is perhaps to be happy with what you’ve got, and that sometimes (ironically!) marketing isn’t always entirely truthful. That said, if you could click on an ad or two…

TLCB Team

The Ultimate Driving Machine

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BMW’s ‘E30’ generation 3-Series has become a cult car. Small, light, rear-wheel-drive, and without an over-complicated twin-scroll turbo in sight, the E30 is the antidote to whatever horror BMW is making these days.

Cue TLCB favourite Thirdwigg, who has recreated the late-’80s BMW 3-Series brilliantly in Technic form. Built in both sedan and estate forms, Thirdwigg’s E30s are subtly modified with lowered suspension, a modest body-kit, and – in the case of the sedan – a V8 engine swap.

We’d rather take the estate’s Inline-6 though, and with free building instructions for both (a hundred TLCB Points Thirdwigg!), presumably you can switch out the sedan’s V8 engine with ease. There’s also working steering, opening everything, and much more to see at both Flickr and Eurobricks. Jump back to a time when BMW’s marketing tagline actually meant something via the links above.