Much like shampoo & conditioner, some things are better when they’re two-in-one. And just like your Mom, Angka Utama’s tidy Dakar rally truck always has something inside it.
Secreted underneath the neat 4-wide truck bodywork is another Dakar racer, and the two vehicles fit together so beautifully you’d never know unless you saw the image below. You can see more of Angka’s truck, buggy, and the ingenious way they combine at both Flickr and MOCpages – click the links for double the action.
The Lego Car Blog Elves are simple creatures, and they do not like change. Over the past year or so they’ve made excellent progress learning the names of colours, thanks largely to our Smarties-based reward system and its practical application to what they find. Unfortunately though, today this constant was thrown into disarray, leading – of course – to an immensely violent Elf-fight. Sigh.
Now that we’ve cleared up the office we can blog the cause of today’s disruption. This most excellent John Deere 75G mini-excavator is the work of Flickr’s amusingly-named Mathijs Bongers, and it’s brilliantly detailed.
However, as any TLCB Elf will tell you, John Deere tractors are Green. Massey Fergusons are Red, and JCBs are Yellow, but John Deeres are definitely Green. The more observant among you may have noticed that this John Deere is not Green at all, but is resplendent in JCB Yellow, and unfortunately a confused Elf is often a violent Elf.
We’ve now straightened out that this build is a John Deere, a Yellow Smartie has been awarded, and an explanation has been given confirming that not all tractors of one brand have to be the same colour.
While we enjoy the peace that this revelation brings here at TLCB Towers you can check out the details of Mathijs’ superb Model Team John Deere 75G at his photostream – click the link above if you dig it.
The title of this post might be from a fairly dreadful horror movie, but the creation it captions is rather excellent. Flickr’s Moko is a previous bloggee and he returns to TLCB with this simple yet delightful Classic Space crawler, complete with individually articulated tracks and a rear-mounted communication dish (this is Classic Space – no ray guns here!). See more at Moko’s photostream via the link above.
Mercedes-Benz’s SL63 AMG is a bit brash for our tastes here at TLCB, but it’s got one hell of an engine. The latest iteration of Mercedes’ long-standing range-topper makes over 500bhp from its bi-turbo V8, and it isn’t even the most powerful version available (that honour belongs to the SL65, with a turbocharged V12 making over 600bhp). This excellent Model Team recreation of the mighty Merc comes from previous bloggee Lennart C, and you can see more of his Model Team recreation of the SL63 AMG on Flickr at the link above.
We have a pair of lucky Elves here at TLCB Towers today, each having found multiple creations in one hit.
Elf no.1 uncovered these excellent little off-road buggies courtesy of Tamotsu Nobusawa on Flickr, of which there’s more to see by clicking here.
Elf no.2 returned home with these lovely Town-style Chinese flatbed trucks from Flickr’s Kosmas Santosa. They’re part of a wider (and brilliant) Chinatown scene, and you can see more of the trucks and their surroundings at Kosmas’ photostream via the link above.
IT’S HERE! LEGO Technic’s incredible 1:8 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, scooped here earlier in the year, has been officially unveiled!
Officially licensed by Porsche, 42056 is one of the largest and most complex sets ever released by the Technic line, featuring over 2,700 pieces and aimed at ages 16+.
Unlike the first spy-shots of this set, the final production version drops its camouflage paint-work as we expected and now wears a gloriously bright orange hue. 42056 also debuts several new pieces not seen before, rides on unique replica Porsche wheels and wears authentic Porsche decals throughout.
The building process has been designed to mirror the way the real car is manufactured, which is an interesting variation from the usual Technic construction process, and each model contains a collectors’ book and an individual serial number, which means we fully expect many of these sets will sit forever unopened in the hands of speculators (boo).
That’s a shame, because 42056 contains some fabulous engineering which has raised the bar in terms of what can be expected from an official LEGO product.
Alongside the usual working steering, suspension and piston engine there is a functioning double-clutch gearbox complete with steering-wheel mounted paddles, just like the PDK transmission used on the real car – something our in-house engineers cautiously hoped for when they dissected the very first teaser image of this set back in January. With four speeds operable from the steering wheel we’re expecting some rubberised or elasticated witchcraft from LEGO’s design department, and it could be the most inventive function added to an official LEGO set in decades.
Opening doors, engine lid, glovebox and trunk all feature, as does Porsche branded luggage and a fully detailed interior with racing seats.
Available from June this year, we’re already saving up to get our hands on 42056 (unless anyone at LEGO is willing to give us a copy!), and we anticipate an RRP of around $300/£250.
Toyota’s FJ40 Land Cruiser is something of an automotive legend, and it’s been well represented by the Lego Community over the years. Regular bloggee Madoca 1977’s latest build expands on one of these previous Land Cruiser creations and takes the classic Japanese 4×4 into the Crawler / Truck Trial arena.
With 4-wheel-drive powered by a single XL Motor, Servo Motor steering, a remotely operated 2-speed gearbox, working headlights, a powered winch, an on-board rechargeable battery, and SBrick mobile-device control, Madoca’s creation is a throughly capable off-road machine. It also looks – as you can see above – absolutely brilliant.
There are more details and images available at the Eurobricks forum here, plus you can see Madoca’s FJ40 Crawler in action via the video below.
YouTube Video:
This neat Technic bus was found by one of our Elves today, and being remotely controlled you would expect the usual Elven carnage to have occurred in the office. However, as it’s very low and quite slow the targeted Elves simply climbed on board and enjoyed the ride, much to the annoyance of the Elf at the controls.
Slow it may be, but there’s much clever packaging going on inside. Both the front and rear axels steer giving the model reasonable agility, and each of the three doors can be opened and closed remotely. You can see how it all works in the video below, and you can check out all the images and build details via damianple’s Brickshelf gallery and the Eurobricks discussion forum.
YouTube Video:
Everybody knows the moon is made of cheese. Flickr’s Galaktek is exploring the tasty future of lunar expedition with this professional-looking cheese mining team, who are working hard to bring the bountiful harvest to unadorned pieces of toast and dry crackers everywhere.
Complete with crane, cheese barge and a space mouse, the cheese miners look well equipped to extract the lunar-gold and transport it to earth for human consumption. Sadly the helmets necessitated by the moon’s lack of atmosphere prevent the plucky mini-figures from enjoying any of the cheese themselves, but we’re happy to report back on its quality should we be provided with a sample. Grab a cracker and head over to Galaktek’s photostream for a tasting.
We’re not sure that a floating tow-truck is the most suitable vehicle in the event that your hovercar breaks down. An ambulance might be more appropriate. Or a hearse. No matter, redfern1950s‘ ‘Flying Pick Up Truck’ looks a delightfully whimsical way to haul stuff through the clouds. Float over to see more via the link above.
It’s time for something very very special. This incredible Technic creation is the latest build from the brilliant Lucio Switch, and it’s one of the finest examples of Technic engineering that you will find anywhere on the ‘net.
Based on the Iveco Trakker 8×8 dump truck Lucio’s creation is packed full of magnificent technical wizardry. The extensive list of functions includes a working 8×8 remote control drivetrain, with four XL Motors providing the drive whilst another two Servo Motors steer the first and second axles. Each axle is suspended, with Technic shock absorbers damping the front two axles and working leaf springs managing the rearmost two.
A fifth motor powers a pneumatic pump that supplies pressure to three cylinders and valves which tilt the cab, raise and lower the load bed, and allow pneumatic pressure to reach a rear trailer hitch. Four sets of LEDs illuminate the front and rear lights, a sixth motor controls a working winch, and there’s a realistic inline 6-cylinder piston engine mounted under the cab. All of these functions can be controlled via a bluetooth device thanks two two third-party SBricks linked to twin on-board LiPo batteries.
Full specification details, images and chassis shots are available at the Eurobricks discussion forum, Lucio’s Flickr photstream, and MOCpages – plus you can see everything this astonishing creation can do via the excellent video below.
YouTube Video:
This spectacularly beautiful Peterbilt truck is the first large scale build by Flickr’s jarekwally, and he’s absolutely nailed it. Featuring custom chrome and engraved bricks, a full remote control drivetrain courtesy of LEGO’s versatile Power Functions components, and a suite of LED lights, jarekwally’s creation is one of the most polished* builds we’ve seen this year. There’s lots more to see on Flickr at the link above – click the link to make the jump.
*Ha!
The Lego Car Blog Elves don’t usually like trains. But they do like crashes. They like crashes a lot. So you can imagine their delight when this incredible scene from W Navarre was found.* Sadly the Elves haven’t figured out that this is a photograph, and not a movie, so the much anticipated crash will never come, but they will eventually.
You can check out the full scene on MOCpages, where there are some simply stunning details. Click the link above to climb on board!
*By ‘found’, we really mean ‘stolen’. Thanks Bricknerd!
Lego Technic is getting seriously hardcore. When throughly engineered, a remote control Technic truck with all-wheel-drive can make its way through almost anything, no matter how many TLCB Elves are clogging up its tyres. With most of our workforce squashed beneath it, or clinging to the front bumper screaming, this monstrous 8×8 behemoth finally came to a stop against the foot of our unimpressed intern as the Elf that found it abandoned the controls and escaped cackling into the dark of the archive hall. It won’t get its meal token payment in there, but it didn’t seem too bothered – violence is often prioritised over hunger.
Anyway, the creation, which is something rather special. Built by Alexey Tikhvinsky aka SilenWin it’s based on a previously featured model by Lucio Switch and has then been extensively modified. With all eight wheels powered by four LEGO Buggy Motors, twin Servo Motors steering the front two axles and two third-party SBricks allowing control by mobile device, Alexey’s build can go anywhere. How anywhere?… Just watch the video below;
YouTube Video:
You can see the full gallery of images – including WIP shots and chassis details – on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can check out the original creation that inspired it by clicking on the link in the text above.
We like the Lancia Stratos very much here at TLCB. Styled by Bertone, powered by Ferrari, and winner of three back-to-back World Rally Championship titles, few cars can match the pedigree of Lancia’s incredible 1970s sports car.
The two gorgeous models shown here both come from James Tillson, and they’re amongst our very favourite creations of the year so far. Underneath the wonderfully replicated bodywork is a full mechanical Technic Supercar chassis, featuring all-wheel independent suspension, working steering, opening doors and front and rear clamshells, a transversely-mounted V6 engine, a working 4-speed gearbox and pop-up headlights. There’s also some absolutely beautiful decal-work giving the models fantastic period authenticity.
There’s lots more to see of both the Alitalia and +1 Racing Stratoses at the Eurobricks discussion forum and via James’ Flickr photostream – making the trip to view the Lancias’ full gallery is recommended hugely! We’ll see you there…