Monthly Archives: December 2022

2022 | Year in Review

4 Replies

It’s 2023! Well, nearly. So let’s look back on the year that was 2022…

A (corrupt) World Cup, the death of a queen, three British Prime Ministers, Heard vs. Depp, Musk vs. Twitter, record inflation, rightful protests in Iran, a Russian invasion, and COVID still lingers, although somewhat less potently than when it first arrived on a bat from China or something. It hasn’t been a vintage year has it?

But there was some good news too, including the toughening of various environmental and climate laws worldwide, the hopeful end of the Ethiopian Civil War, and break-throughs in both cancer and Alzheimer’s treatment. But what about The Lego Car Blog?

Stats

Well it wasn’t a vintage year for TLCB either, with our Facebook page disappearing following a post supporting Ukraine, threats from Russia, and a fall in readers from the last two years’  return to the magic million.

We wondered if we were getting boring, and – whilst don’t doubt our inane gibberish probably is – a look at our numbers revealed we published 17% fewer posts in 2022 than in 2021. Ah. TLCB laziness…

Still, 380 posts isn’t to be sniffed at and – whilst we haven’t published every day – the best vehicular creations and LEGO news stories from around the world have appeared here every week, bringing visitors from very nearly every country on earth.

The United States of America once again topped our visitor list, with Germany, the UK, Netherlands and France completing the top five. At the other end of the scale are various countries with just one visitor, most of which are lovely exotic islands. There was also one visitor from Iran; if it’s you, a very special welcome to this humble site of brick-based nonsense.

202 publishable comments were written by readers during 2022 (only some of which were from angry Russians…), countless messages entered our inbox (only some of which were marketing spam), and the site received tens of thousands of referrals from social media (which considering we’re not on it, rather shows its power), with the top pages continuing to be our Review Library and The Rise and Fall of MOCpages, alongside the homepage of course.

Advertisements

All of that has led to an increase in the revenue we see from the adverts that appear on this site. None of our staff (nor TLCB Elves, what with them being mythical) are paid, thus we can give away what this site earns to those who need it more than we do; thank you for taking the time to visit us – it really does make a difference.

What’s Next?

More inane gibberish on the subject of Lego vehicles most probably…

After a wonderful competition with our friends at BrickNerd during 2022, 380 posts published, and a site that spans Interviews, Reviews, and the publication of thousands of fan-made models, we’re happy to keep things a little more ‘underground’ in 2023. This means we won’t be chasing the magic million (achieved previously by posting more content), nor rejoining social media, such are its ills. Rather, if you still like what we do, we’ll keep doing that. Several posts a week, showcasing the best Lego vehicles from around the world, plus occasional LEGO news, reviews and interviews will keep us happy. We hope it keeps you happy too : )

Thank you for visiting us, please do let us know what you think of what we do via the comments or the Contact Form, and we’ll see you in 2023.

TLCB Team

Advantage

Leave a reply

We’re rounding out 2022 with exactly the sort of car that this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet was created for; the mighty Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

Built by previous bloggee Levihathan, this eye-catching Technic recreation of Aston Martin’s 2010s-2020s endurance racer captures the real deal brilliantly, with the aesthetics further enhanced by bespoke decals that add to the race-ready realism.

Inside, Levihathan’s V12 Vantage is just as impressive, with a working V12 piston engine underneath the opening hood, functioning steering and suspension, a detailed race interior, and a paddle-shift gearbox.

There’s much more of the build to see at Levihathan’s ‘Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3’ album, and you can make the jump to all the imagery via the link in the text above.

Flying to JFK

Leave a reply

America’s ‘Air Force One’ has been flying Presidents since 1945. Beginning as a converted C-54 Skymaster transport plane during the Second World War, the distinctive Raymond Loewy-designed livery we know today first appeared in 1962 with this; ‘SAM 26000’, one of three Boeing 707s used for presidential transport throughout the ’60s and ’70s.

This spectacular replica of SAM 26000 is the work of the appropriately-named BigPlanes of Flickr, who has recreated the presidential Boeing 707, as used by John F. Kennedy prior to his assassination in 1963, in jaw-dropping detail.

A complete mini-figure scale interior and cockpit are contained within the astonishingly life-like exterior, which includes working flaps and retractable landing gear, and forty spectacular images are available to view at BigPlanes’ ‘LEGO Air Force One 707 SAM 26000’ album on Flickr.

Click the link above to fly like JFK in 1962, or here to see BigPlanes’ recreation of the current Air Force One in operation today, which may or may not include some references to a considerably less impressive president.

Bend & ZNAP

Leave a reply

This is an ŁM-50 tracked front-end overhead loader, a Polish device characterised by two curved metal bars that allow the bucket to pass from the front to the rear of the machine over the head of the driver.

Which provides something of a conundrum when recreating it out of Danish plastic, because LEGO don’t make Technic bars in curved form. Or rather, they don’t any more…

Back in 1998 LEGO were in trouble. The perceived threat from electronic toys and rival construction brand K’nex sent the firm down some very dark alleyways, and the darkest of the lot* was Znap.

Essentially a K’nex rip-off, the Znap range lasted just two years across nineteen sets, and its most notable feature was that it had virtually nothing to do with LEGO bricks whatsoever.

It did however feature curved beams, beams that Flickr’s Maciej Szymański has somehow integrated into his superb fully-RC ŁM-50 front-end loader, enabling the bucket to slide over the model just like it does on the real thing.

A suite of third-party CaDa electrics power the movement of said bucket, plus the skid-steer tracks, but seeing as they’re about as genuine LEGO at Znap was, we’ll let it slide.

Excellent attention to detail and top quality presentation complete Maciej’s model, and there’s much more to see (including a video of the model in action) at his ‘ŁM-50’ album. Click the link above to bend and Znap!

*Except for Galidor of course.

**Today’s tenuous title link. You don’t get quality like this at The Brother’s Brick.

Big Vision

Leave a reply

TLCB’s car manufacturer of 2022 is Hyundai. Yup, a company once best known for building precisely nothing that any car enthusiast would ever want to own has transformed into a maker of hugely desirable, yet attainable cars.

Capping off Hyundai’s stellar year is this, the N Vision 74, a one-off concept harking back to Hyundai’s first in-house product, whilst simultaneously pointing to the future with an 600+ bhp hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.

This excellent recreation of the best concept car of 2022 comes from Leo 1 of Flickr, who has captured the retro-futuristic Hyundai brilliantly in Model Team form. Building instructions are available and there’s lots more to see at Leo’s photostream; take a look via the link above, or alternatively shout in the comments how wrong we are about Hyundai no longer being crap and boring.

Lufthansa in Lego

Leave a reply

This is a Douglas DC-3, a 1930s to 1940s propellor airliner that was one of the defining moments in air travel. Faster, safer and quieter than previous airliners, the DC-3 was one of only a few that could cross the continental United States (with three stops), and be profitable from passengers alone.

So good was the DC-3 in fact, that many are still in use today, some eighty to ninety years since they were produced. Recent bloggee Tobias Munzert is the builder behind this one, creating it beautifully Lufthansa colours.

If you’re wondering whether a 1930s American aircraft being flown by Germany’s national airline may have been a bit awkward at the time (as we were), Lufthansa was founded a decade after the end of the Second World War, when – even with jet airliners transforming air travel – the DC-3 remained a reliable and competitive aircraft for airlines across the world.

Tobias’ brick built version captures the iconic vintage airliner superbly, and there’s more to see (including a link to building instructions so can create one yourself) at his photostream. Fly over to Flickr via the link above.

To the Tip!

Leave a reply

Christmas at TLCB Towers is over for another year, and thus the slightly depressed-looking Christmas tree in the corner of the office can finally be laid to rest. This usually means strapping it to the roof of the office’s Rover 200, driving to the tip, and lobbing it into a giant container of compostable waste.

Flickr’s Jonathan Elliott takes a much more fun approach to tree disposal though, with his Christmas tree dragged behind a Land Rover 109 tow-truck like a wake-boarder behind a power-boat. Or a soon to-be-executed 15th century criminal behind a horse.

The Land Rover is mighty good too, with the exquisite detailing including probably the best small-scale Land Rover tail-lights we’ve ever seen. There’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream, and you can take a look via the link above whilst we find out if a knackered Rover 200 is up to the job of towing a Christmas tree through the streets.

A Supra Set of Mods

Leave a reply

Toyota’s Supra has – thanks to car culture, hype, a certain move franchise, and internet exaggeration – become a legend impossible for anything, even the Supra itself, to live up to.

But get past the internet commenters, and the A90 Supra is really rather good, and as modifiable as its predecessor too.

Flickr’s 3D supercarBricks has recreated the latest Toyota Supra in fine fashion, capturing the exceptionally difficult curves of the car’s form superbly in Danish plastic.

Of course, being a Supra on the internet, it has to be modified too, with 3D duly obliging via a set of wide arches, an enormous rear spoiler, and some phat rims. Extra internet points scored.

There’s more of the build to to see at 3D’s photostream, and you can click the link in the text above to make the jump.

Bang! Zoom! Straight to the Moon!

Leave a reply

Bang! Zoom! Straight to the Moon! Yes, today we’re referencing a cartoon referencing a vintage sit-com to refer to a rocket that references a cartoon. No we don’t have to make sense. This marvellous whimsical Tintin-inspired rocket comes from Flickr’s Tobias Munzert, who has pictured it here landing on the lunar surface from the comic. Join Tobias (and Tintin) on Flickr via the link above.

Yule Logs

Leave a reply

We’re back! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for more pointless Lego-vehicular narrative to be projected out into the internet from TLCB Team.

Said staff have returned to TLCB Towers post-Christmas break, with only one drunken family fight and a single potential lawsuit between them, which is a definite Christmas success! After releasing TLCB Elves from the cages in which they had been imprisoned over Christmas, the first job is, well… cleaning those cages.

Fortunately for us a particularly keen/hungry Elf returned to the office almost immediately with this rather neat Technic wheeled-excavator by Flickr’s Thirdwigg. With four-wheel steering, a slewing superstructure, and a mechanical bucket-lift, boom elevation and scoop movement, Thirdwigg’s creation is perfect for removing Elven ‘presents’ from even the hard-to-reach corners.

Whilst we get on with that you can check out the full image album on Flickr via the link above, where – if you have some yule logs of your own to remove from a household cage – a link to building instructions can also be found.

Only Two More Sleeps!

Leave a reply

There are only two more sleeps ’til Christmas! Which means we’re locking the doors to TLCB Towers, frantically buying presents we forgot about, and readying ourselves for drunken family arguments.

We’ll be back in a few days, but if you need to get your Lego fix in the meantime, you can find a few places that are open all-year-round below!

  • All our past posts are available in the Archives, where you can search for pretty much anything and something will probably turn up.
  • Our Review Library contains over one-hundred LEGO set, book, and third-party product reviews.
  • The world’s best Lego vehicle builders have been interviewed right here at TLCB! (Incriminating pictures work wonders for motivation.) Find them all by clicking here!
  • Proper Lego blogs, and a lot more besides, can be found in the Directory.

We’d recommend switching off from the internet for the festive period though. The important things will be much closer to home : )

Have a very Merry Christmas

TLCB Team

P.S. The amusing image used above comes courtesy of previous bloggee Sylon_tw, who has captured Santa a very long way from home (that, or the penguins are). Fingers crossed he can get his sleigh going again before tomorrow night!

Calsonic Skyline

2 Replies

This is the Calsonic-sponsored Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 from the early-’00s Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, but of course, you probably already knew that.

Whilst Alexander Paschoaletto‘s brilliant Skyline GT-R R34 doesn’t say ‘Calsonic’ anywhere on it, we (and most likely you) would have recognised it anywhere. That’s because this car is burned into our psyche (and retinas) from Gran Turismo, where it has, in various generations, featured as one of the star cars for over two decades.

White 3D-printed wheels, blue bodywork, and a yellow sun-strip have transported us right back to hours of early-’00s pixellated racing, and you can join us at the Deep Forest Raceway courtesy of Alexander’s photostream via the link above.

Power(ed-Up) is Nothing Without Control(+)

Leave a reply

Yes, we have nerdily butchered the marketing tagline for tyres for today’s title.

Because these are the ‘Universal Vehicle Controls’; part mechanical, part electronic twin joysticks with four degrees of movement, twin triggers, and a dashboard with a working needle, that allow Control+ LEGO sets and creations to be, er… controlled, with real feedback, all built solely from off-the-shelf LEGO pieces. It’s like the Control+ app, BuWizz, or SBrick we’re familiar with on our phone screen, but made physical.

Tobi WanKenobi owns the brain behind this rather interesting idea, and if you think it’s interesting too you can find out more on LEGO Ideas, at the Eurobricks forum here, or take a look at the ‘Universal Vehicle Controls’ in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Christmabishi

Leave a reply

The seamlessly Christmas-linked titles keep coming here at The Lego Car Blog. You don’t get that kind of professionalism at The Brothers Brick. Anyway, here’s another definitely-Christmassy post, in the form of a mid-00’s Mitsubishi Evo IX, as created by Daniel Helms (aka danielsmocs).

There’s working rubber-band suspension, opening doors, hood and trunk, a detailed and removable engine, lifelike drivetrain and interior, and custom decals and wheels, with more to see at both Eurobricks and Flickr.

Have a Merry Chrismabishi via the links above!

It’s ChristMAN!

Leave a reply

It’s Christmas! The season of hope, goodwill, and tenuous TLCB titles. Today’s enabler is previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd, with this epic MAN F2000 8×4 heavy haulage truck.

Powered by an XL Motor, with Servo steering, all-wheel suspension, a lifting second axle, custom decals, and some non-LEGO (but superb looking) front wheel trims and coiled cables, Vladimir’s creation is one of the most realistic trucks of 2022, and there’s much more to see at both his ‘MAN F2000 8×4’ Flickr album and via the Eurobricks discussion forum.

Click the links for a Merry ChristMAN!