Author Archives: thelegocarblogger

Streamliner

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This is a Tatra T87, and it was one of the fastest and yet most fuel efficient cars of the era. Built from the mid-’30s to early-’50s the T87 was powered by rear-mounted air-cooled 2.9 litre V8 engine which was about half the size of its competitors, yet – thanks to its streamlined shape – it could reach almost 100mph whilst using nearly half the fuel.

The occupying Nazis loved it, calling it ‘the autobahn car’, but so many German officers were killed trying to reach 100mph that the T87 was dubbed ‘the Czech secret weapon’, and they were subsequently banned from driving it.

This brilliant Technic recreation of the Tatra T87 comes from Horcik Designs who has replicated the car’s streamlined shape beautifully from Technic panels. Underneath the aerodynamic body is functioning swing-arm suspension, working steering, and a detailed engine under an opening cover, and there’s more to see of all of that at the Eurobricks discussion forum and at Horcik’s Bricksafe folder.

Click the links above to ty to reach 100mph on the autobahn c1940. Unless you’re a German Army officer.

Fill ‘er Up!

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This neat vintage desert gas station and hot rod scene was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr today. It comes from previous bloggee Faber Madragore and there’s more to see of his ‘Supercharged Model B’ (not to be confused with ‘B-Model‘) at his photostream.

My Other Car’s a Helicopter

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We’re nearly half way through TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition, where we’re looking for your awesome set alternates the could win you an incredible SBrick Pro Pack!

This is Tomik’s of Eurobricks entry, using the Technic 42075 First Responder set to create an alternate which unusually switches wheels for rotors, and includes one of the most ingenious hand-operated mechanisms we’ve seen yet!

Tomik’s ‘Pull-Back Helicopter’ uses the shock-absorber from 42075’s suspension to store energy from winding a gear, releasing it to simultaneously turn both the main and tail rotor. It’s a mighty clever use for the humble shock-absorber and it makes us think LEGO’s own Pull-Back efforts, derided upon their release here every year, are even weaker.

An opening cockpit is also included and there’s more to see of Tomik’s B-Model competition entry at the Eurobricks forum – click here link to see more – including a video of the ‘pull-back’ mechanism in action – and here to find out how to enter your own B-Model into the contest!

Stop! Hangar Time

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War isn’t won just with planes, tanks and ships. Behind the scenes a huge machine needs to operate to keep the frontline moving, from medical care to mechanics and cookery to construction.

With shifting territory and short aircraft ranges in both world wars, runway and hangar building was as important to the war effort as the aircraft that used them. Often overlooked by Lego builders we have two builds today that recognise the behind-the-scenes heroes of the Allied victory in both wars.

First above (above) is Dread Pirate Wesley‘s superb First World War diorama, set somewhere in Northern France and featuring wonderful SE5a and Sopwith Camel biplanes alongside a brilliantly recreated canvas and wood hangar. It’s a stunning scene and one that you can see more of via the link to Wesley’s photostream above, where you can also find a trio of German Fokkers ready to meet the British fighters in the skies over France.

Today’s second wartime hangar (below) jumps forward around twenty-five years to the Second World War, with the canvas and wood replaced by concrete and tin, and the biplanes by the far more sophisticated Supermarine Spitfire, very probably the greatest fighter of the conflict. Builder Didier Burtin has curved LEGO’s grey baseplates under tension to create the impressive hangar, equipping with everything required to keep the pair of Spitfires airworthy.

There’s more to see of Didier’s beautiful Second World War diorama at his photostream via the link above, where you can also see what happens when a part fails on a 1940s fighter plane, and therefore why the heroes behind the scenes were as vital as those in the cockpits.

My Others Car’s a Porsche 911 GT3 RS

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After revealing the brand new LEGO 42115 Technic Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 (what?) set yesterday, and wishing it was a Lamborghini we’d actually heard of – like a Miura – Flickr’s James Tillson has risen to the challenge with extraordinary timing by uploading his entry into TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition which is… a Lamborghini Miura. And it’s orange!

Thanks to the 42056 Porcshe 911 GT3 RS brick source, James’ Lamborghini B-Model is as searingly orange as one of the Miura’s actual paint options, and it manages to replicate the real car’s swoopy bodywork rather well too. The model also includes working suspension, functioning steering, opening doors, engine cover and front clamshell, and there’s more to see of James’ excellent alternate on Flickr. Click here to head to James’ photostream, here to read how to enter your own B-Model into the competition, and here to see the prizes on offer!

Technic 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 | Set Preview

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This is the brand new LEGO Technic 42115 Lamborghini Sian FKP 37, the fourth largest Technic set ever made, and the first officially-licensed Lamborghini to join the Technic range, following sets from Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ducati, and – of course – arch rival Ferrari.

At 3,696 pieces 42115 becomes LEGO’s first 1:8 scale Technic car, with many parts debuting on the set – largely thanks to the very lime green colour and stunning gold wheels, faithfully replicating those on the real Sian FKP 37. Ah, the real Sian FKP 37; we’ll come on to that in a bit…

Before then, the functions. Like LEGO’s other recent Technic Supercar sets 42115 is packed with incredible technical realism, and features a working mid-mounted V12 engine hooked up to an eight-speed sequential gearbox. Eight! In a Technic set.

Now LEGO’s track record on sequential gearboxes isn’t great, with the six-speed effort in the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 being, well… crap, but hopefully they’ve cracked it with the eight speed in 42115. Working in-board suspension front and rear, functioning steering, all-wheel-drive, opening scissor doors, and a deployable rear wing also feature, all operated mechanically and true to those found on the real Lamborghini Sian FKP 37.

OK, the real Lamborghini Sian FKP 37…. yeh, we’d never heard of it either, and we’re a car blog. With such a fantastic back-catalogue of iconic cars (the Miura, Countach, Diablo, Gallardo, Murciélago, Aventador, amongst others), we find the choice of an ultra-limited run (63 units) yet-to-be-built hypercar an odd one. Particularly as what sets the real Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 apart from the three-hundred other ultra-limited run Lamborghini hypercars that proceeded it is the world’s first production hybrid super-capacitor powertrain. Which of course is impossible to recreate in a LEGO set.

Still, that doesn’t stop 42115 from being a seriously impressive addition to LEGO’s officially licensed line-up, bringing with it a wealth of new parts, LEGO’s fanciest box yet (for those who are into such things), that possibly-awesome-possibly-crap eight-speed sequential gearbox, and a very Lamborghini price tag.

Expect the new LEGO Technic 42115 Lamborghini Sian FKP 37 set to cost an enormous $380/£350 when it reaches stores later this year. We’d have paid that for a Miura…

Not a Car

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It’s been a weird sort of day here at The Lego ‘Car’ Blog. A post about Minion-operated mechs, one about bird watching, and now this. Whatever this is.

‘This’ is a ‘Beetle Skyvan’, according to its builder, previous bloggee and inventor-extraordinaire Vince_Toulouse. A myriad of parts from LEGO’s more unusual themes has been used to create it, including ‘ant wings’, a Scala staircase, and even some trusty Galidor pieces.

Head to Vince’s album on Flickr via the link above to see if you can spot them, and to see more of what is a rather remarkable (and surprisingly large*) build.

*That’s what she said.

Bird Watching

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This TLCB writer quite likes birds. They come in a hilarious variety of shapes and sizes, some of them can swim, run and fly (which makes them some sort of super animal), and some of them are – frankly – delicious. What’s not to like?

Flickr’s Luis Pena likes them too, although he’s a bit more professional about it, being an actual bird watcher/photographer as well as a Lego builder. Combining his two hobbies he’s built this; a neat mini-figure scale Jeep Wrangler 4×4 and two of Patagonia’s native birds; a Rhea (comical running variety), and an Andean Condor (giant flappy variety). David Attenborough (or Luis himself) would probably be able to categorise those better…

No matter, see more of Luis’ Jeep and Patagonian birds on Flickr!

Mighty Minion

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Minions is another new LEGO theme we don’t really understand, but one we’re sure will sell rather well. Ah, we think we understand…

Looking like some sort of cute War of the Worlds alternative reality, previous bloggee ianying616 has built the Minions their very own mech, complete with googly eyes and a mini-figure Minion sitting inside the domed head. And if you’re thinking “They’re really stretching TLCB’s brief with this one…”, you’re right – so here’s a Minion racing team too!

Head to ianying’s photostream via the link above for more Minions-based madness.

Hot Space

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Astronauts are famed for their cars. Those in the Apollo programme pretty much all had Corvettes, thanks to a Florida GM dealer’s ‘dollar lease’ initiative, whilst a couple of NASA astronauts are the only people to have driven a vehicle outside of the Earth’s atmosphere. Classic Spacemen of course get to drive all sorts of things, and they’re always happy to do so, but when they’re back on Earth it’s nice to know they’re regular petrolheads. At least the owner of this is, a Classic Space hot rod complete with all the hallmarks of their more usual space-based vehicles. It comes from Nuno Taborda and there’s more to see at his photostream – click the link to take a look.

The Miles Aren’t Coming Off!

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If you bunk school and steal your Dad’s Ferrari 250 GT California (we’ve all been there), hoping to run the car in reverse later to take the miles off the clock, ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ taught us it doesn’t work. Even less so if you kick the car whilst it’s running so it reverses through a window and down a hillside. Your Dad will definitely notice that.

Thankfully it wasn’t a real GT California (these days a >$20million car), but a modified MGB in the scene in question, but it looked pretty good to us. As does this, x_Speed‘s recreation of both the 1960s Ferrari and the famous movie scene in which it featured. Clever techniques are in evidence throughout the build and there’s more to see of x_Speed’s Ferrari 250 GT California, Ferris Bueller, Cameron Frye, and Cameron Frye’s Dad’s garage on Flickr via the link.

Oceanic Programmatic

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This is a DAF XF Super Space Cab truck and Oceanic Airlines trailer, complete with a brilliant brick-built mosaic, remote control drive and steering, and LED lights. Built by previous bloggee Lasse Deleuran it’s a superb model, highlighting just how good Lego vehicles can be, yet it’s was you can’t see that’s even more impressive.

Utilising a programable PFx brick (a kickstarter project that debuted here way back in 2017), Lasse’s truck not only has remote control drive and steering via bluetooth and a working fifth wheel, it also contains a complete light and sound sequence programmed by the builder into the PFx brick, bringing his model spectacularly to life.

The PFx brick can be programmed with an infinite array of movement, light, and sound, much like the classic Technic Barcode Truck from 1997, only much smaller, and a fair bit cleverer too.

Head to Lasse’s photostream via the link above to see more of his Oceanic Airlines DAF XF, where you can also find a link to YouTube showing the both PFx brick in action and also how Lasse programmed the sequences used in his model.

I 4C a Failure

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The Alfa Romeo 4C is not a good car. But it is gorgeous, so we still want one, if only to look at it. It’s also one of Alfa Romeo’s many recent failures, partly because the car wasn’t very good, and partly because these days buyers only seem to want an angry German saloon car with a twin-turbo V8, six million horsepower, and no driving feel or real-world relevance whatsoever.

Which is a mighty shame, because it means lightweight, small sports cars like the admittedly mediocre 4C and the thoroughly brilliant Alpine A110 are bombing commercially, and soon all we’ll have is angry German saloons.

This fantastic Model Team Alfa Romeo 4C comes from previous bloggee Noah_L, who has created one the most beautiful (and difficult to replicate) modern automotive shapes to near perfection from fairly basic LEGO parts. In fact the two flex tubes that form the bonnet and grille may be the neatest solution to the 4C’s shape that we have seen yet, and a technique we think we’ll start to see on all sorts of Lego cars in the future.

Noah’s model also includes a detailed interior behind the opening doors and an accurate recreation of the mid-mounted 1750cc turbocharged 4-cylinder engine under the rear hatch, and there are loads more stunning images to view at his Alfa Romeo 4C album on Flickr. Click the link above to take a look, which – to be honest – is all the actual 4C is really for anyway.

Import/Export

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Lots of things travel between Europe and the Middle East. Drunk British tourists and weaponry seem to the primary exports, whilst the imports aren’t always that great either, but there’s lots of stuff to celebrate, with much of it travelling the Seriously Long Way between the two continents in trucks like this.

Built by Master MOCer Dennis Bosman (aka legotrucks), this brilliant classic Scania LB141 complete with a superb Astran Europe-Middle East livery (designed by fellow Master MOCer Dennis Glaasker (aka Brickonwheels)) is one of the thousands of trucks that route their way between the two land masses.

Spectacular detailing is evident throughout the build, with both the truck and trailer recreated beautifully in Lego form, with a tilting cab, accurate engine, working steering, trailer support legs, and – to emphasise the Middle Easterness – a pair of brick-built camels not shown here.

There’s much more to see of the Astran truck, trailer, and camels at Dennis’ Scania LB141 Flickr album – click the link to join the journey along the Silk Road, plus you can read Dennis’ Master MOCers interview here at TLCB via the first link in the text above.

My Other Car’s a Mining Excavator

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With over 4,000 pieces, bluetooth remote control, and seven electric motors, LEGO’s enormous (and enormously expensive) Technic 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator set is the largest yet produced by the company. If you’re going to make a ‘B-Model’, using just the parts from one official LEGO set, it may as well be from the biggest!

Previous bloggee and Technic genius Grohl has done just that, with his amazing 42100 snow groomer B-Model. With seven motorised functions including remote control drive and skid-steering, an elevating front blade, lowering groomy-thigumy on the back, plus a crane and winch, Grohl’s 42100 alternate is as functions-packed as the set from which it’s been built.

Grohl promises instructions are on the way if you fancy turning your own Liebherr excavator into a snow groomer yourself, and until then you can check out the build on Flickr via the link above.

We’re also looking for you to build your own B-Models from existing LEGO sets (whether that be from the enormous 42100 Liebherr R 9800 or the smallest City set) in TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition. You could even win yourself some brilliant bluetooth remote control prizes to bring your Lego creations to life! Check out the competition details by clicking here and get B-Modelling!