Category Archives: Lego

Magnificent Mog

Leave a reply

We’ve featured a lot of Unimogs over the years here at The Lego Car Blog. Some of which are very big, very detailed, and packed with working features. Today’s is very small, very detailed, and packed with working features.

Built by Flickr’s Reddish Blue, this Unimog U5023 isn’t reddish-blue at all, being rather yellow, and has got as much going on as models ten times its size. There’s working steering and suspension, three drop-sides, working stabiliser legs, and an incredible posable Palfinger crane complete with a functional winch.

An astonishing amount of visual detail joins this wealth of functionality, and is all the more impressive given the model is barely 8-studs wide.

Exquisitely presented, there’s a huge amount more of Reddish Blue’s phenomenally rendered creation to see at his ‘Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 5023’ album, where links to building instructions can also be found. Take a look via the link above at the best small-scale ‘mog you’re likely to see this year.

Neeeaaaw Whudhudhuhdua…

Leave a reply

Pew pew, neeeaaaw, whudhudhudhudua, ploouuuumph, glaaaark! As has been documented on this pages, TLCB are not Star Wars fans. Which is probably why we like ‘Episode 1; The Phantom Menace’, because real Star Wars fans seem to dislike it greatly, and there’s a race in the middle of it with a cacophony of noises most likely made from various household appliances and some audio nicked from Formula 1.

Cue this exquisite recreation of Anakin Skywalker’s podracer (which deployed the aforementioned F1 soundtrack), flying through the desert of wherever it was they were racing being chased by the one that went ‘whudhudhuhdua’. Flickr’s Thomas Jenkins is its maker and you can join the smorgasbord of sounds at his photostream via the link above. Neeeeaaaaw! Kahsmuuush!!

Tiny Tanker

1 Reply

One of our Elves is rather grumpy today. You see, despite finding a blogworthy creation (and therefore getting fed), our mythical workers also hope to find something remotely controlled, and large and fast enough to flatten as many fellow Elves as possible. Today’s creation is, well… not that.

But it is – amazingly – remote controlled, thanks to tiny Circuit Cube electrics hidden within the cab. Just seven studs wide, this neat MAN TGX tanker truck by previous bloggee Ts_ can remotely drive and steer, and even the trailer has mechanically operable support legs too.

Thus whilst it can’t squash a TLCB Elf (much to the annoyance of the one that found it) it is a thoroughly intriguing creation nonetheless, and you can see how it all works at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Steyr Master

Leave a reply

Things to come out of Austria; Arnold Schwarzenegger, Swarovski crystal, Red Bull, and, um… Adolf Hitler. And this! The Steyr tractor.

Constructed by previous bloggee Keko007 it’s a 6300 CVT, and it’s equipped with a rather dangerous-looking Rata Mounted Maxitill.

Working steering and a rear hitch feature, and you can drink a Red Bull on your way to becoming Governor of California via the link above.

Roving Mad

Leave a reply

There’s under a week to go of this year’s Febrovery, with dozens of lunar rovers of all shapes and sizes created so far. Which means dozens of creations about which TLCB Writers – whose comfort zone really doesn’t extend much beyond ‘double-overhead cam’ – know nothing. Still, we like spacey things, so here are three of our favourites so far…

Here in TLCB’s home nation we’re pretty sure that some of the vehicles on our roads are helmed by plant-life, so non-reactive are they to any stimulus around them. Here it’s invariably an ageing small hatchback (most often a Peugeot) with a pink ‘Powered by Fairydust’ sticker on the tailgate, but Austin Vail‘s botanically-driven lunar rover is something far more retro-futuristic! Inspired by the bubble-canopied concept cars of the 1950s and ’60s, Austin’s design is ideal transportation for the flowers within, and there’s more to see of his ‘FloraTron Mooncruiser’ on Flickr.

Like, space dudes, we’re totally surfing the Mercury Nebula! There’s a Duplo van in the centre of the Scott Wilhem‘s ‘S.U.R.F for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’ rover, and a whole lot of ‘greebling’ on the outside. The smiling classic spaceman looks pretty stoked by his ride, and you can catch a cosmic wave at Scott’s photostream via the link above.

And lastly… Blacktron aren’t just about thieving things from the other ‘trons – they need downtime too. And thus here they are tending to some crystal snails. Flickr’s Frost (aka TFDesigns!) is the maker of the ‘Blacktron Surveyor’ and you can join the mini-figures of Blacktron chilling out with some galactic gastropods via the link.

Aston Honda

Leave a reply

If Formula 1 pre-season testing is to believed, newly formed Aston Martin Honda are in big trouble. And if we’re honest we found Aston’s move to Honda bit odd seeing as Mercedes-Benz AMG part own Aston Martin road cars, provide their engines and electrics, and have a good F1 powertrain available to buy. Still, at least it won’t change Lance Stroll’s performance, as he was at the back anyway.

Cue today’s double, from both Aston Martin and Honda (via Acura), this time with competing endurance sports cars.

Constructed by TLCB regular SFH_Bricks, the Speed Champions Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH #23 IMSA and Acura ARX-06 MSR #93 capture their real-world counterparts brilliantly, thanks in no small part to the simply outstanding liveries and custom-printed tyres.

There’s more to see of each via the links above, and let’s hope Aston Martin Honda solve their problems soon. Not for Lance Stroll obviously, but Alonso’s there too…

Ridge Racers

Leave a reply

These days car manufacturers are delighted to work with video games makers. What you drive virtually as a kid may one day influence what you decide to drive for real. But back in the ’90s video game licensing was still rather hit-and-miss, which meant there was a glorious variety of eccentrically-named vehicles available that were inspired by – or downright copies of – real world cars.

Namco’s ‘Ridge Racer’ was one such title that eschewed licensing in favour of some tremendous own-brewed vehicles, including the ‘Assoluto Bisonte’, ‘Terrazi Troop’, ‘Age Solo Dirigient’, and – our favourite – the ‘Lizard Detector’.

Flickr’s Studworks takes us straight back to racing circa-1998 with his brilliant Speed Champions homage to the cars of ‘Ridge Racer Type 4’, complete with superb replica liveries printed by Brickstickershop.

Building instructions and access to the stickers are available, and you can fire up your PS1 to take the ‘Lizard Detector’ up ‘Wonderhill’ via Studworks’ ‘Ridge Racer Type 4 Cars’ album here!

Back to the Studio

Leave a reply

Unlikely as it may sound today, in the 2010s the biggest television programme in the world came from an old airfield hangar just outside of Guildford, in which three middle-aged men talked about cars.

The newly rebooted BBC ‘Top Gear’ grew from its producer having to pay audience members from his own pocket to stick around to the end of filming, to the most-watched television event on the planet. Over twenty seasons, dozens of cross-country adventures, and countless celebrity laps in reasonably-priced cars are now embedded in the memory of an entire generation, and Flickr’s NV Carmocs takes us right back to the height of mid-2010’s television with his fabulous homage to the place where it was all made.

With mini-figure versions of Top Gear’s three most famous hosts, a studio audience, and some of the most iconic vehicles and sets from the show, NV Carmocs has captured a hundred Top Gear memories in one spectacular diorama.

The studio set includes ‘The Cool Wall’, a V8 coffee table, the ‘Power Board’, and the plinth for perhaps Top Gear’s most famous ever vehicle, the near-destroyed late-’80s Toyota Hilux, also faithfully recreated in brick form.

There’s a huge amount more to see of NV Carmocs’ incredible mini-figure BBC Top Gear Studio diorama at their Flickr photostream, where over a dozen high quality images are available to view, plus even more of the starring Top Gear vehicles themselves.

Click the link above to go back to studio, and to take yourself back to when Sunday night TV couldn’t get any better…

Cosmic Craning

Leave a reply

Are cranes required in space? There’s no gravity… We’re a car blog so we won’t think about that too deeply and instead revel in the deep coolness of Ivan Martynov‘s ‘RS11200 Space Craft Type’. Lift something science-fictiony via the link above!

Turn Right to Go Left

Leave a reply

Wait, haven’t we featured this Hudson Hornet already? Well, yes…. but we’ve all been waiting for it to get stickers! Flickr’s SFH_Bricks has now done just that, turning his previously blogged Hudson into the NASCAR that made it so famous. More specifically SFH has created ‘Doc. Hudson’, the Disney Pixar ‘Cars’ movie character that paid homage to that most iconic of NASCAR racers. The beautifully replicated decals come courtesy of Brickstickershop, building instructions are available, and you can turn right to go left via the link above.

Knuckledragger

Leave a reply

No we’re not talking about ‘Immigration and Customs Enforcement’ officers again, but rather this utterly splendid Volvo FH 8×4 truck, complete with a rear-mounted Fassi knuckleboom crane. Constructed by TLCB Master MOCer and regular bloggee Ralph Savelsberg, the model recreates a truck in use by British heavy haulage firm ‘Rawcliffe and Sons’, with accurate decals replicating the livery of its real-world counterpart. Brick-built outriggers and posable four-wheel steering also feature, and you can drag your knuckles over to Ralph’s photostream for more superb imagery via the link above.

All My Circuits

1 Reply

LEGO’s Power Functions and Control+ components are excellent for bringing vehicles to life. Third-party BuWizz and SBrick go even further, with more power and programmable control, and hundreds of creations have appeared here over the years powered by their components. But the drawback with all of the above is, as with your Mom, size.

Too big for many models, it means remote control is reserved for only larger creations. But not today, because this dinky 7-wide Mercedes-Benz Actros 6×4 truck is fully remote controlled!

Powered by a Circuit Cube Hub hidden in the cab, there’s a tiny drive motor – just three studs long – and a servo to steer. What’s more, it’s maker Ts_ has included drive to all four wheels, as per the real truck.

Able to pull a sizeable three-axle trailer, there’s more of Ts_’s remote control Actros to see at the Eurobricks forum, including an image of how the third-party electronics fit within it. Click the link above to peek inside.

Special Weapons And Tactics

1 Reply

When America’s government need highly trained police officers to go into the most dangerous situations, they call for S.W.A.T, or ‘Special Weapons And Tactics’.

And when they need ill-trained thugs to shoot an unarmed nurse outnumbered 8:1 ten times, they call for ICE.

We’ll stick with the former today, firstly because we have this awesome Chevy P30 S.W.A.T van straight outta Gotham City, and secondly because if S.W.A.T are here we’re less likely to get shot by Immigration & Customs Enforcement.

This splendid brick-built version of the police units trained to do things properly comes from previous bloggee Sam Andreas, and you can join them on the streets of Gotham via the link above. Which has got to be safer than being on the actual streets of America when ICE are around…

Anonymous Adventure

Leave a reply

Communism seemed to ban, amongst others things, inventive vehicle names, which all seemed to be a collection of numbers and letters. Which makes titling a post about one of them rather tricky, but no matter because the model is rather lovely.

It’s a UAZ 469B as built by PigletCiamek, and it’s also got a spicy back-story too, involving explorers and a rocket-launcher. Join the anonymously-named off-roader on an adventure in the desert via the link above.

Insert Hippy

Leave a reply

We maintain that the scariest vehicle – other than a government-registered SUV in Minneapolis of course – is the Volkswagen Transporter camper, what with them being almost exclusively driven by top-knot wearing, ethnic peace crisp eating, alternative lifestyle evangelists. And now that we’ve successfully antagonised both the hard-right and hard-left in one sentence (there’s no bias here!), on to the model!

This neat Volkswagen ‘T3’ camper comes from Flickr’s HCKP13, who’s captured the ’80s bus brilliantly in brick form. There’s more of the model to see at HCKP13’s photostream, and you can head to a parking lot outside Starbucks to steal the free WiFi whilst bemoaning capitalism via the link above!