We’re pretty sure not every vintage car went ‘Poop poop!’*, but we can’t help but feel all Toad-of-Toad-Hall when we see one.
This lovely Speed Champions scale example comes from previous bloggee K P of Flickr, using only simple pieces and neat presentation to wonderful effect.
Poop poop your way to K P’s photostream for this and other old-timey creations via the link above.
*Some of course, went ‘Aaoogha!’
Despite what Volkswagen would have you believe, the Golf GTI was not the world’s first hot hatchback. Nope, that honour goes to a little factory in Scotland that was originally part of the Rootes Group.
Rootes owned a variety of successful British brands, including Hillman, Humber, Singer and Sunbeam, before they were acquired by Chrysler in 1967, who then proceeded to ruin them.
In just a few short years the whole thing was loss-making, and the French government – fearing the demise of the French brands that Chrysler also owned – encouraged Peugeot-Citroen to purchase the remnants, which they did. For a dollar.
The result was the return of the Talbot name, which was applied to various Rootes products including their Sunbeam small hatchback. It was a design Chrysler kept hold of too, being quite a good one, successfully selling a very similar looking model as the Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon in the US.
In Europe, Peugeot-Citroen wanted to raise the profile of the reborn Talbot name, and so they decided to go motor racing, with Group B rallying their chosen route. Fortunately for them, Chrysler had already developed a sporty version of the Horizon / Sunbeam, having turned to Lotus for the development, but didn’t have time to launch it before the sale to Peugeot-Citroen.
Thus when it finally arrived, the 150bhp Sunbeam Lotus wore a Talbot badge, becoming the world’s first hot hatchback, and duly winning the World Rally Championship in 1981.
Such immediate success meant that Talbot become a household name, which must’ve pleased Peugeot-Citroen. Or so you would have thought. By the mid-’80s they’d killed it, with the marque lingering on a van for few a years before disappearing completely.
Still, SIM CAMAT of Flickr does remember the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, and has paid homage via his wonderful Model Team recreation of the world’s first hot hatchback.
Beautifully accurate, SIM’s Sunbeam features opening doors and hood, a highly detailed interior complete with folding seats, and a stunning removable replica of the 2.2 litre slant-four Lotus engine that powered the car to the ’81 World Rally Championship.
There’s lots more of the model to see at SIM CAMAT’s photostream, and you can head back to the often-forgotten genesis of the hot hatchback via the link in the text above.
We haven’t written a post regarding golden air transport since we blogged about Donald Trump’s Air Force One showers*. Today though we’re back to golden air travel, courtesy of Ralph Savelsberg and this lovely Mitsubishi Fuso Canter box truck, wearing the livery of Japan’s ‘Meitetsu Golden Air Cargo’ company.
Ralph has captured both the truck and livery beautifully in Miniland scale, and there’s more of the Meitetsu Mitsubishi to see at his photostream. Click here for golden air delivery.
*Trump likes to be pissed on.
This is the unmistakable shape of the Lancia Stratos, designed by Bertone and powered by a Ferrari Dino V6, it was the first car purpose-built for rallying, winning the World Rally Championship three times consecutively between 1974 and 1976.
This lovely diorama by Flickr’s alex_bricks, who appeared here recently with his stunning 1988 Monaco Grand Prix scene, depicts a works Alitalia-liveried Stratos scything through a muddy forest.
Forced-perspective foliage and an array of mini-figures – including a driver and co-driver and some hardy spectators – add to the ambiance, and you can join them trackside c1975 via the link in the text above.
After decades of peace, Europe is once more at war, thanks to an under-endowed dictator intent on re-colonisation. However the last time war raged along Russia’s borders, it was defending against, rather than fighting for, a maniacal despot.
This wonderful diorama depicts a small part of that fight, when in 1942 German ace Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke was shot down by a Soviet Air Forces Hawker Hurricane, crash landing on an icy lake.
His Messerschmitt Bf 109 slipped through the ice to the bottom of the water, but Wolf-Dietrich survived to continue his service in the Luftwaffe, before finally being killed in action in March of 1944, with a scarcely believable 162 victories to his name.
Constructed by Jonah Padberg, this beautiful creation captures the moment of Wolf-Dietrich’s crash, and you can visit the frozen lake on which he landed, before it claimed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 but not his life, via the link above.
Don’t worry, we’re not exposing your Mom’s side hustle. Rather this excellent brick-built Petebilt 389 dump truck, the full-size version of which is owned by the uncle of its creator StudWorks of Flickr.
StudWorks’ aforementioned uncle is apparently “dash cam sensation” ‘Joey Whispers 1776’ who we… er, hadn’t heard of, but a quick look at his videos shows he doesn’t whisper at all. He does swear though. A lot.
Stud’s homage to his uncle’s truck includes a working dumping mechanism with lift-gate, posable lift-axle, and some splendid detailing, with more to see at his ‘JoeyWhispers1776 Peterbilt 389 Dump Truck’ album on Flickr.
Click the first link in the text above to find all of the imagery of StudWork’s Peterbilt, or the second to watch ol’ uncle Joey swearing at traffic.
Whilst this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet is (mostly) a Lego Car Blog, we do like a Good Train. Which is probably the nerdiest sentence written outside of The Brothers Brick. Still, this is a very Good Train indeed, and it comes from previous bloggee Nikolaus Lowe.
A replica of a 1908 German steam locomotive ‘PtL 2/2 Glaskasten’, Nikolaus’ creation includes gorgeous detailing, some wonderful brick-built valve gear, remote control drive, and custom LED lighting front and rear.
Built for a competition there’s more of Nikolaus’ lovely locomotive to see on Flickr, and you can jump back to Germany in 1908 via the link in the text above.
If you’re six (or a TLCB Elf), this post is for you. Yes today we have two of the greatest supercars ever made in LEGO form, and best of all they’re tiny, showing you don’t need to have a million pieces to build a blogworthy replica of your favourite supercar.
The first (above) is Jonathan Elliott‘s beautifully presented Lamborghini Diablo GTR, constructed to almost ridiculous accuracy in Speed Champions scale. Parts facing in every direction hint at the complexities within, and there’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream.
Today’s second small-scale supercar (below) is one from a later decade, the phenomenal Lexus LFA. Also constructed in Speed Champions scale, Flickr’s Tommy ñ has captured the iconic carbon-fibre supercar superbly in brick form, and you can check it out at his photostream via the link above.
From a truck-based flight of whimsy to a hauler altogether more real-world. Ralph Savelsberg’s Scania T730 with stepframe trailer is an exact miniaturisation of one of the trucks in use by Hodge’s of Scotland, pictured here with a Volvo excavator in tow. A replica livery adds to the realism and there’s more of the models to see at Ralph’s album by clicking here.
Today’s post is a Minion-coloured MAN with a mobile banana lab. Because shut up, that’s why.
The highest grossing animated movie franchise of all time, the Minions certainly have the resources, if not the intellect, for a giant mobile banana research centre. But seeing as mankind has genuinely conducted studies to determine that ‘Electric Fans have a Beneficial Effect in Extreme Heat’, ‘All Mammals above 3kg in Weight Empty their Bladders in Between 8 and 34 Seconds’, and – our favourite – ‘People Would be Able to Run Across a Pond if it was on the Moon and They were Wearing Flippers’, who are we to argue with the Minions’ choice of research?
Flickr’s Stefan is the unseen supervillain in command of this arrangement, and there’s more of his MANion to see at his photostream. Click the link above take a look, or here to learn that, shockingly, ‘People Adjust their Clothing Choices Depending Upon the Temperature‘. Thanks Scientists.
It’s been a while since we let TLCB Elves watch Transformers cartoons, but today a number are happily crowded round an ancient TV thanks to one of their number and this; Angus MacLane‘s OR-ANJ G1 Transformer.
A normal-looking orange coupe (apart from the roof-mounted rocket launcher, which – let’s face it – we’ve all wanted as an optional extra at times), Angus’ creation can niftily transform from car to rocket-wielding robot via a few swivels, and there’s more to see at his photostream, where a range of other brick-built robotic contraptions can also be found.
Uh oh, more sci-fi incompetence from TLCB Writers. But it is ‘SHIPtember’, the annual month-based bandwagon wherein builders create science fiction builds one-hundred studs or more in length, so at least the creations are impressive even if our descriptions are not.
This one is the ‘USS Alliance’, a ‘United States Space Navy (USSN) Potomac-Class guided missile frigate’, according to the immensely talented Ryan Olsen, and measures 106 studs in length.
Constructed from over 4,000 pieces, Ryan has presented his creation just as beautifully as he’s built it, with the model pictured here ascending into orbit alongside another one of his other brick built behemoths.
There’s more of the build to see at Ryan’s ‘USS Alliance’ album, and you can make the jump to orbit alongside 106 studs of ‘SHIPtember’ brilliance via the link above.
This supposedly being a ‘car’ blog, TLCB Staff struggle somewhat when it comes to things without wheels and an engine. Whilst that’s our own fault for not sticking to the brief, we suspect even The Brothers Brick will fail to do this ‘Swamp Walker’ by Flickr’s Mountain Hobbit justice, so spellbinding is its construction.
A wooden house atop four Salvador Dali-esque legs, Hobbit’s creation is pictured beautifully, wading through an etherial other-worldly swamp. Obsolete remnants of a prior world hint at the relative recentness of the owner’s survival adaptation, and you can view this single image up close to find all the spectacular details at Hobbit’s photostream.
Click the link above to investigate possibly the most beautiful and intriguing creation of 2023. Even if it doesn’t have wheels and an engine.
After a few car-less days we have a trio of vehicular creations to showcase today. None are cars mind…
Still, they are excellent, hence their appearance here, and each proves you don’t need a million pieces or to know The Brothers Brick secret handshake to see your creation blogged.
First up is a vehicle from way back at the very beginning of the ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise, Brian’s Ford F-150 Lightning, complete with ‘The Racers Edge’ decals and a bed full of rather easily stolen car parts. Previous bloggee IBrickItUp is the builder and you can drive to Toretto’s to order a ‘tuna on white with no crust‘ via the link above.
Today’s second small-scale vehicle comes from Justus M., whose classic RV is quite magnificently beige. It also features some simply ingenious suspension, deploying your Mom’s recently blogged ‘golden handcuff’ pieces to brilliant effect. You can see how Justus has done it via the link to his photostream above, where you can also find a video of the springy ‘cuffs in action.
Today’s third and final creation is two really, with Thomas Gion‘s ace 1969 Dodge A100 van and BBQ smoker trailer in tow. As Thomas also goes by the moniker ‘HotDogSandwiches’ it’s a rather appropriate pairing, and you can grab a bun and tuck in to a perfectly smoked sausage via the link in the text above.
LEGO’s first large-scale highly detailed models arrived between 1988 and 1990, when the Model Team line launched with three new sets. The 5580 Highway Rig was one of them, and has become something of a cult set three decades on.
Cue this marvellous half-size redux of the 1988 set, constructed by brickphisto, and capturing not just the detailed exterior of the original, but also the opening hood and cab doors, whilst adding a working V8 engine too.
There’s more to see at both Flickr and Eurobricks, where a link to free building instructions can be found (100 TLCB Points brickphisto!), plus you can check out our review of the original 5580 set via the first link in the text above.
