Category Archives: Lego

Small-Scale Sixties Sunday

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We had a three-way Elf fight here at TLCB Towers today, as a trio of intrepid internet investigators returned with three sixties classics. This inevitably led to a fight over whose was best, but as all three are being blogged they’re all winners, much a like a pre-school sports day.

The first of today’s small-scale replicas is 1968 Mercury Cougar, in a rather fetching turquoise. Regular bloggee Jonathan Elliott is the builder and there’s more to see at his photostream.

Our second sixties classic is rather more exotic, being the first miid-engined supercar and arguably Lamborghini’s finest hour, the magnificent Miura. Moritz Ziegler is the builder behind this excellent orange Speed Champions recreation and there’s more to see at the link.

The final car in today’s trio steps down from Speed Champions to Town scale, yet somehow manages to be even more detailed.

Built by 1saac W, this brilliant late ’50s to early ’60s Nash Metropolitan is a refinement of a previously blogged build, enhanced with some clever chrome stickerage and really rather clever roof design.

There’s more to see of 1saac’s updated Nash via the link above, plus you can see the appearance of the original, which includes the backstory of this unusual car, by clicking here.

The Answer’s Always ‘Miata’

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Ask the internet any sports car question and the answer is always ‘Miata’. Except when it’s ‘Put an LS in it’. Although sometimes the answer is both.

Today’s answer is Miata too, courtesy of David Elisson‘s neatly recreated version of the iconic Japanese sports car in its fourth (ND) generation.

There’s space for two mini-figures, the doors and hood open (the latter revealing a well detailed engine underneath), and – rather impressively – the convertible roof works too.

Click the link above for the obvious answer.

Sparky’s Dream*

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We’re cheating a bit today, but whilst this creation by Flickr’s L E G O Z ; ) is digital, being ‘built’ in Bricklink Studio 2.0, it’s also awesome. Called the ‘SPARKY’ High Mobility Salvage Rover, it’s based on the concept art of John Wallin Liberto, and features only genuine (digital) LEGO pieces plus some rather neat photoshopping. The result looks mega and there’s more to see via the link above!

*Today’s ace (and suitably spacey) title song.

Vigorous Dragon

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The United States of America very much proclaims itself to be the greatest country on earth. And it’s true the U.S economy is still (presently) the largest. America also manages to top the world in gun ownership, prescription drug costs, incarceration rate, and by being the only developed nation (and one of only three countries in the whole world) not to mandate paid maternity leave. However in almost every other respect it’s China that’s No.1.

China’s incredible progress over the last few decades is astounding (if a little frightening) to see, with the People’s Liberation Army now around 50% larger than the U.S. military by number of personnel.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force has also upped its game somewhat, with third-generation all-weather fighter aircraft like this, the Chengdu J-10 ‘Vigorous Dragon’.

Not only does it have a great name, the Vigorous Dragon is equipped with air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs, glide bombs, satellite-guided bombs , 90mm unguided rockets, and a gun. All of which it can use in the People’s Republic of China’s mission to be as much of a dick as possible.

You see China is managing to overtake America in one other league table; international intimidation, by antagonising pretty much every other nation in the South China Sea, Taiwan, India, Tibet, the residents of Hong Kong, and their own Uighur Muslim minority.

Still, what’s the point of spending $260billion on a military annually if you’re not going to use it?

China’s budget – unfathomably colossal though it is – does mean that America remains No.1 at something though, with a military expenditure greater than the next ten largest budgets combined (of which China are a very distant second). If only the U.S would spend some of that on maternity pay…

Oh yeah, we’re a Lego blog… this excellent mini-figure scale recreation of the Chengdu J-10 -complete with accurate decals and a variety of explody things mounted under the wings – comes from John C. Lamarck, who has captured the Chinese fighter brilliantly. An opening cockpit and working landing gear feature too, and there’s lots more to see at John’s ‘J-10B’ album on Flickr.

Click the link above to threaten an East Asian nation of your choosing.

Speed Champions Semi

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‘Semi’ means something rather different in the TLCB’s home nation…

No matter, in the U.S. at least, it seems to relate to trucks, as demonstrated by this ‘American Semi Truck’ by The G Brix of Flickr. Constructed in Speed Champions scale it features opening doors, a detailed interior (with living space), an engine under the opening hood, and there’s more to see via the link.

Cosmic Cannon

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The school-run arms-race is alive and well around TLCB Towers, where giant black 4x4s are seemingly in a competition to be the most unnecessary child transportation method.

This would be our repost, Horcik Designs‘ ‘Rattrax’; a Blacktron buggy with a giant space laser mounted on the roof, which seems more than capable of one-upping Liliane’s Range Rover. Or at least blasting it into a fine powder.

Head to Flickr via the link above to join the fight.

New Sportscar Experimental

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Honda’s NSX broke new ground when it launched in 1990. Whilst not the fastest or the most exotic supercar, it brought reliability and usability to a vehicular segment that had – in some cases – completely ignored these attributes in favour of silly doors.

This of course meant that the NSX was seen as a bit boring at the time, or even ‘not a super car’, at all, but time has been kinda Honda’s experiment, and it has become one of the most revered and iconic ’90s cars ever, with prices exploding in recent years.

This puts the NSX out of reach for most of us, but fortunately regular bloggee SP_LINEUP has constructed one that’s far more attainable, and just as awesome looking.

A detailed interior behind opening doors, a beautifully accurate engine under an opening cover, and – get this – working pop-up headlights via a lever in the cabin(!) all feature, and there’s much more to see of SP’s superbly presented build on Flickr. Click the link above to make the jump!

Cyber Crime

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Much of crime now occurs online. From serious stuff like bank fraud, trivial stuff like calling someone names on Twitter, or absurd stuff like teaching a pug to nazi salute, the internet is a cesspool of scumbagery. It is, of course, where The Lego Car Blog is based, which probably just adds to the argument for closing the whole thing down.

Fortunately (apart from in that pug case), there are cyber police attempting to control the online douchbaggery, and in our minds they travel around in things like this.

Appropriately digitally rendered by TLCB debutant cixpack, this ‘2069 Polara’ NYC Police hover car looks like something in-between the Blues Brothers and Fifth Element; and would be suitably terrifying if it turned up outside a troll’s abode to administer a kick to the balls (TLCB’s favoured proposed internet policing style) whenever they used the internet as a toilet.

There’s more to see of cixpack’s virtual NYPD hover car on Flickr – click the link above to take a look. Just remember to be nice!

Green Mean Machine

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Being green is very fashionable these days, so here at TLCB we’re jumping on the green bandwagon with a V8-powered hot rod.

Built by TLCB regular SP_LINEUP, this ’41 Dodge hot rod pick-up is based on a real vehicle, in fact being constructed for the builder behind the full size version

There’s more of the model to see at SP’s photostream along with a host of other superb Speed Champions creations – click the link above to go green.

Cycling Circles

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The Lego Car Blog’s home nation isn’t good at many things, but track cycling is a rare exception.

Cycling quickly in circle in a big group, cycling slowly in a circle with someone else, before suddenly cycling quickly, cycling in a circle behind a weird electric scooter thing… we can do all of them. It’s a good thing there are so many ways to cycle in a circle too, otherwise we wouldn’t win half the number of medals.

Previous bloggee George P angeleno (aka ZetoVince) pays homage to cycling in a circle with this fantastic kinetic sculpture, with a slithery track cyclist at the bottom of the banking and a motorised mechanism hidden underneath to bring it to life.

There’s more to see including a video of the cyclist in action at George’s photostream. Click the link above to follow the weird electric scooter thing.

Mystery Machine

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OK, we might be as bad with farm equipment as we are with Star Wars, but we’re pretty sure we’ve got this red and yellow contraption by Flickr’s Damian Z right.

Damian’s wonderfully intricate Mechanised Spaghetti Twirler is being pulled by a Mercedes-Benz Trac 1600, a Unimog-based tractor manufactured in the ’70s and ’80s before the design was sold on to Werner-Forst-und-Industrietechnik, who still produce it today.

Clever detailing abounds on both the MB Trac and the Maximum Penetration Autopump behind, and there’s loads more to see of both the tractor and the Industrial Decombobulator in tow at Damian’s ‘MB Trac 1600’ album by clicking here.

Seriously though, we know it’s a Uniformly Regulated Simultaneous Ice Cream Dispenser. Obviously.

Mitsubishi Memories

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Mitsubishi Motors make precisely nothing that we would ever want to buy, drive, or ride in.

That Mitsubishi’s recent emissions fraud in Japan meant their share price dropped low enough for the Renault-Nissan Alliance to buy them (and then confirm they were pulling the brand out of Europe altogether) only makes us pleased, because there’s less chance of us having to look at the back of one of these.

Which makes it all the sadder that Mitsubishi Motors used to make some rather excellent cars, such as the mid ’90s Galant, the weird FTO, and this, the Lancer Evolution.

With all four wheels driven by a two-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, the Lancer Evo and its Subaru Impreza WRX rival were way ahead of the European and American competition in the ’90s, as demonstrated by Japan’s utter dominance of the World Rally Championship at the time.

Both Subaru and Mitsubishi developed their cars every year or so too, with the latter handily applying roman numerals to the nameplate so it was easy to see who had the latest version.

This particular Lancer is a ‘V’, which appeared for just one year exactly halfway through the Evo’s development. Previous bloggee Fuku Saku has captured the Evo V brilliantly, using some properly clever techniques to recreate the late ’90s performance car icon.

There’s loads more of Fuku’s build to see at his ‘Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V’ album on Flickr; click the link above to make the jump, and remember a time when Mitsubishi made more than just air-conditioning units. And this.

Shock of the Lightning

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This is an English Electric Lightning, and it is the coolest fighter aircraft ever made.

Firstly, because it’s called the English Electric Lightning and secondly, because it was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon axial-flow jet engines stacked vertically, one atop the other.

Such immense power a gave the Lightning a top speed in excess of Mach 2, making it the only fighter of the time able to catch Concorde, and it is to this day still the only U.K designed and built interceptor to achieve twice the speed of sound.

It was also capable of an exceptional rate of climb, reaching 33,000ft from take-off in under three minutes, with an operational ceiling well in excess of double that – an important ability given its brief to intercept Russian nuclear bombers during the Cold War.

This brilliant Lego recreation of the English Electric Lighting comes from previous bloggee Dread Pirate Wesley, who has constructed a 1:55 F.3 series aircraft as operated by RAF Squadron 56.

This particular Lightning is a preserved surviving example available to see on display, but if you can’t get to RAF Bruntingthorpe you can check out the next best thing via Wesley’s photostream. Click the link above to get to Mach 2 very quickly indeed.

*Today’s title song.

Use Your Illusion

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Making something static appear to be in motion is a tricky thing. Of course photo editing means almost anything is possibly digitally, but adding movement purely in brick-form is something we rarely see.

Today though, two builders have absolutely nailed it, by deploying some ingenious techniques to give their creations the appearance of speed.

Taken from the Japanese Manga ‘Dominion’, David Collins‘ ‘Bonaparte’ police tank has arrived on the scene in violent sideways fashion, kicking up a shower of broken asphalt and smoke as it does so. It’s a killer technique and one that would work brilliantly for rally cars, drift cars, and off-road motorbikes, and you can see more of how David has done it via the link.

Today’s second build manages to convey both ponderous movement and agile flight, as MadLEGOman recreates the iconic ‘Battle of Hoth’ scene from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. An AT-AT is striding through the snow towards the Rebel Alliance base from which this A-Wing has departed, with cable in tow in hope of tripping the attacker.

Mad has cunningly used the cable to both support the A-Wing in-flight and depict the path it’s taken, to brilliant effect. Click the link above to jump to Hoth for more movement illusion.

Moustache P.I.

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This TLCB Writer is too young to know anything about Magnum P.I, but it seems to have been mostly about a moustache galavanting around Hawaii in a Ferrari 308. And was therefore probably excellent. Also excellent is this; Laszlo Torma’s Speed Champions Ferrari 308, complete with a pair of mini-figures and an all-important moustache. Building instructions are available and there’s more to see here.