Category Archives: Model Team

Low Level Coolness

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TLCB Staff are absolutely, tragically, deeply uncool. We work for free in a building with less structural integrity than the Lego creations we feature, our workforce is formed of mythical creatures that could well be figments of our imagination, and for all he knows this Writer is typing these words from a secure psychiatric facility onto a Casio PT-80.

But if we were cool, and we really aren’t, this is what we’d drive.

Tony Bovkoon‘s magnificent ’64 Chevrolet Impala Lowrider might just be the coolest vehicle we’ve ever seen, and not only does it look spectacular, it really, er… lowrides, with four L Motors driving linear actuators that control the suspension movements, allowing the Impala to twist and bounce just like the real thing.

A further two L Motors and a Servo deliver remote control drive and steering when for when the Impala isn’t lowriding, but that’s like wearing a baseball cap the right way round. Or some other cool-based reference. Like we said, we really aren’t cool.

But Tony’s ’64 Chevrolet Impala is, and you can check it out on Flickr, plus you can watch it in action here. Take a look via the link above if you’re cooler than we are.

Insert Safety Car Here

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Mercedes-AMG’s seven-year dominance of the Formula 1 World Championship finally ended in 2021. Well, sort of… they still won the Constructor’s Championship, making it eight-in-a-row, but Lewis Hamilton did not win an eighth Driver’s Championship, and as such may now never move ahead of the record he shares with Schumacher.

Of course we also say ‘sort of’ thanks the controversial way in which Hamilton lost the Driver’s Championship on the final laps of the final race to Max Verstappen.

Thanks to crash-a-holic Lattifi (who – if he wasn’t paying to drive the car – surely wouldn’t be in Formula 1), and an improbable safety car decision that eventually cost race director Michael Masi his job, Verstappen was able to pass Hamilton on the final lap, giving us the first new World Champion in four seasons, and ending years of ‘#blessed’ instagram posts from the bejewelled multiple-champion.

Cue much arm waving and shouting from Mercedes-AMG (unusual, seeing as Christian Horner of Red Bull had done it all season for various imagined grievances), an investigation, but the race result standing. Which, by the way, we’re all for.

Yes the rules hadn’t been followed, but we’re of the opinion that even if there’s just one corner of the race remaining, it is a race, and therefore it should be, well… raced. Plus it made for amazing TV.

Anyway, Verstappen took the Championship, Hamilton felt what it’s like to lose (although he’s more than familiar with that this season), and fans got a finale to talk about for years to come.

This is the car that took Verstappen to his first Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship, the Honda-powered Red Bull RB16B, as created in spectacular detail by previous bloggee Noah_L of Flickr, and joining his already-impressive roster of brick-built modern Formula 1 cars.

The incredible realism is enhanced by some frankly jaw-dropping decals, created for Noah by a fellow builder, and there’s more to see of his astonishing (and beautifully presented) creation at his ‘Red Bull RB16B’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

Click the link above to deploy the safety car…

*It’s the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today. If you’re a Hamilton / Mercedes-AMG fan, this link from the 2018 race may raise a snicker.

Crazy Cat

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This magnificently obscure vehicle is a 1910s Holt 75hp Caterpillar, a part-track tractor produced by the company that would later become the world-renowned Caterpillar brand. Powered by a 23 litre 4-cylinder gasoline engine, and weighing 10 tons, the Holt Caterpillar was quite fantastically slow, but was reliable and could haul almost anything almost anywhere.

With war raging in Europe and limited photos of the newfangled British ‘tanks’ operating in the mire, Holt even converted one of their 75hp Caterpillars into a ‘tank’ as a PR exercise to parade to U.S citizens with the phrase ‘America First’ painted on it, dubiously attempting to take credit for something they had nothing to do with. Make your own Trump link…

This charming replica of the Holt 75hp Caterpillar (in conventional tractor form) comes from previous bloggee Nikolaus Löwe (aka Mr_Kleinstein), and includes BuWizz controlled drive and steering, as well as accurately reflecting the bizarre exterior of the original.

There’s more to see of Nikolaus’ Holt 75hp tractor at his photostream via the link in the text above, and if you think this is weird here’s a bonus link to the ‘tank’ version, which might just be the oddest thing you see today….

Big Green Boxes

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This is a Tatra PR3333 6×6 truck, outfitted with a hook-lift system and depicted in Dutch Army specification by Flickr’s Arian Janssens.

We’re not sure what’s in the big green box it’s carrying, nor the second one towed behind via the neat drawbar trailer, but as we assume it’s army stuff we probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

The truck, trailer, and boxes are all superbly built, and there’s more to see of all components at Arian’s photostream. Click the link to take a look.

*Points for us for not going down the ‘Dutch Hooker’ route with this post! Until now. Damn.

Another Punk

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Uh oh, another ‘punk’… Just as we’ve got our heads around ‘Steampunk’ and ‘Dieselpunk’*, along comes ‘Atompunk’ to mess with us.

We have absolutely no idea what ‘Atompunk’ means, but if an ‘Atompunk’ future means we get to float about in machines like this ‘Banshee Delux’ hovercar by Jacob Sadovich we can get on board. See more of whatever this is on Flickr!

*Not really, we’re still none the wiser. Can someone just build a Ford Focus or something?

Black Russian

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Luxury cars behind the Iron Curtain were not a common sight, thanks to the automotive drudgery created by Communism. Which was probably a relief to most citizens, as the sight of one could mean things were about to get very unpleasant indeed. Fortunately there are no KGB agents (or bodies)* in Legostalgie‘s wonderful recently upgraded Volga GAZ-24, and there’s more to see of his splendid creation on Flickr.

*We can’t see in the trunk though…

Remotely Rolling

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Seemingly the perfect creation for the Elves to use to flatten one-another, this remote control road roller was gleefully found by one of their number. Unfortunately for the Elf in question, Vladimir Drozd‘s model turned out to be much too slow to squash anyone, and it simply trundled serenely around TLCB Towers before the Elf at the controls abandoned it in disgust.

We like it though, and not just because there’s no cleaning up to do. The model includes remote control drive and articulate steering, a wonderfully detailed exterior, and top notch presentation, and there’s more to see at Vladimir’s photostream. Click the the link above to go remotely rolling.

Build-a-Buggy

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The Volkswagen Beetle-based Meyers Manx beach buggy is one of this TLCB Writer’s very favourite vehicles. Designed by Californian boat-builder and surfer Bruce F. Meyers in 1964 for desert racing, around 6,000 Beetles were converted, with the design becoming a symbol of ’60s Cali Surf Culture. This lovely Model Team version of Meyers’ brilliant design comes from Flickr’s Johnni D, who has made instructions available so you can build one for yourself. Head to the California in the mid ’60s via the link above. Dude.

Green Wart

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The Soviet Union united multiple nations, languages, cultures and peoples into one giant bloc of automotive misery.

The Union’s ‘planned economy’ meant that those that could get their hands on a private car, after waiting over a decade for the privilege, could choose between a polluting two-stroke econobox, or another polluting two-stroke econobox. This was the ‘other’ one for East Germans between ’66 and ’88, the Wartburg 353.

The Wartburg 353 wasn’t a bad car when it was launched in 1966, although the engine coming from a 1930s design wasn’t a high point, and was even exported to the West (TLCB’s home nation included).

It was a bad one by the 1980s though, as the Communistical restrictions on the populous meant it didn’t need to keep pace with the Western cars that were unavailable behind the Iron Curtain. If you needed a car in East Germany it was this or the Trabant…

Previous bloggee Legostalgie has recreated the Wartburg 353 sedan beautifully in green bricks, following his brown estate version that featured here last year. The doors, hood and trunk open, there’s a wonderfully life-like interior, and there’s more to see at Legostalgie’s ‘Wartburg 353’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

Jump back to Soviet East Germany via the link above, plus you can check out two of Legostalgie’s previous communist cars via the bonus links.

Soviet Six

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This glorious Kamaz 4310 6×6 truck was discovered by one of our Elves today, and a number of them are now merrily riding around in the load bed, following the removal of the tractor pictured within it here.

The Elf at the controls had other plans of course, but previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd’s creation is a bit too slow to mete out any smushings.

It is nevertheless still excellent, with remote control steering and drive via LEGO’s Control+ app, all six wheels suspended and driven, dropping flatbed sides, and an impressively detailed cab.

High quality decals add to the authenticity, and although one is full width Russian flag, which might a little contentious currently, we’ll use this Russian-transporting-a-tractor to link to today’s other build, which happily depicts the very opposite.

Back to the Kamaz, and there’s lots more of Vladimir’s fantastic fully RC 6×6 truck to see at both his Flickr album and the Eurobricks discussion forum – click the links in the text above to take a closer look!

Twin Tatras

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You wait ages for a Czech off-road truck, and then two come along at once. Or something like that.

Anyway, we do have two awesome brick-built Tatras today, each representing a real world counterpart and chosen LEGO building style beautifully.

First up (above) is Horcik Designs’ T813 8×8 Technic trial truck, complete with remote controlled eight-wheel-drive and four-wheel steering, functioning suspension, and much more besides.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them and a video of the model in action at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can check out all the images via Bricksafe by clicking here.

Today’s second Tatra switches from Technic to Model Team, but is just as feature packed. Arian Janssens‘ T815 6×6 also includes a working drivetrain and steering, plus a neat tipping container that can stand on its own legs to allow the truck to back up underneath it.

A variety of other trailer options fit Arian’s T815 and there’s more to see of the them and the iteration pictured here on Flickr – click the link above to take a look.

Sanctioning Bricks

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought a surprisingly unified response for the world. Freezing of assets, exclusion from banking systems, and sanctions on everything from luxury cars to hamburgers (and, we assume, LEGO products), there’s not much unaffected by Putin’s aggression.

Of course Russia is a large country that produces much itself, but in a time where everything is globalised, it’s difficult to see how even domestic Russian manufacturers can continue production indefinitely.

One such domestic manufacturer is Kamaz, today a world-leading maker of off-road trucks, with the 5410 pictured here produced by the company from the mid-’70s until 2006.

This wonderful recreation of the Kamaz-5410 comes from previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd, and features Power Functions remote control drive and steering, a functioning fifth wheel hitch, working suspension, and some simply lovely detailing.

An excellent container trailer is pictured in tow, complete with a Maersk shipping container (one of the many businesses no longer operating in Russia), and there are more superb images of all three components to see at Vladimir’s ‘KamAZ-5410’ album on Flickr or at the Eurobricks forum here.

Click the link above to take a closer look at Vladimir’s brilliant Russian a truck, back when there would actually be produce in a container for it to haul.

The Graduate

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The second most visually arresting thing in 1967’s ‘The Graduate’, the Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider is surely one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

Costing the same as a Jaguar E-Type, early Spiders were fantastically expensive for a 1.6 litre 108 bhp 4-cylinder, but none of that mattered when they looked this good.

Marco Q thinks so too, having constructed this glorious early Duetto Spider, with opening doors, hood and trunk, working steering, and a brick-built recreation of the stunning mid-’60s Pininfarina styling.

There’s much more of Marco’s beautifully presented Alfa Romeo Duetto to see at his photostream, where further top quality images are available, and you can click the link above to graduate.

Unlikely Animal

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America likes naming cars after animals. Usually scary ones. Viper, Raptor, Cougar, Stingray, Cobra, Barracuda, Falcon…  there’s a long list of predators in car form. And then there’s this; the Impala, named after a medium-sized African antelope.

We’re not sure what a medium-sized African antelope has in common with a large American sedan, and the name is all the more surprising considering the antelope is the prey of top predators and America really doesn’t like naming anything with a hint of weakness. Nevertheless, the Impala was a smash hit.

Part of that success was no doubt down to the Impala’s engines, which themselves had very exciting names such as ‘Blue Flame’, ‘Turbo Fire’ and ‘Turbo Thrust’, although none of which were actually turbo-charged.

Top of the tree was the ‘SS’, which used a 409cu (6.7 litre) ‘Turbo Thrust’ V8 in third-generation form as pictured here, and could produce over 400bhp. This is one medium-sized antelope that was more than a match for the predators.

This beautiful brick-built example of the ’64 ‘SS’ comes from Jakub Marcisz of Flickr, who has recreated the aforementioned ‘Turbo Thrust’ V8, and the third-generation Chevrolet Impala that it powered, in spellbinding detail.

The fantastic exterior is matched by an equally well-detailed interior accessible by opening doors, plus there’s an opening hood and trunk lid, and working steering too, with much more of Jakub’s stunning creation to see at his ‘Chevrolet Impala SS 1964’ album, where twenty top-quality images are available.

The Impala’s success would continue across six decades, but – as with all animals – it eventually succumbed to age. The Impala was finally taken out in 2020, not by one of the various predatorily-named cars it competed against, but by the SUV, with Chevrolet ceasing production in order to focus on crossovers.

And if there’s a car name less cool than a medium-sized African antelope, it’s surely the Traverse.

Han Solo. Snigger

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It’s well documented that TLCB isn’t madly in love with Star Wars, but even ardent fans of the franchise must admit Han Solo is funny. Insert your own teenage joke.

Anyway, when Han wasn’t Soloing he did get to drive (fly?) some cool stuff, such as this marvellous M68 Landspeeder from the move ‘Solo – A Star Wars Story’, as recreated brilliantly in brick form by Aliencat! of Flickr.

Constructed in LEGO’s ‘Ultimate Collector Series’ style, Aliencat’s Landspeeder includes extensive greebling, racy checkered seats, and excellent presentation, and there’s much more to see at his ‘UCS Han Solo’s M68 Landspeeder’ album.

Click the link above to beat your bishop, burp your worm, audition your hand puppet, ooze your noodle, badger the witness, and blow your own horn. Sorry, we’re done now.