Category Archives: Model Team

Two Trucks Tuesday

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Two Elves returned to TLCB Towers today, each with a red truck, and each hoping for a meal token as reward. Long-standing readers of this impoverished backwater of the internet will know that this usually only leads to one thing, and duly an Elf fight between the two applicants immediately erupted. Fortunately for them both finds are worthy of blogging, so both were patched up, awarded a meal token, and given a red Smartie. It’s nice to be nice sometimes. Anyway, the builds!

First (above) we have Lasse Delueran’s superbly rendered Renault Magnum. Named after a gun… or an ice cream… or a condom… the Magnum had the tallest cabin of any truck in production. We’re not sure why that matters but nevertheless the Magnum had it and it did look quite cool. Lasse’s version includes Power Functions remote control drive and steering, free instructions are available, and there’s more to see here.

Today’s second truck comes from Fuku Saku, and it too is a European ‘cab-over’, coming from rival truck manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. Fuku’s Arocs cab is mounted on an eight-wheel chassis with a tipping dump bucket behind it, and it includes one of the fiddliest, most fragile-looking, and most excellent grilles we’ve seen on model of this size. An extensive image gallery is available to view (demonstrating some really stunning photography too) and you can make the jump by clicking here.

Teal Kobelco

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Lego don’t produce many teal coloured parts. However the range is increasing, and with a little ingenuity, and maybe a few custom pieces, a complex teal creation can be built, and the results can be – if this amazing Kobelco SK210 HLC excavator is an accurate reflection – pretty special.

Built by Maciej Szymańsk this fully remote controlled tracked excavator is all LEGO, apart from the pneumatic cylinders which are bespoke, matching LEGO’s teal colour and offering far greater reach than official components, and an 11V battery box.

In fact 5.5kgs of LEGO pieces have been used to recreate the Kobelco SK210 HLC, a Japanese excavator which – according to the decals at least – is a hybrid, although how a that works in practice we have no idea. We can’t see much regenerative braking going on and it would likely need about a month to charge up if it’s a PHEV.

Maciej’s creation carries its power on board, thanks to that custom battery, powering LEGO Power Functions motors and a suite of LED lights. The motors drive the tracks, superstructure rotation, and the compressor for the pneumatics, giving the model superbly accurate movements which you can view on YouTube here.

There’s much more to see of Maciej’s incredible build at Eurobricks and at his Kobelco SK210 HLC Flickr album, where you can find the full gallery of imagery including WIP shots, close-ups of the excellent brick-built tracks, and a version that switches the bucket shown here for a set of pincer-y jaw type things that we’re glad the Elves didn’t find. Click the link above to make the teal transition.

My Other Car’s a Mustang

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We’re just over half way through TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition, and choosing the winners who will receive an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack just got harder! This is Nathanael Kuipers’ entry, a simply brilliant AC Cobra built purely from the parts found within the excellent (and very B-Model-suitable) 10265 Creator Ford Mustang set.

Capturing the look of the ’60s Anglo-American sports car brilliantly, Nathanael’s alternate includes opening doors, hood and trunk, a wonderfully lifelike interior, and a detailed engine too. The Elves are also happy because it two giant racing stripes down the middle of it.

Not only that, Nathanael has made instructions available should you wish to build his Cobra for yourself, earning him extra TLCB points. You can see more of Nathanael’s brilliant 10265 B-Model at his photostream by clicking here, plus you can read a round-up of some of the other alternative builds that the 10265 Ford Mustang set has generated (including a few other designs by Nathanael), by clicking these words.

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.

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 Beetle. Mostly.

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This is a Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, one of the rarest and most expensive cars ever produced. Just four SC Atlantics were built, named for Ettore Bugatti’s friend whose plane crashed into the Atlantic after an engine failure. Today the cars command a price in the millions, so it’s quite cool to see one built (almost) from the parts of a vehicle far more humble, the Volkswagen Beetle (and VW of course who now own the Bugatti marque).

95% of the Bugatti’s pieces come from the Creator 10252 Volkswagen Beetle set (606 of the 640 used), meaning that builder ZetoVince almost qualifies for TLCB’s B-Model Lock-Down Competition. But not quite. Still, it’s an excellent build and one you can see more of at Zeto’s photostream; click the link above to make the jump and take a look, and if you’d like to create your own B-Model and be in with a chance to win an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack take a look at the competition by clicking here.

Cut-Away

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Lego creations tend to be constructed in a very unrealistic manner. Pieces are attached to one another so that every part is connected to everything else, making a robust, playable model that looks like what it’s supposed to on the outside, and nothing like what it’s supposed to underneath. But we usually only look at the outside, not having x-ray vision and all, so that’s OK. Plus if we had x-ray vision we’d have more important things to do than peer inside Lego creations…

On to today’s creation, and Sebeus I has decided to design a creation that is constructed in the same way a real car would be. Or, more accurately, a model kit of a car. Sebeus has constructed each component of his Model Team style supercar separately, including the ‘carbon fibre’ tub, V8 engine, axle, steering and suspension assemblies, dashboard, battery, and body panels, each of which is then attached to the model independently.

The result is a model that you have to build twice, firstly in Lego form; constructing each of the components, and then in kit form; assembling the components into the finished car. This is magnificently pointless, but also looks rather fun, with the side benefit that you can half-build the model’s bodywork to see all of its components like a motor show cut-away. It’s an intriguing way to design a Lego car and if you’re interested to see more (and support Sebeus’ design on LEGO Ideas so it could become an official LEGO set) you can do so on Flickr and Eurobricks via these links.

White Square

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We end today’s truck double with another magnificent remotely controlled cab-over truck and trailer combo, this time from the other side of the Atlantic where such set-ups are much more unusual.

This Kenworth K100 is one of relatively few American cab-overs, being apparently designed with only a ruler and a set-square, and it’s been recreated absolutely beautifully in Model Team form by previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd. Incredible attention to detail is visible everywhere on the outside, whilst Power Functions motors are hidden within to bring the creation to life.

It’s a model that is definitely worth a closer look and you can join us in doing just that at Vladimir’s Kenworth K100 Flickr album via the link above.

Soul Storm Kennels

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We have no idea what Soul Storm Kennels is, but their logo looks awesome on the side of a truck trailer! Pulling this magnificent tessellation of bricks is a DAF XF XT Super Space Cab by Lasse Deleuran aka gtahelper. Power Functions motors and an SBrick bluetooth brick give the model remote control drive, and there’s more to see (plus building instructions) via the links above.

Paint my Truck

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Gypsy caravans (proper ones at least) and narrow boats are famous for their beautiful paintwork. Trucks less so, with many just a generic white, however occasionally they are painted with as much care as their horse-drawn and canal-navigating counterparts. This is one example, a 1980s Scania 143M built by Bricks_n_Trucks of Flickr. Recreating the livery of Belgian transport company ‘Perditrans’, Bricks_n_Trucks’ Scania also includes remote control drive and steering via a BuWizz bluetooth battery, and there’s more to see on Flickr. Grab a paint brush at the link above.

MC Battle

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Nope, not an ‘8 Mile’ style rap battle, but these; two stunning Maserati MC12s that appeared within hours of each other on Flickr. This caused a spectacularly violent Elf-fight (of course), as each was brought back to TLCB Towers and the two Elves immediately accused one another of copying the the other’s homework. In Elvish though, so we’re guessing somewhat.

No matter, because both are equally bloggable meaning both Elves get fed, and you guys get two brilliant MC12s in one post. The first (above) comes from Flickr’s Noah_L, who has captured the MC12’s remarkable shape brilliantly in its iconic white-over-blue colour scheme. The second (below) is the work of Jens M. (one half of Master MOCers ‘LegoExotics’) and utilises many of the parts found within the 10265 Ford Mustang set for a considerably more exotic purpose.

There’s more to see of each stunning Maserati MC12 model on Flickr – click the links above to visit the builders’ respective albums and pick your favourite!

My Other Car’s a Camper

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Not entered into TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition (what?!), but standing a very good chance if it were, Flickr’s KEEP_ON_BRICKING has repurposed the pieces from the Creator 10220 Volkswagen Camper to create this rather lovely concept car. Instructions are available via the link above if you’d like to build it for yourself, and if you’re stuck for things to do in lock-down, give B-Model building a go, and it could win you an SBrick Pro!

Koenigital

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We rarely feature digital builds here at The Lego Car Blog because, well… they rarely look like this! Suggested to us by a reader, this is newcomer David Elisson‘s Koenigsegg Regara, and it’s stunning.

David has successfully recreated the Regera’s wildly complicated shape brilliantly, assuming it wouldn’t fall apart if it were built for real of course, and you can see more of his spectacular digital design on Flickr via the link above.