Category Archives: Model Team

Fanboys Assemble!

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The third generation Toyota Supra. The greatest sports car ever made, a car with Ferrari-beating performance, and capable of a million wheel-horsepower on stock internals. At least if the internet is to be believed…

This superb Model Team scale A80 Supra captures the mid-’90s fanboy favourite brilliantly, with previous bloggee Mihail Rakovskiy‘s creation including opening doors, tailgate and hood, a life-like chassis and drivetrain, and a replica 2JZ engine. With a million wheel-horsepower on stock internals. Beat some Ferraris in the greatest sports car ever made via the link above!

Shot of Lime

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The state of modern cars leaves this TLCB Writer very unenthusiastic about the automotive future. Dreary electric cross-overs connected directly to the Chinese Communist Party, there isn’t a single interesting one among them. Which means if you want to find something with a soul, you have to go back to a car – and brand – from decades past. This is the Plymouth Barracuda, a lime green muscle car powered by a Hemi V8 that was literally too big to fit under the hood.

Built by Szunyogh Balázs, this fabulous replica of the Hemi ‘Cuda replicates Plymouth’s iconic ’70s muscle car in LEGO ‘Icons’ scale, and includes working steering, opening doors and trunk, plus a highly detailed Hemi V8 underneath (mostly) the opening hood. It’s a superb homage to a time when cars weren’t just phones with wheels, and you can reclaim your automotive soul at Szunyogh’s ‘Hemi Cuda’ album via the link above.

Advanced Turbo Intercooling

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It’s the ’80s, and everything has a ‘Turbo’ badge, because turbos are cool. But you know what’s cooler than a turbo? Advanced Turbo Intercooling, that’s what. And it wasn’t a European sports car or Japanese techno-fest that pioneered it, but Dutch truck-maker DAF.

The DAF 3600 FTG ATi was one of the first to feature an intercooled turbocharged diesel engine, which – in top trim – made a hefty 370bhp. And it had a hypoid drive axle, which sounds nearly as cool as Advanced Turbo Intercooling.

This incredible Model Team example comes from previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and it is stunning in its realism. Based on a real DAF 3600 FTG ATi operated by ‘G.J. van Die’, Nanko has replicated every detail, including applying excellent custom decals to recreate the livery worn by its life-size counterpart.

Just one image is available at the time of writing but it’s well worth checking out, showing both this astonishing creation as well as the real truck it replicates so beautifully. Click the link above to visit Nanko’s photostream and spool up your turbo.

Blessed be the Fruit

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We’re beginning the week here at The Lego Car Blog with a whole lot of apples. This is p.vanderloo’s fabulous ‘Holland Fruit’ diorama; a stunningly detailed (and photographed) homage to the apple industry, complete with two absolutely beautiful classic DAF trucks.

The larger of the two – a 1960’s DAF 1800 DS300 – has appeared here before, and is now joined by an equally lovely DAF D50 curtain-sided flatbed, as well as a Nissan forklift.

All three models are spectacularly detailed, with their jaw-dropping realism enhanced by superb period-correct decals, and you can see much more of each at p.vanderloo’s ‘Holland Fruit’ album on Flickr. Take a look via the link.

Tall, Dark & Handsome

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What’s strong, handsome, nearly 6ft, and born in the ’80s? No no, it’s not this TLCB Writer (although thank you for thinking that), but this astonishing Peterbilt 359.

Constructed by TLCB Master MOCer Dennis Bosman (aka legotrucks), this stunning creation is based on a real 359, and – at 1:13 scale – measures an enormous 5ft 10″ from bumper to bumper.

Pulling a Fontaine 53ft trailer loaded with a whole lotta pipe, Dennis’ Peterbilt is one of the most intricately and accurately detailed models this site has ever published, and includes a hugely detailed Caterpillar V8 under a front-opening hood, working steering, a wonderful interior complete with opening doors and sleeper, plus chromed exhaust stacks, mirrors, steps, wheels, horns, lights, and bumpers.

It’s a truly spectacular creation, with more stunning imagery available at Dennis’ ‘Peterbilt 359’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to take a closer look at one of the most life-like Lego trucks ever built.

Better from the Back

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BMW’s current design language is… um, challenging. Stupid aggressiveness, stupid grilles, stupid lighting, stupid grilles with stupid lighting… ‘The Human Centipede’ is less visually offensive than some of BMW’s latest offerings.

Which is why we’ve chosen to show the rear of Drop Shop‘s fantastic BMW M3 Competition rather than the front. Because so good is his brick-built replica of BMW’s latest iteration of their super saloon that its face is every bit as difficult to stomach as the real thing.

There’s much more to see at Drop’s photostream, if your constitution is more robust than ours…

Yo Mama

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Large, round, red, and pulled by truckers. No, it’s not your Mom on vacation, but this stupendous tanker truck by Flickr’s Arian Janssens. Six axles, superb detailing, and much steering are all at play, and there’s more to see of Arian’s DAF FTG XF 480 to see via the link.

Ol’ Yella

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This amazing machine is a Kenworth 993, a cab-over, six-wheel-drive, heavy duty truck designed in the 1980s to move heavy equipment. And, in one extraordinary case, a nuclear reactor.

We say ‘cab-over’, but the cab was not in fact over anything, as the 700bhp Cummins V12 that powered the 993 was too large to fit under the it, instead being mounted directly behind.

Capturing this unusual design is TsungNing Lee, who has recreated the Kenworth 933 in spectacular detail. Enormous third-party tyres afford a scale that enables incredible realism, with TsungNing both building and presenting his creation in stunning fashion.

There’s much more to see, including work-in-progress photos, at TsungNing’s photostream, and you can take a closer look at this remarkable truck via the link above.

Lao Che Air Freight

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Almost entirely known for their cars and pickups, Ford also once made aircraft. The 1930s Ford Tri-Motor was much admired, with around 200 built for civilian and military use before the Second World War.

It was also the aircraft of choice for Indiana Jones’ protagonist in ‘The Temple of Doom’ being operated by the evil Lao Che and his air freight business.

This superb render of the Tri-Motor in ‘Lao Che Air Freight’ livery comes from Robson of Flickr, who has captured the real plane and its fictional operator brilliantly.

There’s more of Robson’s wonderful creation to see on Flickr, and you can click the link above to jump back to a time when Ford made more than F-150s.

Believe the Hype

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We’ve all designed our dream hypercar in our heads. Well, TLCB Staff have. Anyway, Eurobricks’ Sebeus I has turned his dream hypercar into reality (kinda), by building this extraordinarily thoroughly thought-out creation, entitled simply ‘Hypercar’.

The techniques to create it are anything but simple though, with the remarkable exterior matched by amazingly life-like brick-built internals, with a rear subframe, engine and hybrid system, oil reservoir, coolant, battery, ECU, exhaust manifold, plus ‘steering’ and ‘suspension’ components too.

There’s much more of Sebeus’ ‘Hypercar’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including full build details and imagery displaying the ingenious detail within.

Diggum with Blues

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We’re diggin’ this vintage looking excavator by Flickr’s Christoph Ellerman. It can really dig too, thanks to a suite of electronics hidden inside, with a three stage arm, slewing superstructure, and skid steer tracks. Click the link above if you’re diggin’ it too.

Hook & Draw

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It’s truck time here at The Lego Car Blog. Because we didn’t find any cars. But what a truck it is. Constructed by serial bloggee Arian Janssens, this DAF FAS XG+ 530 is outfitted with a hook-lift and drawbar trailer, meaning it can take two huge loads at once. Superb attention to detail is evident throughout the truck, trailer, and the massive black containers being transported by both, and there’s much more to see of the component parts and the complete rig at Arian’s ‘DAF FAS XG+ 530’ album on Flickr.

Red One

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We’re only three models in to the new year and already we’re publishing one of the finest trucks this site has featured yet. And a title to piggy-back off a crappy movie for clicks…

Discovered on Eurobricks, this is Michael217‘s fully remote-controlled Kamaz 5410 6×4 truck, complete with some unique 3D-printed pieces and a partially – cough – un-LEGO drivetrain.

Riding on custom wheels under bespoke polycarbonate fenders, Michael’s Kamaz is powered by a combination of a LEGO Buggy Motor, GeekServo, and an RCBric Management controller, with 6×4 drive, working steering, a two-speed gearbox, tilting cab, and a V8 engine.

The resultant truck looks spectacular and there’s more to see of Michael’s superbly-presented model at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to find the full build details and further top quality images.

Italian American

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Most Chevrolet Corvette owners would, we suspect, happily swap their American sports car for one wearing the prancing horse. But perhaps not this Corvette for this Ferrari.

The early-’60s ‘C1’ Chevrolet Corvette is one of America’s greatest cars. The Ferrari 308 is not one of Italy’s. Still, it looks good in Lego form, at least at the hands of Firas Abu-Jaber, who has used only the parts from the LEGO Icons 10321 Chevrolet Corvette set to create this superb 308 B-Model.

Less pretty, less powerful, and less reliable than the two-decade-older ‘Vette, the 308 still wears that famous prancing horse, and thus if you’d like to swap your American classic for an Italian one you can take a look at Firas’ photostream, where all of the excellent images of his 10321 alternate can be found.

The Name’s McMissile…

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Disney Pixar’s ‘Cars 2’ featured a rather familiar looking character. Merging James Bond, Q-branch’s Aston Martin DB5, and a Michael Caine voice-over, Finn McMissile was as British a spy car as it was possible to conceive.

Cue newcomer Danny_Boy4, who has taken LEGO’s officially-licensed 10262 Aston Martin DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ set and redeployed its pieces to create the ‘Cars 2’ character inspired by the real Aston Martin the set replicated.

A thorough redesign moves the bodywork away from the DB5 source to match Pixar’s interpretation of it, and adds ‘Cars’ trademark windshield-eyes and (ingeniously) the hidden side-mounted guns that for this TLCB Writer ruined the whole ‘Cars’ premise. Boo Pixar.

There’s more to see of Danny’s top-tier 10262 B-Model recreation of Finn McMissile at the Eurobricks forum, and you can click the link above join the mission.