We love B-Model building here at The Lego Car Blog. It’s LEGO in its purest form, as even a limited quantity of pieces can generate infinite creative possibilities. Cue Thirdwigg, who has repurposed the parts from the LEGO Technic 42136 John Deere 9620R Tractor set to create this articulated dump truck. Working steering and a tipping bucket provide the Technic functions, and there’s more to see of Thirdwigg’s alternate – including building instructions – on Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum.
Trucks transport all sorts of things. Cheddar, smoothie makers, edam, garden furniture, camembert, desk lamps, mozzarella, brie…
Sorry, we got stuck in an infinite cheese loop. But as you (usually) can’t see what most trucks are carrying, it could well be hardened cow juice as much as anything else.
Not today though, as despite the cheesy colouring of Vladimir Drozd’s excellent Scania T143 truck, we’re 99% certain it’s hauling beans. Because it says ‘Bean Cargo Inc.’ on the side. And there’s a picture of a bean.
Despite the lack of cheese, Vladimir’s Scania is lovely build, with top-quality detailing, life-like decals, and a beautifully hidden remote control drivetrain within, powering the drive, steering, and the trailer’s tipping body.
Up to to 2kgs of bulk cargo (in this case almost definitely beans) can be transported and tipped, and there’s lots more to see of Vladimir’s superb creation at his ‘Scania T143’ Flickr album and via the Eurobricks discussion forum.
Take a look via the links above, whilst we go and make a cheese sandwich.
The Lego Car Blog regularly chastises LEGO for their increasing and often unnecessary use of stickers in sets. Said sticky pictures have been dubiously deployed to create details that should be constructed from actual LEGO pieces, until that is, they inevitably peel off and you’re left with no details at all. We hate them.
So here’s a creation covered in a veritable butt-ton of stickers…
No, we’re not consistent. But nuno_g_teixeira’s be-stickered recreation of the 1981 Monte Carlo rally-winning Renault 5 Turbo is glorious.
Underneath the beautifully accurate decals, custom 3D-printed wheels, steering wheel and Recaro seats applied by Nuno is Lachlan Cameron’s brilliant Technic Renault 5 Turbo road car that appeared here last month.
Nuno’s fantastic rallyfication of Lachlan’s design replicates the rally-winning Renault in spectacular detail, largely thanks to the incredible period-correct livery of which you can see more at Lachlan’s photostream. Maybe stickers are alright after all…
Technic Supercars have long been the pinnacle of the Technic line-up. Containing working steering, suspension, engine and gearbox, they’re as close as it’s possible to get to the engineering of real-world cars in Lego form.
They’re also a favourite build amongst advanced Lego car designers, and we’ve featured dozens of incredible Technic Supercars here at The Lego Car Blog over the years. Two more take their places in the Archives today, each being a fantastic example of the Technic Supercar form.
The first, in a rather splendid orange, is IA creations‘ ‘Apricus V8’, a fictional super sports car in the mould of the Dodge Viper, McLaren-Mercedes SLS and various Aston Martins according to the builder.
The slick bodywork certainly captures the aesthetic of the real-world cars that inspired the build, and under it lies a complete Technic Supercar chassis, with working steering, adjustable double-wishbone suspension, a paddle-shift sequential gearbox, and a V8 engine. There’s also a deployable rear wing, plus opening doors, hood and trunk, and there’s more to see of IA creations’ superb supercar concept on Eurobricks via the link above.
Our second Technic supercar comes from previous bloggee Pvdb, and replicates one of the greatest hypercars of recent times; the McLaren P1.
Launched in 2013, and sold out within two months, the P1 was McLaren’s first Hybrid hypercar, with over 900bhp and an electric-only range of… er, 6 miles. But still, that wasn’t exactly the point of the electric motor, which added 180bhp to the twin-turbo V8’s already substantial 737.
Constructed in 1:10 scale, Pvdb’s McLaren includes steering, adjustable suspension (complete with a ‘track’ model that also deploys the rear spoiler), scissor doors, and an eight-speed gearbox (one more than the real thing!), authentically operated via steering wheel paddles.
It’s a masterclass in Technic Supercars one of which can see more at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to take a closer look, and if you’re thinking of having a go at Technic Supercar building yourself, we might just have a competition later in the year that’ll be of interest…
It might sound like the sort of giant automaton usually blogged by The Brothers Brick, but the Zetor 25K is in fact a vintage Czechoslovakian tractor produced from 1946 to 1961.
This neat Technic replica of the Zetor comes from rhplus, and features a two-cylinder engine, drag-link steering, and – rather cleverly – a three-point hitch and a switchable power-take-off, both of which can be operated by levers from the cockpit.
It’s a lovely little build and one of which you can see more at both Eurobricks and Brickshelf. Unless giant automatons are more your thing.
We were going to title this post ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ until we realised that there was no suitable image of the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 actually rising. But then we couldn’t think of any other titles…
No matter, because the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 does rise, thanks to an L Motor driving a linear actuator, which is controlled remotely via BuWizz bluetooth brick.Two further L Motors power all six wheels, all of which are suspended, whilst an M Motor steers the fronts (along with the steering wheel too), and there’s an inline-6 engine under the tilting cab.
It’s a top quality Technic build and there’s more to see, including a video of it in action (tipper rising and everything) at the Eurobricks forum, with the complete gallery of images available on Bricksafe. Click the links above to see the Phoenix rise.
If there’s one car responsible for the over-hyping of an entire model line-up, this is it.
Brian O’Conner’s ’10 second’ Toyota Supra from 2001’s ‘The Fast and the Furious’ took a fairly fat, mostly automatic GT cruiser and turned it into a 1,000bhp legend. Complete with orange paintwork and the stupidest stickers, millions of teenagers suddenly had a new hero car, and the internet has been full of arguments about 2JZs ever since.
However even TLCB Team, convinced though we are that the ‘Fast & Furious’ movie franchise is one of the worst Hollywood has ever produced, have to admit that LEGO is on to a winner by turning the films’ star cars into official sets.
The Technic 42111 ‘Dom’s Dodge Charger’ set is rather good, and LEGO have now shrunk the big bald baby’s car to Speed Champions scale as well. But LEGO don’t just have a license with Dodge. They have one with Toyota too…
We’re pretty sure that an official LEGO ‘Fast & Furious’ Toyota Supra set will follow, but ArtemyZotov of Eurobricks couldn’t wait, and thus has built his own ‘Brian O’Connor’s Toyota Supra’ from the first ‘Fast & Furious’ movie, matching the scale of the official Technic 42111 Dodge Charger set.
So good is Artemy’s Technic Supra that we think LEGO will struggle to top it, and not only does it really look the part (stupid stickers included), it features remote control drive and steering, opening doors and hood, and a modular chassis and body.
There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks forum and via the video below, plus Artemy has made building instructions and a download for the decals available too, so you can build this Supra for yourself at home. If you own the Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger set and a LEGO train, you know what you need to do!
YouTube Video
The Ferrari F40 was a technical marvel when it was revealed in 1987. The last car personally approved by Enzo Ferrari, the F40 deployed twin-turbo-chargers to produce around 500bhp from its relatively small 2.9 litre V8, featured electronically adjustable suspension, and became the first series-production car in the world to be built from composite materials; carbon fibre and kevlar.
Often overlooked, it’s the F40’s composite bodywork that is its most ground-breaking feature, and Darren Thew has recreated the complex opening front and rear carbon fibre clamshells brilliantly in Technic form.
Working steering, suspension, pop-up headlights, and a realistic V8 engine live underneath the huge opening pieces, and there’s more to see of Darren’s excellent Technic Ferrari F40 on Flickr.
Click the link above to take a look inside the clam.
We like workhorsey-type vehicles here at The Lego Car Blog. This is perhaps because, whilst we frequently blog Ferraris and Lamborghinis, we’re rather far removed from those in the real world; this writer’s current vehicle is an office chair held together by duct tape.
Cue mpj’s excellent little Iveco Eurocargo tipper truck, which is about as unpretentious a Technic model as it’s possible to get. No motors, no bluetooth remote control, no V12 engine. Just mechanical steering, a tipping load bed operated by hand-turning an axle, and dropping sides so the load can tip out. Marvellous.
It’d make a fine official Technic set, and there’s more to see at mpj’s ‘Iveco Eurocargo Tipper Truck’ gallery on Brickshelf. Click the link above for a good tip.
It’s not just Chrysler from an earlier post this week that went mad for a bit. The French have a history of going berserk, automotively speaking, with even Renualt – who currently manufacture nothing but boring crossovers – having moments of insanity. This is their best.
The Renault 5 was an excellent city car. Front-wheel-drive, well packaged, safely slow. Not a rally car then. But Renault wanted to go rallying, and thus they took their aforementioned econo-box, removed the engine, turbocharged it, and then put it back in where the rear seats used to be. And let it power the rear wheels instead.
The result was the Renault 5 Turbo, a wild mid-engined super-hatch designed to go rallying, with just under 5,000 across two generations also produced for the road. Road cars made a healthy-for-the-time 160bhp, but in rally trim the R5 Turbo could make almost 400bhp (from just 1.4 litres!), and won the Monte Carlo Rally at the first attempt in 1981.
The spectacular Technic model pictured here is a recreation of the road going R5 Turbo, as built by TLCB Master MOCer Lachlan Cameron (aka Lox Lego). Featuring remote control drive and steering, LED lights, working suspension, opening doors, front trunk and tailgate, and – of course – a mid-mounted engine, Lachlan’s creation captures Renault’s moment of madness brilliantly, and there’s a whole lot more of it to see at his ‘Renault Turbo R5’ album on Flickr.
Click the second link above to make the jump to all the images, and the first to read how Lachlan creates his amazing models like this one.
This giant claw with a vehicle attached to it is a Volvo L180HL, a front-loader-based machine designed for moving logs. Lots of them.
This brilliant Technic recreation of the log-grabbing Volvo is the work of Akassin of Eurobricks, who built it for a recent Technic competition in which it took the silver medal.
A wealth of mechanical and pneumatic functions accurately replicate the real machine, with articulated steering, an enormous (and rather clever) two-piece boom powered by compressed air, plus a mechanical claw that’s able to grab bundles of ‘logs’.
It’s a hugely impressive creation with much more to see at the Eurobricks forum, and via the excellent video below. Grab some wood via the links.
YouTube Video
This marvellous contraption is a Hydrema 614 360° backhoe, as constructed brilliantly for a Eurobricks building competition by MP LEGO Technic Creations.
Pneumatically powered front a rear excavator arms can be pressurised via the exhaust stack, there’s mechanical articulated steering, linear actuator folding support legs, and a recreation of the Hydrema’s party-piece; a 360° rotating cab, allowing the driver an unobstructed view as they smash the backhoe bucket through a water-main.
It’s an expertly engineered creation that could make a superb official LEGO set, and there are more images of MP’s Hydrema 614 360° to see on Flickr via the link above, further build details are available in the build discussion topic at the Eurobricks forum, and you can watch all of the model’s working features in action via the video below.
YouTube Video
A lot of knobs. No, not TLCB Staff, nor the summation of your Mom’s summer, but this properly mechanical Technic skid-steer excavator by Flickr’s Thirdwigg.
There are knobs for the boom arm, knobs for the bucket, knobs for the blade, knobs for the turntable rotation, and very possibly other knobs we’ve not spotted too.
It’s a wonderful reminder of old-school mechanised Technic, and you can see more of all the knobs in question at Thirdwigg’s ‘Skid Excavator’ album on Flickr. Click the link above for more knobs in one place than your Mom’s beach-house parties.
The economic outlook, driven largely by worldwide energy price inflation, is looking increasingly bleak. A global recession is not unlikely, but – if you’re rich enough – such events can have no effect whatsoever. They might even make you richer.
Thus whilst normal cars for us plebs are certain to become more expensive (and sales will slow accordingly), we expect the production of ultra-limited hypercars to continue unabated. Which is fine by us, because dream cars, within reach of only a few, provide inspiration for the many.
Cue Jeroen Ottens, who has recreated Aston Martin’s sold-out 2023 $3m Valkyrie hybrid hypercar, rising to $3.5m if you’re one of the lucky 25 who’ve placed a deposit for the track version.
Designed in conjunction with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (back when Red Bull and Aston Martin weren’t fighting) and powered by a Cosworth V12 with a Rimac hybrid system, the Valkyrie will be the highest revving and most powerful naturally-aspirated road car ever built.
It also features some wild aerodynamics, which Jeroen has replicated brilliantly in brick from. Accurate venturi channels necessitate pushrod in-board suspension, whilst the mid-mounted V12 connected to an eight-speed gearbox sits within one of the tightest engine bays we’ve ever seen.
Working steering via a brick-built yoke plus an opening engine cover and butterfly doors complete the technical features, and you can recreate Jeroen’s expertly-engineered creation for yourself as building instructions are available. Click these links to Flickr and Eurobricks to ride out the coming recession like the super rich with your very own Aston Martin Valkyrie.
*Today’s title song. We’re feeling very cultured. (Normal service of Your Mom jokes and poo references will resume shortly).
The Lego Car Blog Elves are a superstitious bunch. They are mythical creatures from another realm though, so perhaps there’s some justification. Anyway, we’re exploiting said weakness today thanks to piterx, and his BuWizz powered self-balancing remote control Technic motorbike.
Watching it lean through turns as if controlled by an invisible rider is a spooky sight, and we’re having great fun terrorising the Elves with it. Take a look at the bike in action via the video below, and you can find out more about the build on Eurobricks via the link in the text above.
YouTube Video