Category Archives: Technic

Alternate Godzilla

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Neither Ford nor Nissan are renowned as exotic car brands, yet each has made a vehicle that has shot straight to the top of enthusiasts’ wish lists, in the form of the Ford GT and Nissan Skyline GT-R.

Cue Alex Ilea, who has constructed this fantastic R34-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R solely using the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42154 Ford GT set. He’s used nearly every single one too, with just 33 (2%) of the original parts list left unused.

Working steering, an inline 6-cylinder engine, all-wheel independent suspension, plus opening doors and hood all feature, and you can take a closer a look (as well as find a link to building instructions) at the Eurobricks forum, you can view the complete gallery of images at Bricksafe, and you can find Alex’s other legendary ’90s Japanese sports car built from the 42154 Ford GT set by clicking here.

The Answer’s Always Miata

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Well, if it’s not Eunos (Japan) or MX-5 (Europe). It is here at The Lego Car Blog too, as today’s post is this excellent Technic recreation of the first (NA) generation of Mazda’s iconic sports car.

Constructed by recent bloggee Brictric, this instantly recognisable model includes motorised drive, steering, four-speed gearbox, and pop-up headlights (all controlled remotely via BuWizz bluetooth battery), all-wheel suspension, plus opening hood, doors and tailgate.

Building instructions are available with lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Find the answer to every enthusiast’s car question via the link above.

Howo Wowo!

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This is a SinoTruk Howo 8×4 tipper truck, and it’s incredible. OK, the real thing isn’t particularly, being just another generic-looking Chinese state-owned truck, but newcomer P McCatty’s Technic recreation sure is.

Powered by two BuWizz bluetooth batteries, MCatty’s model features eight-wheel-drive, four-wheel steering, live-axle suspension, a six-cylinder engine, and an on-board pneumatic compressor.

Said compressor generates pneumatic pressure that can be used to both tilt the cab or raise the huge tipping load bed, which alone uses six pneumatic cylinders in its operation.

There’s also opening and locking doors and tailgate, and opening hood revealing the radiators and spinning cooling fan, adjustable sun visors, windshield wipers and glovebox, and custom foam-filled RC off-road tyres.

It’s a seriously impressive piece of Technic engineering, and you can see how it’s been done courtesy of an extensive photo album on Flickr and a huge Bricksafe gallery, both of which include renders of the mechanics within, plus an incredibly detailed build description can be found at the Eurobricks forum.

Click the links above to take a closer look at one of the most impressive working Technic trucks of the year, you can watch McCatty’s SinoTruk Howo in action via the excellent video below, and you can even find building instructions so you can recreate it for yourself via the various links above.

[Insert Tweet About Boyfriend]

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The Fiat 500 might be very nearly as old as the car it’s pretending to be, but thousands of people still buy it each year in TLCB’s home nation and they all seem to be, um… girls of a certain type.

This is particularly true for the 500c variant, which has a sort of pram-esque canvas roof that can pile up where the back window should be.

Cue newcomer brictric and their lovely Technic recreation of the Fiat 500c. Constructed in roof-down configuration, brictric’s Fiat comes complete with working steering, all-wheel-suspension, opening doors, hood and boot-lid, adjustable seats, a (mildly inaccurate) piston engine, and bodywork as orange as the girls that drive it.

There’s lots more of brictric’s Fiat 500c to see on both Eurobricks and Flickr, and if you’re fortunate enough to live somewhere where ‘Fiat 500 Girls’ aren’t a thing, you can educate yourself here, here and here.

I Like to Move It*

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Technic vehicles are one of the reasons this backwater of the internet was created over a decade ago. Making things move is one of our favourite aspects of Technic, and today’s brilliant crane tipper truck by Alex Ilea exemplifies this wonderfully.

Controlled via BuWizz bluetooth brick, Alex’s creation replicates the movements of its real-world counterpart thanks to three Power Functions L Motors, and ingeniously a fourth M Motor that switches the model between ‘drive mode’ and ‘crane mode’ via a gearbox.

In drive mode the aforementioned electronics allow the model to drive and steer, and tip the load bed, whilst switching to ‘crane mode’ automatically deploys the stabilisers, with the motors then operating the crane’s rotation and two-stage elevation.

It’s a great example of how motors and mechanics can bring motion to a Lego model, and there’s lots more of the build to see at both Eurobricks and Alex’s Bricksafe gallery.

*Today’s title song. Or alternatively…

Need a Lift?

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We love functions-packed creations here at The Lego Car Blog, and few this year have come packed with as many as Wiseman_2’s spectacular three-axle crane.

Making their TLCB debut, Wiseman_2 has constructed the model for a Eurobricks contest, equipping it with working steering on the first and third axles (via both the steering wheel and ‘HOG’), all-wheel suspension, a six-cylinder piston engine connected to a four-speed gearbox driven by the un-steered axle, and working two-stage outriggers that both extend/retract and lower/raise.

Of course a mobile crane needs a boom and winch too, and Wiseman_2’s is superbly served in that department, with a three-stage boom that extends to over a hundred studs in length, raising and extending via mechanics on the right hand side of the rotating superstructure.

It’s a fantastic feat of Technic engineering and one of the finest models of this type we’ve featured yet. There’s plenty more to see – including work-in-progress and photos showing the crane’s mechanics – at both the Eurobricks discussion forum and Wiseman_2’s ‘Three-Axle Crane’ Flickr album. Click the links above for a very good lift indeed.

Put a Lid On It

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This TLCB Writer is nearly at the point where he’s societally obliged to buy a Porsche Boxter. But what if you too are approaching middle-age and/or limited follicle coverage, but a convertible isn’t for you? Well Thirdwigg’s previously blogged Porsche 718 Boxter has now become a 718 Cayman, losing its convertible roof, yet retaining its mid-life-crisis status.

Thirdwigg’s Cayman GT4 also retains the working steering, flat-6 piston engine, and opening doors of its Boxter forebear, and you can see more of it alongside the previously-featured convertible version at his ‘Porsche 718’ album. Click the link and get your mid-life-crisis started!

Double-Bs

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Today’s we have not one but two alternate builds. And they’re the same.

This brilliant John Deere High-Speed Dozer is the work of previous bloggee M_longer, and has been constructed from two of LEGO’s excellent 42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer Technic starter sets.

Using every single one of the combined 390 pieces available, M-longer’s 42163 (x2) B-Model features articulated steering, working blade elevation, and looks remarkably like the unusual real-world vehicle it emulates.

The full gallery is available via Bricksafe, and full details, a video, and link to building instructions can all be found on Eurobricks. Click the links above to take a look.

Rambo Lambo

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Supercar manufacturers might sell more SUVs now than actual supercars, but their foray into the 4×4 market is actually nothing new. Because in the mid-’80s if you were an oil sheik you could be the proud owner of this; the mad Lamborghini LM002.

Designed mostly for the Middle East, the LM002 featured bespoke sand tyres, the V12 engine from the Countach, and a 169 litre fuel tank.

301 units were produced between 1986 and 1993, with owners including sultans, princes, dictators, sons of dictators, and Tina Turner.

This one however is owned by previous bloggee Zerobricks, who has recreated the LM002 in Technic form complete with BuWizz-powered remotely controlled all-wheel-drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, independent suspension with planetary hubs, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a working V12 engine.

There’s lots more of Zerobricks’ ‘Rambo Lambo’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including renders of the drivetrain and a video of the model in action, and you can join such LM002 owners as Beyonce, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Uday Hussein via the link in the text above.

The Beast of Turin

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Four cylinders, twenty-eight litres, 290hp, and many flames. Fiat’s incredible S76 – nicknamed ‘The Beast of Turin’ – was built to claim land speed records, thanks to that astonishing engine that was also used to power airships.

This wild Technic interpretation of the 1910 racer was found by one of our Elves on Eurobricks, and comes from JoKo, who has created a working approximation of the S76’s enormous engine complete with functioning double overhead cams, valves, and timing chain.

Control+ components allow for remote control drive and steering, there’s leaf-spring suspension, a working hand-crank, and – perhaps most importantly – a marvellously moustachioed gentleman sitting in the cockpit.

Fire up all 28.4 litres via the link above, and click here to see (and hear!) the real Beast of Turin come to life.

Brickin’ Bronco B-Model

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LEGO’s brand new Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 Professional Line set is proving to be a veritable goldmine of parts. Despite only launching a few weeks ago, several superb 42177 B-Models have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog already, and today we have another; this fantastic Ford Bronco by Eurobricks’ Alex Ilea.

Featuring four-wheel-drive with three locking differentials, working steering via the wheel or HOG, independent front and live-axle rear suspension, a high/low range gearbox, a V6 engine, opening doors, hood, and tailgate, a folding bench, plus removable body panels and roof, Alex’s Bronco is as packed with functionality as the official G-Wagen set on which it’s based.

91% (2,625) of the donor set’s pieces are used in the Bronco’s creation, and if you prefer your 4x4s with American fun rather than German assertiveness you too can turn your 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Ford Bronco, as Alex has also produced building instructions for his alternate design. See more at both the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe, plus you can also click here to watch a video of Alex’s Bronco B-Model in action.

Tow Plow

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Summer is waining here in the northern hemisphere, which means for many readers, and perhaps TLCB Team, we’re on the path to winter snow. Fortunately previous bloggee M_longer is ready, having converted his LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator set into this spectacular Volvo VHD snow plow, complete with a gritter and secondary plow trailer in tow. A ‘tow plow’ if you will.

Utilising around 2,100 pieces from the 42175 set’s 2,274, M_longer’s alternate features working steering, a piston engine under the opening bonnet, a disengageable salt spreader / gritter, a pneumatically elevating front blade and – very cleverly – a pneumatically elevating trailer blade too, driven by the truck’s pneumatics.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them, full build details, and a reference image of the real ‘tow plow’ truck that inspired this build at the Eurobricks discussion forum, there are over forty high resolution images at M_longer’s ‘Tow-Plow’ Bricksafe gallery, plus you can check out this fantastic alternate in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Half-a-B

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What’s half a B? A D? Whatever it is, that’s what we have here today, in the shape of the excellent Technic bulldozer by Flickr’s Dyens Creations, who has constructed it only from the parts found within LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator set, specifically the pieces used to build the EC230 excavator.

An array of working functions feature, and the bulldozer can still fit onto the Volvo FMX’s trailer, for which the pieces – and those of the truck pulling it – remain unused. There’s lots more of Dyen’s half-a-B-Model to see at his ‘LEGO 42175 – Heavy Duty Excavator’ album, and you can swap your digging for dozing via the link in the text above.

The Last True Lotus

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This TLCB Writer, living in Lotus’ home-market, can’t remember the last time he saw an Elise. Or an Exige. Or an Evora.

He can however, remember the last time he saw Lotus’ new five-meter-long, 2.6-ton ‘hyper SUV’. Because it was yesterday. In fact, because of the previously alluded to SUV arms race that takes place around TLCB Towers, they’re seen with alarming regularity. This is of course good news for the future of Lotus, and – simultaneously – bad news for the future of Lotus. Because if a Lotus is a Lotus in name only, then arguably the company is already dead.

Happily though, there’s one last hurrah before all Lotuses become near-three-ton Chinese-built electric behemoths; the fantastic Emira.

Launched in 2022, the Emira is Lotus’ final combustion-engined car, powered by either an AMG-sourced turbocharged 4-cylinder, or a Toyota-sourced supercharged V6, and available with a manual gearbox.

It’s the latter we have here today, in the form of newcomer Combustible ice‘s superb Technic recreation of the British sports car. The transverse mid-mounted V6 is present, as is a six-speed gearbox, all-wheel suspension, working steering, and opening doors, front trunk and engine cover, along with a stunning replication of the Emira’s pretty bodywork.

It’s one of the standout Technic Supercars of 2024 and there’s lots more to see, including technical renders and images of the chassis, at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above for a look at the last real Lotus…

My Other Car’s a G-Wagen

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In the vehicular arms-race raging around TLCB Towers, a normal SUV is no longer enough. Range Rovers, new Defenders, and G-Wagens (all in black of course) appear to be the minimum entry requirements, and thus we’re convinced it won’t be long before little Isabella is picked up from her private school in an actual tank. Painted black.

Or one of these…

The Hummer H1 was the ‘civilian’ version of the military HMMWV ‘Humvee’, designed to appeal to those convinced that civil war will start any day now, and they must protect themselves, and their family.

Constructed solely from the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set, Eric Trax’s brilliant Hummer H1 B-Model captures the outrageousness of the real deal wonderfully in brick form.

Using around 2,500 pieces (86%) of the original set, Eric’s H1 features four-wheel-drive with a centre locking differential, a V8 piston engine under an opening hood, HOG steering, a high/low gearbox, independent suspension, plus opening and locking doors and a dropping tailgate.

Presented as beautifully as it’s been made, there’s more to see of Eric’s fantastic 42177 alternate at his ‘Hummer H1 – Lego 42177 Model B’ album on Flickr and via the video below, where you can also find a link to building instructions.

Convert your Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen into a Hummer H1 via the link above, and win the SUV arms race once and for all! Unless Isabella’s Mom gets that tank…

YouTube Video