Lego Lambro

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Nope, not Lambo, Lambro. Which is even more exciting! We’ve seen dozens of Lamborghinis in Lego form, but until now we’d never seen Lambretta’s 550cc tuk-tuk built from bricks.

The Elves of course, don’t get our excitement one bit, preferring V12 engines and racing stripes, but as they’re a workforce of mythical creatures their thoughts on the matter are moot.

We, TLCB staff, are rather pleased to have found this Lambro 550 by Flickr’s Hoang H Dang (aka Know Your Pieces), because humble workhorses like this have made a far greater contribution to far more people than an Italian supercar ever could.

This superb Lego recreation of the little scooter-powered pick-up captures the aesthetic of the real vehicle beautifully, and is depicted here as one of the countless Lambro 550s that have been exported to Vietnam since the 1960s.

Wonderfully accurate detailing, working steering, and fantastic brick-built lettering make Hoang’s Lambretta Lambro 550 one of our favourite creations of the year, and there’s loads more to see of it and the lovely Vietnamese street-scene of which it is part via the link above.

Krazy Log*

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This is a KrAZ 255b logging truck, and it’s really very long indeed. It’s also a tribute to the late Ingmar Spijkhoven, whose influence within the online Lego Community continues to endure.

Previous bloggee Mathijs Bongers is the builder behind it, and his KrAZ is packed with detail, including opening cab doors, a detailed engine under the hood, working suspension, a sliding/stacking trailer mechanism, and a wonderfully life-like chassis.

There’s lots more of the model to see at Mathijs’ extensive ‘KrAZ 255b’ album on Flickr – take look a via the second link in the text above, and you can click the first to find out more about the incredible builder who inspired it.

*Today’s title song. Yeh, we went there.

Lunar Landing

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It’s fifty years since the coolest vehicle ever made (apart from the Citroen DS obviously) first landed on the moon.

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (better known as the ‘Moon Buggy’) was a foldable all-wheel-drive EV designed to enable the Apollo astronauts cover a greater area of the lunar surface.

The LRV was used three times between 1971 and ’72, and Flickr’s VALARIE ROCHE has recreated the momentous event five decades later, with a brick-based tribute to the lunar landings suggested to us by a reader.

Valarie’s build includes a fully-foldable LRV, a pair of astronauts (with the names of all twelve to walk on the moon inscribed on the vignette’s base), and a recreation of the LLRE (Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment), which can still be used today to disprove those who think that the above occurred in a studio in L.A.

Valarie is hoping the build will become an official LEGO set, and you can check it out in more detail (and help to make that a reality) by visiting Valarie’s photostream. Click the link above to rove the lunar surface fifty years ago.

Cyber Monday

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It’s Monday, and it’s cybery here at TLCB for some reason. Perhaps the title would’ve worked about three weeks ago…

On to the models! With much talk in the car world about converting classic cars to EV powertrains, we hope this is the next logical step.

Previous bloggee Sergio Batista has heavily modified the rather lovely 75895 Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo set to become something rather more… hoverable. What? – It’s a word!

Sergio’s ‘Porsche 911 2073’ means we only have 52 years to wait, when this TLCB Staffer will be the approximate age that you need to be to become president.

Join us in hope of the hovercar revolution at Sergio’s photostream – click here to float on over and take a closer look!

Today’s second cyberpunk creation also has its roots in an official LEGO set, this time from waaaay back in 1971, when Joe Biden was still cheating in law school and Donald Trump was dodging military service.

LEGO were being far more productive however, releasing the ace 605 Taxi set. All seventeen pieces of it.

Constructed from rather more is Jonathan Elliott‘s 605 Redux, a wonderful cyberpunk homage to the fifty-year-old original. Back in 1971 they probably thought that taxis would look like Jonathan’s in 2021, but instead we got the Prius. Which looks like a melted iron.

Oh well, we can dream of the shape of things to come at Jonathan’s photostream, and you can join us there hailing the taxi of the future via the link above.

I Feel the Need…

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The sad state of cinema at the moment means that the only films that currently get made are sequels, prequels, re-boots, or all three, as part of some ‘cinematic universe’ bollocks (we’re looking at you Marvel).

Cue next year’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ release, an unnecessary sequel arriving some three decades after the (magnificent) ’80s original. Still, at least it provides the opportunity for a repeat homo-erotic beach volleyball scene to an astoundingly suggestive soundtrack.

More interesting to TLCB than yet another movie reboot is this Maverick; the Can-Am Maverick RS, a wild off-road buggy built to take on the Dakar Rally.

Well, this one hasn’t been built to take on the Dakar Rally, being rather smaller. And constructed from Lego. But it is still more interesting.

Martin Vala is the builder behind it, and he’s recreated the Can-Am Maverick RS in wonderful detail, right down to the steering and suspension, which are brick-built from System pieces.

Authentic decals and stunning presentation complete the build, and there’s lots more to see of Martin’s Maverick at his ‘Maverick RS’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to feel the need for speed.

What’s in a Name?

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This is the Mitsubishi Pajero. Except in Spanish-speaking countries, where it’s definitely not.

Nor is it in TLCB’s home nation, where ‘Pajero’ isn’t an exceptionally rude word, but where ‘Shogun’ just sounds cooler.

Anyway, whatever it’s called, this Lego recreation of the ’90s Pajero/Shogun/Montero by regular bloggee SP_LINEUP is rather excellent, and there’s more of it to see at his photostream.

Click the link above to take a look. Unless you’re Spanish.

Technic 42130 BMW M 1000 RR | Set Preview

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After being less than impressed with the first group of 2022 Technic sets, we were hoping something special was yet to be uncovered. And it has been!

This is the brand new 42130 Technic BMW M 1000 RR, the largest motorcycle set LEGO have ever made, and perhaps the largest scale ever used for a vehicle too, at an enormous 1:5.

So, the awkward bit; 42130 will cost over $200.

Which is a lot. But then the real BMW M 1000 RR costs around $30,000, so that astronomical figure for a motorcycle is rather authentic.

What upwards of $200 gets you is 1,920 pieces, including some splendid new wheels, windshield and brake parts, ultra-realistic and suitably M-Sport coloured farings, working steering, front and rear suspension, a three-speed gearbox, and a four-cylinder piston engine.

Two display stands and a black ’18+’ box (plus that hefty price tag) mark the 42130 Technic BMW M 1000 RR set out as part of LEGO’s recently created ‘adult’ product line, and if you consider yourself one of those you can get your hands on it early next year.

Despite the price, we just might…

Want a Lift?

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Lifted trucks, a favoured vehicle for a subset of the American populous that we mock regularly on these pages, are resolutely awful.

Even though the suspension is raised, the lowest point of the chassis (usually a differential) is unchanged, thus ground clearance remains exactly the same. Only now the handling, fuel economy, and refinement are worse.

The Lego Car Blog Elves of course, having very small brains indeed, absolutely love lifted trucks.

This one comes from JLiu15, and – despite it being much too slow to run any Elves over – the Elf that found it seems rather pleased.

Remote control all-wheel-drive, three-mode steering (front wheels, four wheels, and crab), a V6 piston engine, and – most notably – ludicrously lifted suspension all feature, and there’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to take a look.

Hydropneumatic Hovertaxi

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The Citroen DS (AKA the coolest car ever made) was a technological marvel. Launched way back in the mid-’50s, the DS was fitted with a clutchless gearbox, front-wheel-drive, cornering headlights, disc brakes, power steering, and – most amazingly – fully height adjustable, self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension that gave it an unfathomably incredible ride. The only way to improve upon it would be to literally float.

Cue Sergio Batista, whose cyberpunk Citroen DS (in Portuguese taxi livery) literally floats. Wonderful detailing and a beautifully recognisable shape make Sergio’s cyberpunk Citroen hovercar one of the coolest small scale cars we’ve ever featured. But of course it is, it’s a Citroen DS. Head to Sergio’s photostream to hail a hydropneumatic hovertaxi.

Discotheque

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Before unnecessary off-centre number plates and fake vents, the Land Rover Discovery looked like this. Which is infinitely better than the new one. Recreating the iconic ‘Disco 3’ is Jonathan Elliott, who has miniaturised it perfectly in Speed Champions form. Despite the Disco 3’s squareness, it’s actually not an easy thing to build well from LEGO, but Jonathan has nailed it. See more at the link.

Brown Rat

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TLCB likes rat rods. They’re effectively recycling on wheels. This Lego Ford-based rat comes from TLCB favourite _Tyler, who was inspired by another, much larger, Lego creation that featured here back in 2018. Head to Flickr to take a look.

Clever Classic Coupe

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You don’t need a bajillion bricks to appear here at The Lego Car Blog. OK, sometimes you do, but in contrast with today’s other post, here’s proof that we do like the small stuff too!

This lovely 1940s Mercury-esque classic car comes from Versteinert of Flickr, who utilises some brilliant parts choices to up the detail despite the diminutive scale.

Ribbed tubes, grey-bananas, flex hoses, and pulley wheels all feature, and there’s more to see of Versteinert’s cleverly constructed classic coupe via the link above!

Building Big

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Really, really big.

The human in the above picture is Beat Felber, a Lego builder of gigantic proportions. His models we mean.

Surrounding Beat are ten spectacular fully remote controlled pieces of mining equipment, many of which have featured on these pages over the years, including the Komatsu D575A-3 Super Dozer, the Marathon LeTourneau L-1200 loader, the Marion 204-M Superfront cable-operated mining shovel, the Terex 33-19 Titan mining truck, and the astonishing Marion 5760 ‘The Mountaineer’ 2,750-ton mining shovel. 

Beat’s assembly is even larger and more impressive than your Dad’s collection of speciality magazines, and we suspect it makes Beat more than capable of tunnelling underneath his own house should he choose to.

Head to Beat’s photostream via the first link for a closer look at the jaw-dropping image above, and you can check out some of the individual models pictured within it via the links in this post or via the search function on this page.

My Other Car’s a Pick-Up

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LEGO have released a whole host of Porsche 911 sets in recent times, including the enormous 42056 Technic 911 GT3 RS, the 42096 Technic 911 RSR, the 10295 Creator 911 and the 75895 Speed Champions 911 Turbo 3.0.

But what if you own the 10290 Creator Classic Pick-Up set instead of any of the above, and you’d like to join the 911 club too? Ex-LEGO set designer Nathanael Kuipers has the answer!

This lovely early Porsche 911 is built only from the pieces found within the 10290 set, and – save for a few mis-coloured hinges – you’d never know there was a strict parts limitation.

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see on Flickr by clicking here.

Smushed

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It’s been a while since the last Elven smushing event. This is partly because TLCB Elves are marginally wiser these days, after years of running one another over, but mostly it’s because they hadn’t found a suitable vehicle. They did today.

This Technic Baja truck comes from Teo LEGO Technic, and it was discovered by one of our Elves on Eurobricks.

Lightweight, with independent front and live axle rear suspension, return-to-centre steering, and – importantly – Buggy Motor propulsion with BuWizz power, Teo’s Baja truck is a fast, agile, and easily capable of bouncing over a moderate number of fleeing TLCB Elves.

Which is of course exactly what happened when the Elf that found it returned to TLCB Towers.

We now have to remember the optimum sequence of cleaning products for the removal Elf blood and vomit from the office carpet, so whilst we do that you can check out more of Teo’s truck at both the Eurobricks discussion forum and the extensive Brickshelf gallery. Click the links above to make the jump.