Creations for Charity 2021

Leave a reply

The world is a tumultuous place at the moment. The dumpster fire that was 2020 has continued to rage throughout 2021, and – unless COP26 achieves something meaningful this week – 2021 might be as good as it’s going to get.

But really, if you’re reading this, things are probably alright. We’re the lucky ones, and we all have the joyous privilege of being able to redistribute some of our wealth to those to whom it would be worth far more. Even better, we can do it via our favourite plastic bricks…

Creations for Charity 2021

Now in its thirteenth year, the wonderful Creations for Charity initiative has provided thousands of LEGO toys to children in need, funded via the sale of creations designed and built by members of the community. Which means that you can buy an incredible one-off Lego creation knowing that all of the proceeds are going straight to children to whom they will make the biggest difference. How awesome is that!

Get Involved

You can join the Creations for Charity 2021 fundraiser in several ways; by donating a creation to the Creations for Charity store, by buying a creation, or by giving a monetary donation. All are used to get LEGO sets into the hands of underprivileged children, providing the gift of building, imagination, and escapism to kids who really might need a place to escape to every now and then.

You can take a look at the creations already donated to the Creations for Charity store by clicking the link below, with many more models to be added over the coming weeks.

Give the gift of LEGO this fall, and help to bring a little happiness to the children who need it most.

Visit the Creations for Charity store here

Sea Stallion

Leave a reply

Military things, like cars, are often named after exciting or deadly animals. Unless they’re from the Soviet Union of course, in which case an array of numbers and letters was sufficient.

Cue the Sikorsky RH-53D ‘Sea Stallion’, so called because ‘Sea Horse’ was already taken by another Sikorsky aircraft, but mostly because ‘Stallion’ sounds far more masculine.

The RH-35D was operated by the U.S Navy Marines from 1975 until 1997, primarily for mine clearing and heavy lifting, and it’s been recreated in incredible detail in Lego form by previous bloggee [Maks].

At 1:40 scale, [Maks]’s Sea Stallion measures 80cm across, and took almost a year to complete, with his spectacular attention to detail further enhanced by some beautifully authentic decals.

There’s a whole lot more of the Sikorsky RH-35D to see at [Maks]’s ‘RH-53D Sea Stallion’ Flickr album, including imagery showing those enormous rotor blades cleverly folded, and you can take a look via the link above. Just don’t call it a horse.

Higher or Lower

Leave a reply

TLCB theory of the day: Before long all new cars will look like this.

Every new car launched is seemingly an increasingly enormous SUV, or is ‘lower, longer and wider’ than the model it replaces. Take these trends to their logical conclusion, and you end up with a two-tier (literally) market of monster trucks and pancakes, and nothing in the middle. Which is probably a metaphor for the current state of political discourse or something.

Anyway, enough about the polarisation of everything, here are two classically shaped commercial vehicles from HCKP13, at opposite ends of the suspension spectrum, and there’s more to see of each on Flickr. Click the link above to play higher or lower.

Cubed

Leave a reply

The online Lego Community loves a monthly building bandwagon. We understand very few of them, but today is… no different. We’re still completely ignorant. Anyway, however the name of the tenth month has been butchered, the results are rather nice, if you like stumpy orange erections anyway [insert Donald Trump reference]. This one comes from Simon Lui, its called ‘CUBE-D’, and its operated by one of those little claw-obsessed three-eyed aliens from Toy Story, which is extra delightful. Simon’s photostream holds further details and you can take a look via the link above.

Kookie-T

Leave a reply

Norm Grabowski’s ‘Kookie T-Bucket’ was instrumental to the development of the hot rod scene in the 1950s. So much so we reckon LEGO used it as the basis for their own hot rod set some four decades later. Regular bloggee 1saac W. pays homage to the Grabowski original with this thoroughly excellent recreation of the Kookie T, and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link above.

Spania GTA Spano

Leave a reply

What? Yes, us too, but apparently the Spania GTA Spano is Spain’s hypercar, and with 925bhp on tap, it’s quite a potent one.

This incredible Technic recreation of the GTA Spano first appeared here yesterday, when BuWizz used it to reach 181mph (we may have adjusted that for scale), and in doing so set a record for the fastest 1:8 scale Technic car.

The builder responsible for this amazing record-breaking model is Zerobricks of Eurobricks, who has now revealed further details and imagery of the spectacular engineering behind it.

No less than ten BuWizz motors power the 3D-printed rear wheels to deliver that awesome top speed, whilst five LEGO Powered-Up motors power the rear spoiler, steering, opening doors, and V10 piston engine.

All-wheel independent suspension, plus an opening hood, engine cover and rear trunk also feature, and there’s more to see of this astonishing build at the Eurobricks discussion forum by clicking here, and you can watch the model in action at 181mph (kinda) by clicking here.

Heavy Swedish Action

1 Reply

It’s time for some double Volvo goodness here at TLCB, thanks to the super-talented TLCB regular Damian Z. (aka thietmaier).

Damian’s latest builds are a Volvo FH12 truck, hefty three-axle low-loader trailer, and a wonderfully life-like Volvo EC240 excavator, each of which has been both built and presented beautifully.

All three builds demonstrate stunning attention to detail, with some brilliant building techniques used to achieve it, and there’s more to see of Damian’s Volvo truck, excavator, and the trailer that allows one to transport the other at his album on Flickr. Click the link above to take a closer look.

181mph* LEGO Supercar

1 Reply

*Kinda. This is the Spania GTA Spano, a 925bhp, 400km/h supercar power by a twin-turbocharged version of the V10 engine found in the Dodge/SRT Viper.

Well, except this one isn’t of course, being only an eighth of the size. No, this Technic version is powered by something rather different…

First the model, which was engineered via CAD and is constructed from 3,800 LEGO pieces. Far from a lightweight shell, the 1:8 scale GTA Spano includes opening doors, active aerodynamics, working suspension, remote controlled steering, and 3D-printed wheels to ensure they’re up to the job.

That ‘job’, is to handle the power of ten BuWizz propulsion motors, coordinated through three BuWizz 3.0 Pro controllers (plus a further five motors powering other functions), with the aim of setting the record for the fastest 1:8 scale LEGO car.

BuWizz’s 1:8 scale GTA Spano powered its way to 36.5km/h, which when factored up for scale equates to 292km/h (181mph)! That might be little way off the real GTA Spano’s 400km/h top speed, but it was enough to secure the record.

BuWizz took their record-breaking model to meet its real-life counterpart (and the man behind it), and you can watch that meeting, the record attempt, and the amazing design process required to produce a 181mph Technic Supercar via the excellent video below.

Plus if you’d like to see how fast your Technic models will go, check out BuWizz by clicking here.

Snow Patrol

Leave a reply

‘Hibernia’s icy grip (hah!) on the online Lego Community shows no signs of thawing (hah!). The fictional ice planet has generated all manner of marvellous creations, and the latest comes from Dane Erland, here making their TLCB debut.

Dane’s Hibernia mobile base is reminiscent of an overland camper usually found in far warmer climbs spotting cheetahs and whatnot, and it’s packed with cool (hah!) details, including brick-built suspension, brakes, differentials and driveshafts underneath, and a superb cabin and accommodation/research unit on top.

You can check out Dane’s creation along with a flurry (hah!) of other Hibernia builds at his photostream – click the link above to slide (hah!) on over, whilst this TLCB writer tries to freeze (hah!) thinking about snow-based puns. They. just. Won’t. Stop.

*Today’s (lovely) title song.

Green Eyed Monster

Leave a reply

Everything is green or eco these days. Even when it’s not. Which is both kinda great, and a bit depressing, as companies seem to only decide to go green when they can market it for extra $$$.

Which makes the lime green Ford Focus RS second generation rather refreshing, as the only thing green about it was the paint. Powered by a Volvo-derived inline-5 turbo producing 300bhp (all of which was sent to the front wheels only – which must’ve been terrifying), the RS could dispatch the 0-60mph dash in under six seconds, with the RS500 version even quicker still.

Fast internal combustion engined cars like the Focus RS are now in their final years, with the latest fast Fords switching to electric propulsion (which is absolutely a good thing. Just don’t believe that EVs are ‘good’ for the environment. We’re back to greenwashing again…), so the second generation Focus RS will either become outlawed and worthless or a certified classic.

We’d bet on the latter though, so if you’re lucky enough to have one hold on to it. For those of us that don’t, here’s SP_LINEUP‘s fantastic Lego version, which features more ingenious building techniques than models five times the size. And it’s exceedingly green.

There’s more to see of SP’s Ford Focus RS at his photostream, take a closer look via the link above.

Rundhauber

Leave a reply

TLCB debutant Nick Kleinfelder was suggested to us by a reader, and we’re glad he was, because he’s working on an expansive ’80s train layout filled with beautifully detailed vehicles like this one.

Apparently these Mercedes-Benz ’round bonnet’ trucks were still popular in Europe in the ’80s, which this TLCB Writer is too young to vouch for. What he can confidently confirm though, is they’re very popular today crawling impossibly slowly up Asian mountainside roads pulling improbably enormous loads of illegally logged timber.

Which is both mightily impressive and exceedingly sad. Still, this one isn’t doing that, rather it’s being used for ‘Raiffeisen’ according to Nick, and whilst we have absolutely no idea what that means, it’s definitely better than illegally destroying the rainforest.

There’s more of Nick’s lovely round bonnet Mercedes truck to see at his photostream, and you can check out both it and Nick’s other creations via the link in the text above.

We’d Still Like a Pontiac

2 Replies

We miss Pontiac. Sure they were part of the raging dumpster fire that was General Motors by mid-1990’s, and they created atrocities like this (and this. And this)*, but they also built some of America’s coolest cars.

From Solstice to the Firebird Trans-Am, there are a few Pontiacs we’d be proud to have in TLCB Towers car park, but none more so than this; the ’68 GTO.

Produced from 1963 to 1974 (and again as rebadged Holden in the mid-’00s), the GTO is credited with popularising the muscle car genre in the late ’60s. With a choice of V8 engines, a range of rubbish gearboxes (two-speed automatic anyone?), and also sold by GM’s other brands (see the Chevrolet Chevelle, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Buick Special), there was a GTO for everyone.

This neat Speed Champions recreation of Pontiac’s finest hour comes from yelo_bricks of Flickr, making their TLCB debut. Both built and presented beautifully, there’s more to see at yelo’s ‘1986 Pontiac GTO’ album – click the link above to take a look at all the images.

*No we hadn’t forgotten the Aztek. We like the Aztek. And so should you.

Cockney Cab

1 Reply

Wacked from the ball and chalk? Then feast your meat pies on Jonathan Elliott’s Austin FX4 sherbet dab! Jonathan’s build is lemon tart, with choice black pieces, clips n’ bars, and – would you Adam n’ Eve it – bunny ears too. The grey mare’s more bangers n’ mash than ol’ Uncle Gus, but you’ll dodge the Barney Rubble from the elephant’s trunks. Take a butcher’s hook via the link above, whilst we head down the battlecruiser for a Garry Glitter.

My Other’s Truck’s a Bugatti

1 Reply

Is there anything in the vehicular world more pointless than truck racing? OK, The Brothers Brick’s review of the blue LEGO Fiat 500 set – which is exactly the same as the yellow one, only blue – probably takes the win, but truck racing is a close second.

Why take something designed specifically to pull heavy things long distances in the most fuel efficient way, and adapt it to go a short distance quickly whilst pulling nothing? It’s like using an airliner as the basis for a powerboat.

Anyway, pointlessness of source material aside, TLCB Master MOCer Nico71 has created a rather excellent racing truck from his 42083 Technic Bugatti Chiron set, with steering, an eight-speed sequential gearbox, functioning suspension, a working piston engine, and a tilting cab.

Nico’s made building instructions of his alternate available too, so you can convert your own 42083 Bugatti Chiron set into this brilliant Lego version of the world’s most pointless racing vehicle at home.

There’s more of Nico’s Bugatti B-Model to see at his Brickshelf gallery by clicking here, you can read his Master MOCers interview here at TLCB via the link in the text link above, and you can watch all of the race truck’s features in action in the video below.

YouTube Video

Bwaaaarp!

1 Reply

If it’s red, with fart-cannon exhausts, and a giant wing on the back, then TLCB Elves will probably like it. Cue this Honda Prelude by Flickr’s SP_LINEUP, which is red, with fart-cannon exhausts, and a giant wing on the back. See more at the link, whilst try to stop the Elves running around the office making engine and tyre screeching noises.