Fast Running Camel

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Cheap ubiquitous ‘Peoples’ Cars’ have a habit of becoming off-roaders. There are Baja Beetles, beach buggy Beetles, the Mini Moke, and – if those are too fast for you – the Citroen Mehari.

Based on the already off-road capable 2CV and ironically named after a fast-running camel, the Mehari kept the 2CV’s 602cc two-cylinder engine and added plastic body panels and a removable roof, creating a kind of off-road roadster. Just a very slow one.

This superb Speed Champions scale recreation of the plastic snail comes from TLCB regular Jonathan Elliott, which is both built and presented beautifully, and there’s more to see at the link.

Carryall

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The title of this post could well apply to this TLCB Writer at the airport, when Mrs TLCB Writer fills a suitcase with things she’s then unable to carry. He’s basically a donkey.

So too though is the Dodge Power Wagon, which a) has one of the best names of any vehicle ever, and b) was used to carry all sorts of things over some pretty unforgiving ground back in the 1950s.

It was particularly favoured by middle eastern oil extractors, where this superb cartoonish recreation of the Power Wagon ‘Carryall’ would fit in beautifully thanks to its sandy hue.

Flickr’s Redfern1950s is the builder behind it, whose earlier covered pick-up version appeared here last year, and there are lots more superb images of his Dodge Power Wagon ‘Carryall’ available to see at his photostream via the link above.

Not a Car

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‘Aren’t you supposed to be a bloody car blog?!’ some of you might be wondering. And you’d have a point. But there is a car (kinda) coming. Until then here’s a spaceship, which – whilst not a car in any way – is pretty awesome. Tommaso Ferrarese (aka frombol) is the builder, whose Neo-Classic Space creation is packed with building techniques so cunning you could brush your teeth with them. See more of this incredible build on Flickr via the link.

The Last Dakota* in Denmark

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The Douglas DC-3 ‘Dakota’ revolutionised air travel before the jet age. And after it to some degree. Originating as a 1930s military design the DC-3 could fly 1,500 miles at 200mph, taking off and landing on short runways, and carrying 6,000lbs of cargo.

The Dakota was so versatile and reliable that it is still in service all around the world, although not in Denmark where just one unit remains airworthy. Previous bloggee Henrik Jensen has built this aircraft, as operated by a non-profit preservation, recreating it beautifully in brick form.

Wonderful techniques and authentic decals add to the realism and there’s more to see of Henrik’s Douglas DC-3 on Flickr – click the link above to fly in Denmark’s last Dakota.

*Today’s (excellent) title song.

Life on Mars*

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NASA’s ‘Perseverance‘ rover is currently relaying some truly magical images back to Earth from the surface of Mars, where it has been for over a month.

Perseverance’s mission is to look for the building blocks that support life, either in Mars’ distant past, or for a human colonisation future. Fast forward an undetermined number of years and – if BobDeQuatre is correct – Perseverance found what it was looking for.

This is the Mars Corporation ‘Poseidon Mobile Water Extractor’, which uses a powerful microwave generator and magnetic field to raise water to the surface to support the planet’s colony. Or something. To be honest we’re a bit hazy on the science, but that doesn’t matter when it looks this cool!

A detailed microwave/magnetron/robotic arm thingumy is carried between a pair of articulated and suspended bogies, whilst a crew of two control the water extraction from the cockpit up front.

There’s lots more to see of Bob’s impressive ‘Poseidon Mobile Water Extractor’ via his album on Flickr at the link above, plus you can see one of his (and Mars Corp.’s) other machines by clicking here.

*Today’s title song, naturally.

Ghost Rider

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Every once in a while a creation appears at TLCB Towers that makes us all think ‘that’s clever’. This is one such model, plus it has the added benefit of terrifying TLCB Elves.

Eurobricks’ piterx has designed this Technic scrambler motorbike, which – whilst not special to look at – is incredible to behold in motion. LEGO’s most powerful motor drives the back wheel, which is controlled via bluetooth thanks to a third-party BuWizz battery.

Said battery not only delivers up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own system, it has been ingeniously used as a motorised sliding counterweight, enabling piterx’s bike to rocket around on its own, appearing to be under the spooky control of an invisible rider.

We’re having great fun terrorising the Elves with this, so whilst we continue the ghostly ruse on our smelly little workers you can check out more of piterx’s cunning remote control creation via the video and link to Eurobricks above!

Skies over Suez

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We love a ’50s MiG. Sure they were a symbol of the oppression of millions, a regime seemingly intent on causing nuclear annihilation (not on their own we might add), and the terror of the Cold War, but they looked so cool!

In service from the early 1950s, almost 11,000 MiG-17s were built for use by a wide variety of scumbag dictatorships, and – somewhat unbelievably – three militaries still operate them today, some ’70 years after the design first flew.

This particular recreation of the Soviet fighter is an Egyptian Air Force unit, as built by John C. Lamarck, and it looks every bit as cool as the real thing. A removable tail-section reveals the jet engine inside, there’s working landing gear, accuarate Egyptian Air Force decals, and a range of exciting-looking weaponry that was used in Egypt’s defeat of the British, French and Israelis during the Suez Crisis in 1967.

What were we saying about the MiG-17 and scumbag dictatorships? Yeh, in this case TLCB’s home nation might not be able to hold the moral ground…

Head to John’s ‘MiG-17F’ album on Flickr via the link above to blow something British up in 1967.

F1x2

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McLaren Automotive are continuing Britain’s long tradition of making cars that are excellent in almost every way, but which have the reliability Windows XP.

Back in the ’90s they outsourced this unreliability to BMW, but the results were still spectacular. The McLaren F1 was the fastest production car in the world, with a gold-lined engine bay and an amazing central driving position.

These two remarkably similar Speed Champions versions of the iconic ’90s supercar were independently found by two Elves today, sparking an inevitable Elf fight, and a dilemma for us in the office.

We’ve chosen to avoid conflict and publish both together, with the red car coming from Rolling Bricks, the grey one from Fabrice Larcheveque, and there’s more to see of each via the links.

Ditch Witch

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From a science fictiony machine about which we know absolutely nothing to real world machine about which we know absolutely nothing. Yay!

This is a Witch Ditch JT520 and we genuinely have no idea at all what it’s for. Luckily the trailer it’s on is being pulled by a Ford F-150 crew cab pick-up, so blogging points are redeemed!

The Ford F-150, twin-axle trailer, and the aforementioned mystery contraption are all the work of Damian Z (aka Theitmaier), each is wonderfully detailed, and there’s more to see of all three models on Flickr. Click the link above to take a look.

Fnaaaaaaaooow!

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We have no idea what this ‘Skitter’ by Flickr’s Oscar Cederwall is or does, but it looks like it goes ‘Fnaaaaaaaooow!’, and as we have the minds of children that’s good enough for us. See more at the link!

Red Lorry, Yel… Oh

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Just a red lorry, but an excellent one. Looking remarkably life-life for a Technic creation, newcomer levs_lego_technic_creation‘s Scania R-Series features working steering, a V8 engine under the tilting cab, opening doors, and a functioning trailer hitch. Instructions are available and there’s more to see on Eurobricks via the link above.

Bull Fight

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If you’re seven (or a TLCB Elf), then citrus-coloured Lamborghinis are the best thing ever. This post is for you!

Built by The G Brix of Flickr, these two awesome Speed Champions Lamborghini Murcielagos appeal to the seven year old in all of us (which isn’t hard to find in the psyche of the average TLCB writer).

Coming in standard (yellow) and SV (orange) flavours, G Brix’s models deploy some brilliant building techniques to successfully recreate the Murcielago’s distinctive hexagonal shapes, plus there are detailed engine bays under opening covers and each car can fit a pair of mini-figures side-by-side.

Pander to your inner seven year (or your actual seven year old if you are in fact seven) via The G Brix’s photostream.

Alt’s Alright

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‘Alternative’ can mean many things. It’s a category of music that’s really rather mainstream (but pretends otherwise because it’s cooler that way), it’s the self-awarded title of a group of far-right nationalist scumbags, and it’s used to describe girls who look slightly different yet somehow all look exactly the same.

We’re a Lego blog though, so here it means none of the above, instead being used to identify a creation built only from the parts found within an official LEGO set.

Somehow we’ve posted three such creations today, making this alternative Baja Bug – like alternative music and alternative girls – the opposite of its literal meaning. Nevertheless it fits within the brief, being constructed only from the pieces found within the 42122 Technic Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

Builder “grohl” has not only managed to turn that resolutely square set into something rather more curvy, he’s equipped his model with both front and rear suspension, a 4-cylinder engine driven by the rear wheels, a working winch, functioning steering, plus opening doors, bonnet and engine cover.

This means this alternate somehow features more technical functions than the set that donated its parts, and there’s more to see – including a link to building instructions – at “grohl”‘s photostream. Click the link to go alternative.

One Round Tile

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We have another one of your suggestions today, and another excellent set alternative!

This wild-looking Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R Roadster comes from previous bloggee Serge S of Flickr, who has constructed it from only the parts found within the 10265 Creator Ford Mustang set. Plus a single black circular tile for the Mercedes-Benz badge, but what’s a single black circular tile between friends?

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see at Serge’s photostream via the link above.

It’s as Easy as AC B

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We love receiving comments here at TLCB. It means people actually read this stuff. Well, when we say we love receiving them, it does depend a little upon what we receive.

Automated spam for various exciting sounding drugs, offers of ‘help’ to ‘grow our audience’ and ‘give me instruktions’ comments arrive in their hundreds, but in-between all of that nonsense we do get some gems. Such as this one.

Suggested by a reader this is Firas Abu-Jaber’s AC Cobra, built solely from the parts found in the official 10271 Fiat 500 set. So excellent does it look that we wouldn’t have guessed that it has been constructed from the pieces of a single LEGO set, with opening doors, hood and trunk, a detailed interior, and even a realistic engine bay.

There’s loads more to see of Firas’s fantastic 10271 AC Cobra B-Model at his Flickr album by clicking these words, and if you’d like to suggest a creation or leave feedback about anything else (preferably not exciting sounding drugs or offers to ‘help’ to ‘grow our audience’ though), you can get in touch via the Contact page here.