Dutch Rudder

2 Replies

‘Rolling coal‘ is for idiots. Aside from blasting a load of carcinogenic particulates into the air as some sort of moronic ‘anti-environment’ protest, plumes of black smoke actually signify wasted fuel, ergo less power. Which is why we don’t use steam engines any more.

That said, we do still like a good steam engine (which is possibly the saddest sentence in the English language), and so too does TLCB debutant Jebbo, who has built three unfathomably beautiful Dutch steam tugs from our favourite plastic bricks.

Each model is an exquisitely detailed replica of a real steam tug boat, of which two are apparently still running on coal.

Amazing attention to detail and ingenious building techniques are in abundance and there’s more to see of Jebbo’s ‘Furie’, ‘Hercules’, and ‘Noordzee’ steam tug boats at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to roll coal the right way.

Dog Vomit

The Third Way

1 Reply

Volkswagen’s Type 1 (Beetle) and Type 2 (Transporter) are recreated in Lego bricks on a daily basis. They have been turned into official LEGO sets, built in life-size, and are recognised the world over. But there is a third way…

The Type 3 (or ‘Squareback’) is nowhere near as popular as its Type 1 and 2 siblings, and many people – even VW fans – don’t know it existed at all. And that for us makes it all the cooler.

This brilliant Speed Champions recreation of a modified Type 3 comes from previous bloggee PleaseYesPlease, and if it were a real classic Volkswagen it’d be the one we’d want! There’s more to see at Please’s photostream, where a raft of excellent imagery is available.

Cubist

1 Reply

We were going to title this post ‘Square Heads’, but upon Googling it we learned it’s an offensive term for German, Dutch or Scandinavian persons. That was close. The perils of being an international blog we suppose! Anyway, these micro-scale bikers do have square heads, but we’re going to say they’re American, so we’re alright. They come from Flickr’s jarekwally (who might need to Google his title too…), whose inventive parts usage doesn’t stop at riders’ heads, but continues to both the motorcycles and the road upon which they’re travelling. (Square) head to jarekwally‘s photostream for more!

Pumping on Your Stereo

1 Reply

We’re not sure who even uses the word ‘stereo’ any more. Meaning a sound coming from two places, Liebherr have applied it to their L518 wheel loader because – weirdly – it has two steering mechanisms.

Cleverly combining both a steered rear axle and an articulated centre pivot, the L518 Stereo can swivel about in small spaces like a pair of Elves on a hoverboard.

This neat Technic recreation of the L518 Stereo comes from Jundis of Eurobricks, who has replicated not only the cunning ‘stereo’ steering but also a mechanically controlled arm with an interchangeable fork/bucket, pendular rear suspension, and a working piston engine.

It’s the kind of good old-fashioned mechanical engineering that we love, and there’s more to see of Jundis’ Liebherr L518 wheel loader at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to pump on your stereo.

*Today’s title song. Obviously.

C3-R2

1 Reply

This post title refers not to some Star Warsy droid (we’re not Bricknerd), but rather this; the spectacular-looking Citroen C3 ‘Rally2’.

‘Rally2’ is the second tier of the World Rally Championship, with cars a little less powerful (and less expensive) than the WRC top class, and a little closer to production spec.

Confusingly these ‘R2’ cars are classified as ‘R5’ in the regulations, which makes no sense to us at all, but whilst they tend to be a bit slower than the full-fat WRC machines they nevertheless compete on the same stages over the same distances, occasionally beating a few WRC cars in the process.

This is Citroen’s latest ‘Rally2’ entrant, based upon their new C3 road car. Powered by a 1600cc turbocharged engine driving all four wheels, the C3 will face similarly-specified entrants from Skoda, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Ford, and sister-brand DS.

The incredible Lego replica of the C3 R2 pictured here was commissioned by Citroen themselves, coming from Martin Vala, who has recreated their latest ‘Rally2’ car in astonishing detail.

Opening doors reveal a remarkably life-like interior, complete with a full cage, realistic dashboard, pedals, and seats, whilst the superbly replicated exterior is enhanced by some brilliant decals that accurately recreate the real car’s livery.

Martin’s model has been photographed and presented beautifully too, and there’s more of the build to see at his ‘Citroen C3 Rally2’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to make the jump to the complete gallery of immaculate images.

My Other Car’s a Jeep

1 Reply

LEGO’s 42122 Technic Jeep Wrangler Rubicon set seems to have only been on sale for about fifteen minutes, yet already the online Lego Community are successfully repurposing its pieces in new and interesting ways. Which is exactly what Lego building should be about! This 42122 alternate comes from Dyen’s Creations of Flickr, and there’s more to see of this excellent B-Model quad bike via the link above.

Escape to Sea

1 Reply

OK, this is clearly not a car, but this TLCB Writer is doing anything he can to avoid the Harry & Meghan Oprah Interview (aka ‘Posh Jerry Springer’), which is everywhere as he types this. And thus, here’s a boat.

It’s a rather lovely boat too, being an Intrepid 375 by previous bloggee Edwin Korstanje, and featuring a fiendishly complicated brick-built hull, a pair of Yamaha outboards, and some rather neat custom decals.

There’s more of Edwin’s creation to see at the Eurobricks forum, which has got to be more worthwhile than watching two of the world’s most privileged persons badmouthing their own family on international television. Join us in escaping to the sea via the link above.

Desert Storm

1 Reply

Saddam Hussein didn’t have the best record during his leadership. Despite his relative religious tolerance, creating world class healthcare and high quality education systems, and being an advocate for womens’ rights, Saddam still falls within TLCB’s unofficial ‘brutal scumbag dictator’ category.

Gassing his own people, crushing opposition, and numerous human rights abuses make sure the scales tip towards the negative, as does invading a neighbour in a despite over oil and effectively sending 50,000 Iraqi troops to their deaths, knowing full well the world would respond.

And respond it did, with a coalition led by the US of over thirty countries formed to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqi invasion. And it got a really cool name.

Operation Desert Storm restored Kuwaiti independence around seven months after the Iraqi invasion, with the final push into Kuwaiti City by coalition forces depicted here by Nicholas Goodman, in which a US tank and Humvee are cruising through a perfectly generic middle-eastern street.

Custom mini-figures, decals and weaponry add to the realism and there’s more to see of Nicholas’s recreation of Kuwaiti City in February 27th 1991 via both Flickr and the Eurobricks discussion forum.

Delightful Sedan

3 Replies

We’re not sure what ‘DS’ stands for these days, as Stellantis (what?) seems be using the brand solely in an attempt to charge 50% more for some extra chrome attached to decidedly average Citroens.

‘Deeply Cynical’? Wait, that’s not an ‘S’. ‘Dollar Signs’ perhaps? ‘Devoid of Substance’? Whatever it is, it isn’t working.

However a long time ago Citroen did used to produce the world’s best luxury cars, leading the way with hugely advanced technology, styling, and comfort.

This is one such car, the magnificent 1950s-1960s DS19, a car with front-wheel drive, hydro-pneumatic self-levelling suspension (with variable ride-height), power steering, a clutch-less gearbox, and disc brakes. All in 1955.

This beautifully presented Speed Champions recreation of the DS19 comes from Jonathan Elliott of Flickr, who has replicated the iconic French design wonderfully, even tapering the bodywork from 7 to 6 studs wide along the model’s length.

Jump to ’50s French luxury via the link above, and for comparison you can find one of DS’s current offerings here, where you can mutter dejectedly at it. Because they’re Depressingly Sardonic. Ah, that’s it!

Blazin’ Trails

Gives You Wings

2 Replies

The 2021 Formula 1 season is about to begin, with the team reveals arriving thick and fast. TLCB – with our finger on the pulse as usual – are bringing you a car from 2011…

Of course what colour sponsorship the teams have this year won’t change the fact that they’ll be fighting for second place, and we’ll be watching Formula-1-driver-cum-irritating-eco-warrior Lewis Hamilton cruise to an 8th World Championship in the dominant Mercedes-AMG.

However it wasn’t always Mercedes-Benz who ruled Formula 1. In fact there have been several teams that have dominated the sport for a period, including Williams (remember that!), McLaren, Ferrari*, and – just before the current AMG-whitewash – Red Bull.

From 2010 to 2014 Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive World Championships, in part due to this car; the fabulous Adrian Newey designed ‘blown diffuser’ RB7, that used exhaust gasses to create downforce even when the engine was coasting. Not bad for a soft drinks company.

This brilliant recreation of the title-winning Red Bull RB7 comes from Noah_L of Flickr, who has not only built and photographed his RB7 absolutely beautifully, he’s endowed it with some of the most realistic (and complicated) decals we’ve ever seen on a Lego model, even down to the ‘Pirelli P Zero’ labels on the tyres.

It’s a wonderfully accurate build, with removable rear bodywork, a highly detailed engine, and spindly ‘suspension’, and there are loads more stunning images to see at Noah’s ‘Red Bull RB7’ album.

Click the link to head to a time before Mercedes-Benz domination, taking the knee, spectator-less venues, and Lewis Hamilton tweeting that we need to do more for the environment from inside his private jet.

*We know the link isn’t to a dominant early 2000s Ferrari, because surprisingly the Archives reveal we’ve never blogged a Scuderia Ferrari from the Schumacher-era. However we will take any opportunity to remind people that Ferrari are scumbags… Here’s the link again.

The Pusher

Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me…

1 Reply

Three Mercedes-Benz?

Mercedes-Benz have made all sorts of vehicles. Cars, vans, trucks, and buses, plus engines for cars, vans, trucks and buses have all borne the three-painted star.

Flickr’s Moritz Zielger has built several items from Mercedes-Benz’s diverse back catalogue, and we have three to share with you today.

First (top) is a ’60s Mercedes-Benz W112 ‘Fintail’ in two-door coupe form, whilst above is a more modern Unimog off-road truck (complete with a working tipping bed), and below the classic 300SL Roadster.

Each has been built and presented beautifully and there’s more to see of all three Speed Champions Mercedes-Benz models (plus a few more) at Moritz’s photostream. Click here to take a look!

*Obligatory title song.

I Owe You a 10 Second Car

1 Reply

‘The Fast & The Furious’ has a lot to answer for. Terrible dialogue, questionable physics, and finding a way (any way*) to keep characters going throughout the series (however absurd) are standard action-movie faux-pas, but the film franchise has had a larger and more irritating impact on the minds of internet commenters.

What? The new Supra doesn’t have a 2JZ? Not a Supra! What? The new Supra doesn’t have 1,000bhp from the factory? Not a Supra! What? The new Supra shares parts with BMW? Not a Supra!

OK internet commenters, here goes; The A80 Supra is not the fastest most awesomest car ever made. It was fairly fat cruiser for fairly fat people, with an engine that you could also get in a Toyota station wagon. Putting ‘NOS’ in it won’t give it 1,000bhp, and to get that power you’d need the world’s laggiest single-shot turbo, making the car borderline undrivable on the street.

Right, now that’s cleared up, here’s the fastest most awesomest car ever made, with ‘NOS’ and 1,000bhp.

Brian O’Conner’s modified A80 Toyota Supra Targa has become possibly the most revered movie car of all time, setting the stage for a dozen mostly terrible ‘Fast & Furious’ sequels, blasting fourth-generation Supra values into the stratosphere, and creating an unsurmountable barrier of hype for any future cars wearing the nameplate.

This glorious recreation of O’Conner’s A80 Supra brings the iconic movie car to life in full ‘Technic Supercar’ specification, with working suspension, gearbox, steering, and a replica 2JZ engine.

More importantly builder spiderbrick has faithfully replicated the slightly weird livery, bodykit, roll cage, nitrous system, and huge rear wing found on the movie car to such perfection that we can almost hear Dominic Toretto breathing the word ‘family‘ for the six-hundredth time for no discernible reason.

There’s loads more of Spider’s ‘The Fast & the Furious’ Toyota Supra A80 to see at his Brickshelf album, including a link to a video showing the model’s features, plus engine and chassis images. Click the link above to live your life a 1/4 mile at a time…

*Bad guy turns good? Check. Back from the dead? Check. Bad guy turns good again? Check.

The Lego Car Blog

The Best LEGO Cars on the Web! | LEGO News, Reviews & MOCs | Cars, Trucks, Sci-Fi, Aircraft & More

Dutch Rudder

Like this:

Dog Vomit

Like this:

The Third Way

Like this:

Cubist

Like this:

Pumping on Your Stereo

Like this:

C3-R2

Like this:

My Other Car’s a Jeep

Like this:

Escape to Sea

Like this:

Desert Storm

Like this:

Delightful Sedan

Like this:

Blazin’ Trails

Like this:

Gives You Wings

Like this:

The Pusher

Like this:

Oh Lord, Won’t You Buy Me…

Like this:

I Owe You a 10 Second Car

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this: