Best in Show

Leave a reply

After the violent events that occurred here in TLCB Office yesterday we’ve been nervously awaiting the next remotely controlled Lego creation that the Elves would find. Fortunately for all concerned (except the Elf that found it), this Daniel Best steam traction engine by Flickr’s Nikolaus Löwe managed to do no damage whatsoever.

Despite its BuWizz battery, Nikolaus’s creation is heroically slow, and therefore accurately represents the real contraption from the early 1900s which had a top speed of… 4mph.

However such glacial velocity allowed us to view the magnificently recreated pistons and rods that Nikolaus has faithfully recreated, which all do their things thanks to well concealed Power Functions motors. The Elf at the controls was less impressed, and after watching its find trundle across the floor squashing precisely no-one, ran off in disgust.

It’ll be back for its meal token reward soon enough, but if you like this build as much as we do there’s more to see on Flickr. Click the link above to head very slowly across America in 1905.

Mr. Big Stuff*

1 Reply

This enormous green and cream spiky looking arrangement is a Krone BigX 770 with an EasyCollect 600-2, and it is – if you’re a TLCB Elf – not something that you want to see at all.

Built by Michal Skorupka (aka Eric Trax), the Krone BigX and EasyCollect 600-2 are equipped with no less than three SBrick bluetooth controllers and nine Power Functions motors, providing the model with spectacularly life-like functions, all of which can be controlled remotely via a phone or – in this case – a Playstation controller.

Which is marvellous if you want to cut down some Lego corn, but considerably less so if you’re an Elf asleep on the floor as it enters the Cage Room.

It’s been a while since the last act of remotely controlled violence here at TLCB Towers, so the Elves were gradually becoming more complacent. This of course gave the Elf that discovered this creation a golden opportunity, which it seized by driving the Krone through the Elven Cage Room with the whirling EasyCollect 600-2 easily collecting its sleeping colleagues.

With XL Motor all-wheel-drive and Servo rear axle steering, Eric’s model is almost purpose-built for mashing the maximum number of sleeping Elves. A wide path of destruction was enabled by the deployable harvesting arms, each powered by Medium Motor, with the harvesting mechanism itself driven by an L Motor powered PTO, and another Medium Motor able to raise and lower the whole attachment to the optimum Elf-mangling height.

The Elf at the controls fulfilled its self-appointed Grim Reaper role admirably, with the BigX and EasyCollect only halted due to an Elven body-part jam in the mechanism, following which it fled the scene giggling maniacally.

We now have a lot of clearing up to do, including Elven first aid that may or may not include a few trips to ‘Elf Hospital‘, so whilst we get the Pritt Stick out and attempt to match Elven body parts with their owners you can check out all the details of Michal’s stunning creation on both Flickr and Eurobricks, plus you can watch the Krone BigX 770 and EasyCollect 600-2 in action below.

YouTube Video

*Today’s excellent title song.

Airborne Anglia

Leave a reply

Harry and Ron are heading back to school, thanks to Ron’s Dad’s 1960s Ford Anglia 105E and a sprinkling of magic. TLCB regular Jonathan Elliott has recreated the flying Ford beautifully and there’s more to see at his photostream. Head to Hogwarts via the link above.

I Vant To Suck…

Leave a reply

…Your bloooood!

BuWizz have gone spooky. Click here to anthropomorphize your creations. Mwhuhuhuha…

Predictive Bricks

Leave a reply

Regular readers of this farce of a Lego site may recognise this GAZ-2402. Matthew Terentev‘s soviet station wagon has appeared here before, first as a mundane family car and then as a V8-powered drifter. Now though, and perhaps mirroring where society is headed, Matthew has converted the classic Communistal estate car into something far more… aggressive.

As the world’s economy teeters on the brink of collapse, its climate on the brink of a catastrophic irreversible temperature rise, and a deadly disease has wiped out a million and counting, we’re waiting for the rioting and looting to start. And it’s not even Black Friday yet.

Matthew is well prepared for the impeding nightmare though, outfitting his GAZ-2402 with all-wheel-drive, raised suspension, an enormous spiky snowplough arrangement on the front (that necessitated the engine moving to the interior), and roof-mounted gun turret.

The office’s Rover 200 looks woefully inadequate for the coming apocalypse by comparison, so whilst we consider what we can do to upgrade it with $12 and some duct tape, you can check out Matthew’s post-apoc creation on Flickr via the link above.

The end is nigh.

Two Horse Race

Leave a reply

From one Speed Champions Italian supercar marque to another, also thanks to a reader via our Feedback and Submission Suggestions page. It’s the late ’80s, hair is big, wallets are full, and Ferrari are riding a wave of buoyancy. These are two of their most iconic cars from the period, the F40 and 288 GTO, recreated in 8-wide form by Fabrice Larcheveque of Flickr. Utilising the larger Speed Champions scale to great effect there’s more to see at Fabrice’s ‘Ferrari GTO & F40’ album – click the link to take a look!

Yellow Devil

1 Reply

Is there anything more supercar-y than a yellow Lamborghini Diablo? Suggested by a reader (and previous bloggee themselves), this one comes from newcomer Attila Gallik of Flickr, who has done an excellent job recreating Lamborgini’s 1990s supercar in Speed Champions form.

Available in both GTR (giant wing) and standard specification, Attila’s Diablo can fit two mini-figures inside and includes a detailed engine underneath the opening rear cover, and if you fancy one for yourself instructions are available too! Take a look via the link above to see more.

On a Christmas Tree Far Far Away

Leave a reply

This writer is breaking several unwritten TLCB rules with this post. Talking about Christmas before December, specifically publicising a LEGO Ideas project, and – more vaguely – ‘bloody Star Wars creations’, all of which incur the displeasure of The Editor. So here’s a Christmas-themed Star Wars LEGO Ideas project…

Built by Brixe63, these rather wonderful Christmas tree decorations feature many recognisable vehicles from the movie franchise, and we think they’d make a most excellent set! In fact so too would loads of vehicular-themed decorations, which we’re surprised that LEGO haven’t thought to bring to production already.

You can give Brixe’s creations a chance of becoming an official LEGO set via LEGO Ideas – find the link at Brixe’s photostream by clicking here.

Creations for Charity 2020

Leave a reply

It’s Creations for Charity 2020!

2020 has sucked. Wildfires, terrorism, divisive politics, and a global pandemic that’s claimed over a million lives, it’s been a year to forget for many. However for some children, 2020 isn’t really any different to any other, with every year a struggle due to poverty, family breakdown, and domestic violence.

Creations for Charity, the wonderful annual event that provides thousands of LEGO toys to underprivileged children is back for 2020! Donated by members of the Lego Community, the Creations for Charity online store contains a wide variety of mini-figures, models, and building instructions, the sale of which raises money to purchase LEGO sets for children in need around the world. Which is thoroughly awesome.

Get Involved!

You can join the incredible Creations for Charity initiative in three ways; by donating a creation, by donating cash, or by buying the creations, building instructions, or mini-figures available via the online store.

To take a look at the creations, instructions, and mini-figures available for purchase, to donate your own, or to support the charity by a monetary gift, take a look at the new Creations for Charity website by clicking here.

Lastly, remember by visiting this dilapidated corner of the internet (The Lego Car Blog, not Creations for Charity), that you are helping to do good around the world, as all of the advertising revenue received through your clicks and views here at TLCB is donated to those who need it more than we do. To help us help others, we’d love you to spread the word about TLCB : )

Collection of Letters

Leave a reply

We’ve said it before, but Mercedes-Benz’s naming structure is about as interesting and imaginative as a Brothers Brick article on piece sorting. Still, tremendously dull names aside, the cars are quite good, and the AMG GT S is no exception.

Fitted with the AMG 4.0 twin-turbo V8 that powers all sorts of Mercedes-Benz products (plus a few Aston Martins), the AMG GT S is a quick and refined way to cross a country, plus it’s the Formula 1 safety car which is cool. Lennart Cort is the builder behind this one and there’s more to see at his photostream via the link.

My Other Truck’s a Scania

2 Replies

It’s time for another B-Model here at The Lego Car Blog, and we rather like these (as evidenced in Lock-Down B-Model Competition that ran here earlier in the year). B-Models are exactly what LEGO is all about, using pieces in an infinite number of ways to create Something New.

This Something New comes from mpj of Eurobricks, who has repurposed the parts from the 42098 Technic Car Transporter set to create this brilliant Scania Next Generation truck and flatbed trailer.

Looking (we think) better than the set on which it’s derived, mpj’s alternate includes a working V8 engine underneath the tilting cab, ‘Hand of God’ steering, opening doors, and a working fifth wheel that controls the trailer’s two steering axles.

It’s an excellent showcase for how you can build more than what’s on the box, and you can recreate this Scania yourself as mpj has made building instructions available. Head to Eurobricks via the link above for full details!

Yellow Brick Road

Leave a reply

This is a DAF FT CF 480 Space Cab with a 4-axle Floor trailer and mobile crane. A suitably long title for a suitably long vehicle. Designed to carry bricks and stone, which makes us very pleased with this post’s title (and it enables us to post this link!*), it comes from previous bloggee Arian Janssens and there’s more to see on Flickr. Click here to follow the Yellow Brick Road!

*We’re not sorry.

Italian DTM

Leave a reply

Italy and Germany have a long rivalry. Two of the best football teams in Europe, they’ve met 35 times, with Italy winning 15 of those encounters to Germany’s 8. They’ve fought on the track since Formula 1’s beginning (and even before that), with Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union battling Alfa Romeo and later Ferrari for dominance. Oh, and they fought against one another in World War 2, but only after Italy overthrew racism and changed sides.

Recently though, all the victories have been German. Mercedes-Benz have annihilated Ferrari in Formula 1, Italy haven’t beaten Germany in their last four soccer matches, and Ducati are now owned by Volkswagen.

However, go back to the mid-’90s and you’ll find a remarkable story of Italian dominance in Germany’s own back yard; the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM).

In 1993 Alfa Romeo decided to take their new 155 V6 to DTM, building an all-wheel-drive 11,000rpm Class 1 Touring Car to take on the domestic German teams from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Opel. The car proved unstoppable, with Nicola Larini winning a record eleven of the twenty-two races and teammate Alessandro Nannini another two, taking Alfa Romeo to a dominant manufacturer’s title.

This incredible replica of the ’93 championship-winning Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti comes from previous bloggee Zeta Racing of Flickr, who has recreated both the car and its iconic livery in stunning detail.

Underneath that beautifully stickered exterior Zeta has accurately constructed the 155’s drivetrain, including a jaw-dropping V6 engine, all-wheel-drive system, working suspension, gearbox, and a suite of Power Functions motors to control it all remotely.

A spectacularly detailed interior is included behind the four opening doors, with a bucket seat and racing harnesses, a full roll cage, and even the 155’s fire suppression system replicated in bricks.

Zeta Racing’s creation is a work of art (as any Alfa Romeo should be) and there’s a huge gallery of images available to view at his photostream on Flickr. Click the link above to remember a time when the Italians beat the Germans at their own game, and here to see (and hear!) the 155 DTM’s 11,500rpm V6 in action way back in ’93.

From Land to Landfill

Leave a reply

The Earth is undergoing a considerable change. Of course it has always changed, thanks to a variable climate and the evolution borne from it, however until recently it’s been in a period of beautiful stability that lasted tens of thousands of years. And then mankind started chopping everything down, digging everything up, and burning it…

The result is a climate changing at a rate that is way beyond the pace that life can adapt to survive, and once the permafrost melts and releases the methane trapped within it, we’re on a one-way train to doomsville.

It’s not too late though, as nature has a remarkable ability to heal itself if given the chance. One way we can limit the damage is to consume less, whether that’s energy, material things, or food. Food production, particularly meat, is the single largest contributor to the destruction of our wilderness. Buying local, and not eating the meat from intensively-farmed, chemical-filled, miserable animals, is both better for us and the planet upon which we live.

Cue Chris Elliott‘s Japanese mobile greengrocer, bringing locally grown produce to your door in a converted minibus. Chris’s beautifully detailed creation includes a range of brick-built veg, breads and pastries, a burst of pink flowers down the side, and even LED lighting. Plus there’s not a battery-farmed chicken in sight.

Reducing consumption doesn’t necessarily mean buying less, as at present an average of 219lbs of food is wasted annually by every American, equating to over a third of all U.S. food production.

Throwing less away, and recycling it when we do (even food), means less chopping down, less digging up, and less burning. Cue Jonathan Elliott‘s excellent Dennis Eagle garbage truck/bin lorry, which is where what we discard usually ends up. Jonathan’s bin lorry captures the real thing superbly, and there’s even a working lift mechanism at the back.

Sadly it only has black and grey bins, but change them for green and blue (or whatever the recycling colours are where you live), and we might just avert the looming catastrophe yet. Click the links above to follow the food from land to landfill, and ask yourself if there’s a better way…

Hungry Passenger

Leave a reply

1saac W.’s brilliant 6-wide Jeep Wrangler first appeared here last week, but if you’re going to build a Jeep Wrangler, there’s only one we’re really interested in…

With a quick update to turn the model to an earlier ‘YJ’ series and the addition of some red stripes, 1saac can now imagine an overweight nerd being eaten alive by a juvenile Dilophosaurus in the passenger set.

Join the fun on Flickr via the link!