Soviet Station Wagon

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The Soviets may have hated America, but they sure liked its cars. This is the GAZ-24, specifically the 2402 station wagon produced from 1971 all the way up until the mid ’80s, despite looking like something straight out of America in 1963.

Powered by either a 2.5 litre four cylinder or an American-aping 5.5 litre V8, the GAZ-24 was famed for its toughness, and whilst limited numbers were exported, it wasn’t really available to the common Russian man, being reserved only for those with a special permit that allowed its purchase. Because Communism.

Matthew Terentev has got himself a 2402 though, by building this most excellent Technic recreation, complete with accurate leaf-spring rear and independent front suspension, a working inline 4-cylinder engine under the opening hood, ‘Hand of God’ steering and a working steering wheel, plus opening doors and tailgate.

There’s lots more to see of Matthew’s superb Soviet station wagon at his photostream on Flickr – grab your special permit, click the link, and pretend you’re a 1980s Russian pretending they’re a 1960s American.

Miniature Toothpaste

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This is a Renault Floride, named after – we assume – a toothpaste, and built only from the parts found within the LEGO 10242 Mini Cooper set. Flickr’s monstermatou is the builder behind it, who first came to our attention via his brilliant Lock-Down B-Model Competition entries, one of which came this close (holds fingers microscopically close together) to taking a prize position.

Following his other superb B-Model builds, monster’s Floride alternate beautifully replicates Renault’s 1 litre convertible built between ’58-’68, and you can take a look at all of the images at his photostream – click here to clean your teeth.

Flying Wing

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This is the Northrop XB-35, one of America’s amazing ‘flying wing’ experimental aircraft that would, eventually, lead to the modern B-2 Spirit ‘Stealth Bomber’.

But 1946 was a long time before the B-2, and the ‘flying wing’ idea was still in its infancy. The much smaller N-9M proved the concept enough (despite crashing quite a lot) for Northrop to build a version three times larger, the XB-35, initially powering it with four huge contra-rotating ‘pusher’ propellors driven by Wasp R-4360 radial engines.

The vibrations were awful though, so as the design entered the jet age it was upgraded with eight turbojets, becoming the YB-49 – although the aircraft was still far slower than conventionally winged bombers like the B-47.

It’s the original mid-’40s propellor-powered XB-35 we have here though, created in astonishing detail in 1:40 (mini-figure!) scale by Flickr’s BigPlanes. The detail is beautiful on the inside too, with a complete four-seat cockpit and accurate landing gear underneath.

BigPlanes’ incredible creation is due to go on show at the 2021 Virginia Brickfair event (COVID-19 depending), but you can see it via the spectacular imagery at his ‘XB-35 Flying Wing’ album on Flickr.

Click the link above to take to the skies c1946, and watch the horizon go all blurry and your tea jump out of your mug as four enormous contra-rotating props start shaking the world’s weirdest wing to bits.

Switch-a-Stallion

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If you’ve got one Ferrari in your stable, you probably have another too. And maybe another. If you’re like us though, even one Ferrari is a very long way out of reach, despite the glamour, fame, and groupies that blogging Lego creations brings.

Fortunately regular bloggee Angka Utama has an answer to the multiple Ferraris conundrum, with an update to his previously featured 308 GTS and 348 Testa Rossa models.

Angka’s design now includes some cunningly hidden pins and clips, allowing the 308 to morph into a 348 and back again in just few seconds. It’s like Transformers if they transformed from a robot into a slightly different robot.

Each classic Ferrari looks properly recognisable (plus we think interchangeable Ferraris would make a brilliant official LEGO Speed Champions set), and there’s more to see of how Angka has done it at his photostream. Click here to add two Ferraris to your Lego garage.

Alright M8

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How every text received and sent by this TLCB Writer began back in the 2000s. What happened to text-speak? Anyway, this M8 isn’t shorthand, being BMW’s Le Mans GTE racing car from the 2018 24 Hour race. Previous bloggee Lasse Deleuran is building the entire grid of Le Mans racers and there’s more to see of this superb Miniland-scale recreation of BMW’s GTE endurance racer on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, where free building instructions are also available. Click the links to take a look, and where you can LOL, OMG, YOLO, and all the rest.

BAE EAP & LR

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Today’s acronym is the British Aerospace Experimental Aircraft Programme (or EAP for short), the prototype air-superiority fighter that would eventually, via a cross-European collaboration, become the amazing Eurofighter Typhoon. Recreated here in its natty testing livery, Ralph Savelsberg has captured the aircraft brilliantly in mini-figure scale. A 5-wide RAF Land Rover Defender is on hand to assist with the testing programme and there’s more to see of both at Ralph’s photostream via the link.

Eastern Education

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Every day’s a school day. Following yesterday’s post featuring a vehicle by a successful German truck manufacturer that we’d never heard of, here’s another.

This is an Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau W 50, or ‘IFA W50’ for short, which is what we shall definitely be calling it. Constructed in East Germany from 1965 to 1990, the IFA W 50 was titled simply after the conglomerate that ran all of the East German vehicle manufactures at the time, including Trabant, Wartburg, and a host of other rubbish Communist companies, plus a few designs pinched from West German DKW.

Like many manufacturers behind the Iron Curtain the W 50 was produced in huge numbers, partly because it was built for so long, and partly because, well… you couldn’t buy much else.

Almost 600,000 IFA W 50s were built during its 25 year production run across over sixty body varieties, with up to 80% exported throughout the Soviet Union and sympathetic countries in some years, until Germany reunified and the Union began to collapse, abruptly ending production in 1990.

This neat Lego recreation of the East German truck comes from Clemens Schneider (aka popider) of Flickr and it features a working tipper and a rather accurate drivetrain too. Head to Clemens’ ‘IFA W 50’ album via the link to see all the images.

Büssing

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You may have noticed that, despite the title, there are no windows along the side of today’s vehicle. That’s because this is not a bus, rather a Büssing 8000 flatbed truck, a brand we hadn’t heard of until today. However Büssing were one of Germany (and therefore Europe)’s largest truck makers, and to an extent they still are, following their takeover by MAN in 1971.

Founded in 1903, Büssing began building tractors and omnibuses, before producing innovative underfloor-engined trucks which are now the mainstream layout in Europe. Surviving two World Wars, and a dark concentration camp slave labour chapter in their history, Büssing later produced designs and parts for MAN before they were fully acquired, and their logo can still be seen on MAN products today.

We have Nikolaus Löwe (aka Mr_Kleinstein) to thank for our schooling today, and his splendid Town-scale classic Büssing 8000 flatbed-canvas covered truck. Not only does Nikolaus’ model look rather lovely, it somewhat unbelievably fits a full Power Functions remote control drivetrain inside, echoing the innovation of the real Büssing truck company and their clever underfloor-engined designs.

A cunningly concealed LEGO mini-motor powers the rear wheels whilst a micro-motor steers the fronts, and you can find out how Nikolaus has done it at on Flickr. Click the link above to make the jump to all the imagery at Nikolaus’ photostream.

Indefensible

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The more we see the new Land Rover Defender (which comes in officially licensed LEGO form too), the more we wish Land Rover had taken the approach of Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz, and now Ford, with their new Bronco, and found a way to update a classic rather than throw the design cues in the bin.

Still, the fact we’re starting to see the new Defender everywhere means our opinion counts for nought, and the heavily-financed Evoques parked outside every $150/month health club will soon be switched for heavily-financed Defenders. Although that may cause a different problem for Land Rover…

We’d choose to leave the health club behind and exercise outdoors, using a proper Land Rover Defender to take us there. This fantastic fully remote controlled Technic Defender comes from previous bloggee ArsMan064, and it captures the spirit of the original Land Rover far better than Land Rover have managed to with their new one.

A third-party SBrick gives ArsMan’s Defender bluetooth control, with two L Motors driving all four wheels and a Medium motor powering the steering, whilst all-wheel suspension, LED lights, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a beautifully detailed engine bay and interior also feature.

There’s loads more to see of ArsMan064’s Technic Land Rover Defender 90 at the Eurobricks discussion forum, including close-up imagery and a video of the model in action off-road, which you can also find below. Click the link above to leave the health club behind…

YouTube Video

Cherry Picked

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You could say that we ‘cherry pick’ the best Lego creations that the web has to offer when we publish here at TLCB. And that’s a tenuous enough link for us to use to highlight this marvellous fully mechanical Technic cherry picker truck by previous bloggee paave.

There’s functioning ‘HOG’ steering, opening doors, working outriggers, a rotating telescopic and elevating boom, and an adjustable basket so your cherries don’t fall out, all of which are operated via good ol’ fashioned mechanics.

There’s more to see of paave’s creation at the Eurobricks forum – pop your cherry via the link.

Fireman Gaz

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Classic British children’s TV show Fireman Sam will always have a special place in our hearts, despite the fact that we don’t remember Sam actually putting out many fires (they’re quite perilous for a show aimed at the under sixes), and the fact that fire’man’ is probably a bit old hat these days.

Still, we’re sure there are plenty of firewomen called Sam, and plenty of firefighters called other things too, such as Gaz. Although that’s a bit colloquial for the title of a kid’s show.

Anyway, it is the title of this post because this is a GAZ, although it’s short for ‘Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod’ rather than ‘Garry’. Built by Danifill of Eurobricks this GAZ 3307 fire truck features working suspension, twin L Motor drive, Servo steering, BuWizz control, LED lights, and opening everything, and there’s more to see at the discussion forum via the link above.

Limey

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We’re not really sure why the British are named after fruits. Australians call them ‘Poms’ (short for pomegranate) whilst in the U.S. they’re ‘Limy’. Whatever the reason (probably something to do with boats and avoiding scurvy), it’s a good fit for today’s post, which is both British and very lime indeed.

These two searingly-coloured creations are Aston Martin Vantage AMR GTE racers, which competed in the GTE Pro category at Le Mans 2018, and made a rather wonderful noise to boot.

Previous bloggee Lasse Deluran has recreated the #95 and #97 cars beautifully in Minland scale, replicating their very lime liveries superbly too.

There’s more to see of Lasse’s Aston Martin Vantage AMR racers at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, where you can also find a link to building instructions should you wish to recreate these for yourself. You may need to buy some lime coloured bricks though…

Size Matters

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Much like your Mom’s waistline or Donald Trump’s self-interest, some things just keep getting bigger. This is L E G O Z ; ) ‘Wegener 48400 Mining Excavator’, and if you thought his mining truck that featured here earlier in the month was massive, just look at this!

Created digitally in Bricklink Studio 2.0, the 48400 measures over 100 virtual studs in length and 90 high, making the mini-figures on board look very tiny indeed. Like Donald Trump hands.

A fusion reactor powers the 48400 and its 46×50 stud bucket, with the necessary tanks of water and nitrogen slung underneath. A crew of ten mini-figures operate the excavator (although it can accommodate up to fifty), and two cockpits control the bucket arm and tracked steering separately due to the vehicle’s immense size.

It’s an incredibly inventive design, with astonishing attention to detail everywhere you look. And there is a lot to look at, with the images enhanced in photoshop to include a lifelike livery, decals, and the ‘Hibernia’ background landscape.

There’s loads more to see of the 48400 and the Wegener mining truck that featured here previously at L E G O Z’s ‘Wegener Mining [Red Series]’ album on Flickr – click the link above to make the jump into a very large digital world.

Paint the Roof Red

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We tend not to publish models that don’t use LEGO bricks here at The Lego Car Blog. After all, the clue is the our name. However modifying LEGO bricks is grey – or in the is case red – area, as proven by Steph Ouell‘s brilliant ‘Raven’ Technic Supercar.

The nerdier Lego fans among you will know that those curvy Technic panels on the roof and fenders aren’t available in red yet (although we’re sure they will be one day), so Steph has resorted to Chinese knock-offs to complete the Raven. And it looks fantastic.

A working V8 engine, 4-speed gearbox, steering, and independent suspension make up the mechanicals and there’s more to see of Steph’s ‘Raven’ Supercar on Flickr via the link.

Death Proof

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“This car is a hundred percent death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, honey, you really need to be sitting in my seat.”

Death Proof isn’t one of Tarantino’s best works (but the bar is unfathomably high), however it’s undoubtedly his best vehicular work.

Stuntman Mike’s 1970 Chevrolet Nova appears in Lego form courtesy of Jonathan Elliott, and you can see more at his photostream. Just make sure you don’t sit in the passenger seat.