The Elves have been working hard lately, and we have a bumper haul for you today. These are two of their finds, both ’90s Japanese sports cars, both roughly Speed Champions scale, and – most importantly – both with pop-up headlights.
SP_LINEUP‘s modified Nissan 240SX (above) and dazzz99‘s Honda NSX (below) capture the details of their real-life counterparts brilliantly, and remind us of a time when Japanese cars were at then top of their game.
Click the links above to head back to the ’90s.
This is not a car. But it is transport, and it is beautiful, so here it is. Built by Montgomery Burns this excellent wagon scene is titled simply ‘small diorama’ and there’s more to see of it and the amazing wider world in which this features via the link above.
Dornbi’s ace vehicular Americana appeared here earlier in the month, and he’s now published the complete diorama in which his classic metal features. A collaboration with another builder, Dornbi’s brilliant ’40s and ’50s vehicles pass a charming rural desert gas station, complete with pumps, workshop and store, driving of course on the superb brick-built Route 66 itself. There’s more to see of this wonderful build on Flickr – click here to drive Route 66 for yourself!
Undercover detectives need an understated, invisible ride. Something that draws no attention, that can slip by unnoticed. A Dodge minivan for example. Or a Toyota Corolla. Not a bright red Ford Gran Torino with a giant white vector stripe down each side.
Still, maybe things were different in the ’70, and Starksy & Hutch’s wheels still seemed to nab them plenty of crooks. Cue Pasq67‘s 8-wide recreation of one of TV’s most famous vehicles, complete with Starsky & Hutch mini-figures and ‘magnetic’ pot-plant flashing beacon. Oh, and a giant white vector stripe down each side of course.
Head to Pasq’s Flickr album via the link above for all the imagery and click here for a nearly twenty-minute montage of the real Gran Torino in action!
Technic Supercars are not defined by the type of car they would be in the real world. Most would still be super cars of course, but some… some are little more mundane. Like a Fiat 125p for example. And we love them for this.
This heroically humdrum Technic Supercar is the work of Porsche96, who has created Fiat’s 1960s sedan in unbelievable accuracy. In fact Fiat’s regular 125 was too flashy for Porsche96, who decided to built the 125p version; the Polski-Fiat built under license by FSO in Poland until a scarcely believable 1991.
Porsche96’s recreation of the Polish peoples’ car includes all of the prerequisites to be classified as a Technic Supercar, plus a whole lot more besides. Working steering, a functioning four-cylinder engine and four-speed gearbox, and all-wheel suspension tick all the Supercar boxes, whilst remote control for the drive, steering, and even gearbox (thanks to a suite of Power Functions motors and servos, plus an SBrick and BuWizz battery) goes much further indeed.
There are opening and locking doors, an opening bonnet with a working interior release mechanism, adjustable seats, LED head and tail lights, and also fully removable bodywork.
It all adds up to Porcshe96’s Fiat 125p being one of the most accurately engineered (and brilliantly built) Technic Supercars that we’ve ever featured, even if the real world car is about as far from a super car as it is possible to be. Which somehow makes this model all the cooler.
There’s much more to see including a full build description on Eurobricks, the complete and extensive gallery of images can be found on Bricksafe, and building instructions are available via Rebrickable. Plus you watch this amazing Technic Supercar in action via the brilliant video below.
YouTube Video:
Lego creations tend to be constructed in a very unrealistic manner. Pieces are attached to one another so that every part is connected to everything else, making a robust, playable model that looks like what it’s supposed to on the outside, and nothing like what it’s supposed to underneath. But we usually only look at the outside, not having x-ray vision and all, so that’s OK. Plus if we had x-ray vision we’d have more important things to do than peer inside Lego creations…
On to today’s creation, and Sebeus I has decided to design a creation that is constructed in the same way a real car would be. Or, more accurately, a model kit of a car. Sebeus has constructed each component of his Model Team style supercar separately, including the ‘carbon fibre’ tub, V8 engine, axle, steering and suspension assemblies, dashboard, battery, and body panels, each of which is then attached to the model independently.
The result is a model that you have to build twice, firstly in Lego form; constructing each of the components, and then in kit form; assembling the components into the finished car. This is magnificently pointless, but also looks rather fun, with the side benefit that you can half-build the model’s bodywork to see all of its components like a motor show cut-away. It’s an intriguing way to design a Lego car and if you’re interested to see more (and support Sebeus’ design on LEGO Ideas so it could become an official LEGO set) you can do so on Flickr and Eurobricks via these links.
Following the rather bleak post earlier today, here’s one featuring an early 1990s racing car painted bright green and sponsored by fizzy-pop, ‘cos we like to be balanced.
It’s a Jordan 191 from 1991, probably the ’90s second most famous Jordan (we won’t link to other one, but if you’re British you’ll know…). The 191 was a moderately successful mid-field runner, powered by a Ford V8, and scoring a few points throughout the season (when points were much harder to get remember, only being awarded to the top six).
This neat Lego replica of the other ’90s Jordan comes from Luciano Delorenzo of Flickr, who has captured the real car complete with fizzy-pop paint-job very well indeed. Head to Luciano’s photostream via the link above to see al the photos, or start Googling if you don’t know the other Jordan to which we’re referring…
Eurobricks’ Small Car Contest continues to generate some wonderful creations. One of our favourites is this, thirdwigg‘s excellent LMP (Le Mans Prototype) racing car. Working steering, a miniature functioning V8 engine, removable bodywork, and a surprisingly detailed chassis all feature, and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link above.
The world is currently balanced on a pinhead, with the slightest nudge in any direction sending the global economy into the greatest depression since the, er… Great Depression.
Beginning in 1929 and lasting right up until Germany started getting a bit ‘handsy’ in Europe**, it was the most severe recession the world has ever known. Vehicle sales tumbled – particularly from luxury marques – but there were still cars sold during the period, like this marvellous Austin 12 Burnham.
Like the current trend for SUVs, late ’20s cars were boxy, with high ground clearance and imposing radiator grilles – although this was more for functionality than today’s pointless need for ‘assertive, confident, aggressive’ styling or whatever the marketing types label monstrosities like this as.
This excellent recreation of the Austin 12 comes from Flickr’s 1saac W., who has replicated the 1929 tourer rather well. There’s more of 1saac’s model to see at his photostream – click the link above to take a look, whilst we ponder the worrying circularity of history…
**Thanks to a rise in nationalism, populism, and a desire to ‘make countries great again’. Good thing the world will never repeat that mistake…
We end today’s truck double with another magnificent remotely controlled cab-over truck and trailer combo, this time from the other side of the Atlantic where such set-ups are much more unusual.
This Kenworth K100 is one of relatively few American cab-overs, being apparently designed with only a ruler and a set-square, and it’s been recreated absolutely beautifully in Model Team form by previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd. Incredible attention to detail is visible everywhere on the outside, whilst Power Functions motors are hidden within to bring the creation to life.
It’s a model that is definitely worth a closer look and you can join us in doing just that at Vladimir’s Kenworth K100 Flickr album via the link above.
We have no idea what Soul Storm Kennels is, but their logo looks awesome on the side of a truck trailer! Pulling this magnificent tessellation of bricks is a DAF XF XT Super Space Cab by Lasse Deleuran aka gtahelper. Power Functions motors and an SBrick bluetooth brick give the model remote control drive, and there’s more to see (plus building instructions) via the links above.
The Lego Car Blog Elves have been remarkably on-point lately, bringing back actual cars and trucks for around the last fifty posts! We’re not sure any of this newfound laser-focus is of their own doing though, with the current Eurobricks Small Car Contest and our own Lock-Down B-Model Competition supplying them with plenty of wheeled creations. Not that you can’t build a B-Model spaceship of course.
Anyway, not entered in either of those contests, and also not a car, is this ‘BT-87 Allied Avenger’ Blacktron starfighter by Flickr’s The Brick Artisan. Not only is the build really rather excellent, the presentation is stellar too, and there’s more to see at The Artisan’s photostream. Click the link above to jump to hyperspace.
This brilliant little Technic Ferrari F40 was discovered by one of our Elves today, and it continues the run of excellent small-scale supercars being generated by the Eurobricks Small Car contest. Built by previous bloggee paave it features a wealth of functionality that you’d normally expect to find in a model much larger, including a working V8 engine, steering, pop-up headlights, and opening doors, front truck and clamshell engine cover. There’s more to see at the Eurobricks forum and you can make the jump there via the link above.
OK, we’ll come right out with it. This incredible 1:8 scale Mazda RX-7 with RE:Amemiya bodykit isn’t strictly, entirely, 100% LEGO. But that’s only because LEGO don’t make all the parts in the right colours. Builder Gray Gear has therefore used a few clone brands to complete his creation, with the white wheel-arches and white pins not part of LEGO’s range. Switch them for orange and black respectively though, and Gray’s Mazda can be built with genuine LEGO parts.
However it seems almost appropriate that Gray Gear’s model uses a few non-genuine pieces as his RX-7 also features an RE:Amemiya bodykit, which isn’t exactly a Mazda factory option…
Underneath that wild exterior Gray has created a working two-rotor engine, replicating the unusual set-up of the real RX-7, which is hooked up to a functioning 6-speed gearbox. Working steering, all-wheel independent suspension, and opening doors and hood also feature, and you can see more of all of the above at the Eurobricks discussion forum where further images and a video displaying the model’s features can be found.
Gray is also considering making instructions available should you wish to create his RX-7 RE:Amemiya for yourself. You’ll have to build it in orange if you want to use purely official LEGO pieces, but we think it’ll look rather excellent if you do! Head to Eurobricks via the link above to take a look and pester Gray for those building steps…
Gypsy caravans (proper ones at least) and narrow boats are famous for their beautiful paintwork. Trucks less so, with many just a generic white, however occasionally they are painted with as much care as their horse-drawn and canal-navigating counterparts. This is one example, a 1980s Scania 143M built by Bricks_n_Trucks of Flickr. Recreating the livery of Belgian transport company ‘Perditrans’, Bricks_n_Trucks’ Scania also includes remote control drive and steering via a BuWizz bluetooth battery, and there’s more to see on Flickr. Grab a paint brush at the link above.
