Revenge of the Fifth

Leave a reply

Well travelled, a bit worn out, but still able to take a bit of a pounding*, Bruce Willis’ hover taxi in The Fifth Element wasn’t in quite as good nick at the end of the movie’s chase scene as it was at the beginning. NYPD’s finest were the cause of the damage, with their own hover patrol cars equipped with slightly more weaponry than today’s Ford Crown Vics. Their reckless approach to using it hasn’t changed much though…

This excellent recreation of one of the NYPD patrol cars from The Fifth Element comes from Flickr’s Davdup, whose hover taxi appeared here earlier in the year. Like his previous build brilliant detailing and clever techniques are present throughout, with the model further enhanced by custom decals. Head to Davdup’s Flickr album to give chase.

*Insert your own ‘Your Mom’ joke.

LEGO Technic 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator | Set Preview

14 Replies

There’s been one hole remaining in our reveal of the H2 2019 LEGO Technic line-up. It turns out it was a very big hole indeed. This is the 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator, the largest and most expensive Technic model ever released.

With over 4,100 pieces, seven electric motors, and two of LEGO’s new ‘Smart Hubs’ which allow for remote control via Bluetooth thanks to the recently released LEGO Control+ App, the 42100 set is the most advanced Technic set yet, and it has a price tag to match, costing $450/£400.

That is seriously expensive for a toy, but LEGO are hoping that the set’s enormous array of programmable functionality will make it an attractive purchase. The officially-licensed Liebherr (joining such sets as the Volvo L350F, Mack Anthem and Claas Xerion 5000) can drive, skid-steer, rotate the superstructure, extend and raise the boom, and open and tilt the bucket, all remotely via a phone.

Those functions can be programmed too, thanks to the new Control+ App, with realistic sound effects and real-time feedback available. It’s a modern interpretation of the brilliant plug-and-play 8479 Barcode Truck from twenty-two years ago, only with the up-to-date control programmability afforded by today’s intuitive touch devices.

The new LEGO Technic 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator set will reach stores in October of this year, instantly becoming the flagship of the Technic range. Will the intuitive control, easy programmability and amazing multiple motorised functions offset that huge price? We’re willing to bet that if it does then a $500+ Technic set isn’t too far away…

Get Fork-D

1 Reply

The LEGO Technic 42082 Rough Terrain Crane has the highest piece count of any Technic model so far (although check back here later to see what’s about to eclipse it…) including multiple motors, linear actuators and gearbox parts, making it the perfect set for repurposing into something new. LEGO offer this themselves via the ‘B-Models’ that can be built from most Technic sets, and TLCB Master MOCer Nico71 has gone two steps further by designing both ‘C’ and ‘D’ Models from the parts found within the 42082 inventory.

Nico’s 42082 ‘C-Model’ appeared here last year and he’s now designed a further ‘D-Model’ that can be built solely from the parts found within the Rough Terrain Crane set.

Nico’s heavy duty forklift includes as many functions as the set from which its parts are taken, including a motorised tilting and raising/lowering fork, powered adjustable fork width, a tilting cabin, V6 piston engine, pendular suspension and working steering.

It’s a brilliant build, made even more so by the parts restriction inherent with being built from an existing set, and you can see full details, the complete gallery of images, and find building instructions at Nico71’s website by clicking here.

YouTube Video

Forty-Nine

Leave a reply

We have a contender for Creation of the Year today. This utterly bewitching Lotus 49 is the work of Flickr’s Pixeljunkie who has not only recreated one of the greatest racing cars ever designed in spellbinding beauty, the model’s presentation is absolute perfection.

Pixel’s gorgeous model includes spectacular suspension, engine and gearbox detail and a superbly replicated ’67 Team Lotus livery complete with authentic logos and badging. It’s an incredible piece of work and you can see the images shown here in more detail via the link above, plus you read more about how the real car became one of racing all-time greats by clicking here.

To School!

Leave a reply

Alice has got herself a new SUV and it’s the perfect car to one-up Rachel and her Range Rover Sport outside the school gates. It was expensive, but you can’t put a price on safety, and David’s job in the city is paying really well now.

Alice’s new school-run monstrosity (an Oshkosh M-ATV) comes from Robson M aka BrickDesigners and is – frankly – not that absurd at all compared to the pointless car-based one-upmanship that occurs outside the education establishment close to TLCB Towers.

Surely this SUV craze has got to end soon? See more of Alice’s new wheels on Flickr via the link.

Caddy Powered Classic

Leave a reply

We like usual cars here at The Lego Car Blog, and they don’t come much more unusual than this.

‘This’ is a 1954 HWM Cadillac, built for amateur racer Tony Page and raced across England in the mid 1950s. Page took the Cadillac engine from his previous racing car, an Allard J2, and fitted it to a chassis and body from Hersham & Walton Motors of London, who built competitive Jaguar-engined sports and Formula 2 cars in the early ’50s.

After racing successfully for a few years Page sold the car, whereupon it raced in New Zealand until 1970 when it disappeared into storage. The car surfaced again in 2012 when it was acquired by a new owner and fully restored.

This gorgeous recreation of the HWM Cadillac comes from Tim Inman of Flickr who has done a stellar job of recreating the one-off classic, complete with a detailed replica of the Cadillac engine that powered the car. There’s more to see of Tim’s excellent build at his photostream – click the link above to make the jump to the full gallery.

Thunderbolt

2 Replies

This might be the most beautiful recreation of a butt-ugly vehicle we’ve yet published. The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, nicknamed the ‘Warthog’, is a close air support aircraft – effectively providing air cover for front-line troops – that has served the USAF since the late ’70s.

Its, er… ‘unique’ appearance is dictated by the need for a short take-off and landing ability, significant firepower, and heavy armouring – due to the aircraft’s high likelihood of coming into contact with enemy forces.

This utterly brilliant Lego recreation of the A-10 Thunderbolt II comes from previous bloggee Plane Bricks of Flickr, who has nailed the challenging aesthetic thanks to a range of expertly deployed advanced building techniques, particularly evident in the engines and cockpit.

A huge gallery of images is available to view at Plane Bricks’ photostream – take a look via the link above.

Tractor Trailer Trailer

Leave a reply

Flickr’s Jakeof_ is back, with this beautifully constructed MTZ-82.1 tractor – complete with hot dogs for wheel arches – towing a pair of Autosan D-732 trailers. Lovely detailing is visible throughout and there’s much more to see of this superb threesome at his MTZ-82.1 / Austin D-732 Flickr album. Click the link above to visit Jakeof_’s farm.

 

Beastly Buick

Leave a reply

Buick might be best known for making miserable floaty nonsense for old people to drive around Florida, or more recently cars for China, which would probably finish a few Buick drivers off if they knew about it, but the brand has occasionally built an interesting car.

Back in the early ’70s everyone was having a go at muscle cars, even Buick, who chucked a larger engine, trunk spoiler, lurid paint, and a hood-mounted tachometer (why?!) on their Skylark coupe to create the GSX.

This most excellent Lego replica of the Buick GSX (in ‘limemist green’) is the work of Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad Physicist of Flickr who has recreated the lesser-known muscle car superbly in his trademark style. Head to Ralph’s photostream via the link above for the complete gallery and you can read his interview as part of TLCB’s Master MOCers series by clicking here.

Horse Race

1 Reply

We get the feeling most Ferrari owners don’t just have one prancing horse in their stable. Regular bloggee Angka Utama doesn’t either, having built a whole herd of historic horses from Ferrari’s ’80s-’90s back catalogue.

Pictured here are a Ferrari 308 GTS, 328 GTS and 348 Testa Rossa, whilst a further classic Mondial cabriolet can also be found at his photostream. Each has been created superbly in 8-wide ‘Speed Champions’ scale, based on an ingenious modular platform, and each includes the cleverest windshield surround – made from a rubber band held under tension – that we’ve ever seen on a vehicle.

There’s more to see of each of Angka’s brilliant Ferrari builds at his Flickr photostream, including this awesome exploded-view image showing how the modular construction and that rubber band windshield surround have been designed. Head to Angka’s stable via the link above to give each horse a ride.

Cable Container

Leave a reply

The TLCB Elves are excited today. Not only is this find bright orange, it’s also remote control and large enough for a several to ride in it at once whilst being too slow to run them over.

It comes from designer-han who has a doctorate in advanced mechanical engineering. OK, we don’t know that for sure, but we assume he does because his latest creation is so complicated it makes our brains hurt.

An SBrick provides bluetooth control to the drive and four-wheel-steering, plus a motorised tilting cabin (under which sits a V8 piston engine), twin cable winches, a tilting container platform, and front and rear power-take-offs onto which a snowplow and salt-spreader can be attached.

There’s more to see of designer-han’s orange masterpiece at Eurobricks via the link above where a link to the full image gallery, building instructions and a video can be found.

Build Your Own LaFerrari

Leave a reply

It might be the most stupidly named car of all time (OK, apart from the Mazda Bongo Friendee), but the Ferrari La Ferrari is a properly impressive machine. A V12 engine and a KERS hybrid system deliver 950bhp, whilst active aerodynamics aim to allow the driver to use at least some of that without ending up as a red smear on a barrier somewhere.

Costing over $1 million new and with only 499 made, most of us will never even see a Ferrari LaFerrari, let alone drive one, but thanks to T Lego of Eurobricks you can now build your very own! T Lego first designed his brilliant Technic recreation of the ultra-rate Italian hypercar digitally using Master MOCer Sariel‘s ‘Model Scaler’ software, before creating the model for real.

Packed with functionality, the car features front and rear suspension, working steering with positive caster angle, opening butterfly doors and engine cover, a miniature V12 piston engine (designed by another Master MOCer Crowkillers), and mechanically operated ‘active’ aerodynamics.

There’s a whole lot more to see of T Lego’s Ferrari LaFerrari at the Eurobricks discussion via the link above, where you can also find a video demonstrating the model’s features and the all-important link to building instructions.

Mack Mystery

2 Replies

Here at The Lego Car Blog we love hearing your suggestions when our Elves may have missed a blog-worthy creation. However we do also receive self-requests, which we politely decline. This week though, we received an unusual email to our direct mailbox from a builder wishing to share their model with us, but not wanting the fame/glory/riches/girls that obviously follow when someone’s creation is published here.

We pondered this, and decided that we would grant their request to publicise their model anonymously, as… well, we’re anonymous too*. It also helped that the model is spectacular.

This gorgeous recreation of the Mack RL700L from the movie ‘Convoy’ comes from, er… we can’t say, and it is near perfect replica of the movie star truck. Complete with accurate decals and incredible detail throughout, it’s one of the finest truck builds of the year so far, with presentation further enhanced by a ‘Convoy’ appropriate desert background.

There’s more to see at, wait… no there’s not. However you can click on the images here to see them in a larger scale and you can check out the summary/trailer from the 1978 film in which this truck featured by clicking here.

*We have enough trouble declining countless offers of affection without the intense celebrity that would doubtless occur if we weren’t anonymous here.

Three Little Birds

Leave a reply

This is in the ‘Town’ category? Wait, what? Yup, these incredible aircraft are indeed mini-figure scale, and have been built by the astonishingly talented (and suitably named) BigPlanes of Flickr. Each is a beautifully accurate replica of one of Boeing’s narrow-body aircraft, with the classic 707, 727 and more modern 737 all represented, each featuring a wonderful real-world livery from a time-appropriate airline.

They’ve been photographed outside superbly too, as they’re probably too large for indoor shots, and there’s a huge gallery of images available to see at BigPlanes’ photostream, including close up details and a few insights into how such amazing accuracy was achieved. Head to the skies via the link above, and you can hear today’s most excellent title song here.

Menace to Society

Leave a reply

If there’s a car more likely to go sideways through a bus stop, we’re yet to find it. The morons that drive Ford Mustangs aren’t exactly the fault of the car though, so let’s enjoy it for what it is; an over-powered, under-suspended bargain of power per dollar. This Model Team Mustang GT500 comes from Flickr’s Captain Chinchilla, formally Senator Chinchilla but now part of the witness protection programme or something, and is a rather nice homage to the most crashed car in the history of car meets. Head to Flickr via the link above before someone drives it through a crowd.