Farewell Fiesta

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The party’s over for the Ford Fiesta. One of the best selling cars in Europe for nearly fifty years, Fiesta production ended in 2023 so Ford could focus on crossovers. Yay.

There are literally millions left on the roads of our home nation though, with the Fiesta still the UK’s most sold used car. A smattering of sporty variants will be among them, but most Fiestas are simple, low-power, economical transport for the masses.

But that’s not say the Fiesta couldn’t be turned up to eleven, and Ford did just that with several wild World Rally Championship, X Games, and Rallycross monsters, some of which had over 800bhp.

It’s the former of these we have today, courtesy of Eurobricks’ apachaihapachai, who has recreated the final seventh-generation Ford Fiesta in rally car form.

Fitted with twin Power Functions L Motors, BuWizz bluetooth remote control, and independent suspension, apachai’s creation is a riot to drive, and also includes opening doors plus a working transverse 4-cylinder engine under the opening hood.

Free building instructions are available (one-hundred TLCB points to apachai) and you can find a link to them plus further imagery and a video of the model in action by clicking here.

Towing Package Optional

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Arriving in the mid-’00s, the sixth generation Dodge Charger was a boring four-door sedan with an anaemic 2.7 V6, a four-speed automatic, and Chrysler-corporation interior plastics. Yay.

However, the Charger was also available with a much more interesting 5.7 litre ‘Hemi’ V8, and could be optioned up to 6.1 litres in SRT8 trim, with a further Road/Track package adding ten more horsepower, a sunroof, satellite navigation, a 322-watt stereo, a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, and a heavy-duty cage for pulling a bank vault. That last one may not have been on the official options list.

This incredible replica of the Dodge Charger SRT8 is the work of Michael217 / Michael Kulakov, who has equipped his remarkably detailed model with working steering and suspension, a V8 engine, plus four opening doors, hood, and trunk.

Better still, Michael has also fitted his creation with a suite of third-party remote control electronics including RCBric management, Geekservo steering and Buggy Motor drive, which we’re currently using to pretend we’re a giant bald-headed baby horrifically murdering Rio police officers with a bank vault on a cable. Well, we’re whacking TLCB Elves with a shoe-box on a string, but we’re still having fun.

Anyway, whilst we reenact the chase scene from ‘Fast Five’ in the corridors of TLCB office you can check out more of Michael’s fantastic build at both Eurobricks and Flickr. Click the links to take a closer look!

The Antidote

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TLCB Towers is surrounded by brand new Land Rover Defenders. Which is a good thing for the viability of JLR, if not the likability of Land Rover. Because every single one is vanity-plated black-on-black with extra black driven by a sleeve-tattooed-holiday-in-Dubai-park-on-yellow-lines-whist-getting-a-weekly-skin-fade-douchebag. And we hate them.

We need a new Defender antidote, and it comes in the form of… the old Defender. Everything the new one isn’t, we’ve never yet seen a spotless original Defender parked illegally outside the Turkish barbers, because they’re still driving around the countryside, often with a sheep in the back. And we love them.

This splendid brick-built Land Rover Defender 90 captures the original 4×4 beautifully in classic Model Team form, and there’s more to see courtesy of brittle.lime.joint / CaptainSirMig on Flickr and Eurobricks respectively. Join us taking the antidote to the modern Defender via the links above.

Onward Guinevere!

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It’s normally the inside of an old van that has all the illegal stuff…

This is ‘Guinevere’, the pegasus-painted van of the elven protagonists in Pixar’s ‘Onward’, and it’s got more illegal moves than Max Verstappen.

Held together by a combination of immense skill and hope (we suspect there’s a reason this model is only photographed from one side!), 1saac W.‘s remarkable creation pushes the limits of brick-based building.

Take a closer look at 1ssac’s photostream, just don’t try to pick it up.

LEGO 43277 Cruella de Vil’s Car | Set Preview

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Well here’s a new vehicle set that we didn’t spot coming… this is the LEGO 43277 Cruella de Vil’s Car.

Aimed at aged 9+ and constructed from 378 pieces, which include the rather sought-after balloon/fenders and train window, 43277 captures the cartoonesque appearance of Cruella’s vintage car in mini-figure scale. Except the wheels are taller than she is, so… Icons scale? Creator? Um, we’re not sure, but the set does include a Cruella de Vil mini-figure (plus a dalmatian puppy), opening doors, and working steering via the spare wheel on the back.

If we’re honest, 43277 looks more like a set to be acquired for its parts. Kinda like Cruella’s reason for acquiring those puppies… Sheesh that was dark. Anyway, expect 43277 to cost around $50/£45 when it arrives on September 1st, and for builders to make a fine coat out of its pieces.

Flight of the Camel

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The First World War was pretty pointless, but it did hasten aircraft technology at a rate so astonishing we’re unlikely to see any sector advance so quickly ever again. At least until AI becomes sentient, and then we’re all doomed anyway.

One of the products borne out of this intense pace of development was this, the British Sopwith Camel. Entering service in June 1917, the Camel was the peak of fighter aircraft technology. Powered by a hefty radial engine, armed with twin synchronised machine guns, and with 90% of its weight in its first two meters imbuing it with incredible agility, the Camel scored numerous kills… Until the middle of 1918, when it was obsolete.

This lovely brick-built Camel comes from Thinh Thi, who’s recreated and presented the (briefly) dominant World War 1 fighter superbly, complete with posable ailerons, ‘wire’ wing bracing, and an appropriately attired mini-figure.

There’s more of the model to see at Thinh’s ‘Sopwith Camel’ album, and you can claim air superiority in 1917, or air mediocrity in 1918, via the link above.

The Hook

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We like a good hook here at TLCB, and they don’t come much gooder or hookier than this huge DAF FAD 95.400 ATI 8×4 hook-lift truck by Flickr’s Arian Janssens.

Able to hoist an enormous container onto itself, as well as tow another behind on a draw-bar trailer, Arian’s DAF is a testament to large scale model-making, and there’s loads more to see at his ‘DAF FAD 95.400 ATI 8×4’ album. Take a look via the link above if it’s got you hooked…

*Today’s (wonderful) title song. Of course.

Cruiser of Choice

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Toyota’s legendary 70-Series Land Cruiser has traversed the world’s most inhospitable places since the mid-’80s (as well as a lot of Australian supermarket carparks), and is still on sale today.

Over that incredible forty year production run, the 70-Series has been fitted with a bewildering array of engines and body styles, courtesy the hugely diverse markets in which it is sold.

All of which makes it rather hard to choose one particular variant if you’re intent on recreating the 70-Series out of our favourite plastic bricks. So Eurobricks’ 2GodBDGlory hasn’t. He’s made all of them.

Yup, 2God’s fantastic modular Land Cruiser 70-Series can be built with five different engines (or Power Functions remote remote control), 1980s, 2000s, or 2020s styling, short, medium, or long wheelbase, SUV (with hard or soft top) or Pick-Up (with various tray/bed configurations), and a roof basket or rack.

Best of all, he’s made building instructions available for free, so you can recreate your perfect Lego Land Cruiser 70-Series at home! Find out more at the Eurobricks forum, and you can see various configurations on-location in his Bricksafe album here.

Vintage Vegetable Vignette

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This site is, admittedly, usually full of vehicles with stripes, spoilers, and V8s. But we’re actually rural bumpkins at heart, so we’re also rather fond of vehicles and scenes like this one.

Constructed by Andrew Tate (no, not that one), this lovely vintage vignette captures truck trading from decades gone by, and you can take a look at a quieter time rebuilt in brick via the link above.

Honour in Tokyo

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We can’t really remember what happens in ‘The Fast and the Furious; Tokyo Drift’, except that one of the characters inexplicably comes back from the dead several movies later, and the Yakuza somehow agree to a street race to decide honour or something.

Anyway, it did have some cool cars, including this modified Nissan Fairlady / 350Z VeilSide, which drifted around a multi-storey car park to decide honour or something.

This excellent Technic recreation of that car comes from previous bloggee ArtemyZotov, who has captured the wide-body exterior and art-car paint from the movie, with the model also featuring a working V6 engine, steering, and opening doors, hood and trunk.

There’s more of Artemy’s ‘Tokyo Drift’ Nissan Fairlady Z to see at the Eurobricks forum, including a link to building instructions so you can race it around at home. For honour or something. Drift over to Tokyo via the link above.

The Other F1

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As we type this, twenty cars are currently in a one-and-a-half-hour traffic jam in the streets of Monaco. Which is really boring. So here’s a more interesting F1; the first Ford F-Series pick-up, a vehicle that would became one of the most successful models in history.

Built by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz, this lovely recreation of the 1948 Ford F1 includes working steering, opening doors, double-hinged hood and tailgate, plus a detailed engine and interior.

Building instructions are available and you can see more at Jakub’s ‘Ford F1 1948’ Flickr album and at the Eurobricks forum, where there’s not an over-priced ticket nor procession masquerading as a motor race in sight.

Superliner

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Another day, another Elf returns to TLCB Towers in the hope of a meal token and a Smartie. Which it has definitely earned, as we are rather partial to a classic American truck.

This one is a mid-‘80s Mack Superliner, and not only does it look excellent, it’s got a working V8, functioning steering and fifth wheel, and opening doors and hood.


Constructed by previous bloggee DamianPLE there’s more to see, including building instructions, at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe, and you can take a look via the links.

Electric Dreams

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The future is electric. And crossover shaped. Sigh.

Here’s one such vehicle, Audi’s Q6 e-tron electric crossover, and it’s about as interesting as a Brothers Brick Annual General Meeting.

Well, in car form anyway. But in Lego form it’s a very interesting indeed, courtesy of this utterly brilliant Model Team replica by Flickr’s LEGO 7.

7’s Audi Q6 e-tron captures the electric crossover in spellbinding detail, with opening doors, LED lights, replicated badging, and one of the most lifelike interiors we’ve ever seen.

There’s much more to see at 7’s ‘Audi Q6 e-tron’ album, where twenty fantastic images are available to view. Dream electric via the link above.

Magnum Force

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‘Magnum Force’ is the title of the 1973 sequel to ‘Dirty Harry’, with Clint Eastwood reprising the role of Harry Callahan – and the movie named after an energy drink. Or a signature wrestling move. Or a condom. Or a gun. Probably the last one.

Anyway, as well as Eastwood, ‘Magnum Force’ also starred the 1972 Ford Custom 500, with this neat 6-wide example coming from previous bloggee Sseven Bricks of Flickr.

Some clever techniques recreate the 500’s details, and you can jump back to early ’70s San Fransisco (where everyone seems to die – including the Ford) at Sseven’s photostream via the link above.

Well Groomed

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As you’d expect, working for a world-famous Lego website means VIP invites, public speaking events, and meetings with top LEGO executives. Therefore being well-groomed is an essential part of the job.

Well, we’d imagine it is anyway. Fortunately we’re not The Brothers Brick and thus we receive precisely none of the above. So we can look like tramps.

But today, and most unusually, we do in fact have a grooming device in TLCB Towers! Because this is a 1:13 scale fully remote controlled Kässbohrer PistenBully 800w snow-groomer, and it’s tremendous.

Constructed by Zeta Racing of Flickr, this incredible creation features no fewer than twelve Power Functions motors, providing remote control to the drive and skid-steering, snow-plough blade elevation, profile and tilt, crane and winch operation, and the remarkably complicated looking, um… grooming thingy on the back.

A piston engine, four sets of LED lights, and superb custom decals also feature, making Zeta’s build one of the most impressive Technic creations of the year so far.

Beautifully presented as well as engineered, there’s much more of this phenomenal model to see at Zeta Racing’s photostream, where over thirty top-quality images are available to view.

Click the link above to see snow groomed better than any human here at TLCB…