G-Spot

This is the ‘G-Wing’, so called because female pilots experienced unexplained sensations when piloting it. Or because it’s in the shape of a giant ‘G’. Whatever the reason, you can see more courtesy of Flickr’s Dave Kaleta who has been working his way through the alphabet for his three year old son, which might mean that we should reconsider this post’s title. Moving on!…

Today’s second creation is another space-based mini-figure scale vehicle, the ‘Centauri Industries Crater Maker 5000’, a vehicle so dangerous that flying it on Earth is apparently prohibited. This makes it the the sci-fi equivalent of the English Electric Lightning, which really is banned from flying for the same reason. Or this, which should be. If you’re feeling brave Flickr’s Blake Foster might be able to let you have a go – take a look via the link!

Space Container

Oh. Crap.

That’s what went through this writer’s head when he entered TLCB Towers this morning. The Elves don’t have a bedtime as such, returning to the office as and when they find a blog-worthy creation, although they often sleep in their cage room when we turn the lights out in-between foraging for builds.

Normally this is a peaceful affair, with only minor scuffles reported the following morning. That was not the case today.

Squashed Elves where everywhere, ingrained into the carpet or slammed against furniture. They’re resilient little creatures so they’ll all be fine (probably), but recovering our Elven workforce to a functioning state and cleaning up the Elven bodily fluids spilt during the night is not a fun job. Still, at least we get paid to do it. No that’s not right…

The cause of the destruction was found abandoned in the corridor with an Elf squashed underneath it and another swinging miserably from the crane mounted on the rear.

But what on Earth was it? Well it turns out ‘on Earth’ is the wrong place to start, as this amazing machine is apparently a ‘Martian Heavy Transporter’, a six-wheel-drive, skid steer, off-road crane truck, built to carry containers across the Martian landscape.

Each of those six wheels is fully suspended and powered by an individual XL Motor, with all six hooked up to a BuWizz bluetooth control that delivers up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions system. No wonder it could catch the fleeing Elves.

Mounted on the top of the chassis is an enormous remotely operated linear-actuator powered crane that can pull a large container onto the rear of the vehicle with ease, in a manner somewhere between LEGO’s neat 1994 6668 Recycle Truck and something from Robot Wars, or slide it to the ground by unfurling itself rearwards.

It’s a seriously slick piece of engineering and one we’re properly impressed by, even if it the cause of some considerable tidying up plus the need to administer a bit of Elven healthcare. Whilst we get on with that you can see more of this remarkable vehicle courtesy of desert752 of Eurobricks / Kirill Mazurov (aka Desert Eagle) of Flickr.

Head to Eurobricks and/or Flickr via the links for more, where a video of Desert / Kirill’s ‘Martian Heavy Transport’ and a complete gallery of imagery can also be found.

They See Me Rollin’

The Rolls-Royce Phantom isn’t just for new money. In fact it’s been around almost as long as the brand itself, with this example being the Phantom II, launched way back in 1929.

The Phantom II came powered by a 7.7 litre straight-six mated to a four-speed gearbox, with semi-elliptical spring suspension and servo-assisted brakes. At the time Rolls-Royce only made the chassis and running gear for their cars, with the customer choosing a body from one of several ‘coachbuilders’, including Park Ward, Mulliner, Hooper and others. We don’t know which bodywork this example by Flickr’s Lennart C (aka Everblack) is wearing, but it looks lovely whatever it is.

There’s more to see of Lennart’s beautiful Rolls-Royce Phantom II at his photostream – click the link above to see how they rolled in the 1930s.

I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost

If there’s something strange in you neighborhood
Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters!)
If there’s something weird
And it don’t look good
Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters!)
I ain’t afraid of no ghost
I ain’t afraid of no ghost
If you’re seeing things running through your head
Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters!)
An invisible man
Sleeping in your bed
Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters!)

 

This excellent (and enormous) Technic recreation of the ‘Ecto-1’ Cadillac Ambulance from ‘Ghostbusters’ comes from thewdarren of Flickr and it’s packed with bustin’ paraphernalia. And a V8 engine, because that’s cool. There’s loads more to see at thewdarren’s Ecto-1 album via the link above, you can check out LEGO’s own official Ghostbusters set here, and you can watch the video for very probably coolest movie theme ever by clicking here!

Vanburger

Andy might look like a bearded hipster but there are no plant-based all-natural ethical peace crisps in the back of his van. This lovely classic Chevrolet comes from TLCB favourite (and Master MOCer) Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74 and it’s part of a much larger and utterly wonderful hamburger restaurant scene.

Head to Andrea’s Flickr album for more of Andy’s Van and his Burger Joint and make ours a double beef with bacon!

M-Strider

M-Tron have gone badass! This marvellous contraption was found on Brickshelf by one of our Elves today, and it continues M-Tron’s transformation from nerdy magnet collectors to fearsome space heroes. Or something like that. This M-Tron ‘M-20 Neon Strider’ by CP5670 not only looks bloody brilliant, but feed it compressed air and eight pneumatic cylinders and fourteen switches will cause it automatically (and probably very spookily) march its way across the floor. Now there’s a way to terrify your cat. Head to the Brickshelf gallery via the link above to check it out!

Creator Expert 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy | Set Preview

LEGO’s officially licensed replicas just keep coming! This is their latest, in partnership with motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, the 10269 Creator Expert Fat Boy.

The first motorcycle in the Creator Expert line, the Harley-Davison Fat Boy becomes the second bike to be recreated in LEGO form following the excellent 42063 Technic BMW Motorrad R 1200 GS Adventure released a few years ago, and brings another new manufacturer partnership to LEGO’s already impressive back-catalogue.

With just over 1,000 pieces the new 10269 set is a hefty thing befitting its name, and it features a few new parts too – including printed Harley-Davison tiles that appear on the neat tear-drop shaped fuel tank and new authentic ‘Lakester’ wheels with very probably the widest tyre ever fitted to a LEGO motorcycle.

The new 10269 set also features a few working functions, including handlebar steering, a moveable gearshift pedal, kickstand and brake levers, and a working replica of the Fat Boy’s ‘Milwaukee-Eight®’ V-Twin engine with a brick-built engine block and pistons, making the Fat Boy the first LEGO set to use a non-specialised brick-built engine since the Technic sets of the 1980s. The model’s authenticity is completed with accurate ‘wicked red’ colouring as well as bespoke decals for the badging, speedometer and license plate.

10269 looks to be another fine addition to LEGO’s officially licensed range, and with Harley-Davison having such a loyal (often fanatical) following worldwide we expect the set to have an appeal as wide as that ludicrous rear tyre. Expect the Creator Expert 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy set to cost around $100/£85 when it reaches stores later this month.

Not a Car

Neither of the two creations featuring in this post are cars. Which means our explanations are likely to be mediocre at best. So, on to the explanations!

First up (above) we have Marco Marozzi’s ‘Ma.K 7 Anti Riot Urban Mech’ which looks terrifying enough to quell any dissent. Maybe we should ask him to make a bigger one for us to control the Elves with here at TLCB Towers…

Second, and following on from his build that featured here last month, we have Blake Foster‘s ‘Prickly Minnow Assualt Craft’ which features two enormous ion cannons mounted above and below the tiny cockpit, inside which a fantastically aggressive mini-figure pilots the controls. And we totally knew that and didn’t just rob it from the description.

There’s more to see of each build on Flickr via the links above, and we’ll be back soon with a car and a proper description…

Whole Lotta Loader

This spectacular creation is a Dressta 560E Extra front loader, and it comes from Bricksley of Flickr. Bricksley’s model looks the business from the outside, complete with incredible attention to detail, custom decals, and ingenious building techniques throughout, however it’s what’s underneath that is even more impressive.

Four Power Functions motors give Bricksley’s Dressta 560E a wealth of remote control functions including four wheel drive (with a turning cooling fan behind the rear grill), centrally articulated steering, and a huge lifting arm complete with a tipping bucket driven by a set of linear actuators.

There’s much more to see of Bricksley’s build at his Dressta 560E Flickr album, where you can also find a link to a video of the model in action, loading what we think are cornflakes no less. Click the link above to make the jump!

Anglo-American

Despite a politically strained relationship at present, the United Kingdom and the United States of America can achieve great things when they work together. Here are two of the greatest, the magnificent Ford GT40 and AC Cobra.

Both cars were designed in the UK, but powered (and funded by) Ford USA, and both dominated racing in the 1960s. These two brilliant Speed Champions style models of the Gulf Racing GT40 and Cobra 289 are the work of previous bloggee Jonathan Elliott who has captured each car beautifully.

There’s more to see of each build at Jonathan’s photostream – click the links above to take a look at the complete image galleries for both cars.

The Trouble with Tesla

Tesla. If there’s one car company you cannot criticise on the internet due to frankly fanatical supporters it’s Elon Musk’s electric automotive brand. Here goes…

Tesla were not actually founded by the creator of Paypal back in 2003, but Musk has pretty much led the company ever since, from it’s first car (the Lotus Elise based Roadster) to its position today as the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer. This is a simply astonishing achievement, particularly as it’s Tesla that have brought EVs to the mainstream, forcing the established car manufacturers to take EVs seriously. The raft of new EVs about to reach the market are in large part due to Tesla proving the business case.

They’ve also brought a sense of fun to the often staid motor industry, with models that literally spell ‘S3XY’, a drive mode named ‘Ludicrous’, whoopie cushion seats, and host of other mischievous features. Plus the Tesla Model 3 is the safest model ever tested by the Euro NCAP. And yet, would this TLCB writer buy one?…

Nope.

For all Tesla’s technical innovation and engineering brilliance the company’s primary function is to build cars, and they’re shockingly bad at it. Designs that use four times as many parts as they should (making repairs complicated, eye-wateringly expensive and slow), risible paint quality, panel gaps that  you could drive another car through, and chronic unreliability plague Tesla’s range. As the company tries desperately to meet demand (and to make money) the ‘finished’ cars are far from it, recreating the ownership experience of a 1970s British Leyland.

Whether Tesla can, or even wants to, sort these issues out is debatable. However what isn’t is that Mercedes-Benz, the Volkswagen Group, BMW, and many more besides wouldn’t be scrambling to go electric if it weren’t for Musk and what all started with an electrically-powered Elise. Which means when this writer is driving an EV he’ll be able to give a nod of thanks to Tesla, even though his car probably won’t actually be one.

Oh yeh, this neat digitally rendered Tesla Model 3 comes from Robson M of Flickr and there’s more to see at the link!

Town Triple

It’s blue Smarties all round today as three Elves returned to TLCB Towers, each with a blue town-scale creation. It turns out all three are the work of the same builder, Flick’s de-marco, who is becoming a regular on these pages. Each has been constructed in LEGO’s classic ‘Town’ style (a favourite here at TLCB) and recreates a well known(?) real-world vehicle in mini-figure scale.

The first of de-marco’s build is perhaps the most true-to-life, a classic Dacia 1300 from a time when the Romanian brand was independent from Renault, but also simply built discontinued Renault products (and fairy badly at that…). It turns out that the Dacia 1300’s ugly blocky sloping shape is perfect for recreation from angular LEGO bricks and the result looks remarkably close to the real thing.

de-marco’s second Town vehicle is a classic Austin/Morris Mini in British police ‘panda car’ specification. LEGO’s ‘Maersk’ blue with white doors and a single blue light (using a piece from LEGO’s 9V lighting sets) works a treat, even if the car looks a little long for the famously small classic car.

Lastly de-marco has built something a little larger, in the form of this excellent Kamaz drop-side truck. As with all three creations the details are spot on, yet simple enough to fit into a Town scale build, and there’s more to see at de-marco’s photostream via the link. There are also video instructions available for each build – you can find a link to these under each image in de-marco’s photostream should you wish to jazz your own Town up with some iconic classics!

Heroes in a Half Shell

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heroes in a Half Shell
Turtle Power!

The lyricists of TMNT taking the ‘Batman’ approach to theme-writing there. We’d forgotten that LEGO released a TMNT line back in 2013, which is probably a good thing to be honest. Still, the availability of Turtle-mini-figures has helped Flickr’s Hobbestimus to create this radical LEGO recreation of the Party Bus, complete with Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael and a host of ninja-based weaponry. Head to the sewers via the link above!

From an Idea to LEGO | Book Review

Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re definitely towards the more adult end of the Lego fan spectrum (not that you’d necessarily know that from our writing ability or professionalism…), however it’s worth remembering that LEGO is, first and foremost, a toy.

It’s therefore with great pleasure that today we can share with you a book aimed exactly at LEGO’s core audience, and on a topic that we’re surprised has taken so long to be published. From Lowey Bundy Sichol‘s ‘From an Idea to…’ series, this is ‘From an Idea to LEGO’.

Lowey’s ‘From an Idea to…’ series of books explore some of the world’s most famous companies, explaining to children aged 8-12 how they were created whilst teaching entrepreneurship and business along the way. They are in fact the only books in the world that provide biographical business studies to kids, which – in a world filled with ‘influencers’ teaching children little more than how to open boxes of free things – is a wonderful alternative.

‘From and Idea to LEGO’ runs to around 100 pages and is filled with lovely illustrations by C. S. Jennings, fun facts and pop-out text (more on that in a bit). Printed in black and white on non-glossy paper the book is typical of those aimed at children (and a price point) so don’t expect another glossy coffee table publication of the type we usually review, as that’s not the point of this book.

Lowey charts LEGO’s history from carpenter’s shop and the invention of the plastic brick, via near bankruptcy to its position today as the world’s largest toy maker. The language is easy to understand, yet still detailed enough to educate, and when a new piece of business terminology appears it’s printed in bold and accompanied by a small pop-out explaining what it means, examples being ‘Patent‘, ‘Brand Equity‘, ‘Profit‘, ‘Revenue‘ and so on.

It’s this aspect of ‘From an Idea to LEGO’ that we particularly like as, whilst it’s well written, the history of The LEGO Company has been detailed many times before. What hasn’t is the business acumen behind the story, particularly in a format that children can understand. Lowey’s explanations are well-judged, clear, and will undoubtedly help readers to join the dots between having an idea and turning it into a profitable business. Lowey’s ‘Lemonade Stand’ example in the book may be slightly cliche, but it communicates the basics brilliantly.

If you’d like your kids to begin their understanding entrepreneurship, and perhaps to fuel ambition beyond becoming a YouTuber, then the books  from ‘Lowey Bundy Sichol’s ‘From an Idea to…’ series are a wonderful way to start. That one of the four books published so far is about our favourite plastic bricks is a bonus!

Read more about the ‘From an Idea to…’ series here.

‘From an Idea to LEGO’ is available to pre-order now.

Rallye Monte Carlo

Not only does Monaco hold the world’s most famous Formula 1 race (although these days often the world’s most boring too), it’s also the location for probably the world’s most famous rally, the Rallye Monte Carlo.

Held since 1911, when cars would set off from a variety of places across Europe to meet in Monaco, where they would be judged not just on speed but on ‘elegance’ and ‘passenger comfort’, the modern iteration of the race takes cars through the French Riviera and a variety of conditions, including treacherous snow-covered passes, in a series of timed stages.

In mid-’60s this meant one car became a giant killer, the humble Mini Cooper S. Mighty in the snow, the Mini won the event four times* back to back from 1964 to 1967, defeating cars with four times the power.

Taking the Mini from the 75894 Speed Champions set previewed here earlier in the year, Flickr’s Simon Pickard has modified it to Monte Carlo Rally specification and then created one of the most brilliantly life-like roads we’ve ever seen built from LEGO. Ingeniously placed plates create a glorious curve of ice, which a Mini Cooper S is pictured sliding around beautifully.

There’s more to see of Simon’s spectacular scene at his photostream, including an aerial shot showing the complete layout. Click the link above to visit the South of France in 1965.

*This really annoyed the French who, in 1966, disqualified any car that wasn’t a Citroen. Seriously, look it up! Thus we’re still giving the victory to the Mini, which actually won. And came second. And third.