42078 Technic Mack Anthem | Review

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Lego Technic 42078 Mack Anthem Review

It’s review time here at The Lego Car Blog and this time we’ve got a big one. Literally. This is the 42078 Mack Anthem Technic set, and it’s huge. Very possibly the longest Technic set ever(?), 42078 consists of two separate models, and one large white shipping container.

Inside all of that bigness there are no motors, no electronics, and no pneumatics, just lots of cogs and gears. This is an old-school Technic set. Apart that is, from the way it looks.

There’s been a trend within the Technic range in recent years to add ever more visual realism, sometimes to great effect, and 42078 continues this but takes it to a whole new level. Sort of. We’ll explain…

The Truck

The Mack Anthem truck is a realistic replica of the real deal, being officially licensed from Mack and including some of both the biggest and smallest stickers ever fitted to a Technic set to help achieve the desired look. It’s also festooned with lights and intricate detailing (including a unique golden bulldog mascot piece), contains a fully equipped interior that even includes a bed in the sleeper portion of the cab, and features… well, not all that much Technic.

It’s a trick that the Lego Community has used for years, adding working functions to visually realistic creations, to get the best of both worlds. LEGO have definitely taken this approach with 42078, and we think they may have started with the look and added functions afterwards, which is probably the opposite to the way Technic sets were designed in the past.

The result is rather a pleasing one as the truck looks great, certainly better in reality than it does in the pictures. The hood opens up to reveal a miniature straight-6 piston engine (of the sort the Lego Community has been building for years) driven by the rear wheels, the doors open to reveal a very realistic interior, there’s steering via Hand-of-God that also turns the steering wheel (although not much – surely as you’ll never steer this set from inside the cab it could have a realistic steering wheel ratio LEGO?), and a working fifth wheel. And that’s it.

So not a lot if we’re honest, especially considering its size, but just enough to qualify it as a Technic set. And then we come on to our earlier-mentioned ‘sort of’; the trailer…

Lego Technic 42078 Mack Anthem Review

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Have You Blogged My Car?

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The Lego Car Blog Archives are an unnerving place. Vast, dark, and rumoured to be inhabited by a feral band of long lost Elves, they’re not somewhere that we enjoy frequenting.

Fortunately we have a method for finding things that doesn’t involve potentially being stabbed in the legs by a wild Elf armed with a bent paper clip.

Every page here at The Lego Car Blog includes a ‘Looking for Something?’ box, where literally anything can be inputted and it’ll probably return something. We’ve blogged a lot of random nonsense over the years…

However for those of you looking to be a bit more precise, the ‘tags’ at the foot of every post can be a very useful method to find every article on a topic of your choosing. From Alfa Romeo to ZIL, we’ve probably covered it at some point, so to get you started we’ve included some popular vehicle brands below.

Simply click on your chosen manufacturer and you’ll see all the posts in which it has been tagged.

Audi, BMW, Bugatti, Buick, Chevrolet, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Jeep, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo

You can use the Search function too of course, although the results will also include those where we’ve referred to a manufacturer in passing within articles featuring other brands, which if you’re searching for a Peugeot or Fiat probably means you’ll see a fair bit of mockery…

You can also search for things like hot rods, Formula 1, vintage trucks, Transformers, spaceships and loads more besides.

Happy hunting!

TLCB Team

Tour de Paris

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Short of Brigitte Bardot in a beret, a broken Peugeot, or a strike, is there anything more French than a Parisian street scene complete with a Citroen 2CV? This gorgeous diorama complete with everyone’s favourite air-cooled twin-cylinder people’s car is the work of Markus Rollbuhler of Flickr, and follows his brilliant Far Cry gyrocopter scene featured yesterday. Click the link above to jump on the Eurostar and be in Paris in time for a lunchtime crepe.

Backbone

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Interchangeable bodywork is something that every LEGO vehicle is capable of, by virtue of them being, well… LEGO. However it’s particularly cool if you can swap the whole bodywork out in one piece. Even LEGO themselves tried this back in 1996 with their 8244 Technic set, although the results were a bit weird.

Not so Angka Utama’s attempt, which is properly cool. Entitled ‘Backbone’, Angka has designed three different bodies that can be mounted on his chassis design, and with reversible seats and a moveable engine it can switch between being front, rear or mid-engined in seconds. Take a look on either Flickr or MOCpages to see how it’s done!

Fly to the Store from Far Cry 4

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We’re not sure how much shopping you’d be able to take home, but flying by gyrocopter is surely the coolest way to get to the general store that there is. This beautiful gyrocopter, tuk-tuk, and general store scene from the video game Far Cry 4 comes from Markus Rollbuhler of Flickr, and the details are simply wonderful. Make the trip for yourself via the link above, and we’ll be back tomorrow with another of Markus’ superb vehicle-based dioramas.

Lucky Wolf

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We’re not sure why this is a wolf, or how it’s lucky, but as has been well documented on these pages we know nothing about sci-fi and the builder behind this is called ‘spaceruner’, so we’ll defer to their superior space knowledge.

A mini-figure/droid crew, glowing crystal thingy, hefty cargo container, and folding ‘wings’ all feature, and there’s more to see (plus a host of other ace classic space models) at spaceruner’s photostream.

Cow Tipping*

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This is a Sandvik Toro 60, a sixty-ton 6×4 mining truck. Named after a bull (and the number sixty), the Toro 60 is unusual in that it doesn’t articulate like many mining trucks. This is so that it can withstand a higher payload, but of course with no central articulation there would be a loss of manoeuvrability, so the Toro 60 deploys a clever steering rear axle to ensure it can still turn around in less space than it takes your Mom.

This marvellous Technic recreation of the Sandvik comes from builder Thesuperkoala, who has replicated the Toro 60’s cunning steering thanks to a Power Funcions Servo motor that operates both the front and rear axles. The two rear axles are driven by a Large Motor and the huge tipping bucket can be raised by a large linear actuator, all of which are controlled by a third-party SBrick, allowing activation via bluetooth.

There’s lots more to see of Thesuperkoala’s fully remote controlled Technic Sandvik Toro 60 at his Flickr album, on Eurobricks, and via his own website, plus you watch the creation in action courtesy of the video below.

YouTube Video

*Click here for the urban legend.

Honda Civbrick Type R

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Life-Size LEGO vehicles have been popping up all over the place of late. From a Bugatti that really drives to a McLaren Senna you can sit in, Chevrolet pick-ups to Volkswagen Campers, and even the humble Toyota Camry, every manufacturer seems to want to see their car built in Lego form.

Honda Australia are the latest to give it a go, courtesy of LEGO Professional and previous bloggee Ryan McNaught and his team of nine master builders.

320,000 bricks and 1,300 hours later and Honda’s Civic Type R has been perfectly recreated in LEGO bricks, from the badge on the bonnet to the wild floating rear wing, with even the wheels constructed from standard LEGO pieces.

Ryan’s Honda Civic was commissioned to coincide with the launch of the ‘LEGO Masters’ TV series airing later this month, in which teams of builders will compete in various construction challenges in the hope of winning $100,000, and where Ryan is one of the show’s judges.

The life-size Civic will go on tour around Australia over the coming months, and if you’re a little too far from Aus  to see the model in person (basically from anywhere that isn’t Australia) click these words to watch a short video of the car courtesy of Honda Australia.

Matador!

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we are not fans of matadors. Whilst they are undoubtedly brave, and whilst we do enjoy a steak, killing a bull (or any animal) gradually for fun is in our eyes a pretty douchebaggy pastime. We know that it may be a few readers’ heritage, but it’s a douchebaggy heritage. Like fox hunting. Or burning a cross on your lawn.

However, we do rather like this matador. A lot. It comes from Spanish tuners Radical, using the Ducati 1198 superbike a base. This spectacular Model Team recreation of Radical’s bonkers bike is the work of TLCB veteran Gerald Cacas, who has merged Technic and System construction to beautiful effect.

There’s much more to see of Gerald’s Radical Ducati Matador at his Flickr’ album. Click the link above to wave the red sheet and dodge the horns.*

*Don’t though. Because bull fighting sucks.

My Fair Lady

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This is a Datsun 240Z, or ‘Fairlady’ as it was known in some markets, and it’s surely in contention for the the title of prettiest Japanese car of all time. This Model Team example comes from 5eno of Flickr and there’s more to see at the link.

Anything Goes

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Flickr’s ‘Lego Speeder Bikes‘ group has been running for a decade! That’s longer than Kickstarter, the iPad, and The Lego Car Blog. Home to the very best floaty/hovery motorcycles, ‘Lego Speeder Bikes’ hold an annual competition to showcase the best of their breed. We loved last year’s contest, and in 2019 the group is celebrating a decade of speedy biking with a ‘Best in Show’ theme, where anything goes. Like anything.

Painting bricks, cutting bricks, custom bricks… it’s all allowed in this year’s competition. Of course too much ‘dicking around’ with your LEGO pieces means that your creation won’t appear here at TLCB, but for the purposes of the ‘Lego Speeder Bikes’ 2019 contest it could score you some neat prizes!

We’re kicking off our coverage with a speeder bike that hasn’t messed with the danish plastic from which it’s built courtesy of newcomer mexxbear 陳大雄 and this very cool looking street scene. There’s more to see of mexxbear’s speeder bike and the town in which it’s speeding via the link above, and you can check out the ‘Lego Speeder Bikes’ group and the 2019 competition by clicking here.

Our Fine Four Fendered Friend

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Oh you pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we love you.
And in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang what we’ll do.
Near, far, in our motor car Oh!
What a happy time we’ll spend.
Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,
Our fine four fendered friend!

They don’t make movies like they used to. Ian Fleming and Albert Broccoli’s (of James Bond fame) 1968 musical adventure brought irritating singing children, the terrifying child-catcher (we’ve just realised that he may have had a use after all…), and a spectacular flying car to movie theatres all over the world.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has since become one of cinema’s all-time great films, and Flickr’s GunnBuilding remembers it beautifully via this lovely mini-figure scale recreation of our fine four fendered friend. Join the adventure via the link above. Just don’t do any singing.

Buy This Pagani Huayra!

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We get asked a few particular questions more than any others here at The Lego Car Blog. ‘Will you blog my [insert creation]?’ (no), ‘Can I have instructions?’ (probably not), and ‘Where can I buy this?’.

As we’re here to publicise people’s own builds, the answer is usually ‘sorry, you can’t’. But not today, because you really can buy this one.

This incredible car is a Pagani Huayra, as featured here a few weeks ago. It was designed by Technic-building legend Jeroen Ottens as a gift to another builder, an amazing man by the name of Grum64.

Mr. Grum was involved in a motorcycle accident aged 19 in which he broke his neck, paralysing him from the chest down. Despite having no hand movement Grum builds with LEGO, using his teeth to construct sets over the course of many weeks which is – to all of us here at TLCB – a simply mind-blowing achievement.

Grum decided that rather than accepting Jeroen’s spectacular model for himself, that they would auction it for charity – in particular the amazing charity Fairy Bricks which provides LEGO sets to sick children in hospital and hospices. In fact Fairy Bricks provide around £5,000-worth of LEGO every single month to brighten the lives of children who may feel a very long way from home.

From April 19th Jeroen’s beautiful Pagani Huayra Technic Supercar will be listed on the auction site catawiki, where you can bid to own this stunning one-off creation (which features an 8-speed sequential gearbox, all-wheel cantilevered suspension, steering, active aero, a V12 engine, custom chrome and much, much more).

Not only that but Pagani have donated two huge Huayra computer blueprint drawings signed by Horacio Pagani himself to the auction, so the winning bid will receive a piece of hypercar history as well as one of the finest Technic Supercars ever built.

You can read full details of the build (and the story behind it) and Jeroen’s website, and you can see our original post of his superb Pagani Huayra by clicking here.

The Catawiki auction for Fairy Bricks commences on April 19th and remains open until April 24th, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Fairy Bricks Charity.

Click here to visit the auction

Rain Reign

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This gorgeous creation comes from TLCB regular Simon Przepiorka, and it’s a 1:24 replica of the Porsche 935 in K3 specification. The 935 was launched in the mid-’70s and raced successfully well into the 1980s, with perhaps its greatest moment being a remarkable Le Mans 24 Hour victory in 1979, where the 935 beat even the prototype racing cars in the pouring rain to take the outright win. Simon’s superb Lego replica captures the 935 K3 brilliantly and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link above.

Staff Car

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The staff cars here at The Lego Car Blog are, as revealed way back in 2013, all Austin Allegros. Not so the Wehrmacht, who got themselves a vehicle much cooler.

This a Mercedes-Benz W31 Type G4, a three-axle, straight-8 engined, all-terrain limousine as used by Nazi senior management for parades, inspections, and the annexation of other countries.

Only 57 Mercedes-Benz W31 G4s were produced, all of which were used as staff cars by the Nazi regime as the model was deemed much too expensive for normal military use.

This most excellent recreation of the G4, complete with neat caricature of a certain moustachioed despot, comes from Flickr’s Redfern1950s, who has captured the vehicle brilliantly in his trademark cartoon style. Head to Red’s photostream via the link above to join the parade.