My Other Car is a Mercedes-Benz…

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Lego Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 DTM

This stunning Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 DTM racing car was discovered on Eurobricks, and it’s one of the most original Technic Supercars we’ve published in ages. Underneath the brilliant bodywork, complete with wonderfully authentic decals, is a wealth of superb mechanical engineering, including a paddle-shift operated 4-speed gearbox, a miniaturised working V8 engine, independent suspension on all wheels, and working steering.

Lego Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 DTM

Builder Brunojj1 hasn’t stopped there though as he’s constructed a matching AMG C63, replacing the mechanical goodies with a Power Functions remote control drivetrain and LED lights. Drive is delivered by a combination of an XL Motor and an L Motor, geared to match one another, with a Servo powering the steering. There’s loads more to see of both models, including a of each, at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to join the race.

Lego Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 DTM

And the Winner is…

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The Lego Car Blog Competition

The Lego Car Blog’s Review My Set Competition drew to a close last week, and it’s added a whole host of reader-written LEGO set reviews to our burgeoning Set Review Library! Almost 100 individual LEGO sets and third-party products have now been reviewed in total, and we aim to keep this number climbing as the Set Review Library is the single highest viewed page here at TLCB.

We were seriously impressed by the standard of your review submissions, which ranged from LEGO’s most expensive flagships right down to pocket-money sets, and were written by experienced adults and young builders alike.

So how did you guys do? Well it was close. Really close. But we’re delighted to announce that the overall winners are…

Winner

Andrea Lattanzio  |  5591 Model Team Red Bird

 

Runner-Up

Rage Hobbit  |  8070 Technic Supercar

Yup, whilst we said there would only be one winner it really was too close to call, especially if you’re as indecisive as we are, so the assorted loot here at TLCB Towers will be shared amongst both winners!

Lego 5591 Mach II Red Bird

Andrea’s review of the classic 1995 Model Team flagship recorded one of the highest view counts in its first week, and also included bespoke images created by Andrea specifically for his review article.

Rage Hobbit’s entry reviewing the 2011 Technic Supercar flagship accrued the most views over the duration of the competition, and the writing was so in-keeping with our in-house reviewers we could probably have passed it off as our own.

Andrea and Rage weren’t alone at the top though, as many reviewers really impressed us with their writing ability (and subsequent view count), to the point where we’d like to have you on staff!

Congratulations to Andrea and Rage, to all of you who saw your Set Review/s successfully published here at The Lego Car Blog, and if you’d like to write a review for a set that is currently missing from the review archive we’d still love to receive it! Simply get in touch us letting us know the set you’d like to critique and you could see your writing appear here for over one million viewers a year!

Lego Set Reviews Prizes

R is for Revenge

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Lego Technic RC Hatchback Type R

With the Elven bodily fluids and most of the bigger body parts cleared away from today’s earlier situation, we were hoping for a quieter remainder to the afternoon. No such luck. Screeching down the corridor came this, one of the fastest remote control Technic vehicles we’ve seen in some time, entitled the ‘Hatchback Type R’, and made by the same bloody builder that caused the earlier incident. Thanks Madoca.

Ergh, we’ll get back to the story above in a bit, but for now, the model; Built by Madoca 1977 (again) it’s a generic hot hatchback (although no prizes for guessing the inspiration behind it) powered by a single L Motor, steered by a Servo, controlled via a third party SBrick, and featuring LED lights too.

That lone drive motor may not seem enough to create one of the quickest models we’ve seen in a while, but Madoca’s Type R is fantastically light, and the Elf guilty of today’s earlier smushing was still eating the rewards of its find when – launched from the other end of the corridor – the Type R shot towards it and slammed it against the wall.

The Elf at the controls, thirst for revenge satisfied, escaped into the street outside, and will no doubt claim its meal token later in the day. It’s unlikely that it was actually a victim of the earlier assault, but ‘revenge’ amongst Elves is a communal thing and it may have been holding a grudge against a totally different Elf from months ago. Either way, we have more clearing up to do, so whilst we get the mop back out you can see more of Madoca’s Type R, as well as his earlier Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck, by visiting the Eurobricks discussion for both models here.

YouTube Video:

Technic Tacoma

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Lego Technic Toyota Tacoma 4x4

[Elven Screaming]… [Thump!]… [Elven Screaming]…

Sigh. It’s been a while since we’ve had a mass Elf squashing here in the office, but today, thanks to builder Madoca 1977, we were reminded what it feels like to slide a spatular underneath a flattened mythical creature to prise it out of the carpet. Still, in this situation it’s considerably better than being an Elf.

The cause of the carnage was this, Madoca’s (brilliant) Technic Toyota Tacoma pick-up. With remote control drive and steering, plus a two speed gearbox, it’s a model that is marginally faster than some of our fatter Elves. That’s Darwinism in action right there kids.

The aforementioned Elves would have caused a traction issue for most remote control models once they became smushed underneath the wheels, but Madoca’s Technic Tacoma not only features four-wheel-drive and front and rear suspension, but locking differentials too, meaning that even with three wheels lifted off the ground the fourth will continue to drive the truck forward.

With the model now safely under our control and the jubilant Elven discoverer contentedly cashing in its meal-token, we have an exciting half an hour ahead of us tidying up, so whilst we get on with that you can check out all of the images of Madoca’s superb Toyota pick-up at the Eurobricks discussion forum, where there’s also a video of the truck in action.

Lego Technic Toyota Tacoma 4x4

Supersize 75875

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Lego 75875 Ford F150 Hot Rod Supersize

We love LEGO’s officially licensed vehicle sets here at TLCB. Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and more have all made appearances in brick-form, and Ford joined the party most recently with three new sets added to the mini-figure scale Speed Champions range.

This is one of them; set 75875, a Ford F150 pick-up with a Model-A hot rod in tow. Except that the 75875 pictured here is a considerably bigger than LEGO’s original, courtesy of builder Aliencat, who set about super-sizing the Speed Champions set.

Faithful to the design of the original set, Aliencat has ramped up the detail afforded to him by the increase in scale, and each build features a fully detailed engine and interior, and includes some superb chassis realism too.

Aliencat’s super-sized 75875 Ford F150 and Model-A builds are available to view on both Brickshelf and Flickr – click the links to see the full gallery of images.

Lego 75875 Ford F150 Hot Rod Supersize

Brick Built Boats

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Lego Yachts

No these aren’t cars, but they are wonderful. Plus we like boats, and we’re the ones with access to TLCB Keyboard. Anyhoo, these two beautiful yachts complete with superb brick-built hulls and fully tuneable rigging come from Flickr’s Felipe Avelar, and each is a masterclass in fine detailing. There are more brilliant images available to view at Felipe’s photostream – click the link above to set sail.

S.H.A.D.O

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Lego UFO S.H.A.D.O

It’s the 1970s, Britain is mostly on strike and painted brown, and the space race is raging. Cue some televisual escapaism in the form of UFO, a Gerry Anderson production (he of Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet fame) set in the futuristic year 1980, but using real actors rather than puppets, and – at least if our Google research is accurate – featuring a variety of tight-fitting tops.

This was their vehicle of choice, the S.H.A.D.O tracked command centre, and it’s been recreated in mini-figure form by TLCB favourite Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74, complete with a fully detailed interior. You can check it out at Andrea’s photostream, plus you can read our interview with the builder as part of the Master MOCers series by clicking here.

Lego UFO S.H.A.D.O

It’s Febrovery!

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Lego Hot Rod Lunar Rover

It sure is. One of the many tenuously-named monthly bandwagons, Febrovery is one we can get behind. Especially when the results look like this. Previous bloggee Priovit70 has turned classic space roving up to eleven with his stupendous tracked rover ‘NCS Sobriety’, and there’s more to see on Flickr here.

Not a DeLorean

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Lego Toyota 4x4 Pick-Up BTTF

Ah, Back To The Future, an office favourite here at TLCB Towers and the film that made a star of the iconic Delorean DMC-12, a car that was… total and complete crap.

If you’re unfamiliar with the true story of the DeLorean, which is very nearly as remarkable as the film, you can read it here, but today we’ll be moving on from that steaming turd of a car, saved from obscurity only by a chance decision by Universal Pictures, to feature a vehicle from the movie that’s the total opposite of the DMC-12.

This is, of course, a humble Toyota 4×4 pick-up, known as the Hilux in most of the world, and it’s everything the DeLorean wasn’t. Hugely successful, superbly built, and unbreakably reliable, the Toyota truck was the dream vehicle for 1980s Marty McFly. His version featured a few mods too, which have been faithfully recreated in Technic form by regular bloggee paave.

Paave’s creation doesn’t just look the part either, as underneath is a four-wheel-drive fully remote controlled drivetrain, working leaf-spring suspension, and opening (and locking) doors, hood and tailgate.

You can see all of the images as well as a video of the Toyota in action at both Eurobricks and MOCpages – click the links to go back in time.

Lego Toyota 4x4 Pick-Up BTTF

Red Head

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Lego Ferrari Testarossa

Ferrari’s flat-12 engined Testarossa was one of the definitive supercars of the 1980s. Named after the red colour of its engine block, it was produced until the early 1990s, when a mild update and a new name kept the platform going until 1996. With almost 10,000 units made, the Testarossa design is one of the most produced Ferraris of all time, and previous bloggee Ryan Link has decided to add one more car to that figure. His Model Team recreation of the icon ’80s supercar captures the Testarossa’s shape brilliantly, and opening doors, hood and engine cover reveal an interior and engine that are just as well detailed as the outside. There’s more to see on both MOCpages and Flickr – click the links to view all of the images and build details.

Lego Ferrari Testarossa

Big Forker

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Lego Valmet TD 28-12 Forklift Truck

This blue behemoth is a Valmet TD 28-12 heavy-duty forklift, and it comes from probably the biggest company you’ve never heard of. Trading for over 200 years, Valmet are a Finnish manufacturer of, well… pretty much anything. Trains, trams, clocks, weaponry, aircraft, paper mills, cars, sauna thermometers, and – as here – tractors, are just some of the various products that the company has produced at one time or another. This huge forklift comes from Flickr’s Havoc, and it’s a fully operational engineering marvel. Forgoing the usual Power Functions motors, Havoc’s creation utilises pneumatics to power the forklift tilt, elevation and even variable fork-span. There are also working LED lights and Hand-of-God steering, and there’s more to see of this impressive machine on Flickr via the link above.

Galaxie 500

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Lego 1966 Ford Galaxie 500

This gorgeous 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 comes from Jonathan Derksen of Flickr and MOCpages, and whilst this blog has been known to slate enormous American barges, there will be no such commentary today. That’s because the Galaxie, fitted here with the 428 V8 from the Thunderbird, was rather wonderful. It even found fame on the racetracks of Britain (despite never being sold in the UK), where it went up against the Jaguars, European Fords, and Minis that raced side-by-side in the British Touring Car Championship.

Lego 1966 Ford Galaxie 500

Jonathan’s beautiful Model Team replica of the classic ’60s Ford is packed with detail, including opening doors, hood and truck, a superbly recreated 428 V8 engine, and a stunning interior. There’s loads more to see at Jonathan’s Flickr album and MOCpages account – click the links in the text above to make a visit.

Lego 1966 Ford Galaxie 500

Porsche Pixels

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Lego Porsche 944

Yes, we know, this isn’t made from real bricks, and as such the Elves are a bit grumpy (we’ll be publishing their finds in a bit), but we do only post a digital creation in exception circumstances. And these are exceptional circumstances. Because this Porsche 944 by Sam the First is absolutely perfect.

Lego Porsche 944

Sam assures us that it’s all above-board too, with all pieces connected as they should be, and nothing ‘floating’ as is often the case with digital builds. You can see how Sam has done it by visiting the build on Flickr or MOCpages, whilst we get back to real bricks…

Lego Porsche 944

Galactic Gaster

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Lego Space Ant

We totally knew what the rear bit of an ant is called without having to Google it… No matter, this brick-built oddity is the work of Flickr’s F@bz, who has constructed it for Febrovery 2017, and its gaster (the bulbous posterior portion of the metasoma, obviously) makes cunning use of the otherwise completely useless Death Star piece. There’s more to see at F@bz’ photostream via the link above – click he link above to make the jump.

Yellow Lines

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Lego FSO Polonez

The yellowness continues here at The Lego Car Blog. We’re not sure what’s got into the Elves, but their last five finds have been in this hue. Still, everything (apart from snow) is better in yellow, which means that this hideous FSO Polonez by TLCB regular Senator Chinchilla does at least have one positive attribute going for it.

Penned by the legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was responsible for numerous Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Lotuses, Volkswagens, and most recently the Mustang’s return to form, here he was clearly having a bad day.

Based on some mouldy old left-overs from Fiat, the Polonez launched in 1978, with production continuing until a scarcely believable 2002. By that time the Polonez was hopelessly outclassed, but ironically the build quality had at last become acceptable thanks to some input from now-defunct Korean brand Daewoo.

Both FSO and Daewoo cars are now long dead, although a new company attempted re-start Polonez production in 2003 and – thankfully – failed. Senator Chinchilla has successfully added one more Polonez to the world though, and his Model Team recreation – complete with faded paint and rust for authenticity – is a neat build. See more at his photostream via the link above.

Lego FSO Polonez