Transiting

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It a Transit van double here at The Lego Car Blog today, with two rather different examples of Ford’s ubiquitous workhorse.

First up (above) is Versteinert‘s wonderful 7-wide 1970s face-lifted Mk1 Transit camper, wearing some slightly mismatched wheel-arch and sill repairs, a roof-rack loaded with adventure equipment, and being a thousand times cooler than the default Volkswagen Transporter. It joins several other Mk1 Transits in Versteinert’s photostream, and you can finn them all via the link above.

Four decades later, the Mk1’s great-grandson is here in the form of this 5-wide 2010s face-lifted Mk4 Transit crew-van (below) in ‘Abnormal Load Escort’ configuration. Make your own ‘Your Mom’ joke. Regular bloggee Ralph Savelsberg is its creator and there’s more to see of his excellent Transit, and the abnormal load it’s escorting, via the link above.

Bond Bug(gy)

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It’s the first of February, which means the annual build-a-thon ‘Febrovery’ is back for another year! Before enthusiasts of old British cars get excited, Febrovery is not a homage to long-dead Brit car-maker Rover (Aww. Ed.), but instead expands upon one of LEGO’s earliest set staples, the lunar rover. Although we say lunar, but planetary is fine too.

We’re only on Day 1, yet an array of roving machinery has already been uploaded to the Febrovery Flickr group, including this wedgy orange example from prolific sci-fi builder David Roberts.

Looking rather like the weird ’70s British microcar, the Bond Bug (Hooray! Ed.), David Roberts’ creation points the way to a plethora of rovers sure to follow, and you can check out his orange wedge at his photostream via the link above, whilst this TLCB Writer tries to avoid our editor before he starts talking about crap British cars again…

The GOAT

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Look at us with our lingo getting home with downies! There really is a goat in this post too, which we didn’t even know LEGO made. Apparently they’re super rare and worth a $million, and Flickr’s K P has casually got one in the back of his vintage truck. Much as we like goats, being a car blog we prefer the truck, and there’s more to see of it, its moulded fenders, meat-cleaver wing-mirrors, and headlights we can’t figure out (as well as the goat) at his photostream. Take a look via the link above.

Fairwell Brickshelf

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As of 1st March 2025, Brickshelf is dead.

Older than YouTube, Facebook, Amazon Prime, and some of you reading this, Brickshelf has served the Online Lego Community for two-and-a-half decades.

With almost five million files across 430,000 albums, countless creations are hosted on Brickshelf and nowhere else. In particular these date from decades past, giving a glimpse into a time before unlimited parts access, digital designer, high resolution photo editing, and even many LEGO piece types themselves.

Many creations on Brickshelf therefore look rather right-angled, basic, and poorly presented by today’s standards, but – dare we say it – they were probably more fun. There was no pressure to find the perfect pieces, pay an extortionate price for them on Bricklink, nor spend hours in a home studio getting the lighting just right. You built, you published, and that was it.

That really was it too, as Brickshelf had no comments function, no html, no messaging, no groups, and not even the ability to use the spacebar in folder titles. It was simply a giant library of creations, and has stayed that way over the last twenty-five years. If you’d like to see not just what Lego creations were like at the turn of the millennium, but websites too, take a look at Brickshelf!

Time to do so is short however. Sadly Brickshelf’s founder Kevin Loch passed away last year, and thus his estate has begun the process of closing the site. Unless a buyer offers to take it on, access to Brickshelf and the five million files within it will cease on March 1st 2025, whereupon it will join MOCpages in the graveyard of creation-sharing websites.

Unlike MOCpages however, Kevin Loch’s estate have notified Brickshelf users ahead of time, providing the opportunity to retrieve files, maybe find a buyer, and meaning that even a dead guy has managed to do a better job than Sean Kenney did.

For us here at The Lego Car Blog it means one fewer place to send our Elves in search of the best Lego vehicles the web has to offer, and that from 1st March 2025 any links to Brickshelf will no longer function, including those in this post.

Until then, we’d like to say a big posthumous thank you to Brickshelf’s creator Kevin Loch, and to his estate for handling its cessation with thoughtfulness and care. And to our readers; click here take a look at Lego-building circa-2000 whilst you still can!

Prime Time

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It’s been a while since we last let TLCB Elves watch a ‘Transformers’ movie, but today they are doing just that, with previous bloggee SFH_Bricks to thank for another dose of Megan Fox. SFH’s one-hundredth creation captures the flame-painted Peterbilt 379-based ‘robot in disguise’ wonderfully, and you can check out all of the top quality images of Optimus Prime on Flickr. Click the link above to take a look, whilst we join the Elves watching Megan Fo… um, we mean ‘Transformers’.

Shot of Lime

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The state of modern cars leaves this TLCB Writer very unenthusiastic about the automotive future. Dreary electric cross-overs connected directly to the Chinese Communist Party, there isn’t a single interesting one among them. Which means if you want to find something with a soul, you have to go back to a car – and brand – from decades past. This is the Plymouth Barracuda, a lime green muscle car powered by a Hemi V8 that was literally too big to fit under the hood.

Built by Szunyogh Balázs, this fabulous replica of the Hemi ‘Cuda replicates Plymouth’s iconic ’70s muscle car in LEGO ‘Icons’ scale, and includes working steering, opening doors and trunk, plus a highly detailed Hemi V8 underneath (mostly) the opening hood. It’s a superb homage to a time when cars weren’t just phones with wheels, and you can reclaim your automotive soul at Szunyogh’s ‘Hemi Cuda’ album via the link above.

MAZter Builder

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This tremendous machine is a Soviet-era MAZ-537L, an 8×8 heavy ballast truck which – in this configuration – was designed to pull the Soviet Union’s largest aircraft.

The exceptional recreation of the MAZ is the work of [Maks] of Flickr, who has constructed it beautifully, complete with four-wheel-steering and working suspension. There’s much more to see at [Maks]’s ‘MAZ-537L’ album, and you can tow a ginormous Cold War bomber somewhere in Russia via the link above.

Advanced Turbo Intercooling

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It’s the ’80s, and everything has a ‘Turbo’ badge, because turbos are cool. But you know what’s cooler than a turbo? Advanced Turbo Intercooling, that’s what. And it wasn’t a European sports car or Japanese techno-fest that pioneered it, but Dutch truck-maker DAF.

The DAF 3600 FTG ATi was one of the first to feature an intercooled turbocharged diesel engine, which – in top trim – made a hefty 370bhp. And it had a hypoid drive axle, which sounds nearly as cool as Advanced Turbo Intercooling.

This incredible Model Team example comes from previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and it is stunning in its realism. Based on a real DAF 3600 FTG ATi operated by ‘G.J. van Die’, Nanko has replicated every detail, including applying excellent custom decals to recreate the livery worn by its life-size counterpart.

Just one image is available at the time of writing but it’s well worth checking out, showing both this astonishing creation as well as the real truck it replicates so beautifully. Click the link above to visit Nanko’s photostream and spool up your turbo.

Blessed be the Fruit

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We’re beginning the week here at The Lego Car Blog with a whole lot of apples. This is p.vanderloo’s fabulous ‘Holland Fruit’ diorama; a stunningly detailed (and photographed) homage to the apple industry, complete with two absolutely beautiful classic DAF trucks.

The larger of the two – a 1960’s DAF 1800 DS300 – has appeared here before, and is now joined by an equally lovely DAF D50 curtain-sided flatbed, as well as a Nissan forklift.

All three models are spectacularly detailed, with their jaw-dropping realism enhanced by superb period-correct decals, and you can see much more of each at p.vanderloo’s ‘Holland Fruit’ album on Flickr. Take a look via the link.

Smoking Silhouette

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Lancia’s magnificent mid-engined Stratos is one of World Rallying’s most famous cars, winning the Championship three years in a row from 1974 to ’76.

But less well known is that the Stratos lived beyond its World Rally Championship success, becoming a turbocharged silhouette circuit racer in the wild late-’70s Group 5 ‘Special Production Car’ era.

Only the hood, roof, and doors had to remain production spec, leading to some pretty loose interpretations of ‘Production Car’, with Lancia’s Group 5 entry no different.

Created by Alan Guerzoni, this homage to the Group 5 Stratos Turbo captures its bizarre aesthetic brilliantly, with custom decals (including obligatory ’70s cigarette marketing) and 3D-printed wheels adding to the accuracy. Head to a circuit c1976 and hold on tight.

Fare Dodging

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Fare dodging is the preserve of the terminally shifty. But not today, because Flickr’s mahjqa (a TLCB Master MOCer no less) is the creator of this excellent steam locomotive, and has released building instructions for free! A motor and battery box are hidden inside to bring this locomotive to life, with more to see at mahjqa’s photostream and via the video below. Plus you can dodge the fare to recreate it for yourself by clicking here.

YouTube Video

Short & Ugly

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Short, ugly, slow, and looks older than it is. No no, not this TLCB Writer (and he’s offended you thought so), but this neat render of the UAZ-469, a Soviet-era off-road vehicle that is still in production today. Flickr’s Thinh Thi is the creator of both these soft-topped military and civilian versions, which cunningly include four opening doors, and you can check them out via the link.

Tall, Dark & Handsome

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What’s strong, handsome, nearly 6ft, and born in the ’80s? No no, it’s not this TLCB Writer (although thank you for thinking that), but this astonishing Peterbilt 359.

Constructed by TLCB Master MOCer Dennis Bosman (aka legotrucks), this stunning creation is based on a real 359, and – at 1:13 scale – measures an enormous 5ft 10″ from bumper to bumper.

Pulling a Fontaine 53ft trailer loaded with a whole lotta pipe, Dennis’ Peterbilt is one of the most intricately and accurately detailed models this site has ever published, and includes a hugely detailed Caterpillar V8 under a front-opening hood, working steering, a wonderful interior complete with opening doors and sleeper, plus chromed exhaust stacks, mirrors, steps, wheels, horns, lights, and bumpers.

It’s a truly spectacular creation, with more stunning imagery available at Dennis’ ‘Peterbilt 359’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to take a closer look at one of the most life-like Lego trucks ever built.

Handle This

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Front-heavy, able to handle a big load, and often found working in docks*, telehandlers move all sorts of things from one place to somewhere else. This one comes from recent bloggee Sseven Bricks who – despite only building in Town scale – has included four-wheel-steering in his miniature JCB. Head dockside via the link above.

*Just like your Mom.

The Alternative

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re big fans of up-cycling. Repurposing one thing into another thing is both advantageous to the wallet, and means that one fewer new thing has had to be made, usually by digging something out of the ground/cutting down a tree, melting/refining it in a factory, and shipping it in a giant box full of other new things half-way round the world.

Of course LEGO by design is an up-cycler’s dream. Endlessly reusable, reconfigurable, and hand-down-able, it is the antidote to crappy single-use plastic toys that will last a thousand times longer in landfill or our oceans than they will in the hands of a child.

Cue previous bloggee M_Longer, who today demonstrates LEGO’s greatest attribute brilliantly by up-cycling two 2025 entry-level Technic sets into entirely new models.

M_Longer’s JCB Fastrac (above) uses every one of the parts from the 42199 Monster Jam DIGatron set, whilst his helicopter (below) swaps the ocean depths of the 42201 Deep-Sea Research Submarine for the skies, and includes a pitching main rotor and a hand crank that turns it and the tail rotor simultaneously.

There’s more to see of M_Longer’s 42199 JCB Fastrac, or alternatively his 42201 helicopter, at both Eurobricks (where links to building instructions can also be found) and Bricksafe, and you can take a look at each up-cycled alternate via the links below;

Helicopter: Eurobricks / Bricksafe, JCB Fastac: Eurobricks / Bricksafe