This lovely Ford 5-Window Coupe hot rod was discovered on Brickshelf by one of our Elves. It comes from newcomer TeddyMagenta, and besides looking the part it’s got a working piston engine, 4-speed gearbox, functioning steering, front and rear suspension, and opening doors and boot-lid. There’s lots more to see of this excellent build at Teddy’s Brickshelf gallery – click the link above to make the jump.
…But you can roll it in glitter. In case you hadn’t guessed, this is so not our kind of motorbike. The Elves, having no taste whatsoever, love it. It is a magnificent build though, and it comes from previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Bricksonwheels. There’s more to see of this, er… ‘unique’ Harley Davidson Street Glide Custom on Flickr – click here to check it out.
This excellent (and enormous) DAF XF entitled ‘Silver Griffin’ is the work of DAF truck building specialist Arian Janssens. Arian has built an impressive range of DAF trucks and you can see more of this and his previous builds via the link above.
Volkswagen’s Golf GTI (or ‘Rabbit’ in the ‘States) was not the first hot hatchback. For that you need to go back a few years to the Chrysler/Talbot/Simca/Lotus Sunbeam (car manufacturer takeovers in ’70s were very complicated!). However it was the first to popularise the formula, and in doing so it nearly killed off the traditional sports car – at least until Mazda reinvigorated it a decade and a half later.
Launched in 1975 and powered by a fuel injected 1.6 litre engine with 110bhp, and later a 1.8 with a little more, the GTI was more than a match for the traditional sports cars of the day. And you could get five people on board. And they wouldn’t get wet if it rained.
This brilliant little Lego version of the iconic classic hot hatch is the work of serial bloggee Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad Physicist, and there’s more to see at his photostream on Flickr via the link above.
This spectacular image, part of this year’s SHIPtember, is the work of Flickr’s incredibly talented Michał Kaźmierczak aka Migalart. Showcasing both what can be achieved in the brick and via Photoshop, you can see more Michal’s enormous ‘Sword’ spacecraft in a selection of stunning backdrops at his photostream – click the link above to make the jump.
This modified garbage-can arrangement is apparently a Semovente M47 Audax Battle Mech. Created by Flickr’s Marco Marozzi, the Semovente was engineered after an alien ship crashed in Italy in 1933, following which the facist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini put it to work to reverse the losses Italy were facing in North Africa during World War 2.
The mech and its backstory might be fictional, but sadly Mussolini wasn’t, joining forces with Hitler to regain an Italian empire during the Second World War, despite the fact he actually thought Hitler’s ‘Aryan race’ ideas were nonsense. Still, a nice man he was not, brutally crushing all opposition to take absolute power, persecuting the Christian faith, and dividing Italy to create his own Italian Social Republic.
The Italian King finally managed to overthrow Mussolini in 1943, upon which he was jailed – his new puppet state lasting just 19 months. The Germans helped him escape from prison in 1945, but the war was almost over and he was promptly recaptured and executed by Italian Communists.
Had an alien ship really crashed in secret in 1933 though, the outcome of the War, and the future of Europe and North Africa, could have been very different… There’s more to see of Marco’s alternate dieselpunk reality on Flickr – click the link above to take a look.
Mr. Airhorn has done sterling work over the years*. Much feared by our Elven workforce, this humble combination of plastic trumpet and compressed gas has been the dominating force in restoring order and emptying TLCB Towers of Elves when needed.
Now, thanks to a reader, we think we can add another tool to our armoury. This gloriously insane Technic trophy truck comes from 1711902090 of Brickshelf, and it’s everything an Elf would look for in a vehicle with which to cause wanton destruction. Remote control, large-travel suspension, monster V6 engine with supercharger… But this creation isn’t for the Elves, thanks to what’s printed on each side;
POLICE.
The Elves fear any authority, and that six-letter words gives us all the excuses we need to commandeer this machine for our own purposes. Namely chasing our smelly little workforce out of the office when we’ve had enough of them.
We’re pretty sure that the Elves can’t read, so there’s little danger of them learning about our new weapon here at thelegocarblog.com. Whilst we give it a go this afternoon you can check out all of the images of 1711902090’s magnificent model on Brickshelf via the link above.
*Like here. And here. And here, here, here, here and here. And here.
We don’t feature as many Town scale vehicles as we do large Technic creations here at The Lego Car Blog, as it often takes more to impress at a smaller scale.* This though, is how you do it! Built by Legokinsfolk of Brickshelf this is a Volvo Olympian bus in Hong Kong specification, and it’s wonderful.
At 10 studs wide it’s pushing the limits for a Town creation, but it is mini-figure scale, and can seat 43 of them plus the driver across both decks. The doors and engine cover also open and the interior is quite brilliantly detailed. There’s lots more to see, including interior shots, on Brickshelf – click the link above to buy a ticket.
*Ask your Mom.
After prompting the wrath of pneumatics fans following his controversial Set Review last month (and meeting TLCB Elves, which can be just as perilous), Thirdwigg has returned to join us here at TLCB Towers to add another official LEGO set to the burgeoning Set Review Library. Over to Thirdwigg to explain…
Most of the sets I buy now happen after months of deliberation, intense community scrutinization, and reading every online review I can find. And usually during double VIP months at LEGO.com.
Not this one. I went to the local toy store in a moment of children-induced weakness, purchased this cute little dump truck, and went home and started building it right away.
The box of 42035 is smallish, but the weight of it conveys a $30 set more than the size does. Upon opening the box, you’ll find a couple of bags of parts, a small sticker sheet, and wrapped instructions for both the A and B model.
As I started sorting the contents I found some of the new or rare parts that attracted me to the set. First, the new panels are pretty fun. Basically, they are a 5×11 panel with a 9×2 triangle removed. They are robust, and have an empty center; both sides of the panel are flat and can be presented to the outside of a model. Second, are the newish tires. They were part of the reason I was interested in this set, as I wanted to try them out in some MOCs, as their size fills a nice hole in Technic wheels range. Third, there are a smattering of new unique and/or interesting parts, like a piston and cylinder and the 3L pin with 1L axle.
The build starts with the chassis, and before you are 8 steps in, you ask yourself “why no differential?” I’ve stopped trying to answer questions that start with “why did LEGO not do_____?” Now I just change it myself when I am done. Continue reading
No sooner had we published a reader review of LEGO’s infamous buggy motor than two Elves returned to TLCB Towers with a Buggy Motor powered creation. Maybe they can read after all? The first of their Buggy Motor propelled finds you can view below, the second is this; Filsawgood’s brilliant 1991 Nissan D21 Hardbody pick-up.
Like today’s other blogged model Filsawgood’s D21 uses the combination of a Buggy Motor driving the rear wheels, a Servo for steering, and a third-party SBrick for control via bluetooth device, plus there’s all-wheel suspension and custom stickers.
The D21 hardbody is also a damn cool antidote for our deep-rooted loathing of the pick-up truck genre at the hands of hateful crap like the Dodge Ram. You can see more of Filsawgood’s glorious early ’90s Nissan at both Flickr and Eurobricks – click the links for the full gallery, build details, and a video of the truck in action.
Entitled simply ‘SBrick Powered Streetcar’, Horcik Designs’ latest creation extols the virtues of one of LEGO’s most sought after pieces, the 5292 ‘Buggy’ Motor. Linked to a third-party SBrick, a LEGO LiPo battery, and a Servo Motor for steering, the aforementioned motor gives Horcik’s car a rapid turn of speed, and makes it capable of drifts on a shiny floor too.
There are 3D printed wheels, custom decals and cut LEGO tyres alongside that non-LEGO control unit, and there’s more to see at Horcik’s photostream here or via the Eurobricks forum here. Get sideways at the links.
It’s time for another Set Review here at The Lego Car Blog, and this summer we’ve been handing the Reviewer’s Pen over to you – our readers. Today we have a double review, courtesy of Saberwing007, and he’s feeling all Top Gun…
So, do you feel the need? The need for speed? I hope so, because we are going to be reviewing some really fast sets today.
Back in 2002, Lego released set 8475, which was the debut of their new system for making remote control models. I actually saw the set in catalogs at the time, but I did not realize how special it was, and I kicked myself for missing out on it down the line. However, I recently got both 8475 and 8366, partially for the parts, and partially to get a set I missed out on. There is another set, 8376, which uses the same system, but we won’t be covering that here today.
As some background, all three of the sets, 8475, 8366, and 8376 use the same basic RC parts, but are otherwise quite different. At the end of this review there will be an overview of the RC system, but for now, let’s head off to the races!
8475 The first set released, 8475 retailed for $130 in the US, but only had 284 parts. That seemed like an awfully high price for such a set, but today it’s a bargain, considering how much these sets go for on the secondary market. The set build is fairly simple, with most of the structure being made of the RC receiver, and motors. Despite this the finished set has fully independent suspension, which works well for keeping all the wheels on the ground. The styling is very much in line with the other Racers and Technic sets of the era, being mostly a wire frame made up of flex tubes, with only a few panels. This allows the set to have a fairly low part count, and keeps the weight down. In spite of the limited bodywork, it is an attractive model, probably due to the fact that most dune buggies actually look like that. The color is quite nice as well, with most of the parts being pearl dark gray, a very rare color that was only included in sets of this era.
Driving the set is a blast, due to its speed, and the ability to use the set outdoors, where said speed can actually be used. The set is actually much too fast to be used indoors, unless you have a large house or an empty gym to use (or TLCB Executive Washroom and Sauna, Ed.). Unfortunately, the center of gravity is a bit high, which could cause a flip if you’re not careful. Luckily, controlling the model is easy, as the controller is not only quite ergonomic, but the joystick for drive and steer are proportional. In an unusual move, the B model for the set has different tires than the A model. Said B model is far less attractive, being a rather sad looking pseudo F1 car with off-road suspension. As a hilarious side note, in the instructions for this set there is a mini comic that shows 8475 losing a race against another set, 4589, in spite of the fact that 4589 is much slower, does not have suspension, and uses IR remote control.
8366 Ultimately, between 8475 and 8366, 8366 is my favorite, as it looks really neat, has more parts, and is faster as well. Like 8475, it retailed for $130, but had 429 parts. Although there is an increase in part count 8366 does not have suspension, but it really isn’t needed. Like 8475, the build structure is primarily based on the RC Receiver and motors, with most of the parts going into body work. Unlike 8475, 8366 is much more paneled, but there are still many flex hoses used, particularly around the cockpit. It also has an actual cockpit interior, although it is neither mini-fig nor Technic-fig scale. Like 8475, it included many dark pearl gray parts, but mixes it up with some light gray panels, and red highlights, although those are only sticker details. In a somewhat odd twist, 8366 actually includes two different types of large panels, the 20 and 21 panels, and the 3 and 4 panels, with no other set including both. An additional unusual part is a pair of fully plastic wheels. These wheels are identical in size to the wheels used on the model, and are used to make it into a drift machine. However, this is an inelegant solution at best, as the model is really fast, and really hard to control with the drift wheels fitted. As well, the drift wheels scratch easily, so using them outside is something I would not recommend. Performance wise, 8366 uses the fast outputs of the RC motors, and so is faster than 8475. The lack of suspension actually helps, and keeps the car from flipping. Since the controller is the same as 8475, it is still easy to control, in spite of the speed. Also like 8475, the B model of the set is rather weird, being some sort of dragster that can pop wheelies due to how much torque the motors have, although I must confess I’ve never built the B model, it just does not appeal to me.
So, in conclusion, both of these models are quite fun to drive, and have useful parts for your own creations, even if the building process for the sets themselves is not the most interesting. It took me a long time to get my hands on these sets, and man was it worth the wait!
Now, let’s take a look at that RC system in detail….
Technic, this writer’s favourite theme, used to look a bit weird. Its focus was on functions, not aesthetics (perhaps the opposite of where we are today), and it was all the better for it. But what if some of those early Technic sets could be updated with today’s smoother construction methods?
Handily MOCpages’ Nils O has decided to find out, rebuilding 1981’s 8845 Dune Buggy set using the latest studless pieces, and the the result is… well, still a bit weird to be honest. Nevertheless, it’s an area of building we’d like to see more often, and Nils’ buggy features all the charm of the original but updated for the current age.
There’s more to see of Nils’ 8845 Redux on MOCpages via the link above, and you can read his review of the original 1981 Technic set as part of the Review My Set Competition by clicking here.
This, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the World’s Largest Earth Mover. Well this isn’t obviously, but it is a thoroughly well built replica of the enormous LeTourneau L-2350. Designed to load the mining industry’s huge haul trucks, the world record holding L-2350 can raise to 80 tons 24 feet into the air. This lovely Lego recreation is somewhat smaller, but it can still carry a Power Functions battery box comfortably in its bucket. Built by Tamas Juhasz aka mbmc137 it features remotely controlled bucket lifting and tilting, drive and steering, and there’s more to see of how it all works (some of which may surprise you) via the links above.
We’ve got it this time. Shiptember, nothing to do with galleons from the 18th century, brings together builders from every corner of the online community (but usually the nerdier ones) for a month of creations that are a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts (SHIP). To qualify spaceships must be at least 100 studs long, as decreed by someone a long time ago for reasons long forgotten, and the results are – as you’d expect – massive. This is the 106-stud long SVB Kilimanjaro by Flickr’s Shannon Sproule, we have absolutely no idea what it does, and there’s lots more to see here.