If we were mini-figures here in TLCB office and had to choose one vehicle to fulfil all our needs, this would probably be it. We can think of no task that Horcik Designs‘ ‘HMT4’ classic space tracked transport isn’t perfect for, from a trip to the shops to off-roading through the mountains. It’s even the ideal tool for removing Elf droppings from TLCB Towers, what with it being hazardous-materials compliant. There’s more to see of Horcik’s brilliant machine on Flickr – click the link above to make the hyper-jump.
For many years Saab advertised their cars as being built by the only company which also built aeroplanes. Both the cars and ‘planes were esoteric products with cult followings. Be it the sci-fi styled Drakken, the tank-like 900 or the canard-delta Viggen, the designs were certainly individual. The Viggen (Thunderbolt) was designed with some very specific requirements of the Swedish Airforce in mind. It had to be capable of operating from short, rough airstrips but also capable of Mach 2 performance. This led to an unusual wing layout for short take offs, coupled with automatic thrust-reversers for short landing, which enabled the aircraft to almost handbrake turn, as shown in this video.
Sweden’s Stefan Johansson has posted this very nice model of the original AJ-37 version of the Viggen on Flickr. Its grey/natural metal finish is very similar to the last flying example, operated by the Swedish Airforce Historic Flight. Stefan has done a great job of capturing the Viggen’s compound delta wing and area-ruled fuselage in bricks. The model also includes working landing gear. To see more photos of this and Stefan’s other models of Saab fighter jets, you can visit his Photostream at this link.
We’re not sure why this classic Citroen DS and Mercedes-Benz truck have been pictured together, but they’re both lovely and thus can appear here. Peter Schmid is the builder making his TLCB debut and you can see more of the two Town vehicles above as well as his other builds by clicking here.
“…I’ll be gone-gone-gone.”; just like most of this B-25J’s brothers have gone to the great hangar in the sky.
Despite a production run of nearly 10,000, which would be impressive for many of the marques of car that we feature here, there are fewer than 50 B-25 Mitchells left flying today. The B-25 first flew in 1940 and finally retired from military service in 1979. Being an unglamorous, workhorse, medium bomber, the B-25 didn’t get the fame of the fighters or the heavies such as the B-17 or B-24. However, it was famous for being flown off an aircraft carrier in Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo. Modern audiences will know it as the aircraft of Capt Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s classic “Catch-22”.
The version featured here was built by Florida Shooter on MOCpages. He has built it in the markings of the 499th Bomber Squadron – “Bats Outta Hell” and we like how the squadron’s distinctive nose art has been brick-built, rather than applied with stickers. The particular mark is the B-25J2, with the “strafer nose”. Click this link to view the detailed photos and see if you can spot all 18 of the aircraft’s Browning M2 machine guns.
Mini-figure machines don’t appear here that often, but if done well Town-scale creations can be a match for creations several times their size. Our Elves found two great examples of top quality mini-figure models on Flickr today. The yellow machine is keko007‘s JCB telehandler, whilst the elaborate red contraption is Mathijs Bongers Komatsu forester. See more of each via on Flickr the links above.
This is a real off-roader! Previous bloggee Pipasseyoyo has miniaturised one of the most accomplished all-terrain-vehicles, and his remote controlled Technic 6×6 ATV is every bit as capable as the real thing. With 6-wheel-drive powered by two XL Motors, locking differentials, a two-speed gearbox and working steering powered by a Medium Motor each, plus suspension on all three axles, Pipasseyoyo’s creation can climb like an ant. There’s lots more detail available on Brickshelf, including a rendering of the awesome 6×6 drivetrain and a video link to see the model in action – click the link above to make the jump.
Alongside civilian versions of the Hummer, AMG’s G63 version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon is surely one of the most pointless vehicles ever created. Transforming a hardcore off-road workhorse into an immensely powerful on-road racer results in a car that can do neither of those things, and that costs a fortune to do absolutely nothing well at all. In short, the G63 AMG’s only purpose is to be a rolling pile of banknotes proclaiming the wealth of the occupant inside it. Rant over, on to the model…
This impressive recreation of the World’s Most Pointless Car comes from previous bloggee damianple, making his fifth appearance on TLCB. Damian’s G63 AMG is a fully functioning Technic Supercar with some seriously impressive engineering inside. A working V8 engine, all-wheel-suspension, all-wheel-drive, steering and Power Functions remote control are included, amongst a host of other features.
There’s an extensive gallery of photos available to view via Brickshelf, including detailed chassis imagery and interior shots. Click the link above to make the jump.
It’s been a while since TLCB Elves have been allowed to watch Transformers cartoons, but today one Elf is a hero amongst his peers for finding this, Joe Perez (aka MortalSwordsman)’s fiendishly clever recreation of 1984’s ‘Sideswipe’.
In car mode Sideswipe is the poster car for the 1970s; Lamborghini’s actually quite rubbish – but nevertheless iconic – Countach. Lambo’s be-winged V12 supercar is not an easy thing to create from Lego, and is even less so when it needs to reform as an alien robot.
Joe’s brain is a much bigger than the average one in TLCB Towers though, and as such his Sideswipe model transforms beautifully from Countach to robot, and looks superb in either mode. There’s more to see at his photostream on Flickr – click the link above to roll out.
“Medic!!”, is a cry that can often be heard screamed in Elvish across the TLCB executive editorial penthouse. Our research team enjoy every possible opportunity to smush each other into the deep shag carpet. Well, we assume that’s what they’re shouting. To be honest we’re a monoglot lot and haven’t a clue what they’re saying. We tend to conduct negotiations with our crew in terms of the carrot and stick (Mr. Airhorn and Smarties).
If Elvish paramedics were to respond to the call, they’d do well to turn up something like this vintage VW Splitscreen Barndoor Ambulance from redfern1950s on Flickr. Included in its description are details of how these vehicles differed from the minibuses from which they were converted. Redfern’s photostream is well worth a visit. It also contains fire engine, pick-up and hearse versions of this classic vehicle, plus his interpretation of Colin Furze’s hoverbike.
This incredible vehicle is NASA’s Crawler Transporter, built to carry the enormous Saturn rockets, and later the Space Shuttles, to their launch site. Built way back in 1965 (although upgraded several times since then), the Crawler is the largest self-propelled land vehicle in the world, weighing in at over 2,700 tons. It’s powered by two 2,750bhp V16 diesel engines, with another two 1,065bhp engine/generators used for steering, ventilation and jacking… Oh, plus sixteen traction motors powered by four 1,341bhp generators. That’s a lot of power, which when deployed together gives the NASA Crawler a top speed of… 2mph. Or half that when loaded.
So fast it isn’t, but amazing it certainly is, and this spectacular Lego recreation of one of NASA’s most remarkable machines is a fine tribute to the real-world goliath. Built by Lia Chan it’s detailed to a stunning level, and includes a shuttle and booster rocket load too. There’s lots more to see at Lia’s Flickr photostream – click the link above to blast off.
Hitting over 100mph in 1934, the Flying Scotsman steam locomotive is one of the world’s greatest trains. This outstanding Lego replica is the work of Certified LEGO Professional Ryan McNaught (aka TheBrickMan), and it’s built from over 165,000 LEGO bricks, measuring over 10ft in length. There’s more to see at Ryan’s Flickr photostream – click the link above to climb on board.
We rarely feature modifications of other peoples’ creations here at TLCB, but when a builder as accomplished as RM8 decides to use a design by Master MOCer Sheepo as the basis for a build, we think we can let that rule slide a bit…
This is RM8 (real name Egor Karshiev)’s brilliant Technic Land Rover Defender 90 in full Camel Trophy specification. Based on the original Defender design by Sheepo, Egor has extensively updated the hardware using his own significant Lego off-roading experience.
Power Functions motors control the drive and steering whilst tough all-wheel-drive and suspension systems allow this little Lego Defender to go anywhere the real car can (if it were really small).
Egor’s presentation is top notch stuff too, with both studio and on-location shots taken superbly, and he’s created several excellent videos showing how the Land Rover was built and what it can do outside in the rough stuff.
There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum, Egor’s MOCpages account, and via the YouTube video below, plus you can see more of Egor’s rival in-house designed Technic off-roader (which coincidentally was the real Land Rover’s key rival too) by clicking here.
This weird-looking aircraft is a Cessna 337 Skymaster, and the real thing really does look like that. With a twin-boom tail and a propellor both fore and aft of the cockpit, the Skymaster is certainly a strange way to cross the skies. This superbly replicated Lego version comes from previous bloggee Henrik Jensen, and there’s more to see on both MOCpages and Flickr.
Regular readers will be all too aware of how our workforce enjoy using their finds of Lego machines to attack and smush each other. Unfortunately it looks as though this sort of behaviour is spreading, as witnessed here in Gary Davis’ Duelling Diggers.
Gary was commissioned to build these and other models for this animated advert, encouraging people into careers in the construction industry. The film is short and fun and well worth watching (a bit like our Elves). Whilst you’re doing that we’ve got to mend the TLCB photocopier, as one of the cross beams has gone out of skew on the treadle…
We’ve heard of the Toyota Hiace here at TLCB (because whilst the Hiace isn’t sold here, they are ubiquitous pretty much everywhere else in the world), but we hadn’t heard of GoGoVan. A straw poll in the office returned some fairly detailed knowledge of another word with ‘GoGo’ in front of it, but we can’t share that here.
Anyway, a bit of research later and it turns out that GoGoVan are an app-driven Hong Kong based logistics company, sort of like Uber for boxes, and their vehicle of choice is of course Toyota’s trusty Hiace.
Previous bloggee Shineyu has recreated the boldly-painted Toyota used by GoGoVan across Hong Kong perfectly in Technic form, and he’s packed it with working functions too. LEGO’s versatile Power Functions components are employed giving the Hiace remote control drive, steering and sliding doors.
There’s more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum – click the link above to book a delivery.
