Not A Review

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Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3RS Review

When the previews for the ‘Ultimate’ Technic 42056 Porsche were circulating, I was certain that I’d buy one, as a Lego fan and petrolhead; even though I’m not overly fond of the Volkswagen Beetle Sport…. a review was promised in short order.

Well, here it isn’t – for a couple of reasons.

First, LEGO pulled it from sale before it was even offered, to fix a packaging problem we were told. If by packaging problem they mean packaging an errata sheet in the instructions… We will see. It seems the massive weight of that doorstop  sized coffee table book was crushing the boxes around it.

Second, early reviews were not encouraging, highlighting a number of reasons why this isn’t really ‘Ultimate’ in anything but price.

Technically, the steering and suspension are identical to the 42039 Le Mans car. No fancy tricks, just the basics. I don’t really care about the colour of the springs if the geometry is nothing like the real car… The flat six engine is bog standard and completely hidden. There’s plenty of space back there to have a go at modelling camshafts, say, but no attempt was made at anything above the ordinary.

Likewise, no attempt was made at any kind of rear wheel steering, a notable feature of the real 911 GT3RS. The only technical aspect that shows any ambition is the gearbox, more on which in a bit… So, if you want the ultimate Lego Technic car, stick to your 8880.

What about that much heralded build experience? It’s an idea that’s appeared before, in the 8448, which does the modularity thing a whole lot better. Since I haven’t (and probably won’t unless 42056 appears at a steep discount) built the Porsche, the jury will have to stay out on that one.

Ultimate packaging maybe? It would be if the box had a strong plastic insert to sort the pieces into and lots of pictures of alternate builds. For that, you’ll need an 853. I do understand what they mean by the ‘premium experience’ of the Porsche but like a lot of things, the word ‘premium’ just means you pay more.

Ultimate looks?

LEGO Technic 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

It is pretty, and the orange (close-but-no-cigar to the real Porsche’s ‘lava orange’ colour) does look good. But with its awkward gaps around the headlights and taillights, messy interior and clumsy rear end is it as pretty as the Creator Ferrari F40? Not to these eyes.

Now then, that gearbox, surely that must be the most impressive such thing in a Lego car?

If you like your changing up sequence to be 1-3-2-4 and lots of friction, then yes. A lot of said friction can apparently be blamed on this little fella:

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It’s a small bevel gear assembly built in the very early stages, and the problem is that pin joiner, used as a spacer. Change it for a couple of bushes and it’s fine. Expect that to be instruction errata number 1. According to Sariel’s review on Eurobricks, there are twenty gears engaged in first gear; so don’t expect that to completely solve the friction problem. Now we know why the white clutch gear was included in the powertrain…

As for the shift sequence, this can be corrected by swapping a 12T double bevel and a 16T spur gear on the back of the gearbox, which suggests a simple error in the instructions. Or it would if LEGO hadn’t tried to tell us it was ‘to reduce friction and enhance the premium experience’ or some such tosh. According to everyone who’s built one, the positions of these gears makes no difference to the friction. That’ll be errata number 2.

If these two problems are solved – and they should be when it becomes available again – this gearbox will be an impressive feat, for all that you can still change up from 4 back to 1 and have four reverse gears. That sounds like fun. Finally, it’s possible to drive a 911 as if its engine is in the right place. Backwards…

So it might actually be the ultimate gearbox. £250 is a lot to pay for a gearbox.

Hang on a sec, it’s got a handbag as well, so there’s that… it’d better be a Hermes…

Lego Technic 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Review

Sorry LEGO. I know you tried. The idea for an ‘Ultimate’ series of Technic models is a great one which should produce something fantastic that we’ll all love. It’s just that 42056 isn’t it. It feels like the product of two partners with conflicting priorities, rather like the McLaren-Mercedes SLR; when the 8880 felt like LEGO’s McLaren F1

Esso Service 1953 – Picture Special

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Lego Esso Garage 1953 Norton74

This magnificent 1953 Esso service station is the work of previous bloggee Andrea Lattanzio (aka Norton74) and it’s probably as close to perfect as a Lego creation can possibly be.

Designed by Dutch architect Willem Dudock 112 of these beautiful structures were built across the Netherlands following World War 2 in order to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding road network. Dudock’s brief was to design a station that was cheap and simple to construct, and that minimised the raw material usage – a critical factor for a country rebuilding itself after years of conflict.

Lego Petrol Station Esso

Andrea’s incredible recreation of Dudock’s ingenious design is not light on raw material however, as every conceivable detail has been replicated perfectly in Lego form, from the beautiful art deco fuel pumps (attended by Andrea’s previously blogged Volkswagen Transporter) to the brilliantly detailed workshop tooling.

We highly recommend taking a trip Andrea’s wonderful Flickr Photostream where you can see more of the Netherlands in 1953, and we may also be seeing more of Andrea here at TLCB soon…

Lego Esso Garage Dudock 1953

To Walmart!

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Lego Classic Space Hazmat Transporter

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.

A Bolt from the Blue

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Lego Saab Viggen Fighter

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.

Lego Saab Viggen 01

Odd Couple

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Lego Citroen DS Mercedes-Benz Truck

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.

“Like a Bat Out of Hell…”

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Mitchell

“…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-fig Machinery

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Lego Forester Telehandler

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.

Lego Town Tractors

Army Ant

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Lego Technic ATV 6x6 RC

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.

Lego Technic Remote Control ATV

G63 AMG

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Lego Technic G63 AMG

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.

Lego Technic Mercedes-Benz G-Class G63 AMG Remote Control

Sideswipe

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Lego Transformers Sideswipe Lamborghini Countach

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.

Lego Transformers Sideswipe

MEDIC!!

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Ambulance

“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.

Crawl Space

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Lego NASA Crawler Transporter

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.

Lego NASA Space Shuttle

The Flying Scotsman

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Lego The Flying Scotsman

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.

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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Lego Land Rover Camel Trophy

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…

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Lego Remote Control

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).

Lego Technic Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Remote Control

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.

Lego Technic Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy Sheepo RM8 RC

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.

YouTube Video:

Master of the Skies

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Lego Cessna 337 Skymaster

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.