Yacht Club

Because millionaire mini-figures need to get from Long Island to Manhattan too.

JBIronWorks has built one of the more luxurious ways to commute to Wall Street with his beautiful recreation of the 1929 motor yacht ‘Mohican’, and it looks the perfect bath-toy for TLCB executive jacuzzi.

The real classic yacht is currently up for sale for a cool $1million, but if that’s a bit out of your reach you can pretend with JB on Flickr. Money can’t buy you happiness anyway. Although it can buy you a $1million motor yacht.

Two Tiny Trucks

Print-a-Buggy!

5 Replies

Well, parts of one…

We usually only publish posts that feature genuine LEGO pieces here at TLCB (in fact it’s one of our submission criteria), however today’s creation warranted a closer look.

Built by TLCB regular Sariel, this Technic dune buggy features a few parts that you won’t find with an official LEGO logo on. That’s because they’ve been created using the relatively new phenomenon of 3D printing, which enables a Computer Aided Design (CAD) to be realised for real via plastic moulding.

Over the past few years the price of 3D printing has tumbled, meaning unique parts production is now within reach of many amateur designers and engineers (or morally-bankrupt individuals who think that the ability to print-your-own firearm is something the world needs…).

Fellow previous TLCB bloggee Efferman has put his design skills to use and created a range of custom components that LEGO themselves have yet to officially produce. These include a 5 stud long steering arm (vs. LEGO’s 6 stud long version), a heavy-duty differential, and some wonderfully bouncy suspension springs, all of which Sariel has fitted to his excellent remote controlled dune buggy.

The custom components appear to work beautifully with the standard LEGO Technic used in the rest of Sariel’s creation – especially the springs, which we’d love to test out ourselves (hint!) – and Efferman has designed a wide variety of other custom LEGO-compatible components that are available to purchase online. These include suspension and steering parts, pneumatic tanks, custom wheels, excavator buckets, plus a lot more that we’re not clever enough to understand.

You can view Efferman’s extensive range of unofficial 3D printed Lego components by visiting the Shapeways Store, plus you can see more of Sariel’s dune buggy demonstrating some of these parts in action via MOCpages at the link above, or by watching the ace video below.

YouTube Video:

The Trashmen

1 Reply

Refuse Collectors are surly the unsung heroes of the modern world. Removing the vast quantities of detritus created by our wasteful and consumerist society, without them we’d be neck deep in trash within a week.

Lego City’s knights-in-hi-vis appear here courtesy of newcomer Chung-Po Cheng and his excellent recreation of one of Taiwan’s multitude of garbage trucks. See more of his refuse truck via MOCpages.

They’ve Saved the Best Trip For Last…

4 Replies

But this time they may have gone too far.

In 1990’s final* instalment of the superb Back to the Future franchise the ageing DeLorean needed a little help in hitting 88mph. Flickr’s Irwan Prabowo – making his TLCB debut – has recreated the famous Back to the Future Part III movie ending sequence wonderfully in micro-scale. You can see more of Irwan’s mini DeLorean time machine and the 1885 steam locomotive pushing it at his photostream via the link above.

*Maybe…

Daisy, Daisy

5 Replies

TLCB regular billyburg has come up with another in his series of super Classic Space vehicles. In contrast to F@bz’s creative solution to futuristic two-wheeled transport that we featured two days ago, billyburg has gone thinner, bigger diameter and side-by-side. The Elves have never seen wheels like this in all of their travels around the internet. Click this link to billyburg’s Flickr Photostream to see the details of exactly how he’s achieved it.

Iconic

4 Replies

Newcomer Paul Kim makes his TLCB debut with his wonderful replica of Icon’s Ford Bronco. The geniuses at the Icon resto-modifying company take classic American 4x4s and refit them for the modern world, with the latest engines, suspension, brakes, electrics and interior components. Classic looks + modern engineering = win.

Paul’s Lego version is built in the same spirit, with a gorgeous Model Team style body mounted over some proper Technic hardware. You can check out all the images of the Bronco on both MOCpages and Flickr.

Start Up the Brickingham!

Gold Dust

1 Reply

One of the most beautifully built and photographed creations of the year, Biczzz‘ gorgeous hot rod ‘Gold Dust’ is available to view in a huge gallery on Flickr. Click the link above to see all of the stunning photos, whilst we figure out how to make a gold Smartie for the successful Elf (can Elves eat glue and glitter?*).

*Yes, as it turns out.

Weird Wheels

3 Replies

Just when you thought that you’d seen all of the possible ways to build a wheel from LEGO, along comes F@bz. Whilst he is best known for his unusual spacecraft, we have also his featured futuristic cars and bikes on The LEGO Car Blog. F@bz’s Citroen Epona runs on wheels made from 17 (front) and 16 (back) black minifig helmet visors, according to the Elves who counted them. We’ve no information as to the ride quality this gives but it definitely creates a distinctive style. Click on this link to F@bz’s Photostream to see more, including detailed shots of some of the clever connections used in its construction.

Oil, Bricks, and Politics

8 Replies

Greenpeace, probably the world’s best known global activism charity, have been on the campaign trail, and oddly it affects our favourite little plastic bricks.

The LEGO Group has had a 50 year partnership with Royal Dutch Shell, featuring the petroleum brand on its Town sets before the arrival of the fictional ‘Octan’ brand in 1992, and more recently selling unique LEGO sets in Shell petrol stations.

Shell are an oil exploration company, and thus they explore the furthest reaches of our planet in the search for black gold. Most recently this has involved exploration in the arctic, much to the annoyance of Greenpeace.

In response the charity started a rather clever and actually quite original campaign to pressure LEGO into dropping Shell as a partner. Despite LEGO stating Greenpeace should take up their issues with Shell directly, the company has now bowed to pressure and decided not to renew their partnership with Royal Dutch Shell. What this means for LEGO’s other partnerships (e.g Ferrari, which are themselves sponsored by Shell) is unclear, but it will likely result in the end of the exclusive Shell sets in the near future.

We’re not quite sure how the termination of this partnership protects the arctic, or that Greenpeace understand irony (LEGO is made from plastic, and plastic is made from oil), but it does show that LEGO is seen as beloved moral brand, and that this is perceived to be at odds with some of their partnership choices.

We, being a car blog and understanding both irony and global economics, disagree with Greenpeace on this particular issue, but props to them for raising awareness of the LEGO brand – it’s done The LEGO Group no harm at all.

You can read more about the Greenpeace campaign and the response from both The LEGO Group and Royal Dutch Shell here, and you can watch Greenpeace’s slightly depressing campaign video below.

YouTube Video:

Seventies Sensation

Classic Nomadic

2 Replies

Based on LEGO’s own Miniland 1957 Chevrolet, Nate Andrews makes his TLCB debut with his brilliantly reworked Nomad version of the American classic. An unusual car in 1950s America, the Nomad offered Chevrolet bling in a practical wagon/estate/tourer package. We love cars like this here at TLCB, and Nate’s is well worth a look. You can check it out at both MOCpages and Flickr.

2015 LEGO Speed Champions Set Preview

2 Replies

LEGO’s small and always fun Racers sets are being refreshed for 2015! LEGO has announced the new ‘Speed Champions’ range, which is made up of partially refreshed old Racers sets (specifically the race-Ferraris and Iveco Transporter), and some new (and rather nice) hypercars.

One of these new sets is shown in the picture above – the awesome McLaren P1 – which joins the other two members of the latest real-world hypercar trio: the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. The P1 shown comes equipped with cones, a pleased-looking mini-figure driver and a few other useful tools, whilst the other sets also include a variety of additional parts.

We think the single car sets (Porsche 918, LaFerrari, P1, and a Ferrari 458 GT3) will please collectors although they do seem to show evidence of LEGO’s default method of creating the complicated shapes required via large specifically moulded new parts and stickers. Nevertheless, all of the new cars do look fun and some of those unique pieces might be usable for other ends (the surfboard piece in use as the McLaren’s rear spoiler is a nice touch!).

Overall we think the new Speed Champions cars will make good starter sets for beginners, and they’re relatively inexpensive at around €15 each. Definitely worth looking out for when they reach stores in early 2015.

This is the set that the Elves are more interested in though. Remember set 8654? LEGO’s F1 team truck was well received by builders and LEGO have given it a refresh it for 2015 creating the new set 75913.

Included in the revised set are toolboxes with tools, lots of Ferrari-attired mini-figures, a brick separator(?), a Vespa(!) and of course the latest Ferrari F14, complete with a spare nosecone. The F14 seems a fairly accurate mini-figure scale version of Ferrari’s real racer, featuring a couple of new pieces and stickers to create the flowing shape.

As for the truck, LEGO seem to have reused the same Iveco cabin and trailer from last year’s set, and all of the assorted racing paraphernalia can fit inside as before. 75913 will cost you around €100, which is quite expensive for a mini-figure scale set, but there is a lot included for your money.

Joining 75913 in the new Speed Champions range for 2015 are a Mercedes McLaren pitbox with F1 car (€35), two Porsche GT3 Racers in one package (€50) and the other aforementioned supercars including the 75910 Porsche 918 Hybrid pictured above. The complete Speed Champions range will reach stores in early 2015. Start saving!

Sources: The Brick Blogger and Brickshop.nl

Great R8

1 Reply

Audi might now be the favourite brand of the tail-gating muppet, but the R8 is one Audi we would still happily own. Previous Featured TFOL Alexander Paschoaletto is the builder behind this remarkably accurate Model Team version of which you can see more on MOCpages.

The Lego Car Blog

The Best LEGO Cars on the Web! | LEGO News, Reviews & MOCs | Cars, Trucks, Sci-Fi, Aircraft & More

Yacht Club

Like this:

Two Tiny Trucks

Like this:

Print-a-Buggy!

Like this:

The Trashmen

Like this:

They’ve Saved the Best Trip For Last…

Like this:

Daisy, Daisy

Like this:

Iconic

Like this:

Start Up the Brickingham!

Like this:

Gold Dust

Like this:

Weird Wheels

Like this:

Oil, Bricks, and Politics

Like this:

Seventies Sensation

Like this:

Classic Nomadic

Like this:

2015 LEGO Speed Champions Set Preview

Like this:

Great R8

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this:

Spread the Word

Like this: