The Last of the V8 Interceptors

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Law and order is breaking down. Fuel is ruinously expensive. And the land is turning into a scorching desert. But enough about today, let’s indulge in some dystopian movie-based escapism. 1979’s ‘Mad Max’ depicted a future in which law and order has broken down, fuel is ruinously expensive, and the land is a scorching dese… oh.

One movie plot difference is that Max did get to drive a V8, whereas here it won’t be long before they’re a remnant of history. Which means we’d probably take the ‘Mad Max’ post-apocalyptic dystopian future over whatever hell-scape is actually on the horizon.

Helping us imagine it is Peter Blackert (aka Lego911), who has recreated Max’s modified ’73 Ford Falcon XB Interceptor brilliantly in brick form. An enormous supercharger, eight side pipes, and roof and boot spoilers accurately capture the film Falcon, and you can hit the highway across a post-apocalyptic wasteland via the link above.

Put a Lid On It

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This TLCB Writer is nearly at the point where he’s societally obliged to buy a Porsche Boxter. But what if you too are approaching middle-age and/or limited follicle coverage, but a convertible isn’t for you? Well Thirdwigg’s previously blogged Porsche 718 Boxter has now become a 718 Cayman, losing its convertible roof, yet retaining its mid-life-crisis status.

Thirdwigg’s Cayman GT4 also retains the working steering, flat-6 piston engine, and opening doors of its Boxter forebear, and you can see more of it alongside the previously-featured convertible version at his ‘Porsche 718’ album. Click the link and get your mid-life-crisis started!

Treasure Planet

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Losing Disney around $74 million, 2002’s ‘Treasure Planet’ is a film the studios would probably like to forget. Which is a shame, because it was well received, but was sadly at odds with the computer-animation boom of the early ’00s, and Disney’s traditionally animated movies were all but gone within a few years.

It’s this traditional animation however, that sets ‘Treasure Planet’ apart from its computer-animated peers today, being infinitely more beautiful than the CGI films of the time.

Measuring a metre tall and a metre long, this spectacular 4,000-piece recreation of ‘Treasure Planet’s ‘RLS Legacy’ solar galleon captures the movie’s gorgeous animation wonderfully in brick form, and comes from Flickr’s Daniel Church who designed it for the Brickworld Chicago show.

Presented (and edited) beautifully, there’s more to see of Daniel’s incredible otherworldly ship at his ‘RLS Legacy’ album, and you can join the Legacy’s crew at the Crescentia Spaceport at the start of their adventure via the link above.

The Worst Car in the World

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What’s the worst car in the world?

No, it’s the Tesla Cybertruck, a truck that can’t tow, that can’t off-road, that can’t be washed in sunlight, a truck on sale with literally unfinished software, that requires a $5,000 option not to rust, a truck with windshield wipers that drop off, window surrounds that drop off, critical braking issues, critical steering issues, and with wheels that slice into the tyres wrapped around them.

A testament to marketing over substance, the Cybertruck’s only saving grace is that this automotive equivalent of the Fyre Festival is unable to be sold in Europe – because it is so dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists and other road users – so we’ll never have to see one.

Except in Lego form of course, thanks today to Thomas Gion‘s very neatly constructed 6-wide example, which demonstrates another one of the Tesla Cybertruck’s myriad of alarming issues. Click the link above to check it out, or here if you’re not sure why there’s a sliced carrot sticking out of the fender.

Double-Bs

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Today’s we have not one but two alternate builds. And they’re the same.

This brilliant John Deere High-Speed Dozer is the work of previous bloggee M_longer, and has been constructed from two of LEGO’s excellent 42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer Technic starter sets.

Using every single one of the combined 390 pieces available, M-longer’s 42163 (x2) B-Model features articulated steering, working blade elevation, and looks remarkably like the unusual real-world vehicle it emulates.

The full gallery is available via Bricksafe, and full details, a video, and link to building instructions can all be found on Eurobricks. Click the links above to take a look.

Monorail!* | Picture Special

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Like any LEGO fan who grew up in the ’90s, this TLCB Writer would give an internal organ, even a big one, to get his hands on a LEGO monorail.

Flickr’s martin.with.bricks. doesn’t need to forgo a body part, because he already owns the best LEGO set ever made, and has redeployed it to create this fabulous ‘Space Monorail Station’.

Packed with wonderful spacecraft, speeders, hover-tugs, aliens, a glorious Futuron-style monorail train, plus an entire second monorail based on LEGO’s rollercoaster tracks, Martin’s colossal Space Monorail Station is the sort of creation that makes you want to shrink yourself to mini-figure size to wander through it.

You can jump into all the imagery of Martin’s ‘Space Monorail Station’ at his album of the same name, where TLCB Staff will be both pretending they’re 3cm tall, and wondering which organ they could do without.

*It’s more of a Shelbyville idea…

Multiple Loads

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Big trucks. Small trucks. Box trucks. Semi-Trucks. Long Nose. Cab-Over. Countless brick-built trucks have appeared here over the years, but often we forget why trucks exist in the first place. To pull stuff.

Cue Arian Janssens, who remembers the most important part of a truck is the thing it’s pulling.

Arian’s superb curtain-sided three-axle trailer complete with rear-mounted forklift, container trailer with shipping container, and container trailer with tank, each of which is built and presented beautifully (as is the DAF FT XD 450 Sleeper Cab pulling them).

There’s more to see of each (and the truck) on Flickr, and you can check out Arian’s multiple loads via the link above.

Seahawk

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We’re back, although not with a car… This is a U.S. Navy Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk, a multirole helicopter in service since the mid-’80s. Based on the U.S Army UH-60 Black Hawk, the Seahawk features folding rotor blades and tail, allowing it to store more easily on the ships from which it operates, and serves in Search and Rescue, Medevac, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Special Naval Warfare, and various other types of Naval airborne operations.

This splendid replica of the MH-60S Seahawk comes from Ralph Savelsberg, who has recreated the U.S Navy helicopter with fantastic attention to detail detail. Enhanced by accurate markings and photographed beautifully, there’s lots more of Ralph’s creation to see at his ‘Lego MH-60S Seahawk’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to land on a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship and take a look.

Lando Drives a Life-Size LEGO McLaren P1

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LEGO’s near 4,000 piece (and near £400) 42172 Technic McLaren P1 set is pretty big. This one however, is rather bigger.

Constructed from a steel frame and over 342,000 LEGO pieces, this astonishing life-size LEGO McLaren P1 took a team of twenty-three specialists from both LEGO and McLaren 8,344 hours to develop and build.

Powered by 768 LEGO Power Functions motors and a car battery, this full-scale replica of one the world’s most iconic hypercars is the first life-size LEGO model to lap a racetrack. In fact, it is the first life-size LEGO model able to steer at all, and who better to steer it than race-winning McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.

Rumoured to be capable of around 40mph, the life-size LEGO P1 may not quite be able to match the real McLaren’s 217mph top speed, but watching Lando pilot it around the Silverstone Grand Prix track is perhaps even more exciting than watching him driving his usual wheels.

Take a look at LEGO and McLaren’s incredible feat of engineering in the video below, and click the link above to check out the rather smaller (but still pretty impressive) McLaren P1 you can own for yourself.

Rambo Lambo

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Supercar manufacturers might sell more SUVs now than actual supercars, but their foray into the 4×4 market is actually nothing new. Because in the mid-’80s if you were an oil sheik you could be the proud owner of this; the mad Lamborghini LM002.

Designed mostly for the Middle East, the LM002 featured bespoke sand tyres, the V12 engine from the Countach, and a 169 litre fuel tank.

301 units were produced between 1986 and 1993, with owners including sultans, princes, dictators, sons of dictators, and Tina Turner.

This one however is owned by previous bloggee Zerobricks, who has recreated the LM002 in Technic form complete with BuWizz-powered remotely controlled all-wheel-drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, independent suspension with planetary hubs, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a working V12 engine.

There’s lots more of Zerobricks’ ‘Rambo Lambo’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including renders of the drivetrain and a video of the model in action, and you can join such LM002 owners as Beyonce, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Uday Hussein via the link in the text above.

The Beast of Turin

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Four cylinders, twenty-eight litres, 290hp, and many flames. Fiat’s incredible S76 – nicknamed ‘The Beast of Turin’ – was built to claim land speed records, thanks to that astonishing engine that was also used to power airships.

This wild Technic interpretation of the 1910 racer was found by one of our Elves on Eurobricks, and comes from JoKo, who has created a working approximation of the S76’s enormous engine complete with functioning double overhead cams, valves, and timing chain.

Control+ components allow for remote control drive and steering, there’s leaf-spring suspension, a working hand-crank, and – perhaps most importantly – a marvellously moustachioed gentleman sitting in the cockpit.

Fire up all 28.4 litres via the link above, and click here to see (and hear!) the real Beast of Turin come to life.

Yeah Baby!

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Is there anything more British than a Jaguar E-Type bedecked in Union Flag? OK, maybe tea. Or politely queuing. Or pilfering far-off countries’ antiquities. Or football hooliganism. But other than those things a Jaguar E-Type bedecked in a Union Flag is bloody well right up there.

Famously driven by Austin Powers (“women want him, and men want to be him”), the “Shaguar” first appeared in the International Man of Mystery’s 1997 debut, and has been recreated superbly in brick form – including the patriotic paint job – by published Lego author Peter Blackert (aka Lego911).

Building instructions are available with more to see on Flickr. Take a look via the link above whilst we go and politely queue for a tea.

King Rat

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Here’s a rat king riding a train. Because shut up, that’s why. There’s a Duplo train base under there somewhere, and you can check it out at Kristof‘s photostream.

Brickin’ Bronco B-Model

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LEGO’s brand new Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 Professional Line set is proving to be a veritable goldmine of parts. Despite only launching a few weeks ago, several superb 42177 B-Models have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog already, and today we have another; this fantastic Ford Bronco by Eurobricks’ Alex Ilea.

Featuring four-wheel-drive with three locking differentials, working steering via the wheel or HOG, independent front and live-axle rear suspension, a high/low range gearbox, a V6 engine, opening doors, hood, and tailgate, a folding bench, plus removable body panels and roof, Alex’s Bronco is as packed with functionality as the official G-Wagen set on which it’s based.

91% (2,625) of the donor set’s pieces are used in the Bronco’s creation, and if you prefer your 4x4s with American fun rather than German assertiveness you too can turn your 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Ford Bronco, as Alex has also produced building instructions for his alternate design. See more at both the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe, plus you can also click here to watch a video of Alex’s Bronco B-Model in action.

Tow Plow

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Summer is waining here in the northern hemisphere, which means for many readers, and perhaps TLCB Team, we’re on the path to winter snow. Fortunately previous bloggee M_longer is ready, having converted his LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator set into this spectacular Volvo VHD snow plow, complete with a gritter and secondary plow trailer in tow. A ‘tow plow’ if you will.

Utilising around 2,100 pieces from the 42175 set’s 2,274, M_longer’s alternate features working steering, a piston engine under the opening bonnet, a disengageable salt spreader / gritter, a pneumatically elevating front blade and – very cleverly – a pneumatically elevating trailer blade too, driven by the truck’s pneumatics.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them, full build details, and a reference image of the real ‘tow plow’ truck that inspired this build at the Eurobricks discussion forum, there are over forty high resolution images at M_longer’s ‘Tow-Plow’ Bricksafe gallery, plus you can check out this fantastic alternate in action via the video below.

YouTube Video