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

Fashionable for the Family

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Following on from his excellent 1959 Dodge Coronet that recently featured here, Flickr’s SFH_Bricks has now built the estate version, the Custom Sierra, and has there ever been a cooler way to move several kids and a dog? Jump back to when family cars were a billion times more interesting than a generic jelly-mould crossover via the link above!

Wipeout!

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In the history of video gaming there are only two cool titles (sorry nerds); Grand Theft Auto, and this; Wipeout.

First appearing in 1995, the British anti-gravity racing game has been a staple an almost every console and PC operating system for three decades, luring gamers with frenetic fast-paced gameplay and music from electronic legends including of The Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, Orbital and more.

Today’s phenomenal creation pays spectacular homage to the second-coolest video game in history, recreating the ‘Feisar FX250-300’ anti-gravity racer from the Wipeout franchise.

Constructed (and presented) flawlessly by Aliencat! of Flickr, the Feisar racer captures Wipeout’s iconic aesthetic in jaw-dropping detail, with the build enhanced by the most prefect decal-work we’ve ever seen applied to a sci-fi creation – just look at that colour transition!

A gallery of a dozen stunning images is available to view at Aliencat’s ‘Feisar FX250-300’ album, and you can head to one of Earth’s premier anti-gravity races via the link in the text above. It’s the coolest thing you can do in gaming short of stealing a fighter jet from the army base in GTA.

*Today’s title song. Of course.

Moving Boxes

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Here at The Lego Car Blog most of the models we publish are supercars, sports cars, and giant off-roaders. Because we’re six. But if we were a vehicle, we’d probably be a crappy old van.

In our home nation that would most likely mean a Ford Transit, which isn’t just the best-selling van, but the best selling vehicle. However despite the massive numbers almost none survive beyond about fifteen years old (with many dying much younger), thanks to the disposable nature of vehicles used as tools, high repair costs, and a very robust annual inspection process.

In many parts of America though, there is no such inspection (leading to some truly terrifying vehicle conditions unthinkable in our home nation), and thus battered vans from decades past can are still a common sight.

This is one such van, a 1997 Ford Econoline, as built by newcomer yellowsquadron, who has utilised some sun-yellowed white bricks to superb effect to recreate the knackered exterior.

Posable steering, opening doors (including the sliding side door), a detailed engine under an opening hood, a realistic under-chassis drivetrain, and a wonderfully life-like interior all feature, and you can check out all the imagery (plus a link to building instructions) at yellow’s ‘Ford Econoline 1997’ album. Move some boxes via the link above.

Love and Rockets

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It’s SHIPtember, the annual spaceship-building bandwagon for sci-fi creations measuring over one hundred studs in length.

This one comes from Flickr’s Ryan Olsen and is a ‘Stiletto Class’ destroyer, so named because of its narrow pointed shape. That and it’s captained by Tiffany and comes from the Stripper Nebula. We may have made that last bit up.

You can take a closer look at Ryan’s gargantuan space shoe via his ‘Stiletto Class Pickett Destroyer’ album, plus you can see the other SHIPtember works-in-progress and finished builds at the SHIPtember Flickr group.

*Today’s title song.

Dedicated Follower of Fashion*

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American automotive design was at its most outrageous by the late ’50s. Increasingly wild shapes, jet engine tail lights, and tail-fins half the length of the car were redrawn every two years, with manufacturers reusing the same (often rather tired) underpinnings underneath constantly new fashion-conscious exteriors. ’50s American cars had lifecycles as short as LEGO sets…

Of course there’s probably a metaphor there somewhere about what actually matters being what’s on the inside, as by the ’70s the wheels were starting to come off, but in 1959 no-one was thinking that far ahead. In fact no-one thought further than the next 24 months.

Today’s creation epitomises this time; the fabulously extravagant 1959 Dodge Coronet. The fourth generation car we have here lasted from just 1957 to 1959 (with its predecessors each lasting no more than two years also), measured nearly 6 meters long, and was powered by a range of six and eight cylinder engines, some of which dated from the 1920s.

This lovely 8-wide Speed Champions recreation of the ’59 Coronet comes from previous bloggee SFH_Bricks, who has added it to his ever growing roster of classic automotive Americana. With so many short-lived designs crammed into America’s golden age, SFH has no shortage of real-world cars to replicate, and you can check out this wonderful Dodge and much more besides via the link in the text above.

*Today’s title song.

Ice Blocks

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re the best place to find the highest quality images of the finest Lego vehicles anywhere on the internet. OK… we’re a place to find said vehicles, but whist the quality of this site may be dubious, the vehicles and the imagery that appear here are top class.

Our Submission Guidelines set out what we look for, and key among these are clean, clutter-free images, preferably on a white background. This is the easiest way to ensure your creation is blog-worthy, but if you want to play in ‘hard mode’, then you can take your images to a whole new level…

Recent bloggee Nathan Hake has done just that, taking his previously blogged remote control MAZ-537 8×8 off-road truck (presented beautifully on a clean, clutter-free, white background), and chucking it onto the snow and mud.

The results are spectacular, with the Model Team MAZ looking almost life-size when set against a backdrop that the real vehicle was built for, and it also gave Nathan the chance to test his model’s off-road credentials.

You can watch how Nathan’s MAZ-537 got on in the snow by clicking here, where you can also find these stunning new on-location photos alongside the studio-based originals. Take a look via the link above, and perhaps be inspired to take your models outside too.

THE CAPN

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‘Breaking Bad’ featured some perfectly cast vehicles over its five season run. Walter White’s Pontiac Aztek, the Fleetwood Bounder meth-lab, Gus Fring’s Volvo wagon, and this; Jesse Pinkman’s ’82 Chevrolet Monte Carlo lowrider.

Shot up during Tuco Salamanca’s well-deserved season two demise, Jesse’s ‘THE CAPN’ license-plated Chevy was a fixture from the opening episode, and has been recreated brilliantly in brick form by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz.

Complete with ‘furry’ dice, hydraulics control switches, fist and Mary figurine ornaments, and a ‘THE CAPN’ license plate, Jakub’s build wonderfully captures details of the TV car, and also includes opening doors, hood and trunk, a realistic engine, and a superbly replicated interior.

There’s more of the model to see at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, including links to building instructions, and you find full details and all the imagery via the links above.