At least that’s what TFOL Harry Gravett probably is. He made his debut on TLCB with a TVR Sagaris a while ago and this Tuscan is another good British beast from Harry. View it on Flickr at the link above or check it out on MOCpages.
Japanese rear-wheel-drive sports cars are cool. That’s a fact. So here’s a Nissan Fairlady Z / 350Z by 1saac W, which features some rather cunning techniques to recreate the famous shape. See more on Flickr.
This two-thirds bearded trio are, unmistakably, the American blues rock band ZZ Top in mini-fig form. Despite looking like rejects from a Santa convention the music they created was alright, although sometimes surprisingly wet in the lyrics department. Their early ’80s album ‘Eliminator’ sold an astonishing 10 million copies and featured a car that became nearly as famous as the band. Lead vocalist Billy Gibbons was a hot rodder, and his Chevy-engined 1933 Ford Coupe became the album cover, album name and star of their ’80s videos. -derjoe- has built Billy, his bandmates, and the Eliminator hot rod from LEGO, and you can see more of all of them at the link.
Hybrids, so long a favourite of tree hugging hippy types, are starting to get cool. Porsche’s 918, Ferrari’s LaFerrari, McLaren’s P1 and modern Formula 1 cars are changing the perception of what a hybrid can do. Toyota, one of the first to make hybrid technology work in the real world, took their TS030 hybrid racer to Le Mans this year, finishing second to a hybrid Audi.
Brought to our attention via the Submission Suggestions page, Lego Builder Jr. has recreated the podium scoring Toyota on MOCpages and Flickr in its early red and white livery. See more via the links above, and if you’re still in doubt that hybrid can be cool, take a listen to this.
Discovered on Flickr this Lego recreation of a Polish RWD-14 Czapla reconnaissance plane is one of the vehicular casualties of the Second World War. Whilst the Czapla did have two machine guns fitted it was no match for the Luftwaffe fighters. 65 were built for the Polish Airforce in 1938 and ’39 and all were destroyed by the invading Germans, or in the following assault by the Soviets. Now, like so much from the wartime years, the RWD-14 Czapla only exists in photographs. mrutek adds his Lego version to the memory.
This miniature steam train by Flickr’s Mark of Falworth has the most bitchin’ rims of any creation we’ve featured yet. Rappers take note.
TLCB favourite [Maks] returns with a remarkably detailed Town-scale Volvo FM Globetrotter truck and Nooteboom trailer. [Maks]’ models pack the sort of detailing you’d normally expect to find in a Model Team set into tiny mini-fig friendly packages. To see more of the Volvo and his other Town creations head over to Flickr.
It’s a Review day here at The Lego Car Blog, and with much of LEGO’s latest product line-up covered we’re going to take a journey back to 1997, and to one of LEGO’s forgotten gems; the 8479 Technic Barcode Truck.
LEGO had successfully produced programable robotic models as far back as 1990 with the marvellous Control Centre and its mark II follow-up in 1995. Both sets allowed children to control a Technic model via a joypad and to program a series of functions into the system so that movements could be repeated. The only drawback was that the ‘brain’ control brick was a large black box that remained external to the models under its control.
For 1997 LEGO designed its first robot where the control brick and memory were integrated into the model itself, allowed by the continuing compacting of computer storage technology. Called the ‘Code Pilot’ it’s a neat handheld battery pack containing the model’s power source, memory, control buttons, and – rather inventively – a barcode scanner, just like you’ll find by the till in any shop. In short, this is LEGO Mindstorms’ genesis. Continue reading
The Elves were a bit cross about this one. You see, it was submitted to us via the Feedback and Submission Suggestions page and so they’ve gone hungry today. Still, we opened up the cleaning cupboard at TLCB Towers and let them ride the mops around the office making ‘Bruuuurrm’ noises, so they do at least like the model in question. Called ‘Outlaw’ it’s been built by MOCpages’ Hot Rod and you can see it via the link.
This magnificent 1963 Ferrari 156 comes from one of TLCB’s favourite racing car builders, the amazing bobalexander! Bob has featured a number of times on TLCB with a variety of superb classic race cars, and perhaps this is his most iconic yet.
The Ferrari 156 was one of the first Formula 1 cars to adapt to the new regulations, which in 1961 required tiny 1.5 litre engines. This was long before the days of turbo-chaging, direct injection, KERS and all the other power-boosting technology we’re used to today. Despite the engine being somewhat outside of Ferrari’s comfort zone, the 156 won the World Championship in both 1961 and 1964, and was piloted by some of the best drivers of the era; Phil Hill, John Surtees and Wolfgang Von Trips (who tragically died in his) to name a few.
You can see more of bobalexander!’s beautiful Model Team version of the Ferrari 156 via the link above, or see his other creations that have featured here on TLCB by clicking here.
We don’t often post two vehicles from the same builder in one week, but after discovering Paliason‘s recent uploads to Brickshelf we decided to make an exception for his superb Camel Trophy spec Land Rover Defender from the early 1990s.
The Camel Trophy was a worldwide exploration challenge that visited the world’s most inhospitable places, running 20 years from 1980 to 2000. Named after the cigarette-making sponsor company (because nothing says outdoor adventure like lung cancer) the challenge used Land Rover vehicles throughout its 20 year history, which were all painted Camel’s iconic sand yellow colour. Following the demise of the Trophy in 2000 Land Rover restarted the event under its own sponsorship, renaming it the Land Rover G4 challenge and switching the famous cigarette-yellow paintwork for bright orange.
Sadly the global economic crisis in 2008/9 put an end to the G4, but you can still sometimes see ex-Camel and ex-G4 Land Rovers on the roads as they were sold after the completing the event. One careful owner, never used off-road…
The M1 Procar was arguably the first proper ‘M’ car from BMW, starting probably the most famous in-house tuned range of vehicles in the world. It was also a proper racer, wearing the now iconic BMW Motorsport Division stripes. Rolling Bricks recreates the legend, stripes included, on Flickr and MOCpages. See more of his superb recreation via the link above, or at his MOCpage here.
This neat looking mech from the Red Alert video game comes from Lego Admiral on Flickr. Check it out at the link.
Who are the top five car building TFOLs to follow in 2013? The teenaged staff of TFOL World have brought you their top picks, so read on and find out!
We’ll start off with frequent bloggee of both TFOLWorld and The LEGO Car Blog – Jonas (Legopard). A German TFOL who has recently begun posting vehicle models, he’s created everything from Steampunk Bat Tumblers to classic little mopeds. And don’t worry, if you’re into futuristic vehicles he’s got you covered too.
Our next builder to make this post is the incredibly prolific Senator Chinchilla. Master of speed building replicas of large cars, Senator Chinchilla uses a range of techniques to keep his posts interesting. From brilliant creations, various backdrops, witty captions, and the occasional space MOC, you will always find something entertaining.
Rounding out the middle of this feature is Raphael Granas (r a p h y), who is creating some of the best tiny turbos of the year. Dedicated to building the best looking replica possible, Raphael does not shy from shaving unnecessary pieces away – literally. His occasional slash and hack may turn the stomachs of purists, but it’s hard to argue with the results.
Next up we have veteran Featured TFOL Harry Gravett. This guy really knows how to shape a car, and his use of a myriad of techniques (including the classic cylinder+brick round tower technique) allows him to form top-notch eye candy. Our favourite of his MOCs is the Gravity GZ3 Tornado (featured below) for just that reason.
Last but not least, Alexander Paschoaletto is our fifth and final builder. As far as we can tell, he doesn’t pack his models with NPU, textures, rare bricks, or all that stuff we’ve come to know and love. No, Alex instead produces builds which are refreshingly simple at first glance, though subtly complex as you look deeper. His MOCs are built to look good, and few car builders can match the sheer beauty of his vehicles.
And that wraps up the TFOL World list of the top five TFOLs of the year! Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check each of these talented teens out, they’ll definitely be building even more top-tier motors as 2013 rolls on.
This incredible first-generation 1965 Pontiac GTO was unearthed on Brickshelf. Featuring opening everything (with operational locks), a working V8 engine and one of the nicest interiors we’ve seen in ages, the full gallery is well worth perusing. Paliason is the builder, and you can see more of his superb creation here.
