One of TLCB’s favourite small scale builders is back, with something rather clever. Angka Utama’s three beautifully retro supercars are all built on the same pull-back motor chassis, allowing the builder to switch between them. A wonderfully simple and yet gloriously playable solution to the age old ‘parts limitation’ problem that every Lego builder experiences. See more of Angka’s ingenious design on MOCpages, or Flickr.
Remember a time when it took months of waiting to get a telephone connected? Henrik Jensen does. He’s made this splendid Morris Minor British Telecom van to remind us. Enjoy it on MOCpages.
The collaboration continues between two of the world’s most talented Lego truck builders. This incredible Scania 143 truck, previously featured here at TLCB, is the work of BricksonWheels on Flickr. His equally talented compatriot, Dennis Bosman, a prolific truck builder in his own right, adds a perfectly suited Bulthuis Potato trailer to complete the rig.
We’re delighted to announce that we recently bagged an interview with BricksonWheels, who becomes the second builder in our Master MOCer Series. Click here to read his story, or visit the ‘Interviews’ tab on the homepage menu.
Today’s find is another brilliant Town creation from Karwik over on Flickr. His Star 244 flatbed cherry-picker is about as good as it gets at this scale. See more here.
Big news! Well, it was big news yesterday, but we were busy and so didn’t post it. Warner Brothers have released the first full trailer for the upcoming 3D computer animated LEGO movie, called, er… The LEGO Movie.
Featuring a surprisingly strong cast including Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks and Alison Brie (you’re going to want to Google Images those last two) The LEGO Movie tells the story of one mini-figure’s quest to save the world as he knows it.
The LEGO Movie is in development now, with a release date of early 2014, and you can check out the teaser trailer from Warner Brothers below. So what do you think – a Must See or a Certain Turkey?
The fate of the world is in his tiny yellow hands.
Here at The Lego Car Blog we usually feature creations with a V8 under the hood, flames shooting out the back, or machine guns on the front. And sometimes all of the above at once. This glorious AEC Regent Bus in Lisbon livery (hence the Portuguese title) has none of these things, but it is fanatically beautiful, and thus it earns a place here – and instantly makes the homepage a more classy place to be to boot. Joao Campos is the builder behind it, and you can see more of this wonderful historic vehicle on MOCpages.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The fastest plane ever built. The first to use stealth technology. And, according to Michael Bay, a Decepticon Transformer too. This most unbelievable of aircraft was finally retired from service in 1998, some 40 years after it was trialled. 32 were built, with 12 lost in accidents, leaving 20 remaining. Sariel takes that total to 21.
Sariel’s stunning mini-figure scale version of America’s finest is more than a great replica. Mounted on a Power Functions controlled arm, reminiscent of LEGO’s own 8485 Control Centre II from 1995, his SR-71 can really fly. Sort of. A three-axis joystick and a working thrust controller operate a variety of motors and linear actuators, allowing the Blackbird to pitch, yaw and rotate. See how on MOCpages at the link above, or view the video on YouTube below.
MortalSwordsman returns to our favourite of his genres; historic race cars, with this sleek looking Alan Mann Ford Escort race car. Well, sleek, but also superbly classic looking, as he captures the wonderful late ’60s shape with studded plates. See more by clicking his name above.
This lovely Boeing Stearman PT-17 biplane is the work of mrutek on Flickr, and it’s our second song-titled creation of the day. The PT-17 was designed as a training aircraft for the US military in the 1930s and ’40s, with over 8,000 produced during the period. It’s therefore perhaps a bit of an unsung hero of the Second World War, as it was the tool of choice for training pilots who would later take to the skies to defend the Allies in far more war-like machinery.
Following the war the large surplus of PT-17s were sold to the civilian market, to be used as crop dusters, leisure aircraft, and in aerobatics display teams. As such, unlike many aircraft from the annals of history, many PT-17s survive and are in use today. Perhaps the little biplane, in a roundabout way, has received the recognition it deserved after all.
We don’t often feature Tiny Turbo style creations here at The Lego Car Blog. This is mainly because most have all the design merit and individuality of a 1970s car park. DeTomaso Pantera however, shows how it should be done, with simple but excellent renditions of a Range Rover in Camel Trophy spec, and a Cadillac Fleetwood, amongst many others. See his full line-up on Flickr or MOCpages.
A Peterbilt monster truck. Because why not? Billyburg is the builder behind the blue beast, and you can see more of it on Flickr here.
Welcome to The Lego Car Blog’s latest comparison of old and new Technic models; this time, excavators. Some genres of Technic model age better than others – a 1977 tractor is every bit as good as a 2012 one, and better than those in between – whereas others, I guess, just need a bigger parts palette to look and work right.
There’s a reason why excavator models were very rare from Lego until very recently, but it can be done with the old stuff. The blue machine in the picture above is built from instructions in the (completely wonderful) 8888 ideas book, published in 1980, and using only parts from that era. It’s movements are cunningly controlled using only racks and gears (lots of gears..) and it works OK, if not brilliantly. Cute, though. If it was a set from 1980, it would merit at least a 6/10.
Lego didn’t attempt an actual excavator set until the advent of pneumatics in 1984, with the 8851.
It’s the red beast on the left, and it looks like a step up from the blue one.
It isn’t. The problem was the early single-outlet pneumatic pumps. These extended under pressure, but returned via vacuum, controlled by a block of one way valves plumbed in between pumps and switches. This tortuous system had to be crammed in to 8851’s compact body, and unless you were VERY careful, there would be kinks in the pipework. (TLCB Top Tip: instead of using 8cm and 6cm grey tubes between the 3rd switch and the valve block, use 6cm and 4cm. They’ll be crushed a bit less.) It also made it that rare thing; a Technic model that’s not fun to build. Continue reading
The Elves are still hard at work, scouring the ‘net for the best Lego vehicle creations built by Lego fans. These two come from de-marco on Flickr, who’s used some ace SNOT techniques to create simple but original looking bodywork for his Town style tow-truck and sports car. See more at the link above.
This beautiful Harley Davidson, found by one of our Elves on MOCpages, created much excitement within our chaotic workforce. The office was ransacked of all brooms, mops and rulers, which were quickly pressed into service as makeshift motorcycles, to the accompaniment of many ‘Bruumm, bruuuummmm’ noises. A quick blast of an air-horn returned a semblance of normality, scattering the Elves and leaving us to pick up the stolen office paraphernalia dropped during their rapid exit. We have Fred Ottens to thank for the disruption, but we’ve let him off as his Harley is just so good. Click his name to see the whole gallery.
This cheery-looking spaceman has got a weapon to be proud of. No wonder he’s smiling. See more on Flickr courtesy of Karf Oohlu.