Many of these have been in tank divisions, with Russia producing tanks at a rate of up to 100 a month to replace those lost. This is one such ‘Armoured Fighting Vehicle’, the Uralvagonzavod BMPT “Terminator”.
France isn’t known for strong animal symbolism, with a chicken usually being selected as the animal of choice.
Peugeot – weirdly – does have a good animal symbol, what with the marque’s badge being a roaring lion. Cue this rather appropriate Peugeot 2008 DKR, first entered into the Dakar Rally in 2015, when it was, um… held nowhere near Dakar, instead taking place in South America. Where there are no lions.
Oh well, the title would’ve made sense if the rally was still held in Senegal.
No matter, because Peugeot’s desert lion was a cunning thing, being two-wheel-drive rather than four, thus allowing it to adhere to Dakar’s ‘Buggy’ regulations which permitted far more leeway in other areas.
Powered by a twin-turbo V6 diesel, and with in-built hydraulic jacks to change inevitable punctures, the 2008 DKR was… rubbish. But the following year Peugeot returned, and – having worked out the 2008 DKR’s reliability issues – won the race outright, with the 2008’s successor winning again in 2017 and 2018.
This spectacular homage to the wild mid-2010s buggy has been constructed by previous bloggee Lipko, who has not only captured the 2008 DKR’s exterior brilliantly, he’s included the mid-mounted V6 diesel engine, in-built jacks, monster suspension, working steering, and a 4-speed sequential gearbox, plus squeezed in two spare wheels, which was apparently the hardest part of the whole build.
A neat livery, full roll-cage, and a superbly-detailed engine bay and interior add even more realism, and you can check out full details and find further photos of Lipko’s model at the Eurobricks forum.
Click the link above to see more, or on the video below to watch the desert lion in action.
No, not this TLCB Writer (despite the fame and girls that writing about Lego cars brings*), but this rather lovely and decidedly old-school replica of a Vallée 4DA20 forklift, as built by Philippe Moisan, here making their TLCB debut.
Articulated steering, a worm-screw lifting mechanism, a detailed engine under a hinged cover, and a whole lot of studs make Philippe’s forklift a charming build, and you can check it out in full at his ‘VALLEE’ album on Flickr. Click the link above for fork-load more.
TLCB Elves are rather fond of Lego Ferraris. Particularly red ones. Which means we have a happy contingent today, because here are no less than three of them.
Each is the work of previous bloggee Fabrice Larcheveque, who has captured the Ferrari LaFerrari, 512 BB, and 288 GTO brilliantly in 8-wide Speed Champions scale.
Fabrice’s updated builds are presented beautifully, and there’s more to see of the LaFerrari, 512 BB, 288 GTO, and many more models besides at his Flickr photostream.
Click here to take a look, where you might also find a link or two to building instructions, should you wish to create your very own Lego Ferrari at home. Or three.
It’s been a relatively quiet week here at TLCB Towers, but we can end it with three thoroughly excellent models in one. This fabulous ‘Van der Vlist’ liveried DAF XF-105 truck, Gebruder Recker gooseneck trailer, and Claas Tucano 320 combine harvester are all the work of TLCB Master MOCer Ralph Savelsberg, who has captured each in astonishing detail.
More amazingly, each model is only mini-figure(ish) scale, yet packs in as much realism as models several times the size. There’s more to see of the whole superbly presented rig and its constituent parts at Ralph’s ‘DAF XF-105 and Claas Combine Harvester’ Flickr album, plus you can read his interview here at TLCB via the first link in the text above.
The Lego Car Blog archives are full of Chevrolet Corvettes. From official sets to large scale replicas, Corvettes of every generation have been replicated in LEGO. The C3 iteration, built from 1986 to 1982, appears a number of times too, yet we still like to see another little one. Particularly if it’s in Boogie Nights red.
Cue previous bloggee László Torma, who has constructed this lovely C3 ‘Vette in 8-wide Speed Champions scale. Despite the small size László’s model is instantly recognisable as the third generation of Chevrolet’s iconic sports car, and building instructions are available so you can create it for yourself.
There’s more of the model to see at László’s ‘Corvette C3 Stingray’ album on Flickr, and you can make the jump to his Little Red Corvette via the link above.
Regular readers of this site will be well aware of the Ford Mustang’s ability to stack it into a bus stop when leaving a car meet. There’s something about the combination of a V8 and a low entry price that draws in knuckle-dragging morons for owners.
LEGO, keen to target said demographic, have introduced their own officially-licensed Ford Mustang Dark Horse set to the Speed Champions line for 2024, so you can recreate your very own Mustang crashes at home.
But what if you’d like a slightly larger crash? Well then you’ll need a slightly larger Mustang, and previous bloggee Szunyogh Balázs (aka gnat.bricks) has just the car!
50% wider than the 76920 Speed Champions set at 12-studs, Szunyogh’s Mustang Dark Horse features a corresponding increase in detail, with a beautifully executed exterior including opening doors and hood, and some very clever SNOT-work to replicate the latest Mustang’s creases. Before the owner inevitably adds some more.
Better yet, the model includes fully-detailed running-gear too, with a brick-built engine, drivetrain, suspension, exhaust, steering, and even brakes (not that the average Mustang owner will use the last two).
There’s loads more to see at Szunyogh’s ‘Mustang Dark Horse’ album on Flickr, and you can head to the side of the road outside a car meet to await the inexorable accident via the link above.
Febrovery, the annual building bandwagon in which ground-based science-fiction vehicles take over Flickr, is complete for another year. Which means it’s complete here too, which is good news for TLCB Team – who are uniformly crap at sci-fi – but not before we have one final rover to showcase. And what a rover it is.
Measuring 117 studs in length and riding on eight enormous tyres from the 42054 Claas Xerion 5000 amongst other Technic sets, Scott Wilhelm’s ‘Ridiculously Oversized Vehicular Element Repository’ features remote control drive and steering (via XL and L Power Functions motors), a working cargo crane, five airlock doors, a retractable solar array, a fully fitted interior, and spectacular internal and external LED lighting.
More pictures are due to follow, but until they do you can check out this one at Scott’s photostream via the link above. Until next year, happy roving!
Cosmic Crystal. Space Speed. Galactic Gak. Lunar Cookie. It’s absolutely definitely not what is going on inside Thomas of Tortuga‘s exquisitely-rendered ‘Humbert Radar Vehicle’.
Board your Rocket Ship* to join the cook via the link above!
*Yes, we have just Googled slang words for methamphetamine and turned them spacey.
It’s a trucky sort of day here at The Lego Car Blog. Today’s second classic lorry comes from previous bloggee Martin Nespor, who has elected not to tell us what it is. No matter, because it’s still a lovely build, with a removable cab and ‘wooden’ load bed, a beautifully detailed chassis and engine, and there’s a matching drawbar trailer too. There’s more to see at Martin’s photostream, and you can check out all of the top-quality images via the link above.
Or, in this case, do as everyone else does. This a Roman SR 113/114 truck, built in Romania in the 1960s, using – as many Communist manufacturers did – designs licensed from Western companies.
Early Roman trucks were clones of Soviet ZIL designs, however by the late ’50s Roman looked west for their engineering sources. Launched in 1958 the SR 113/114 truck used a Ford-designed engine mounted ahead of a French cab, and was available in a tipper, crane, military specifications.
Mercedes-Benz and Perkins engines powered export versions, and the model was built for around a decade before being superseded by designs licensed from West Germany’s MAN.
This excellent recreation of the Roman SR113/114 is the work of newcomer Pufarine, who has captured the classic Romanian truck beautifully. Fitted with Power Functions remote control drive and steering, Pufarine’s model also features opening doors, a raising hood, and a dropping tailgate, and there’s more to see at both Flickr and Eurobricks.
Click the links above to do as the Romans did. Which, as it turns out, was whatever the Soviet Union, America, France, and West Germany were doing.
This TLCB Writer thinks it must be hard being a golfist.
Walking around a boring field with terminally uninteresting people, the requirement to wear stupid trousers at all times, pretending to be a company director, the extortionate price of golf bats, permanently chasing an unreachable handicap…
Nope, this writer prefers the wheeled version of the word, particularly in subtly-modified Mark 1 form, as we have here courtesy of ZetoVince of Flickr.
Cunningly constructed to recreate the angular ’70s Giugiaro styling, Zeto’s Golf is a fantastic homage to the definitive European hatchback, and there’s more to see of his superbly-presented model on Flickr. Click the link above to go golfing, without having to talk to a ‘director of sales’ or wear stupid trousers at all.
Are you a discerning despot living life at the top? Do the buildings project your image, the people bestow you with affection, and toil not for their own glory but for that of the motherland?
Have you passed laws to ensure the populous knows what to read, the correct sexual orientation, and for whom to vote?
Do your political opponents keep having unfortunate accidents, such as falling to their death from a balcony, dying in a plane crash, being shot on a bridge, or unexpectedly passing at a penal colony?
Then we have the car for you!
Styled just like those inferior American automobiles, only vastly superior in every way, this is the GAZ-13 Chaika, powered by a glorious 195bhp 5.5 litre V8 mated to a push-button transmission, and designed only for those holding the most unchallenged leadership.
Instructions are available and if you’re appropriately autocratic, dictatorial, and under-endowed you can contact [Maks] to secure your GAZ-13 Chaika now!
The LEGO Technic 42167 Mack LR Electric Garbage Truck is a thoroughly good addition to the 2024 line-up. Small, cheap(ish), and packed with proper mechanical functions, it’s a welcome return to the roots of Technic.
It’s a set that can also be used to create a properly good B-Model, as proven here by mpj of Brickshelf, who has recycled his Mack LR into this excellent cab-over tipper truck.
Complete with a mechanical crane behind the cab, working steering, and a tipping box, it’s as functional as the set upon which it’s based, and there’s more to see at mpj’s ‘42167 B-Model’ album via the link above.
2019’s ‘Ford Vs. Ferrari’ (or ‘Le Mans 66’ in Europe) was an excellent movie. Pitching the all-American (cough-but-actually-British-cough) Ford GT against the might of Ferrari’s racing programme, it brought one of the greatest motorsport battles to the big screen, and a much deserved spotlight to the late Ken Miles.
Despite Enzo Ferrari’s distain for certain American organisations though, the marque has always shown reverence to America in its naming, with models such as the ‘California’, ‘Daytona’, and, er… ‘America’ in its back-catalogue.
The Ferrari 575 ‘SuperAmerica’ went even further (although perhaps the `Super’ bit was referring to itself rather than the country), and has been constructed here brilliantly by TLCB Master MOCer Lachlan Cameron, using 72% of the pieces from the Technic 42154 Ford GT set.
A working V12 engine, independent suspension, functioning steering, a retractable roof, plus opening doors and hood all feature, with the model enhanced by a few non-official stickers, chrome parts, and LED lighting too.
There’s much more to see at Lachlan’s ‘Ferrari 575 SuperAmerica’ album, and you can turn your own Ford into a Ferrari via the link in the text above.
