Foxbat

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It’s 1970, and the Cold War is approaching its coldest. The U.S have taken images of an unknown Soviet fighter plane, and they’re terrified.

It’s massive, with huge wings, and looks highly manoeuvrable. The aircraft is the MiG-25, a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance plane, armed with-air-to-air missiles, powerful radar, able to climb to the edge of space, and still to this day one of the fastest aircraft ever created.

This phenomenal Model Team recreation of the fighter that defined the Cold War is the work of previous bloggee [Maks] of Flickr, who has recreated the MiG-25P ‘Foxbat’ in stunning detail. Working landing gear, four air-to-air missiles, and accurate markings all feature, and you can pretend you’re U.S intelligence worriedly studying grainy images c1970 via the link in the text above.

Having a Lark

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Once the world’s fastest production car, and winner of the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours, this is the McLaren F1 GTR.

Following its victory at Le Mans (the first time either a manufacturer or team had won the race on their Le Mans debut), McLaren’s Ron Dennis and businessman Kazumichi Goh decided to take the car to Japan, forming McLaren Team Lark, and taking on the country’s domestic teams in the newly formed GT500 championship.

The Lark McLaren F1 GTRs were dominant, comfortably beating domestic rivals from Nissan, Toyota and Honda to win every GT500 race in 1996 bar one.

So dominant was the F1 GTR in fact, that the organisers effectively legislated it out of the championship, imposing so many restrictions on the team that they withdrew before the start of the ’97 season.

The result, after that single all-conquering year, was that the rest of the GT500 teams considerably upped their game. GT500 cars became much faster, more exciting, and more technologically-advanced, and thus the ongoing success of the GT500 Championship has more than a little to do with a little British car that entered for just one season some three decades ago.

This wonderful homage to the short-lived but spectacular Team Lark McLaren F1 GTRs comes from TLCB debutant brickengineeringdude, who has recreated the ’96 championship-winning racer brilliantly in brick form. 3D-Printed wheels, tyres decals, and a superb approximation of the Team Lark livery make brick’s F1 GTR instantly recognisable, and there’s much more to see at their photostream via the link.

But what of Team Lark and GT500? Well owner Kazumichi Goh went on to buy an Audi R8, and with it won the 2004 Le Mans 24 Hours, becoming only the second Japanese team to win the race outright. Meanwhile Japan’s GT500 championship has gone from strength to strength, but has never again been won by a non-Japanese car since the Team Lark McLarens of 1996…

Brick-Built Bugatti

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The Bugatti Veyron is, somewhat unbelievably, nearly twenty years old. Re-borne via Volkswagen back in the 2000s, Bugatti set out to build the fastest production car in the world. Just because they could. And we like that. After a painfully fraught development the 1,000bhp Veyron did indeed take the record in 2005, reaching a top speed of over 250mph.

However despite being a decade older than this site, and re-setting what was thought possible for a road car, the Veyron has only appeared here twice in TLCB’s history. We’ve featured three times more Lada Nivas, five times the number of Trabants, and even twice as many Zuks (What? Exactly). Although perhaps that says more about TLCB than it does the online Lego Community…

Anyway, today the Bugatti Veyron is finally making only its third appearance here at TLCB courtesy of previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks of Flickr. 3D’s brick-built Bugatti recreates the record-holding hypercar brilliantly in brick form, although to our eyes there may be a few mildly controversial 3D-printed pieces to assist with the visual accuracy.

Nevertheless it’s an excellent model, and there’s more of it to see at 3D’s album on Flickr via the link above. And if you’re wondering what the heck a ‘Zuk’ is, there’s a link in the text above for that too.

Ship-Shape Suggestion

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Ok, we’re know we’re crap at sci-fi, and we posted a round-up of the entirely sci-fi ‘SHIPtember 2023’ build-a-thon a few days ago, but this one was posted in October. So we missed it. It also means we’re not sure it’s ‘SHIPtember’ at all, but seeing as we know nothing about the annual building bandwagon beyond the 100-studs rule, October’s probably OK.

Suggested to us by a reader, this is Scott Wilhelm’s astonishing ‘Whispered Edict’, a vast – and vastly detailed – spacecraft packing more layers than a chicken farm.

A construction of immense complexity, Scott’s SHIPtember entry has something to do with “Fuel-Guild Supertankers”, “Antimatter Cannons”, and “Magnetic Suspension”, but even though TLCB Office – who are normally only interested in obscure British cars from 1963 – know what none of that means, we’re still spell-bound about how it all holds together.

There’s more to see of Scott’s incredible creation, including a description that’ll make more sense than whatever you read here, on Flickr – click these coloured words to take a look and to be as amazed (if not as confused) as we are.

Virtually Toyotas

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It’s a digitally Japanese day here at The Lego Car Blog, as we have four virtual Toyota products to share with you. We don’t often blog digital creations here, but these are a) throughly excellent, and b) we’re as certain as we can be that they can be built for real, what with designer Peter Blackert (aka Lego911) releasing building instructions alongside the imagery, and having literally written the book on how to build Miniland scale vehicles.

Rule-breaking explained, on to Peter’s first pixel-based Toyota, which is the third-generation Celica, depicted here in face-lifted pop-up headlight form. Powered by a huge array of engines (although solely by the 2.4 litre in the US) the A60-generation Celica helped the Toyota brand gain a reputation for attainable sportiness, and you can see more of Peter’s version via the link.

Peter’s second model appearing here captures one of Toyota’s earlier attempts at a sports coupe, the decidedly un-sporty 1971 Crown Coupe. It looked lovely though, and the Crown station wagon is one of the most comfortable cars that this TLCB Writer has ever had the pleasure of journeying in. Jump back to 1971 via the link.

On to the early-’00s, and the single most dreary vehicle Toyota has ever created, the 2002 Toyota Camry. As we’ve highlighted here before however, dreary sells, with the Camry becoming the best-selling car in America in 2002. And 2003. And 2004. And 2005… You get the picture. There’s more to see of this one at Peter’s photostream via the link.

And finally… the Toyota that isn’t a Toyota, but heralded the arrival of the Lexus brand, the phenomenal Lexus LS400. Created to beat the best car in the world at the time (the Mercedes-Benz S-Class), the LS400 did just that, and is still lauded as perhaps the most thoroughly-engineered car ever produced. Peter’s Miniland-scale version captures the pivotal arrival of Lexus beautifully, and there’s more of the model to see at his photostream.

Further images of each design, details of the real cars, and links to building instructions can be found at Peter Blackert’s Flickr account via the links for each car in the text above, plus you can check out our interview with Peter and his published works by clicking the bonus link here.

Off-Ferraroad

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Taking a Ferrari off-road doesn’t end well. That said, a Ferrari is also perfectly capable of catching fire on smooth asphalt, but off-road is certainly outside of the prancing horse’s design brief.

Except that it’s 2023, which of course means that today you can buy a Ferrari off-roader, because all anyone wants is an SUV. We’d rather take this though, Slick_Brick’s ‘Off-Road Ferrari’ buggy, which is a million times cooler than the Purosangue abomination disgracing the Ferrari name.

Cunning use of the ubiquitous Speed Champions canopy, exposed brick-built suspension, and an equipment rack above the rear-mounted engine add to the off-roady look, and there’s more of the ‘Off-Road Ferrari’ to see at Slick’s photostream by clicking here. We’d probably add a fire extinguisher to that rack though…

My Other Car’s a Huracan

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The Lamborghini Huracan is boring. At least if the regularity at which YouTube ‘influencers’ (yuk) switch out of them into the next clickbait supercar is any indication. But no matter, because if you’re bored with your Huracan too (in LEGO Technic 42161 form), you can switch it up into this rather neat Technic truck, as previous bloggee mpj has done with his. Click the link above to see more of mpj’s 42161 B-Model on Brickshelf.

SHIPtember Roundup

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It’s the last day of September, which means the annual building bandwagon ‘SHIPtember’ – wherein builders create colossal spaceships measuring one hundred studs or more – is concluding too. Which is good news if you like cars, or you’re Sci-Fi Incompetent.

TLCB Team are of course both of the above, so expect lots of “this is a Really Massive Spaceship”, and little else, in the rest of this post…

Anyway, on to the first creation, and it’s a Really Massive Spaceship. Constructed by Oscar Cederwall, it cleverly utilises a LEGO Crane Support Element down the centre, and there’s more to see via the link above.

The second creation in our SHIPtember 2023 roundup is a Very Large Spaceship Indeed, and sports a veritable rainbow of colours. Nathan Proudlove is its maker and there’s more to see here.


The third SHIPtember model appearing here comes from -Soccerkid6, whose 106-stud racer ‘Falchion 55’ is a Truly Sizeable Spaceship. Ingenious parts usage abounds throughout the design and there’s more of No. 55 to see via the link.


On to the fourth creation in our SHIPtember roundup, this Decidedly Enormous Spaceship by Andreas Lenander, with three superbly constructed engines, beautifully neat asymmetry, and – at least to the eyes of this car blog – wearing Honda racing colours. Click here to see more.

And so, much to the relief of the proper Lego sites that can actually do sci-fi, here’s the final model in our SHIPtember Special, LegOH!’s brilliant ‘Octan Mining Ship’. A Spaceship of Gigantic Proportions, LegOH’s entry packs in a variety of spacey details, none of which we can explain, but that you can see more of via the link above.

There you have it; TLCB’s immensely incompetent roundup of some Really Massive Spaceships for 2023. Don’t be fooled by our crap write-up though, each is a phenomenal build and well worth checking out, even if – like us – you don’t understand sci-fi whatsoever.

All can be found on Flickr (plus a lot more besides), and you can make the jump to hyperspace via the links above. Take a look whilst we get back to writing about things that have wheels and engines.

Poop Poop!

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We’re pretty sure not every vintage car went ‘Poop poop!’*, but we can’t help but feel all Toad-of-Toad-Hall when we see one.

This lovely Speed Champions scale example comes from previous bloggee K P of Flickr, using only simple pieces and neat presentation to wonderful effect.

Poop poop your way to K P’s photostream for this and other old-timey creations via the link above.

*Some of course, went ‘Aaoogha!’

Bottled It – LEGO Halt Bricks Made from Bottles

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The LEGO Company’s products are built on oil.

Made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, LEGO bricks are a ‘virgin’ plastic; non-biodegradable, and crude oil based.

Of course this longevity means that LEGO bricks can be passed on to the next generation, an antidote to the mountains of disposable single-use toys cluttering up the world’s landfills, but the crude oil problem still looms.

LEGO are all too aware of this, having pledged to create bricks from sustainable materials that can continue to be passed down the generations. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) looked a promising solution; reusing the millions of single-use plastic bottles (that invariably end up in our oceans) to create LEGO pieces.

Unfortunately, following two years of testing, LEGO have scrapped the project, after discovering that using recycled PET bottles didn’t reduce carbon emissions.

The cause was the extra energy required to turn a recycled bottle into a LEGO brick, and thus the company has “decided not to progress” with making pieces from PET.

And we think they should be applauded. So many companies would have proceeded, doubtless with an immense PR fanfare, claiming the development meant their products were ‘good for the environment’, despite knowing the truth to be rather different. In the age of egregious green-washing, The LEGO Company have done what is right, not what looks to be.

LEGO remain committed to producing bricks from sustainable materials by 2032, and when they do we’ll be rather more sure of their environmental claims than we are of most.

Hot Hatch Zenith

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We go from the beginnings of the hot hatch in a small factory in Scotland in the late-‘70s, to their zenith some 45 years later. Yes, the days of the hot hatch are numbered, what with imminent safety, CO2 and fuel legislation, which will effectively outlaw small, fast, fun cars in favour of EV crossovers. Sigh.

Still, they’re going out with a bang, with several hot hatches now making more power than even supercars of a few years ago.

This is Subaru’s last hurrah in the genre, the Japan-only Impreza WRX STI Spec-C.

Packing over twice the power of the world’s first hot hatch, the WRX STI Spec-C features all-wheel-drive, over 400Nm of torque, and a lightened and stiffened body.

This amazing Model Team replica of the ultimate WRX comes from Mihail Rakovskiy of Flickr, who has captured it brilliantly in brick-form, with opening doors, hood and tailgate, a life-like interior, and a superb recreation of the 308bhp turbocharged boxer engine.

There are more excellent images to see at Mihail’s ‘Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C’ album on Flickr – take a look at the zenith of the hot hatch via the second link in the text above, and you can jump back to its genesis via the first.

B-Hoe

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LEGO’s 42081 Volvo Autonomous Loader set thoroughly perplexed us when it was revealed a few years ago. It still does really, but tungpham of Eurobricks saw greater potential in the Technic oddity than we did, turning his 42081 set into this fantastic backhoe loader.

Looking considerably better than the set on which it’s based, tungpham’s 42081 B-Model includes a raising and tilting front bucket, in-cab steering and rear arm skewing control, stabilising legs, and a rotating driver’s seat.

It also features some of the finest presentation we’ve ever seen on a LEGO model, mimicking LEGO’s own box, catalogue and digital imagery with superb photography and editing.

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of tungpham’s incredible alternate at the Eurobricks forum – click the link above for a B-Side that’s better than the Single.

Get Your Digs for Free

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The internet is full of wonderful Lego models, many of which can be recreated at home thanks to readily available building instructions. For a fee.

Because one of life’s few certainties is that if something can be monitized, it will be.

But not today! Previous bloggee Thirdwigg is the hero we need, having created this excellent Technic tracked excavator, complete with a linear-actuator operated arm and bucket, a working piston engine, and a slewing superstructure, and he’s released building instructions for free.

The Lego Community could do we a few more members like Thirdwigg, and you can see more of his tracked excavator on Flickr. Click here to take a look, and here for a direct link to the free instructions.

Hot Hatch Genesis

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Despite what Volkswagen would have you believe, the Golf GTI was not the world’s first hot hatchback. Nope, that honour goes to a little factory in Scotland that was originally part of the Rootes Group.

Rootes owned a variety of successful British brands, including Hillman, Humber, Singer and Sunbeam, before they were acquired by Chrysler in 1967, who then proceeded to ruin them.

In just a few short years the whole thing was loss-making, and the French government – fearing the demise of the French brands that Chrysler also owned – encouraged Peugeot-Citroen to purchase the remnants, which they did. For a dollar.

The result was the return of the Talbot name, which was applied to various Rootes products including their Sunbeam small hatchback. It was a design Chrysler kept hold of too, being quite a good one, successfully selling a very similar looking model as the Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon in the US.

In Europe, Peugeot-Citroen wanted to raise the profile of the reborn Talbot name, and so they decided to go motor racing, with Group B rallying their chosen route. Fortunately for them, Chrysler had already developed a sporty version of the Horizon / Sunbeam, having turned to Lotus for the development, but didn’t have time to launch it before the sale to Peugeot-Citroen.

Thus when it finally arrived, the 150bhp Sunbeam Lotus wore a Talbot badge, becoming the world’s first hot hatchback, and duly winning the World Rally Championship in 1981.

Such immediate success meant that Talbot become a household name, which must’ve pleased Peugeot-Citroen. Or so you would have thought. By the mid-’80s they’d killed it, with the marque lingering on a van for few a years before disappearing completely.

Still, SIM CAMAT of Flickr does remember the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, and has paid homage via his wonderful Model Team recreation of the world’s first hot hatchback.

Beautifully accurate, SIM’s Sunbeam features opening doors and hood, a highly detailed interior complete with folding seats, and a stunning removable replica of the 2.2 litre slant-four Lotus engine that powered the car to the ’81 World Rally Championship.

There’s lots more of the model to see at SIM CAMAT’s photostream, and you can head back to the often-forgotten genesis of the hot hatchback via the link in the text above.

My Other Tractor’s… er, Also a John Deere

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The LEGO Technic 42157 John Deere 948L-II Skidder set is one that – after a look through our archives – we must’ve missed, what with it not being there. Still, we’ve never claimed to be competent, and the set does look rather good. Cue Dyens Creations of Flickr, who has repurposed the 42157 John Deere to create, well… another John Deere.

Dyens’ is the 9R, an XL wheeled tractor with up to 700bhp (there’s a tracked one too, which looks mad), outfitted in this case with a pneumatically operated bulldozer blade. There’s also articulated steering, a working piston engine, and a rear hitch with PTO, and there’s more to see of Dyens’ 42157 John Deere B-Model on Flickr.