Carry the Wind

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Wind turbines are massive, able to service a whole community, and difficult to move. Just like your Mom. But they are also vital for a de-carbonised future, which means we need a lot more of them harnessing the power of the the earth’s atmospheric currents and turning it into electricity if our species is not to die a hot and miserable death.

Cue Ralph Savelsberg‘s enormous Volvo FH16 heavy haulage transport, as operated by Dutch transport company Van der Vlist, which is depicted here carrying the huge nacelle of a wind turbine.

Despite being only 1:43 scale Ralph’s model measures almost a metre long, and includes the split trailer and hydraulic rams (in this case brick-built) that support and raise the massive turbine nacelle on the real truck.

Over twenty images are available to view and you whirl your way there via the link above, plus you can check out the transport’s accompanying escort that appeared here earlier via this bonus link.

The Slowest Car in the World

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You might think that the slowest car in the world would be some steam-powered contraption from the late 1800s, or perhaps the thing that moves the space shuttle. But no, if the internet is to believed the slowest car ever is in fact a 200bhp sports car from the late 2010s.

Which just goes to show how the internet’s comments sections are filled with more nonsensical hyperbole than the inside of Donald Trump’s head.

The Subaru BRZ and its Toyota GT86/Scion FRS siblings are throughly brilliant analogue (as much as a modern car can be) rear-wheel-drive sports cars, with low weight, modest power, and – admittedly – the same torque as a smoothie-maker.

Still, that just made getting the most from the sublime chassis even more fun, and we’re pretty sure that when everything is electric, automatic, and festooned with electronic safety interference (which is the reason the car’s second-generation will last just a few short years), the BRZ and GT86 will become highly sought-after classics.

This fantastic Model Team recreation of the slowest-car-in-the-world-according-to-the-internet comes from Flickr’s Mihail Rakovskiy, who has replicated the Subaru BRZ brilliantly. Opening doors, a superbly realistic engine under the raising hood, an opening trunk, and a life-like interior all feature, and there’s lots more to see at Mihail’s ‘Subaru BRZ’ album. Click the link above to make your way very slowly there.

Viva la Revolución

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Pagani somehow seem to have made more ultra-limited special editions than they have cars. And that’s mathematically impossible.

This one is the Zonda Cinque Revolucion, a track-based ultra-limited special edition based on the ultra-limited Zonda Cincque, which is a road-going version of the ultra-limited Zonda R, which was an ultra-limited track version of the Zonda. No, we don’t understand either.

Still, we’re not exactly the target demographic for Zonda ownership here at TLCB, and this Model Team recreation of the ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited version of another ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited hypercar is stunning.

Built by 3D supercarBricks, this incredible replica of the Pagani Zonda Cinque Revolucion captures the insanity of the real deal in jaw-dropping detail, with an engine bay, chassis and interior just as life-like as the wild bodywork.

There’s more to see – including the spectacular under-bodywork detail – at 3D’s photostream; join the revolution (for a very select few) via the link in the text above.

*Today’s punky title song.

Golden Gun

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We’re not sure if this is cunning photoshop or liberal use of spray paint, but either way if we hadn’t posted this gloriously golden post-apocalyptic buggy by Flickr’s ianying616, the Elves would have started a riot. Both shiny and with a giant gun mounted on the back, it’s very much their bag, and if it’s yours too you can see dozens more images at ianying’s photostream via the link above.

2000GT

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In this writer’s opinion, the most beautiful car ever made is not a Ferrari, Bugatti, or other exotic… it’s a Toyota. A white one.

This is the 2000GT, Toyota’s record-setting 1967 sports car built in conjunction with Yamaha, and surely one of the most perfect car designs of all time.

This lovely Speed Champions recreation of the bewitching 2000GT comes from Thomas Gion, apparently taking eight iterations before the shape was right. 3D-printed wheels and some inspired parts choices make this well worth a closer look, and you can make the jump to 1967 via the link in the text above.

Towing Technic

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This astonishing creation is a fully-working 1:10 scale pick-up based tow truck, inspired by the bespoke Isuzus in use by Slovenia’s Automobile Association. Designed and constructed by Zerobricks – one of the team behind the 5-star rated BuWizz bluetooth brick – no fewer than eleven motors accurately recreate the functions of Slovenia’s real roadside recovery vehicles.

Two BuWizz 3.0 bricks power and control those eleven motors, which drive all four wheels, a high/low gearbox, working steering, three differential locks, a winch, and – of course – the brilliantly engineered rear lift, which can raise/lower, extend, and lock/grab the wheels of the vehicle to be towed, all of which can be controlled remotely via bluetooth.

A suite of manual functions compliment the electronic wizardry, including all-wheel suspension, a V8 engine, LED lights, opening doors, hood and tool compartments, and 3D-printed brake discs, whilst accurate decals and brick-built accessories such traffic cones and fuel cans further enhance the model’s likeness to the full-size AMZS trucks.

It’s a spectacular creation that beautifully demonstrates the combined power of LEGO Technic and the BuWizz bluetooth battery and control system, and there’s a lot more to see at the Eurobricks forum, including full specifications, digital renders of the internal mechanisms, and further imagery, plus you can watch the model in action alongside its real-life counterpart via the excellent video below.

Click the links to take a closer look, or here to visit the BuWizz store if you’re interested in how their amazing bluetooth brick could add superpower to your creations.

YouTube Video

Galactic Thievery

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If there’s one thing we pride ourselves on at The Lego Car Blog, it’s beating The Brothers Brick to publishing creations. OK, that and ‘Your Mom’ jokes. Two things*.

Cue much Elven shuffling and looking at the floor therefore, when we found these superb space-based Speed Champions racers at the aforementioned website fun-vacuum, instead of being brought to us by one of our smelly little workers.

Still, much as we hate losing a race with The Brothers Brick, we do rather like the idea of racing in space, particularly if the racers feature the repurposed decals and printed parts from LEGO’s excellent Speed Champions sets.

TLCB newcomer Eric TheSkeleton owns the hands behind them and there’s more to see of each glorious galactic racer at his photostream. Jump to the action via the link above, whilst we post something that’s not stolen from a vastly more competent Lego site…

*And Putin-has-a-tiny-penis jokes. Beating The Brothers Brick, Your Mom jokes, and mocking Putin. Three things.

LEGO 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box | Set Preview

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LEGO’s ‘Set for Adults’ just keep getting bigger. This is the brand new 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box, a £345/$399, near-4,000 piece tableau that recreates Batman’s secret lair from the 1992 blockbuster ‘Batman Returns’ in mini-figure scale. And yes, we had to look up what a ‘tableau’ is.

Measuring over half-a-metre in length, featuring seven mini-figures, the Batmobile, and 3,981 pieces, almost all of which are black (or very very dark grey), 76252 is one of the largest mini-figure scale sets that LEGO has ever produced.

Hinging along its right-hand edge, allowing the box – sorry tableau – to open , a variety of small play features are included, which can be controlled from the back via hidden mechanisms. These include a rotating chair, changing computer screen, opening toolbox, and an “illuminated Batsuit vault”. It’s safe to say a ‘tableau’ is more about the visuals than the functions…

Due for release exclusively at LEGO.com on June 8th, the LEGO 76252 Batcave – Shadow Box is – like many of the brand’s recent sets – aimed at ages 18+, although for once the black packaging is more than marketing gimmick. With nearly 4,000 black or very very dark grey pieces, we expect the age on said packaging is more than a marketing gimmick this time too, as we can only imagine how difficult to read the instructions will be.

So what do you think internet? A spectacular homage to the 1992 ‘Batman Returns’ movie, a source of all the black and very very dark grey parts you will ever need, or another unattainable LEGO set priced so far out of reach only Bruce Wayne could afford it? There’s at least a neat circularity to 76252 if it’s the latter.

Flight of the Fascists

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This beautiful aircraft is a CANT Z.506 Airone floatplane, one of the fastest, most-advanced, and highest flying aircraft of the 1930s. Powered by three Alfa Romeo radial engines, the Z.506 was first developed as a luxury airliner, wherein it set numerous aeronautical world records.

Such success inevitably led to the development of military versions, with the design used by the Italian Airforce for maritime patrol, bombing and torpedo operations, first in the Spanish Civil War (leading to the Franco dictatorship) and then by Italy’s own dictator Mussolini in the Second World War, where it played a significant role in Italy’s invasion of Greece, and bombing French North Africa. Yay fascisim.

Anyway, 1930s and ’40s Dictator willy-waving wasn’t really the CANT Z.506’s fault, and the aircraft continued to fly long after Mussolini was deposed and Italy switched sides, operating in search and rescue until 1959, which is far more noble.

This one is isn’t a search and rescue aircraft though, instead being an early example from the Spanish Civil War, thusly equipped with four machine guns and a 1200kg bomb payload. Flickr’s Eínon is the builder behind it, and there’s more to see of their brilliant Lego version of the CANT Z.506 Airone at their photostream. Click the link above to join the 1930s fight for fascism…

Rockin’ Robin

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we spend a lot of time mocking other countries’ cars, mostly because you don’t know who we are or where we live. However our home nation isn’t immune from making a vehicular anomaly or two, so today we’re very much looking in the mirror and  sheepishly recognising the plastic three-wheeled catastrophe peering back at us. Yup, it’s the Reliant Robin.

Britain produced a huge variety of tiny three-wheeled cars in the post-war years, a time when materials were rationed, many people were poor, and many more didn’t have driving licenses. Three-wheelers were one solution, requiring fewer parts (a 25% reduction in wheels alone) and only a motorcycle license to operate.

By far the most successful of these was the Reliant Robin, which was so numerous it remains the second best-selling fibreglass car of all time. This success led to it sticking around far longer than it should have done however, when Reliant – once Britains second-largest car maker by volume – really should’ve invested in other things. Production (and the Reliant company) finally ended in the early-2000s, and another British car manufacturer disappeared forever.

Today we’re paying homage to the humble slightly-rubbish British icon thanks to EvilEnderman and this heroically unstable BuWizz-powered Technic recreation, which is equipped with far more power than its three-wheeled chassis can handle. Cue a great degree of crashing, which you can watch at the Eurobricks forum here, plus you can find more images of the remote control Reliant at Bricksafe.

And if you want to see the real thing falling over, a lot, click on these words…

*Today’s title song, from way back when pop music could literally be about nothing more than the habits of a garden bird.

The Lego Truck Blog

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We seem to be a truck blog today, what with us publicising exactly no cars, but five trucks or vans. This one was found on Flickr and comes from yelo_bricks. A suitably yellow Scania three-axle truck, there’s a folding crane behind the cab, functional (kinda) stabilisers, and some clever SNOT techniques at work, all fitted to a vehicle that’s only 6-studs wide. See more of yelo’s Town-scale Scania via the link, whilst we remind the Elves of our website title.

Clickety Click

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This splendid creation is a soviet-era GAZ 66 off-road truck, and it’s currently trundling around the office with a gaggle of TLCB Elves in the dropside-bed. Powered by a BuWizz 3.0 bluetooth battery, previous bloggee keymaker has squeezed in remote control steering, four-wheel-drive, a powered and locking winch, live-axle suspension, and a miniature V8 engine, all in model measuring just 30cm long.

A complete image gallery is available to view at Bricksafe, whilst full build details, a video of the model in action, and a link to building instructions can be found at the Eurobricks discussion forum via the link above too. Clickety click to take a peek!

*Fifty TLCB Points if you can figure out this post’s title.

OK Boomer

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This mighty Mack Granite boom truck was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr, and – as we unfortunately discovered – it’s just the sort of vehicle that can be used to raise an Elf to a door handle, enable them to break into the stationary cupboard, and eat all the glue sticks. Thanks JLui15.

Still, the model is excellent, and the aforementioned heist-come-feast isn’t exactly JLui’s fault. An elevating boom, a working winch, and functional outriggers all extend from the exceptionally tidy Mack Granite base, and there’s more to see at JLui15’s ‘LEGO Technic Mack Granite Boom Truck’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to boom on over.

Quality Escorts

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Running a world-famous Lego blog has its upsides. Probably.

We however, are running a crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet, and whilst we receive precisely none of the fame and riches of the proper Lego sites, we do receive all the spam, marketing messages, ‘guest post’ requests, and doubtless-deserved complaints that go with it.

These take many forms, but are usually centred around medicines of a dubious nature, ‘Gucci’ handbags, and women of an also dubious nature. Cue today’s title, because we already receive a torrent of spam on the subject, how much worse can it get?

These two mini-figure scale escort vans are not the European Ford variety (nor ladies of negotiable affection), but the sort used to prevent inattentive drivers from crashing into the back of a slow-moving house, boat, or house-boat.

Built by regular bloggee Ralph Savelsberg they are a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Transporter respectively, both feature some neat decal-based liveries, and there’s more of each van to see at Ralph’s photostream. Click the link above to be escorted there.

My Other Car’s a Land Rover

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Few vehicles are better off-road than a Land Rover Defender. This is perhaps one of them – well, on sand at any rate – a sand rail buggy.

Built using only the parts from the official LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover Defender 90 set, this excellent 10317 alternate is the work of Brian Michal, and includes suspension, steering, a detailed engine, a tricksy-looking roll cage, and a fatboy motorcycle.

Yup, Brian had enough parts left over after completing his minimalist sand rail that he could throw in a motorbike too! Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of both B-Models at Brian’s ‘10317 Sand Rail and Fatboy’ album.