Champagne Supernova*

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If you’re seven, or a TLCB Elf, then this post is for you. This is Tim Inman‘s Chevy Nova, only it isn’t quite as per the cars that left the Chevrolet factory in 1963. Inspired by the German DTM racing series, Tim has outfitted his Nova with a wild aero package consisting of flared arches, ground-effect skirts, a front splitter, rear diffuser, and the biggest rear wing we’ve ever seen. There’s more to see of Tim’s Super Nova on Flickr and you can join the rather weird DTM race via the link.

*Today’s glorious title song. Turn it up.

Bigger Than it Looks

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This is a Liebherr LTM 1100-4.2 mobile crane – well, a Lego version obviously – and it comes from Mateusz Mikołajczyk, making their TLCB debut with one of the most highly-detailed small-scale creations of the year so far.

Despite being only roughly Town-scale, Mateusz’s model looks much larger, thanks to some brilliantly intricate detailing, much of which utilises LEGO’s fiddliest tubes and clips.

The model works too, with a slewing superstructure, tilting control cab, working eight-wheel steering, functioning outriggers, and – most importantly for a mobile crane – an enormous three-stage extending boom complete with a working winch.

Superbly presented, there’s more to see of Mateusz’s Liebherr LTM 1100-4.2 at his Flickr album of the same name, where you can also find images of the model shown in a considerably larger configuration than it appears here.

4970 Redux

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You wait ages for a reimagining of a long-forgotten phallically-symboled LEGO theme and then two come along at once. Yes we have another Rock Raiders redux today, with this one coming from F@bz of Flickr, who has redesigned the 4970 Chrome Crusher set and added a whole lot more… well, everything. Except chrome. There’s less of that.

Monster wheels, a frankly terrifying drill, some sort of rail-gun, and a whole heap of superb building techniques make this a model well worth digging into, and you can tunnel over to F@bz’s photostream for more via the link above.

Land of the Rising Fun

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This TLCB Writer would very much like an FJ40 series Toyota Land Cruiser. Because if there’s one classic off-roader cooler than the Land Rover Defenders we see every day around TLCB Towers, Japan’s answer is it.

With LEGO now having a licensing partnership with Toyota (and having released two Land Rover Defender sets), we’re super hopeful that an official Land Cruiser set may be on the cards, but until then the online Lego Community is filling the void admirably.

This is the latest fan-built Land Cruiser found by our Elves, and not only is it an orange FJ40 (an excellent start), it’s also fully remote controlled for maximum fun.

Built by gyenesvi, a suite of Power Functions components deliver motorised drive and steering, plus there’s live-axle suspension, a high/low gearbox, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a folding windshield.

Building instructions are available and full details and images can be found at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe; click the links above for more classic off-road fun.

Out Of Africa

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The most Germanic of German cars is – these days – African.

Nearly two million Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115s were built during the 1970s, with countless numbers registered as taxis across Germany.

Painted in mandatory primrose yellow, they covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres during their working lives, before – at the end of their service in Europe – being shipped to Africa to cover hundreds of thousands more, and where thousands of W114 and W115s are still in use today. It’s safe to assume taxi standards may not be quite as rigorous in their second countries of residence than they were in 1970s Germany.

Of course a sign on the roof is one of the many items that you don’t need in order to operate as a taxi in much of the world, thus battered W115s once owned by German businessmen in the ’70s are now also doing something far more important; keeping whole communities connected.

These two superb brick-built replicas of the car that continues to keep parts of Africa moving are the work of SvenJ. of Flickr, who has made free building instructions available so you can create his excellent Mercedes-Benz W115 too. There’s more of the model to see via at SvenJ.’s Flickr album, and you can head to 1970s Munich, or – more likely – central Africa today, via the link in the text above.

Wood & Canvas

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Natural and/or flappy materials are notoriously difficult to recreate from LEGO. Rigid plastic blocks do not make for easy organic shapes, however Arian Janssens has managed to create realistic looking wood, canvas and rope for his stunning DAF FAS 2600 truck and drawbar trailer.

Arian’s superb truck includes a myriad of intricate detailing, including the load area, where ‘wooden’ sides, a ‘canvas’ cover, and ‘rope’ ties have all been beautifully replicated in brick form.

A dozen top quality images are available to view and you can check them all out at Arian’s ‘DAF FAS 2600’ album via the link above.

Ford Five

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This beautifully presented hot rod was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr. Built by regular bloggee Jonathan Elliott it’s a Ford 5-Window, so called because it has, er… six windows. No matter, it’s fantastic, and you can check it out via the link.

4950 Redux

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‘Rock Raiders’ was one of LEGO’s weirder themes. Somewhere underground some mini-figures were mining energy-giving crystals (because every LEGO theme at the time had energy-giving crystals), there was a monster trying to stop them, and everything was brown and turquoise. Oh, and the logo looked rude.

It was all over in just two years, but BobDeQuatre is keen not to forget the Rock Raiders theme, reimagining the 4950 Loader-Dozer set to keep the memory alive. A working bucket, an opening cockpit, and a brick-built ‘rock monster’ all feature, and you can hunt for energy crystals underground circa-1999 whilst sniggering at the logo via the link above!

Shine On

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The Lego Car Blog Elves, as well as liking racing stripes, flame-throwers, and monster trucks, also have a penchant for all things shiny. Cue much excitement when one of their number found this, ianying616‘s ‘Takada Shingen’ motorcycle. Named after “one of the most powerful Sengoku-period daimyos” (we Wikipedia-ed it…), ianying’s creation packs in a whole lot of chrome, and there’s more to see of his exceptionally shiny motorbike at his photostream. Take a look via the link, or alternatively head down a Wikipedia 16th century Japanese rabbit-hole…

My Other Car’s a Land Rover

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LEGO’s excellent new Icons 10317 Land Rover Defender 90 set is a wonderful addition to their officially licensed range. It’s also a fine parts source, with a fantastic 1940s Willys Jeep alternate appearing here only yesterday.

Fast-forward five decades and we arrive at the U.S military’s modern equivalent of that Second World War Jeep, the ‘High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle’, or (more catchily) the Humvee.

Like yesterday’s Willys, this brilliant creation is constructed only from the pieces found within the 10317 Land Rover Defender set, and includes working steering, suspension, opening doors, and a few wartime accompaniments, including a hefty machine gun.

Previous bloggee M_longer is the builder, there’s more to see at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe, and building instructions are available too. Switch your 10317 set from rural England to Operation Desert Storm via the links above!

Reheated Russian

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Poland and Russia are not exactly best mates right now (but then Russia only has three friends left and they’re all maniacal dictatorships).

However back in the 1960s Poland and Russia were rather closer, as – whilst Poland was never formally part of the Soviet Union – the influence of Russia’s Red Army taking control of Polish territory from Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War turned Poland into a communist satellite state.

It also led to the supply of (usually obsolete) Russian military hardware, including this; the MiG-17. Replaced by more modern supersonic aircraft in the Soviet Union, the MiG-17 was then produced under license in Poland, becoming the Lim-5 and Lim-6, and used all the way up to the 1990s.

This neat Lego replica of the rather funky-looking Cold War fighter is the work of [Maks], who – with the help of some strategic stickers – has created the Lim-6 ground-attack aircraft brilliantly.

There’s more to see at [Maks]’s ‘Lim-6bis’ album on Flickr, and you can fly back to 1960s Poland via the link in the text above.

Hurricane Huracan

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No matter how fast a car is, there’ll always be someone who thinks ‘I bet I could make that faster’. Cue YouTube being awash with twin-turbocharged Lamborghini Huracans that are undoubtedly awful to drive, but that are also – admittedly – really very fast indeed.

Cue also The G Brix of Flickr, who – inspired by the aforementioned modified Lamborghinis – has outfitted his 8-wide Huracan with twin turbos too. Just like the real cars said forced induction doesn’t really fit, necessitating a rear bumper delete which is marvellous attention to detail, and there’s more to see of the turbos and the Lamborghini they’re attached to via the link above.

Now we wonder if the office Rover 216 would benefit from a similar modification…

My Other Car’s a Land Rover

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The original 1948 Land Rover (long before it was called a ‘Defender’) was a vehicle borne out of necessity. Luxury car maker Rover needed to restore revenue after the war, but with Europe in ruins and steel rationing in place, car production wasn’t going to get running for some time.

The need for a utilitarian off-road tractor was obvious though, and thus – with surplus aluminium and left-over airplane cockpit paint – the Land Rover was born. What is less known however, is that the first Land Rover prototypes used the chassis from another surplus wartime item; the Willys Jeep.

It’s fitting then that this incredible Willys Jeep MB, complete with a Browning machine gun and an M3 37mm anti-tank gun in tow, is constructed solely from the official (and excellent) LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover Defender 90 set.

Built by TLCB Master MOCer Eric Trax, this astonishing alternate includes a range of wartime accompaniments, from the aforementioned weaponry to jerry cans, radio equipment, and ammunition boxes, with the beautiful Jeep itself also featuring steering and suspension.

The result is so perfect you’d never know it was built using such restricted parts – which makes it much like the original Land Rover – and there’s much more to see, including a link to building instructions, at Brickshelf and the Eurobricks forum.

Bruce Wayne’s Bike

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Batman gets to ride/drive/fly some pretty awesome stuff. But when he’s not at work fighting the seedy underbelly of Gotham, Bruce Wayne might still want access to some cool machinery. Cue 1980SomethingSpaceGuy, who has repurposed the parts from the 42155 The Batman – Batcycle set into this stealthy cafe racer. A V4 engine, steering and suspension all feature, and there’s more to see of 1980’s 42155 B-Model at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Is it Real. Is it Recall.

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1990’s ‘Total Recall’ was a brilliant idea made not very well. But it did have Sharon Stone in it. Thus in 2012 Hollywood decided to release a remake, and it was a brilliant idea made not very well. But it did have Kate Beckinsale in it.

Perhaps the third time will be the charm, but the 2012 version wasn’t without merit, and it also included some cool police hover-cars not unlike those more famously featured in another Philip K. Dick book-turned-movie.

This recreation of the ‘Total Recall’ police hover-car comes from cixpack of Flickr, there’s more to see via the link above, plus you can watch the movie version (and Kate Beckinsale) in action by clicking here.