Lufthansa in Lego

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This is a Douglas DC-3, a 1930s to 1940s propellor airliner that was one of the defining moments in air travel. Faster, safer and quieter than previous airliners, the DC-3 was one of only a few that could cross the continental United States (with three stops), and be profitable from passengers alone.

So good was the DC-3 in fact, that many are still in use today, some eighty to ninety years since they were produced. Recent bloggee Tobias Munzert is the builder behind this one, creating it beautifully Lufthansa colours.

If you’re wondering whether a 1930s American aircraft being flown by Germany’s national airline may have been a bit awkward at the time (as we were), Lufthansa was founded a decade after the end of the Second World War, when – even with jet airliners transforming air travel – the DC-3 remained a reliable and competitive aircraft for airlines across the world.

Tobias’ brick built version captures the iconic vintage airliner superbly, and there’s more to see (including a link to building instructions so can create one yourself) at his photostream. Fly over to Flickr via the link above.

To the Tip!

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Christmas at TLCB Towers is over for another year, and thus the slightly depressed-looking Christmas tree in the corner of the office can finally be laid to rest. This usually means strapping it to the roof of the office’s Rover 200, driving to the tip, and lobbing it into a giant container of compostable waste.

Flickr’s Jonathan Elliott takes a much more fun approach to tree disposal though, with his Christmas tree dragged behind a Land Rover 109 tow-truck like a wake-boarder behind a power-boat. Or a soon to-be-executed 15th century criminal behind a horse.

The Land Rover is mighty good too, with the exquisite detailing including probably the best small-scale Land Rover tail-lights we’ve ever seen. There’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream, and you can take a look via the link above whilst we find out if a knackered Rover 200 is up to the job of towing a Christmas tree through the streets.

A Supra Set of Mods

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Toyota’s Supra has – thanks to car culture, hype, a certain move franchise, and internet exaggeration – become a legend impossible for anything, even the Supra itself, to live up to.

But get past the internet commenters, and the A90 Supra is really rather good, and as modifiable as its predecessor too.

Flickr’s 3D supercarBricks has recreated the latest Toyota Supra in fine fashion, capturing the exceptionally difficult curves of the car’s form superbly in Danish plastic.

Of course, being a Supra on the internet, it has to be modified too, with 3D duly obliging via a set of wide arches, an enormous rear spoiler, and some phat rims. Extra internet points scored.

There’s more of the build to to see at 3D’s photostream, and you can click the link in the text above to make the jump.

Bang! Zoom! Straight to the Moon!

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Bang! Zoom! Straight to the Moon! Yes, today we’re referencing a cartoon referencing a vintage sit-com to refer to a rocket that references a cartoon. No we don’t have to make sense. This marvellous whimsical Tintin-inspired rocket comes from Flickr’s Tobias Munzert, who has pictured it here landing on the lunar surface from the comic. Join Tobias (and Tintin) on Flickr via the link above.

Yule Logs

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We’re back! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for more pointless Lego-vehicular narrative to be projected out into the internet from TLCB Team.

Said staff have returned to TLCB Towers post-Christmas break, with only one drunken family fight and a single potential lawsuit between them, which is a definite Christmas success! After releasing TLCB Elves from the cages in which they had been imprisoned over Christmas, the first job is, well… cleaning those cages.

Fortunately for us a particularly keen/hungry Elf returned to the office almost immediately with this rather neat Technic wheeled-excavator by Flickr’s Thirdwigg. With four-wheel steering, a slewing superstructure, and a mechanical bucket-lift, boom elevation and scoop movement, Thirdwigg’s creation is perfect for removing Elven ‘presents’ from even the hard-to-reach corners.

Whilst we get on with that you can check out the full image album on Flickr via the link above, where – if you have some yule logs of your own to remove from a household cage – a link to building instructions can also be found.

Only Two More Sleeps!

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There are only two more sleeps ’til Christmas! Which means we’re locking the doors to TLCB Towers, frantically buying presents we forgot about, and readying ourselves for drunken family arguments.

We’ll be back in a few days, but if you need to get your Lego fix in the meantime, you can find a few places that are open all-year-round below!

  • All our past posts are available in the Archives, where you can search for pretty much anything and something will probably turn up.
  • Our Review Library contains over one-hundred LEGO set, book, and third-party product reviews.
  • The world’s best Lego vehicle builders have been interviewed right here at TLCB! (Incriminating pictures work wonders for motivation.) Find them all by clicking here!
  • Proper Lego blogs, and a lot more besides, can be found in the Directory.

We’d recommend switching off from the internet for the festive period though. The important things will be much closer to home : )

Have a very Merry Christmas

TLCB Team

P.S. The amusing image used above comes courtesy of previous bloggee Sylon_tw, who has captured Santa a very long way from home (that, or the penguins are). Fingers crossed he can get his sleigh going again before tomorrow night!

Calsonic Skyline

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This is the Calsonic-sponsored Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 from the early-’00s Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, but of course, you probably already knew that.

Whilst Alexander Paschoaletto‘s brilliant Skyline GT-R R34 doesn’t say ‘Calsonic’ anywhere on it, we (and most likely you) would have recognised it anywhere. That’s because this car is burned into our psyche (and retinas) from Gran Turismo, where it has, in various generations, featured as one of the star cars for over two decades.

White 3D-printed wheels, blue bodywork, and a yellow sun-strip have transported us right back to hours of early-’00s pixellated racing, and you can join us at the Deep Forest Raceway courtesy of Alexander’s photostream via the link above.

Power(ed-Up) is Nothing Without Control(+)

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Yes, we have nerdily butchered the marketing tagline for tyres for today’s title.

Because these are the ‘Universal Vehicle Controls’; part mechanical, part electronic twin joysticks with four degrees of movement, twin triggers, and a dashboard with a working needle, that allow Control+ LEGO sets and creations to be, er… controlled, with real feedback, all built solely from off-the-shelf LEGO pieces. It’s like the Control+ app, BuWizz, or SBrick we’re familiar with on our phone screen, but made physical.

Tobi WanKenobi owns the brain behind this rather interesting idea, and if you think it’s interesting too you can find out more on LEGO Ideas, at the Eurobricks forum here, or take a look at the ‘Universal Vehicle Controls’ in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Christmabishi

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The seamlessly Christmas-linked titles keep coming here at The Lego Car Blog. You don’t get that kind of professionalism at The Brothers Brick. Anyway, here’s another definitely-Christmassy post, in the form of a mid-00’s Mitsubishi Evo IX, as created by Daniel Helms (aka danielsmocs).

There’s working rubber-band suspension, opening doors, hood and trunk, a detailed and removable engine, lifelike drivetrain and interior, and custom decals and wheels, with more to see at both Eurobricks and Flickr.

Have a Merry Chrismabishi via the links above!

It’s ChristMAN!

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It’s Christmas! The season of hope, goodwill, and tenuous TLCB titles. Today’s enabler is previous bloggee Vladimir Drozd, with this epic MAN F2000 8×4 heavy haulage truck.

Powered by an XL Motor, with Servo steering, all-wheel suspension, a lifting second axle, custom decals, and some non-LEGO (but superb looking) front wheel trims and coiled cables, Vladimir’s creation is one of the most realistic trucks of 2022, and there’s much more to see at both his ‘MAN F2000 8×4’ Flickr album and via the Eurobricks discussion forum.

Click the links for a Merry ChristMAN!

Yuletide ‘Mog

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What’s more Christmassy than a Mercedes-Benz Unimog? Ok, pretty much anything that’s not a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. But then the title wouldn’t work.

This excellent 1:20 scale Mercedes-Benz Unimog U423 comes from TLCB favourite Thirdwigg, who has recreated the off-road tractor/truck rather brilliantly in the style of recent Technic sets, blending Model Team aesthetics with Technic functionality.

That functionality includes mechanical steering and drive to a piston engine, rear suspension with portal axles, front and rear power-take-offs, and a tilting cab with opening doors.

A variety of attachments can also be fitted, including a three-way (snigger) tipping bed, a crane and winch, or a snow plow and gritter. See, it was Christmassy after all! There’s more to see at Thirdwigg’s ‘Unimog U423’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found – click the link above for a Merry Christmog!

Model Team Miura

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Launched in 1966, the Lamborghini Miura is probably the the world’s first supercar, and was designed by Lamborghini’s engineering team in their spare time, against the wishes of their founder. He changed his mind when he saw their work however, and gave them free reign to complete the car, with styling direction from the great Mercello Gandini.

Powered by Lamborghini’s 3.9 litre V12, transversely mounted behind the cabin, the Miura produced around 345bhp, with later versions upping the figure to almost 400bhp.

Now worth a gagillion dollars, Miuras are one of the most sought-after cars in the world, so the closest any of us here at TLCB will get to one is in Lego form. Fortunately today we can do just that, courtesy of Pingubrick’s beautiful 1,200-piece Model Team recreation of the iconic ’60s Lamborghini.

Opening doors, front and rear clamshells, and a detailed interior and engine bay feature, and there’s more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to take a look at Pingu’s recreation of Lamborghini’s finest work.

Monsters of Rock

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Rock Raiders, the most phallically-symbolled of all LEGO’s themes, probably wasn’t one of their all-time greats. Something to do with finding energy crystals, as per about six other themes from the time, LEGO’s 1999 effort featured a rock monster, a turquoise-and-brown colour scheme, and a Playstation video game, before it quietly died a year later to be forgotten by everyone.

Except, that is, for Ghalad of Flickr, who has digitally reimagined an almost unfeasibly big Rock Raiders machine from over 13,000 virtual bricks.

Ghalad’s 6×6 mining behemoth features a huge rotating rock-cutting laser, gun turrets to ward off rock monsters, two enormous arm-mounted drills for munching through rock, and a towing crane for, er… something else that’s probably rock related.

It also takes the Thundercougarfalconbird approach to naming, being titled after two underground animals, and there’s more to see of Ghalad’s titanic Rock Raiders ‘Badger Mole’ at his photostream. Click the link above to rock out.

In Space, No One Can Hear You Squeee!

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LEGO’s ‘Classic Space Plush‘ is one of their more unusual – and adorable – ‘pieces’. However a real Classic Spaceman, no matter its cuteness, needs a vehicle with which to conduct Classic Spacey things. Cue Daniel Church, and his ‘Awwwstronauts’!

Built to Plushie scale, Daniel has created a fully RC lunar rover and segway to allow his Classic Space Plushies to go about their delightful cuddly space business. Both contain Powered-Up Motors hidden inside and there’s more to see at his ‘Awwwstronauts’ album on Flickr.

Cutely go where no spaceman has gone before via the link!

My Other (Muscle) Car is a Camaro

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What’s better than a ’69? Two ’69s obviously. Cue Brian Michal, who has taken LEGO’s excellent 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set and created another ’69 icon, the Ford Mustang Mach 1.

A performance package available on the first generation Mustang, Mach 1s were powered by V8s engines of 5.8, 6.4, or 7.0 litres, were fitted with upgraded suspension (although – we suspect – not nearly upgraded enough), and a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual gearbox.

A host of other options were available too, including Ram-Air, a Drag Pack, a ‘Traction Lok’ rear axle, and – as pictured here – a ‘Shaker’ hood. All of which sound marvellous.

Brian’s 10304 alternate captures the ’69 Ford Mustang Mach 1 superbly, with more to see at his Flickr album, where a link to building instructions can also be found should you wish to switch your own ’69 muscle car for another.

And if a ’69 isn’t really your thing, here are a few bonus links to a rather more modern Mustang, a Porsche 911, and a Chevrolet C10 pick-up, also built solely from the 10304 Camaro Z28 set.