Icons 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | Set Preview

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There’s a new name for the Creator Expert line, and it’s shifted gear a bit!

This is the brand new LEGO ‘Icons’ 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, following the 10298 Vespa 125 revealed earlier this year. And if that set represented the default vehicular choice of pretty Italian girls, this one is more ‘shady-looking character with a handlebar moustache, chewing a toothpick and throwing dice in an alley’. The Icons range is nothing if not diverse!

Aimed at ages 18+ (or rather, the marketing is…), 10304 is constructed from nearly 1,500 pieces and brings the famous 1969 American muscle car into the LEGO’s burgeoning real-world vehicle line-up.

Like the recent 10295 Porsche 911 Turbo set, 10304 adopts a multiple-options approach, with no less than three stripe colour options, coupe or convertible body-styles, and hidden or exposed headlights, neatly matching the variants available on the real Camaro Z28 when it was new over fifty years ago.

Further features include working steering, opening doors, hood and trunk, a detailed V8 engine, and authentic decals for a dose of added realism.

The new Icons 10304 Chevrolet Camaro set is expected to cost around $170 / £150 when it reaches stores in August of this year, giving you plenty of time to grow a suitable handlebar moustache and practice your toothpick chewing in readiness.

Skytrain

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‘Skytrain’ might be a slightly ambitious title, but nothing moved as many troops about during the Second World War as the Douglas DC-3 / C-47. In fact so reliable is the DC-3 that many are still in use today, some eighty years on from when the plane first saw service, ferrying people and objects to and from the world’s most inhospitable places.

This lovely recreation of the iconic aircraft comes from SirLuftwaffles of Flickr, and – full disclosure – it’s digital. But you can’t tell, as SirLuftwaffles has used only readily available pieces, real-world construction methods, and produced a render that is really very good indeed.

There’s more to see including full build and digital design software details at SirLuftwaffles’ photostream – take to the skies with 27 other troops via the link in the text above.

Gascort

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A beige 1970s economy estate car might not be the most exciting genre of vehicle, but we do like the mundane here at The Lego Car Blog. TLCB Elves however, are more… er, ‘basic’ in what they like. Think ‘six year old’. Or the ‘Fast & Furious franchise’.

Cue Sergio Batista‘s Ford Escort Mk1 estate, somewhat repurposed as a ‘gasser’ style hot rod. Sergio has built an unmodified Escort estate too, in delightful ’70s tedium, but for some reason the Elves seem to prefer this one…

There’s more to see at his photostream, where you can find both the Elves’ preferred variant (this one) and ours (standard ’70s monotony). Click the link above to make the jump!

What’s the Matter?

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This funky looking device is a ‘Matterphase Neutrino Skimmer’ which – according to Flickr’s Rubblemaker – is “an experimental craft that can harness the power of neutrinos to pass through solid matter.” And just like adverts for shampoo, who are we to argue with infallible science like that!

A Neo-Classic Space aesthetic, which deploys some rather cunning usage of Bionicle pieces, surely helps with the aforementioned physics, and there’s more to see of Rubblemaker’s build on Flickr. Click the link above to harass the flower of albinos to gas through a squalid platter. Or something.

Dozing Cat

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Cats are best when they’re dozing. Because then they’re not scratching something, killing wildlife, or crapping on your lawn.

Dig at cats in general complete, we can tenuously link to this Cat ‘dozer, a Caterpillar D6N LGN as built by regular bloggee Damian Z. Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of his wonderfully detailed creation on Flickr via the link.

Zetor 25K

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It might sound like the sort of giant automaton usually blogged by The Brothers Brick, but the Zetor 25K is in fact a vintage Czechoslovakian tractor produced from 1946 to 1961.

This neat Technic replica of the Zetor comes from rhplus, and features a two-cylinder engine, drag-link steering, and – rather cleverly – a three-point hitch and a switchable power-take-off, both of which can be operated by levers from the cockpit.

It’s a lovely little build and one of which you can see more at both Eurobricks and Brickshelf. Unless giant automatons are more your thing.

My Other Car’s a Mustang

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America likes naming cars after animals. Thus this viper is borne of a horse, being constructed solely from the pieces found within the excellent Creator 10265 Ford Mustang set.

Besides a few mis-coloured clips you’d be hard pushed to tell that Marcin Majkowski’s Dodge Viper is a Mustang in disguise, plus the doors and hood open, there’s a detailed interior, and a lifelike V10 engine too.

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of Marcin’s 10265 B-Model on Flickr – click the link above to swap one animal for another.

Rise of the Phoenix

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We were going to title this post ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ until we realised that there was no suitable image of the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 actually rising. But then we couldn’t think of any other titles…

No matter, because the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 does rise, thanks to an L Motor driving a linear actuator, which is controlled remotely via BuWizz bluetooth brick.Two further L Motors power all six wheels, all of which are suspended, whilst an M Motor steers the fronts (along with the steering wheel too), and there’s an inline-6 engine under the tilting cab.

It’s a top quality Technic build and there’s more to see, including a video of it in action (tipper rising and everything) at the Eurobricks forum, with the complete gallery of images available on Bricksafe. Click the links above to see the Phoenix rise.

‘That’ Toyota Supra

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If there’s one car responsible for the over-hyping of an entire model line-up, this is it.

Brian O’Conner’s ’10 second’ Toyota Supra from 2001’s ‘The Fast and the Furious’ took a fairly fat, mostly automatic GT cruiser and turned it into a 1,000bhp legend. Complete with orange paintwork and the stupidest stickers, millions of teenagers suddenly had a new hero car, and the internet has been full of arguments about 2JZs ever since.

However even TLCB Team, convinced though we are that the ‘Fast & Furious’ movie franchise is one of the worst Hollywood has ever produced, have to admit that LEGO is on to a winner by turning the films’ star cars into official sets.

The Technic 42111 ‘Dom’s Dodge Charger’ set is rather good, and LEGO have now shrunk the big bald baby’s car to Speed Champions scale as well. But LEGO don’t just have a license with Dodge. They have one with Toyota too…

We’re pretty sure that an official LEGO ‘Fast & Furious’ Toyota Supra set will follow, but ArtemyZotov of Eurobricks couldn’t wait, and thus has built his own ‘Brian O’Connor’s Toyota Supra’ from the first ‘Fast & Furious’ movie, matching the scale of the official Technic 42111 Dodge Charger set.

So good is Artemy’s Technic Supra that we think LEGO will struggle to top it, and not only does it really look the part (stupid stickers included), it features remote control drive and steering, opening doors and hood, and a modular chassis and body.

There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks forum and via the video below, plus Artemy has made building instructions and a download for the decals available too, so you can build this Supra for yourself at home. If you own the Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger set and a LEGO train, you know what you need to do!

YouTube Video

Carbon Clam

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The Ferrari F40 was a technical marvel when it was revealed in 1987. The last car personally approved by Enzo Ferrari, the F40 deployed twin-turbo-chargers to produce around 500bhp from its relatively small 2.9 litre V8, featured electronically adjustable suspension, and became the first series-production car in the world to be built from composite materials; carbon fibre and kevlar.

Often overlooked, it’s the F40’s composite bodywork that is its most ground-breaking feature, and Darren Thew has recreated the complex opening front and rear carbon fibre clamshells brilliantly in Technic form.

Working steering, suspension, pop-up headlights, and a realistic V8 engine live underneath the huge opening pieces, and there’s more to see of Darren’s excellent Technic Ferrari F40 on Flickr.

Click the link above to take a look inside the clam.

Seventies Cycling

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Peugeot, like many car manufacturers, didn’t begin by making cars. The company’s earliest products were saw blades and coffee and pepper grinders, but it was the bicycles that followed that made the business famous.

A decline in cycling interest post-war forced the company to refocus on automobile production, but a resurgence in the 1960s, as the bicycle transitioned from a transportation method to a leisure activity, created a new market for Peugeot’s pedal-powered products.

The company capitalised on this, producing road and race bikes that became world famous, and demonstrated their leadership in the world’s toughest (and Frenchiest) cycle race; the Tour de France, winning the event in ’75 and ’77.

This lovely 6-wide recreation of Peugeot’s 1970s Tour de France support car, complete with boot-mounted bicycles, comes from previous bloggee PalBenglat, who has captured both the ’70s Peugeot 504 and the vintage building style of LEGO at the time wonderfully.

Clever techniques and excellent presentation are evident throughout the build, and there’s more of the classic Peugeot to see at Pal’s photostream. Click the link above to put on your jersey and head into the French mountains c1975.

Snow Cone

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Today’s ice-based erection is brought to you by Markus19840420, whose hefty rocket is rising skywards ready for launch.

A 6×6 transport rover sits underneath the frosty phallus, whilst two mini-figures watch the action from the sidelines, and you can join them at Markus’ photostream via the link above.

Truck on Trucks on Trucks

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If you like trucks, this post is for you! Specifically, if you like 1980s DAF FA and FT trucks this post is for you, but that’s probably a bit niche. Still, there must be a DAF fan club somewhere.

Anyway, this suite of DAF trucks was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr, and it’s now hoping for five meal tokens.

Previous bloggee (and, unsurprisingly, DAF-building specialist) Arian Janssens is the man behind it, having constructed a DAF FA 95.380 ATI sleeper cab transporter and trailer, plus a DAF FA 800, FT 2100, FT 2500, and a DAF 400 flatbed for it to haul. That’s a lot of ’80s Dutch trucking.

All are excellent recreations of their real-world counterparts, and there’s more to see of all five Model Team DAFs at Arian’s ‘DAF FA 95.380 ATI Truck Transporter’ album. Click the link above to join the DAF fan club.

The Greatest Racing Game…

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…Is not Forza, Gran Turismo, or some other ultra-lifelike simulator. It’s Mario Kart, specifically on the ancient N64 console. Because where else can a dinosaur annihilate an Italian plumber with a dead tortoise? Exactly.

Flickr’s cshowd has captured the vintage Mario Kart madness wonderfully, and although his characters from the iconic video game are only built in digital form, if anything their slightly pixelated appearance is more appropriate!

There’re more to see of Bowser, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Mushroom and the other Mario Kart characters at his photostream – click the link above and fire that green shell!

Ambition is a Dream with a V8 Engine

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Blue suede shoes, white rhinestone jumpsuits, cheeseburgers, and pink Cadillacs. Just some of the things the great Elvis Presley was famous for besides his captivating musical performances.

Elvis’ first pink Cadillac was a ’54 Fleetwood that he purchased in 1955, and it lasted all of a few months before the brake lining crapped out and the car was incinerated by the ensuing fire. Undeterred, Elvis bought a ’55 Fleetwood in blue, and had it repainted in custom pink by a neighbour, before he gave it to his Mom as a gift.

Now Mrs. Presley didn’t have a driver’s license, which meant Elvis continued to drive the Fleetwood through ’55 and ’56 (which sounds like a rather cunning ‘present’ to us), during which time it was repainted again due to an accident whilst in the hands of his guitarist.

After completing his military service in 1960, Elvis lent the Caddy to his friend and road-manager, buying himself a new ’61 Cadillac Coupe deVille, before the Fleetwood was parked up in a carport.

Many white rhinestone jumpsuits and cheeseburgers followed, the latter of course contributing to Elvis’ untimely death on the toilet at his Graceland home.

The musical world mourned his loss, and Graceland became a museum to Elvis’ life. Fortunately the ’55 Cadillac Fleetwood that Elvis had purchased, painted, gifted, crashed, painted, and lent had somehow survived, and it was saved to go on permanent display in the Graceland museum.

This lovely homage to that car, and the home in which it rests, comes from Joey Klusnick, who has recreated it beautifully in Miniland scale. A complete album of images can be found at Joey’s photostream, and you can head to Graceland in a ’55 Pink Cadillac via the link in the text above.