Aaaand at the other end of the Chevrolet cool scale we have this; a dilapidated El Camino camper, cobbled together from assorted junk, inhabited by someone you’d expect to see throwing dice in an alley, and parked in a swamp. It’s TLCB of cars.
Which means we feel right at home posting ‘Florida Man’s El Camino & Cab-Over Camper’ by previous bloggee IBrickedItUp, and you can join us huntin’ ‘gators in the swamp via the link above.
TLCB Staff are absolutely, tragically, deeply uncool. We work for free in a building with less structural integrity than the Lego creations we feature, our workforce is formed of mythical creatures that could well be figments of our imagination, and for all he knows this Writer is typing these words from a secure psychiatric facility onto a Casio PT-80.
But if we were cool, and we really aren’t, this is what we’d drive.
Tony Bovkoon‘s magnificent ’64 Chevrolet Impala Lowrider might just be the coolest vehicle we’ve ever seen, and not only does it look spectacular, it really, er… lowrides, with four L Motors driving linear actuators that control the suspension movements, allowing the Impala to twist and bounce just like the real thing.
A further two L Motors and a Servo deliver remote control drive and steering when for when the Impala isn’t lowriding, but that’s like wearing a baseball cap the right way round. Or some other cool-based reference. Like we said, we really aren’t cool.
But Tony’s ’64 Chevrolet Impala is, and you can check it out on Flickr, plus you can watch it in action here. Take a look via the link above if you’re cooler than we are.
Mercedes-AMG’s seven-year dominance of the Formula 1 World Championship finally ended in 2021. Well, sort of… they still won the Constructor’s Championship, making it eight-in-a-row, but Lewis Hamilton did not win an eighth Driver’s Championship, and as such may now never move ahead of the record he shares with Schumacher.
Of course we also say ‘sort of’ thanks the controversial way in which Hamilton lost the Driver’s Championship on the final laps of the final race to Max Verstappen.
Thanks to crash-a-holic Lattifi (who – if he wasn’t paying to drive the car – surely wouldn’t be in Formula 1), and an improbable safety car decision that eventually cost race director Michael Masi his job, Verstappen was able to pass Hamilton on the final lap, giving us the first new World Champion in four seasons, and ending years of ‘#blessed’ instagram posts from the bejewelled multiple-champion.
Cue much arm waving and shouting from Mercedes-AMG (unusual, seeing as Christian Horner of Red Bull had done it all season for various imagined grievances), an investigation, but the race result standing. Which, by the way, we’re all for.
Yes the rules hadn’t been followed, but we’re of the opinion that even if there’s just one corner of the race remaining, it is a race, and therefore it should be, well… raced. Plus it made for amazing TV.
Anyway, Verstappen took the Championship, Hamilton felt what it’s like to lose (although he’s more than familiar with that this season), and fans got a finale to talk about for years to come.
This is the car that took Verstappen to his first Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship, the Honda-powered Red Bull RB16B, as created in spectacular detail by previous bloggee Noah_L of Flickr, and joining his already-impressive roster of brick-built modern Formula 1 cars.
The incredible realism is enhanced by some frankly jaw-dropping decals, created for Noah by a fellow builder, and there’s more to see of his astonishing (and beautifully presented) creation at his ‘Red Bull RB16B’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.
Click the link above to deploy the safety car…
*It’s the Azerbaijan Grand Prix today. If you’re a Hamilton / Mercedes-AMG fan, this link from the 2018 race may raise a snicker.
Decidedly not a car, but thoroughly charming nonetheless, is Clemens Schneider‘s wonderfully whimsical horse and cart, entitled ‘On the way to Summer Joust’. A brick-built horse and knights add to the magic (although we’d definitely rather be the one in the cart), and you join them on their medieval journey at Clemen’s photostream. Head to the joust via the link above!
This magnificently obscure vehicle is a 1910s Holt 75hp Caterpillar, a part-track tractor produced by the company that would later become the world-renowned Caterpillar brand. Powered by a 23 litre 4-cylinder gasoline engine, and weighing 10 tons, the Holt Caterpillar was quite fantastically slow, but was reliable and could haul almost anything almost anywhere.
With war raging in Europe and limited photos of the newfangled British ‘tanks’ operating in the mire, Holt even converted one of their 75hp Caterpillars into a ‘tank’ as a PR exercise to parade to U.S citizens with the phrase ‘America First’ painted on it, dubiously attempting to take credit for something they had nothing to do with. Make your own Trump link…
This charming replica of the Holt 75hp Caterpillar (in conventional tractor form) comes from previous bloggee Nikolaus Löwe (aka Mr_Kleinstein), and includes BuWizz controlled drive and steering, as well as accurately reflecting the bizarre exterior of the original.
There’s more to see of Nikolaus’ Holt 75hp tractor at his photostream via the link in the text above, and if you think this is weird here’s a bonus link to the ‘tank’ version, which might just be the oddest thing you see today….
In recent years most military vehicles – such as these these American ‘Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected’ (MRAP) light tactical vehicles – seem to be painted tan, what with all the oil being in the desert. Er, we mean the ‘complicated political nature of the Middle East’, or something.
Of course a certain minimally-endowed despot has changed the landscape somewhat, bringing war back to the greeny-brown lands of Europe, and we suspect many national militaries will be re-painting a proportion of their equipment accordingly, even if they have no intention of joining in.
However the ’90s-2010s will be remembered, in a military context at least, for desert-based conflicts, and the tan-coloured vehicles that operated in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other sandy locales.
Cue Robson M (aka BrickDesigners), and these excellent Middle-East spec MRAPs, armoured trucks, and personnel carriers. Each captures its real-world equivalent brilliantly, helped by custom decals and weaponry, and there’s more to see of all of Robson’s desert warfare vehicles on Flickr via the link.
The Lego Car Blog has been quieter than a Date Night at The Brothers Brick of late. We could blame the TLCB Elves of course (we normally do), but to be fair to them they do have a strict criteria to adhere to, particularly egregious failures of which are enforced by way of ejection from the building by the office catapult.
So whilst we wait for a blogworthy creation, there are a few places you can head to here at TLCB for your Lego car fix. And that continue to bring us advertising revenue to keep the Executive Washroom and Sauna operational…
The Review Library contains every LEGO set, movie, book, and third-party compatible product that we have ever reviewed.
There are over one hundred reviews in all, from classic Technic sets to the latest officially-licensed Creator products, and you can find them all via the link below.
The online Lego Community is a wonderfully varied place, where builders of all nationalities, ethnicities, and specialisms can create and share their brick-based talents. Here at The Lego Car Blog we love to showcase the very best vehicular models the community has to offer.
Occasionally this extends to the builders behind them too, so that you (and we) can learn from the masters.
TLCB Interviews Page contains dozens of interviews with the best Lego builders in the world, including those that have seen their models turned into official LEGO sets, become published authors, and even paid professional model-makers. Find out how they’ve done it via the link below.
Finally, if you’d like to find a particular LEGO set, vehicle brand or model, you can do just that via the ‘Looking for Something’ search function that is available on every page. Wondering if a Citroen Mehari, Trabant 601, Pontiac Aztek, or other automotive oddity has appeared here, then use the search function to navigate TLCB Archives! Cool cars are available too of course…
So there you have it, some stuff to do whilst we wait for a blogworthy build. Of course if you’d like to help us out you can suggestion a creation our Elves have missed via the Feedback or Contact Us pages. Make sure you take a look at the Submission Guidelines first to check eligibility, and drop us a note!
Our friends over at BuWizz, who sponsored our recent Festival of Mundanity building competition and power countless creations appearing here at TLCB, are back for 2022!
Held in their home nation of Slovenia this August, the BuWizz Camp features competitions for BuWizz-powered builds, including Sumo, 1:10 Supercars, Mini Racers, and Off-Road contests, all with awesome BuWizz prizes on offer for the winners, and a chance to meet Lego-legends Racing Brick and Sariel.
Tickets are €10/day/person with food and drink included, and you can check out full event details (including the beautiful cabin setting) at the BuWizz Camp page.
…And here to read our 5-star review of the incredible BuWizz 3.0 Pro and BuWizz Motor.
TLCB’s home nation didn’t get to the enjoy the delights of ’90s full-size American sedans. And by ‘delights’, we mean oversize bodywork, fantastically lazy engines, and the plastics quality of a Kinder Egg toy. This is one such car, the Chevrolet Caprice Classic.
Launched in ’91, the fourth generation of Chevy’s full-size sedan wore new aerodynamic but unpopular bodywork, carried over V8 engines from the previous generation, and rode on a chassis from 1977. Which unbelievably was enough to earn it Motor Trend’s ‘Domestic Car of the Year’, showing just how rubbish American cars were in 1991.
This excellent 6-wide homage to the early-’90s American barge comes from aaref1ev of Flickr, who has captured the Caprice Classic brilliantly, also rendering the design in NYPD and Taxi Cab flavours. Head to aaref1ev’s photostream to jump back to the early-’90s, and be thankful that automotive era is long over…
What’s this, two creations from one builder in the same day? How lazy are we?
The answer is ‘Yes’, and ‘Very’, but 1saac W.‘s ‘Moes Mobile Diner’ is just too delightful not to publish. Plus it’s lunch time in TLCB Towers and this writer was thinking about food.
Place your order at 1saac’s photostream via the link above, whilst this writer heads to the fridge.
Small scale, but enormously detailed, Damian Z.’s creations are firm favourites here at TLCB Towers.
His latest, an Iveco EuroTrakker tipper truck, is a perfect example of his prowess. There are ‘working’ stabiliser legs, an ingenious four-stage folding Palfinger crane, and a two-way tipper, all constructed from standard System parts.
Damian’s presentation is beautiful too, and there’s lots more of the build to see at his ‘Iveco EuroTrakker’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to see just how good small scale can be…
Things this TLCB Writer would like; More sleep, better hair, Jennifer Lawrence’s phone no., and a modified Toyota FJ60-Series Land Cruiser.
Whilst the first three aren’t going to happen any time soon we do have the latter here today, courtesy of regular bloggee 1saac W, whose superb brick-built FJ60 – suitably modified for overland adventures – is an absolute dream car.
Big tyres, a bull-bar, a roof cage, and a snorkel make the already awesome FJ60 even cooler, and you can check out 1saac’s brilliant build on Flickr via the link above.
This marvellous contraption is a Hydrema 614 360° backhoe, as constructed brilliantly for a Eurobricks building competition by MP LEGO Technic Creations.
Pneumatically powered front a rear excavator arms can be pressurised via the exhaust stack, there’s mechanical articulated steering, linear actuator folding support legs, and a recreation of the Hydrema’s party-piece; a 360° rotating cab, allowing the driver an unobstructed view as they smash the backhoe bucket through a water-main.
It’s an expertly engineered creation that could make a superb official LEGO set, and there are more images of MP’s Hydrema 614 360° to see on Flickr via the link above, further build details are available in the build discussion topic at the Eurobricks forum, and you can watch all of the model’s working features in action via the video below.
YouTube Video
This is a Tatra PR3333 6×6 truck, outfitted with a hook-lift system and depicted in Dutch Army specification by Flickr’s Arian Janssens.
We’re not sure what’s in the big green box it’s carrying, nor the second one towed behind via the neat drawbar trailer, but as we assume it’s army stuff we probably wouldn’t understand anyway.
The truck, trailer, and boxes are all superbly built, and there’s more to see of all components at Arian’s photostream. Click the link to take a look.
*Points for us for not going down the ‘Dutch Hooker’ route with this post! Until now. Damn.
The European Bison is one of Poland’s national animals. Hunted to extinction in the wild (as late as the 1920s – surely we knew better by then?), the heaviest land animal in Europe has now been reintroduced successfully across multiple countries, led by Poland, and has progressed from ‘Extinct’, through ‘Threatened’, and is now classified as ‘Near Threatened’, which has got to be a win for nature.
Cue this rather formidable looking classic combine harvester by Flickr’s Montgomery Burns (no, not that one), a Polish machine which shares its name with their national animal. The whirly thingies, spikey thingies, and the tube out the side (we’re not farmers…) are all accurately recreated in brick, and there’s more to see at Montgomery’s photostream. Click the link above to take a look.