The late ’20s and early ’30s are a much romanticised time. Art deco architecture, wild opulence, delightful dancing, extravagant hats, tuberculosis, fascism, the Great Depression…
Anyway, the vehicles and buildings from the time really were marvellous, and it’s these (rather than tuberculosis and unemployment) that Andrew Tate (no, not that one) has chosen to capture in brick form.
Andrew’s wonderful ‘Streamliner Van’ pictured above is part of a much larger – and absolutely stunning – ‘Metropolitan Club’ scene, and there’s much more to see of both it and the club at his photostream.
Put on your best hat and click the link above to join in.
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…
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.
This amazing creation is a near-perfect brick-built replica of the Amerigo Vespucci, a tall ship of the Italian Navy named after the 14th Century explorer of the same name. Surprisingly despite its late 18th century appearance the Amerigo Vespucci was actually built in 1930 as a training ship, and is still in use today based at the Italian port of La Spazia. This incredible recreation of the tall ship is the work of Luca Gaudenzi and it’s one of the most spectacular vessels this site has ever featured. Head over to Luca’s ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ albumto begin your Italian Naval training.
This is a Lanz HL12 Bulldog, a 1920s German tractor powered by a single cylinder ‘hot bulb’ engine that was so ubiquitous, in some parts of Germany tractors are still known as ‘bulldogs’.
‘Hot bulb’ engines featured very few moving parts, no carburettor, no cooling system, and – much like the flux-capacitor in Doc Brown’s time machine – could run on almost anything.
This one has been recreated wonderfully by Nikolaus Löwe, who has replicated not only the engine but the Lanz’s full suite of 1920s mechanicals, and there’s more to see at his ‘Lanz HL12 Bulldog’ album via the link above.
No, not morons polluting the air in diesel-powered pick-up trucks, but this utterly wonderful 1930s Scania-Vabis 355 tipper lorry, complete with a heavy load of the default fuel of the time, as built by previous bloggee SvenJ. The aforementioned load of coal can be tipped out, there’s posable ‘steering’, and beautiful detailing throughout. See more on Flickr via the link.
As is currently playing out in Ukraine, thanks to the murderous dick-bag Vladimir Putin, war can have a catastrophic effect on food production. But food production must continue, even when an invading enemy is standing amongst your crops.
Recent bloggee SirLuftwaffles travels back eighty years to the last time a murderous dick-bag brought war to Western Europe, with this wonderful scene depicting an Opel Blitz 3-ton truck parked in occupied France during the Second World War.
SirLuftwaffles has made free building instructions for the truck available and there’s more to see at his photostream. Click the link to take a look.
Yes, the title phrase ‘That’s a Doozy’ – used to describe something opulent, enormous or unusual – really did come from society’s reaction to the Duesenberg cars that were built from the 1920s until 1940. Which must make it the world’s first automotive meme. Take that ‘VTEC just kicked in yo’.
The largest, most powerful, and most expensive cars on the market, Duesenberg’s can today sell for over $22 million, which rather prices TLCB out of ownership. Fortunately this delightful brick-built Duesenberg SJ is rather more attainable, having been suggested to us a by a reader.
Flickr’s 1saac W. is the builder and there’s more to see of his Doozy of a build at his photostream via the link.
This wonderfully cartoonish Citroen Traction Avant was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr today. Constructed by KMbricklab, a wealth of clever techniques have been deployed to accentuate the classic Citroen’s features, and there’s a whole lot more of the model to see on Flickr. Click the link above to forward yourself there.
After more than a few posts that definitely weren’t cars at all, we’re back on brief with previous TLCB competition winner 1saac W.’s beautifully presented ‘32 Ford hot rod. Disc wheels, a detailed exposed engine, and an Adventurers windshield create an accurate period aesthetic and there’s more to see on Flickr at the link.
Hollywood loves a reboot. Cue ‘Top Gun, Maverick’, ‘Fast and Furious 10’, anything with ‘Star Wars’ in the title, and ‘Jurassic World’. That said, a genetically-modified dino-weapon running amok in a theme park is a winner in TLCB Office. Because we’re 6.
Also rebooting a dinosaur-based classic is chriselliott.art, whose marvellous vintage half-ton ute inspired by the 5975 ‘T-Rex Transport’ Adventurers set was suggested to us by a reader.
Clever techniques, gorgeous presentation, and a conspicuously absent T-Rex can all be seen at Chris’ photostream. Click the link above to reboot.
This is a BR44, a heavy steam locomotive built from 1926 to 1949 to haul giant loads across Germany’s mountainous regions.
Able pull 1,200 tons through the hills, or 600 tons up steep inclines, the BR44’s were hugely impressive machines. We suspect much of what they hauled from the late-’30s was rather different from that originally intended though, with a simplified versions (ironically given the least simple title of ‘Übergangskriegslokomotives’) designed to speed up production during Germany’s phase of, er…. European ambition.
This brilliant brick-built recreation of the BR44 comes from Bricks_n_Trucks, who has not only replicated the design beautifully, there are two Power Functions L-Motors and a BuWizz 2.0 hidden inside to bring it to life.
There’s more of Bricks’ creation to see on Flickr, and you can travel into the mountains of wartime Germany via the link in the text above.
The British and French don’t often collaborate. In fact over much of their history it’s been quite the opposite, with the two countries regularly trying to blow one another up.
These days (and post-Brexit) there’s just a simmering dislike that only manifests itself in sport and stealing one another’s scallops, but despite this there have been some notable (and remarkable) collaborations between the two nations.
The longest under-sea tunnel in the world, the world’s first supersonic airliner, and Kristin Scott-Thomas are all worthy partnerships, and back in the 1930s Britain and France worked together on cars too.
This is the Bugatti Type 41 Park Ward, a luxurious grand limousine from the golden era of coach-building.
Park Ward, better known for re-bodying Rolls Royces, created this beautifully opulent vehicle upon Bugatti’s fourth Type 41 (Royale) chassis for Captain Cuthbert W. Foster, a department store heir, in 1933.
Still to this day one of the largest cars ever built, the car now resides in a museum in France, where it’s worth more than all the scallops in the English channel.
Fortunately Flickr’s 1corn has created one that – at 1:25 scale – is rather more attainable, and there’s more to see of his wonderful brick-built Bugatti Type 41 at his photostream; Click the link above to take the Channel Tunnel and fight over some marine molluscs.
Is there any car more worthy of a Toad-of-Toad-Hall-style ‘Poop-Poop!’ exclamation than this one?
The 1928-’32 Mercedes-Benz SSK is the very definition of Gatsby-esque opulence, with this Speed Champions scale recreation by Flickr’s Pixeljunkie capturing its excess brilliantly.
Yellow bodywork, shiny bits, bonnet straps, and an over-sized Mercedes-Benz badge ensure the peasants can’t miss you, and there’s more to see at Pixel’s photostream via the link.
This post features something on rails, carrying something on rails, craning something on rails. Previous bloggee Pieter Post is the builder behind this railway-based Inception, with his 1930s diorama depicting a Henschel ‘Brauns’ narrow-gauge steam engine being lowered onto its new route by a fully motorised Ardelt 25-ton railway crane. Each is beautifully constructed and there’s more to see on Flickr via the links above.
