Tag Archives: 1980s

S3cUre Pa55w0Rd

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The Soviets may have been reasonably good at making things to blow up other things, but their naming department was terrible. Whilst in the West we got Cold War aircraft called ‘Apache’, ‘Electric Lightning’, ‘Vulcan’, and ‘Phantom’, the communists got ‘Mil Mi-8 MTV-2 HIP’. Which reads like a secure password.

Despite its crap name, the MIL Mi-8 _Gy72%& is world’s most produced helicopter, and is still in production today, some 56 years after its introduction. This one is from the German ‘Democratic’ Republic (East Germany) in the 1980s, and has been reproduced beautifully by Flickr’s [Maks].

Some light painting adds to the realism, there’s more to see of [Maks]’s MIL Mi-8 @-4Jx7z0P# at his album of the same name (kinda), and you can click here to ensure no-one’ll guess entry to your laptop.

Light It Up

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It’s the early-’80s, and computers have the power of a Casio wristwatch. But that didn’t stop programmer Kevin Flynn from being sucked inside one and having to fight his way out. Kinda like trying to leave Facebook today.

The 1982 movie ‘TRON’ was groundbreaking in both its exploration of the virtual world and its use of computer generated imagery (CGI), which handily fitted the visuals required by the storyline perfectly. And it featured some wicked-cool motorbikes.

This is the aforementioned virtual vehicle, the TRON ‘Light Cycle’, brought to physical reality by TLCB Master MOCer Sariel, lit via beautiful LED strip lighting and rotary beacons from Brickstuff, and powered and controlled by a BuWizz 2.0 bluetooth brick.

A LEGO RC Buggy Motor drives the bike’s (amazing) rear wheel whilst a Power Functions Servo steers, and you can watch this incredible creation in action via the video below. A full gallery of stunning imagery is available at Sariel’s ‘TRON Bike’ Flickr album, and you can discover how he creates jaw-dropping models like this via the link to his interview here at TLCB in the text above.

YouTube Video

Russian Wings

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Russia, or the Soviet Union before it, are the world’s most prolific maker of military helicopters. Tens of thousands of MiL helicopters have been built since the first design way back in the late 1940s, and are operated by dozens of nations the world over. Including a few you might not expect.

Cue Flickr’s Francis Bibeau, here making their TLCB debut, and these two incredible brick-built replicas of Russia’s finest rotary-wing aircraft.

The first (above) is a Mil Mi-17V-5, as leased by the Canadian military for extraction duties in Afghanistan, whilst the second (below) is a Polish Air Force Mil Mi-8T, the world’s most numerous military helicopter, depicted here on a fast-roping training exercise.

Wonderfully realistic, Francis’ models display forensic attention to detail, clever construction, and deploy custom mini-figures to great effect to bring the scenes to life.

There’s much more to see of each MIL helicopter diorama at Francis’ ‘Bird’ album, and you can hover under rotating Russian wings via the link above.

Daffy Truck

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we recently added the whole A to Z of Lego Trucks to the site. Well, D to Z, as we started with DAF. Anyway, here’s another entry into the DAF archive, thanks to prolific DAF-builder Arian Janssens and his superb 1980s DAF FAS 3600 ATI. Pictured with a drawbar trailer and a variety of loads, you can find all the imagery at Arian’s Flickr album. Take a look via the link above, or alternatively click here for every time a DAF truck has appeared here, mostly courtesy of Arian.

Polishing a Fiat

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It might seem like the posts here at The Lego Car Blog are simply a scattergun of whatever the Elves have found that meets our criteria, but no – just look at the seamless and completely non-coincidental links running through the last few posts; a Ma.Ktober mech that looks like a Jurassic Park dinosaur followed by the Jurassic Park Jeep and said dinosaur, and an ancient little Fiat followed today by an even more ancient little Fiat. Exactly.

Anyway, this ancient little Fiat is a 126p, a cheap 1970s rear-engined city car that unbelievably endured until 2000 in Polish Polski-Fiat form. Over three-million Fiat / Polski-Fiat 126s were produced during its 28 year production run, and this excellent brick-built homage to one of Europe’s most popular people’s cars captures the real Polish 126p in wonderful detail.

Working suspension, posable steering, opening doors, front trunk and engine cover, an accurate engine, and a superbly life-like interior all feature, and there’s much more to see – including a link to building instructions – courtesy of SIM CAMAT on Flickr.

Click the link above to take a look, whilst we try to somehow link whatever the Elves find next with a 1970s Fiat…

Rambo Lambo

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Supercar manufacturers might sell more SUVs now than actual supercars, but their foray into the 4×4 market is actually nothing new. Because in the mid-’80s if you were an oil sheik you could be the proud owner of this; the mad Lamborghini LM002.

Designed mostly for the Middle East, the LM002 featured bespoke sand tyres, the V12 engine from the Countach, and a 169 litre fuel tank.

301 units were produced between 1986 and 1993, with owners including sultans, princes, dictators, sons of dictators, and Tina Turner.

This one however is owned by previous bloggee Zerobricks, who has recreated the LM002 in Technic form complete with BuWizz-powered remotely controlled all-wheel-drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, independent suspension with planetary hubs, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a working V12 engine.

There’s lots more of Zerobricks’ ‘Rambo Lambo’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including renders of the drivetrain and a video of the model in action, and you can join such LM002 owners as Beyonce, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Uday Hussein via the link in the text above.

THE CAPN

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‘Breaking Bad’ featured some perfectly cast vehicles over its five season run. Walter White’s Pontiac Aztek, the Fleetwood Bounder meth-lab, Gus Fring’s Volvo wagon, and this; Jesse Pinkman’s ’82 Chevrolet Monte Carlo lowrider.

Shot up during Tuco Salamanca’s well-deserved season two demise, Jesse’s ‘THE CAPN’ license-plated Chevy was a fixture from the opening episode, and has been recreated brilliantly in brick form by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz.

Complete with ‘furry’ dice, hydraulics control switches, fist and Mary figurine ornaments, and a ‘THE CAPN’ license plate, Jakub’s build wonderfully captures details of the TV car, and also includes opening doors, hood and trunk, a realistic engine, and a superbly replicated interior.

There’s more of the model to see at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, including links to building instructions, and you find full details and all the imagery via the links above.

Acceptable in the ’80s

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A simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck would probably do brilliantly in 2024. But because they don’t cost much less to produce that monstrosities like this, guess what manufacturers choose to make…

Back in the ’80s though, and you could buy a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck, with Toyota’s being so simple it didn’t even have a name, being called simply the ‘pick-up’.

It did in the rest of the world though, where the ‘Hilux’ gained a legendary reputation. This neat grey Technic recreation of the ’80s icon (pictured in front of some equally grey ’80s wallpaper – buy some white card paave!) comes from previous bloggee paave, and features four-wheel-drive linked to a 4-cylinder engine and a high/low gearbox, leaf-spring suspension, working steering, plus opening (and locking) doors, hood and tailgate.

There’s more of paave’s ’85 Toyota Hilux to see at the Eurobricks forum, where a link to building instructions can also be found. Build yourself a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck in 2024 – even if it is from the ’80s – via the link above!

*Today’s (fantastic) title song.

Team America: World Police

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If you subscribe to ‘Guns n’ Ammo’, election conspiracy theories, and the NRA, this post is for you!

The U.S military’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (or ‘Humvee’ more colloquially) has been in service since the mid-’80s, operating in a quite staggering number of conflicts, wars, counter-terrorism and anti-drug operations.

The invasion of Panama, the Gulf War, the Somalian Civil War, the Invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, the Philippines, Iraq again, and – currently – the Yemeni, Israeli, and Ukrainian conflicts, have all involved Humvees, with over sixty nations (plus independent militaries, armed groups, and even dickbags Islamic State) on the operators list.

It could be argued that few vehicles have had as much of an impact on the world as the Humvee, and this splendid ‘M1025’ variant captures the immense U.S. military export brilliantly in brick form.

Constructed by previous bloggee Jakeof_ there’s more of the build to see at his ‘M1025 HMMWV’ album on Flickr, where it’s photographed and presented beautifully. Shout ‘Freedom!!’ whilst clicking the link above, plus you can click here for a bonus civilian Hummer, which really is driven solely by ‘Guns n’ Ammo’ reading, election conspiracy theorising, NRA members.

Old Man Semi

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We’re not all racing cars, sports cars, and monstrous off-roaders here at The Lego Car Blog. Nope. Because today we have a road-worn ’80s MAN truck. And a title referencing erectile disfunction.

This battered MAN F90 ‘cab-over semi’, or just ‘truck’ to our European readers, is the work of Sseven Bricks, who has deliberately constructed it to look well used. And to great effect. Cunning techniques and excellent presentation make this worth a closer look, and you can click the link above to see more of Sseven’s old MAN semi.

All Night Smokin’

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Back in the 1980s, anything that was bad for you could be found on the side of a racing car. Which has got to be cooler than the crypto currency and credit cards we get today.

This particular mobile billboard for cancer comes courtesy of Porsche, and the last time they won the Le Mans 24 Hours with the 962C, when Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Al Holbert crossed the line twenty laps ahead of the second-placed car. Which was also a Porsche 962C.

Built by SFH_Bricks, this exquisite Speed Champions replica of the 1987 race winner includes a superbly authentic livery thanks to Brickstickershop, custom wheels, and building instructions are available too.

Head for post-race cigarette via the link above.

Coal’s OK

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This astonishing creation is an O&K RH 120 C, a 200-ton mining excavator used in British open-cast coal mines in the 1980s, and – as the most successful excavator in its class – all around the world.

Subsequently built by Terex and then Caterpillar, the RH 120 C is still in production today, with this spectacular brick-built replica paying homage to the design’s first incarnation.

Constructed by Flickr’s Beat Felber, this 1:28 scale model recreates not just the O&K’s exterior in brilliant detail, but the operation of the excavator too, thanks to a suite of Powered-Up, Control+, and Power Functions components hidden within.

A pair of Powered-Up L Motors drive the tracks, another the slewing, whilst a Power Functions XL Motor drives the huge boom. A further two motors operate the bucket, with all six able to be controlled remotely via two Control+ hubs.

Authentic period-correct decals, superb attention-to-detail, and fantastic presentation make Beat’s O&K one of the finest models to appear here this year, and you can find the full gallery of incredible imagery at his ‘O&K RH 120 C’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to visit a British coal-field c1985, and take a closer look.

Otto-ly Wonderful

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Sometimes a vehicle needs a name, and this wonderful Volkswagen T25 Westfalia camper, owned by friend of TLCB Nick Barrett, is one such time.

Entitled ‘Otto’, Nick’s fabulous Westfalia is christened after its previous owner, whose name was inside the manual it came with.

Working steering, suspension, opening/sliding doors, and a rear-mounted piston engine all feature, as does a glorious interior, complete with a fold down bed, table, rotating chairs, kitchen, and crapper.

There’s much more of Otto to see at Nick’s album on Flickr, and you can see what makes him tick in our Master MOCers series by clicking this bonus link.

Radar Love

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This fantastic creation is a ZIL 131, a Soviet V8-powered 6×6 off-road truck built from the 1960s right up to 2012, as used by all manner of dodgy dictatorships and communist regimes around the world. And Finland.

It’s also a vehicle that has appeared on this site several times over the years. This one however, is a little different from most…

Fitted to the bed of Samuel Nerpas’ Technic version is an enormous radar system, as was mounted on the real AMU variants of the ZIL 131. Powered by two separate gasoline engines, the P19 radar antenna would raise, unfurl, and rotate, allowing the Soviet Union to deploy radar in even its most inhospitable parts.

Samuel’s incredible recreation of the ZIL 131 AMU includes that P19 radar system, with four Power Functions motors raising and unfolding the antenna, powering a decoupling clutch, and rotating it 360°.

Four more motors drive all six fully-suspended wheels, whilst another powers the steering, and yet another a compressor to deploy the pneumatically-operated stabiliser legs.

There’s loads more to see of Samuel’s astonishing build at both his Flickr photostream and at the Eurobricks forum, where full build details, imagery of the amazing antenna deployed, and videos of the model in action can also be found. Click the links above to get on the radar.

Today’s (excellent) title song.

Undefeated Champion of the World

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Longstanding readers of this smoking hole in the corner of the internet will know that we’re not overly patriotic towards the United States of America (see here, here, here, here, and here). Firstly this is because we aren’t American, but mostly it’s because blind patriotism is simply believing mass marketing.

Today however, we are very much on the ‘Freedom!’ bandwagon, because this – America’s McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle – is very probably the greatest fighter aircraft ever made.

In operation for nearly fifty years, over 1,000 of the twin-engine all-weather tactical fighters have been produced, in that time scoring over a hundred victories without a single loss in aerial combat. Not one.

Still flying with the USAF, Japanese Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force, and Israeli Air Force, F-15 Eagles remain one of the primary fighters of the democratic world some five decades after they were first introduced.

This particular variant is an F-15E Strike Eagle, developed in the 1980s for long-range missions, and in production until 1997. Built by previous bloggee [Maks] of Flickr, this spectacular replica of the F-15E recreates the iconic aircraft in incredible detail. Depicted in Desert Storm livery, [Maks]’s creation is complete with detailed landing gear, control surfaces, and weaponry, and features some ingenious building techniques to hold it all together.

There’s lots more of this astonishing model to see at [Maks]’s ‘F-15E Strike Eagle’ album, where nearly a dozen superb images are available to view. Take flight via the link above, whilst – just this once – we chant “USA! USA!”…