Tag Archives: 2020s

Iconic Evolution

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The Porsche 911 may have looked pretty much the same for the past sixty years, but due to multiple ground-up redesigns it’s a vastly different machine from what it once was. Even the car used as the basis for LEGO’s 2016 Technic 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS set is now a long way behind the latest 911 iteration.

This is the newest version of Porsche’s evergreen endurance racer, the 565bhp 992-based GT3 R that made its debut last year.

Built by Lachlan Cameron (aka loxlego), this astonishing Technic replica of the GT3 R features working steering, five-height adjustable suspension, a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox (plus neutral and reverse), a flat-6 piston engine, plus opening and locking doors and engine cover.

Presented beautifully, you can find the complete gallery of images and full build details via Lachlan’s ‘Porsche 911 (992) GT3 R Flickr album, the Eurobricks discussion forum, and via the video below, plus you can find out how he creates amazing models like this one via his Master MOCers page by clicking this bonus link.

YouTube Video

Crossbreed

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Porsche are now an SUV maker, with a small sideline in sports cars. Lamborghini are the same. And so are Aston Martin, Bentley, and even Lotus. It was inevitable then, that Ferrari would cave too, and build a four-wheel-drive, off-road capable two-ton monstrosity for the terminally wealthy.

Of course Ferrari, like every other sports-SUV-maker, claim the Purosangue (which translates as ‘thoroughbred’*) isn’t actually an SUV at all. Which is of course nonsense. But it is fitted with a naturally-aspirated V12, so it does at least sound like a supercar.

This fantastic Technic recreation of the Ferrari Purosangue has one too, along with an 8-speed sequential gearbox, all-wheel suspension, four opening doors, hood and tailgate, and remote control drive and steering courtesy of a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery and LEGO Buggy Motors.

New comer brictric is the creator behind it, building instructions are available, and there’s lots more to see of their incredible replica of Ferrari’s ‘not-an-SUV’ at both the Eurobricks forum and Flickr. Take a closer look via the links whilst we await a letter from Ferrari’s lawyers.

*Which is trying just a bit too hard.

My Other Le Mans Car’s a Peugeot

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The Technic 42156 Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar is a slightly weird, but nevertheless welcome, addition to LEGO’s officially-licensed line-up. First competing in 2022, before a full World Endurance Championship assault in 2023, the 9X8 has been… underwhelming.

A single podium all season and an 8th place at Peugeot’s home event of the 24 Heures de Mans is the best the car has achieved so far, but PeugeotSport are past race winners, so the results may come yet.

Until then though, if you own a 42156 Peugeot 9X8 and fancy swapping it for an endurance racer that’s more… winning, davidragon of Eurobricks has the answer!

Making his TLCB debut, davidragon has used the pieces from the 42156 Peugeot 9X8 to recreate a car from the other end of the World Endurance Classification, but one with rather more success.

The Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is the first mid-engined Corvette racing car, and placed second in the GTE-Pro class at Le Mans in 2021, before winning GTE-Am in 2023, finishing one place ahead of the second Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar that competed some three classes above it. Oof.

Davidragon’s incredible C8.R alternate features opening doors and hood, independent suspension, working steering, and a mid-mounted piston engine, and there’s lots more to see, including a link to building instructions, at the Eurobricks forum.

Click the link above to swap your Peugeot 9X8 for a Corvette C8.R, and improve your chances of winning some silverware.

Insert Midlife Crisis

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This site may have, on occasion, mocked Corvette and muscle car owners. However here in Europe we’re no better, because once a man reaches a certain age – and/or his hairline passes a certain point – he’s almost legally obliged to buy a Porsche Boxster.

This writer is closer to that point than he’d like to admit, but as he has not the funds for Porsche’s entry-level sports car, this will have to do instead.

Built by TLCB Master MOCer Thirdwigg, this brilliant brick-built Boxster (or 718 as they are now called) features a flat-six engine, working steering, opening doors and front/rear trunks, and it includes a working convertible top, for that authentic wind-in-the-thinning-hair experience.

Constructed in an appropriately midlife crisis colour, building instructions are available, and you can join us wondering if buying a Boxster would make us cool again* by clicking here.

*(It won’t. Ed.)

[Insert Inevitable Crash]

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Regular readers of this site will be well aware of the Ford Mustang’s ability to stack it into a bus stop when leaving a car meet. There’s something about the combination of a V8 and a low entry price that draws in knuckle-dragging morons for owners.

LEGO, keen to target said demographic, have introduced their own officially-licensed Ford Mustang Dark Horse set to the Speed Champions line for 2024, so you can recreate your very own Mustang crashes at home.

But what if you’d like a slightly larger crash? Well then you’ll need a slightly larger Mustang, and previous bloggee Szunyogh Balázs (aka gnat.bricks) has just the car!

50% wider than the 76920 Speed Champions set at 12-studs, Szunyogh’s Mustang Dark Horse features a corresponding increase in detail, with a beautifully executed exterior including opening doors and hood, and some very clever SNOT-work to replicate the latest Mustang’s creases. Before the owner inevitably adds some more.

Better yet, the model includes fully-detailed running-gear too, with a brick-built engine, drivetrain, suspension, exhaust, steering, and even brakes (not that the average Mustang owner will use the last two).

There’s loads more to see at Szunyogh’s ‘Mustang Dark Horse’ album on Flickr, and you can head to the side of the road outside a car meet to await the inexorable accident via the link above.

Bubbly Chocolate

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Volvo’s newly announced FH Aero truck has got this TLCB Writer thinking about bubbly chocolate. Because he’s very distractible. And he likes Aeros. But do the bubbles mean there’s less actual chocolate?

Whatever, back on task, this splendid brick-built replica of the new Volvo FH Aero 62 comes from Stefan Eeckman, who had some insider knowledge in order to create his model so swiftly after the actual truck’s reveal.

A tilting cab, Powered-Up remote control drive and steering, and some really very tricksy building techniques are available to view on both Flickr and Eurobricks, and you can take a look via the links above whilst this Writer hunts down some bubbly chocolate.

Brickin’ Bronco

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Ford have decided to stop selling anything that’s not an SUV. Or a Mustang. Which is both a shame and very possibly a mistake. However their renewed SUV-focus has brought about the return of one of the brand’s most famous 4×4 nameplates; the Bronco.

Aimed squarely at the Jeep Wrangler, the new Ford Bronco looks pretty cool, in the blocky-retro way that is in-vogue with car designers at present. It also looks pretty cool when made from actual blocks, as today’s Technic example proves.

Built by newcomer GoldenBrickDesign, and suggested by a reader, this superbly-engineered recreation of the latest Bronco is packed with functionality. There’s remote control all-wheel-drive, steering, winch, sequential gearbox, and locking differentials, removable (and opening) doors and roof, a 4-cylinder piston engine (which is also motorised and can even ‘idle’) under the opening hood, and seriously capable all-wheel-suspension.

It’s a technical tour-de-force and you can check all of that out at GoldenBrickDesign’s ‘Ford Bronco Everglades’ Bricksafe album and via Youtube, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

It almost makes us think the Bronco makes up for losing the Fiesta and Focus. Click the links above to take a look.

Street Cat

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American muscle cars are taking the Thundercougarfalconbird approach to their increasingly stupid names, power outputs, and permi-vaping, street take-overing, douchebag target market.

This is one such car, the ‘Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat’, and if that isn’t risible enough, you can optionally add ‘Redeye’ onto the end too, AKA ‘Desperate to Prove Masculinity’.

This one – soon to be found doing poorly executed donuts across an intersection at the hands of a permi-vaping douchebag – is the work of the very talented Mihail Rakovskiy, who has appeared here several times with his superb Model Team modern muscle cars.

Opening doors, hood and trunk, plus a detailed engine, interior, and chassis all feature, and you can stand in a circle at a crossroads shouting “Oooh shiiiit!!” via Mihail’s ‘Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat’ album via the link above.

Toyota-ish

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When is a Toyota not a Toyota? When it’s a BMW or a Subaru… At least if the JDM-fanatics of the internet’s comments section are correct.

They’re not correct of course, because a) the fanatics of any brand are morons, and b) because globalisation is the way the car industry operates, and has done for decades.

There are Toyotas that are Mazdas and vice-versa, Toyotas that are Subarus and vice-versa, Toyotas that are Suzukis and vice-versa… and the list goes on and on, including Peugeots, Citroens, Opels, Fiats, Volkswagens, Daihatsus, Chevrolets…

“But what about the Supra?”, the internet cries! Well that does use BMW bits, but they were arranged by Toyota. And put together by neither company. Plus – whisper it – there are BMWs with Toyota parts too…

Thus we’d happily have a Toyota Supra, or a GT86, each of which shares more than a little with cars from other manufacturers.

Cue newcomer builtbydave_’s awesome modified versions of the Toyota Supra and GR86, er… we mean Subaru BRZ, each wearing a wide-arch body kit that makes them even less Toyotary than when they left the factory.

Photographed brilliantly and featuring some clever building techniques, each ‘Toyota’ is well worth a closer look, and you can do just that at builtbydave_’s ‘Subaru BRZ’ and ‘Streethunter Toyota Supra’ albums respectively. Just don’t look too closely or you might find a BMW logo…

Sabre-Rattling

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McLaren have released more near-identical looking cars than even Porsche, despite only being around a sixth as many years. Cue another modern McLaren we’ve never heard of nor will ever see, the Sabre.

Built only for the American market, the Sabre is powered by the same V8 as every other recent McLaren, but looks very slightly different. Which means McLaren can charge $3million for it, as there will be enough rich idiots… er, we mean collectors, keen for some one-of-fifteen exclusivity.

Well, one-of-sixteen, as 3D supercarBricks has created this one. 3D-printed wheels and what look to be custom door frame pieces help to recreate the Sabre’s aesthetic, and there’s more of the model to see at 3D’s photostream. Click the link above to take a look at the most exclusive McLaren there is, before the brand reveals another one sometime next week.

Only By the Night*

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From a tiny and beautifully packaged vehicle to… er, not that. The Ram 1500 is a ‘full-size’ (read ‘bloody massive’ for non-Americans) pick-up truck, marketed first as a Dodge, and today spun-off as an independent brand.

Now in its fifth generation, the 1500 is available with an array of enormous engines and – as pictured here – also as a ‘Night Edition’, which according to Ram’s own website means “Boasting a menacing monotone exterior and backed by equally intimidating capability”.

The words ‘menacing’ and ‘intimidating’ appear a few times on the first page in fact, which suggests both that Ram really need a thesaurus, and also that the 1500 ‘Night Edition’ is very much not our kind of vehicle.

Despite the real truck’s pointless dick-waving, this Model Team recreation of the Ram 1500 ‘Night Edition’ is rather excellent however, and comes from previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks.

Featuring working steering and suspension, plus opening doors, hood, load cover and tailgate, 3D’s creation also includes a few 3D-printed pieces and custom wheels. Presumably to enhance the truck’s menacing monotone exterior and intimidating capability.

There’s much more to see at 3D’s photostream, and you can click the link above to check out all of the superb imagery.

*The first track from today’s title album. It’s a good one.

What Might Have Been

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The story of the 2022 Formula 1 season is one of what might have been. After years in the doldrums, Scuderia Ferrari finally had the fastest car on the grid, and not only that, they had one of the most talented driver pairings too. Ferrari duly won two of the first three races, with fastest lap at all three, and with only one podium place dropped. And then – courtesy of some inexplicable tactical decisions – they threw it all away.

Now longstanding readers of this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet will know that we aren’t Scuderia Ferrari’s biggest fans, what with them being immoral scumbags and everything, but if they stopped us having to see Christian Horner’s smug face every week we’d have taken it. However, unfortunately for Ferrari’s drivers – and us – some of the worst decision making in modern Formula 1 history gifted Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a second consecutive World Championship, and Horner’s smugness gained its own gravity.

Still, Ferrari’s 2022 F1 car looked rather lovely, and probably was the fastest car of the season, if only the team weren’t run by muppets, and it looks just as stunning in brick form courtesy of Noah_L, who has added the F1-75 to his amazing catalogue of Scuderia Ferrari racers.

Noah’s astonishing attention to detail is brought to life by some truly masterful building techniques, with superbly replicated decals and impeccable presentation making his Scuderia Ferrari F1-75 one of the most realistic real-world cars of the year so far.

A beautiful gallery of imagery is available to view on Flickr, where links to Noah’s previous Scuderia Ferrari racers and building instructions for the F1-75 pictured here can also be found. Build your own 2022 title challenger and reenact Ferrari’s strategic incompetence (not pitting under the safety car, pitting two cars at once, pitting for the wrong tyres…) via the link above. Just don’t be surprised if Christian Horner appears out of nowhere looking smug.

Virtual Vision

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Hyundai’s N Vision 74 concept is – as detailed here last year – the car of the moment. And that’s despite it not being real. Nor may it ever be either, as unless the world collectively pulls its finger out to create hydrogen infrastructure, EVs (and the enormous environmental catastrophe they will create) will continue to be the only inevitability.

It’s perhaps fitting then, that this stunning Model Team recreation of Hyundai’s fabulous 2022 concept isn’t real either, being rendered instead in digital form. However the virtual nature of the model means that Flickr’s seter82 had the freedom to include some simply brilliant ‘printed tile’ detailing, including Hyundai’s trademark dot-matrix lights, bespoke badging, and even tyres, creating a model that looks like it would if LEGO were to release it as an official Creator set.

A huge gallery of renders are available to view and there’s more to see of seter82’s brilliant virtual N Vision 74 at their photostream. Click the link above to take a look.

Eruptin’ Bronco

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We kick-off 2023 with this; the brand new Ford Bronco, the latest addition to the burgeoning factory hardcore off-road market. In four-door flavour, with removable door panels and a removable roof, there’s little cooler, especially with colours such as ‘Race Red’, ‘Cactus’, ‘Hot Pepper’ and – as pictured here – “Eruption Green’.

We’re not sure which eruptions are green, beyond the child in ‘The Exorcist‘ and this rather spectacular event, but that’s why we’re not in vehicle marketing.

This excellent Model Team / Creator style recreation of the 2022 Ford Bronco in ‘Eruption Green’ comes from Peter Blackert (aka Lego911) – a TLCB LEGO Professional no less – and includes those removable panels, a highly detailed interior, plus an opening hood, tailgate and doors (when they’re attached).

Built as a commissioned model there’s lots more to see at Peter’s photostream. Trigger an eruption via the link above!

Big Vision

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TLCB’s car manufacturer of 2022 is Hyundai. Yup, a company once best known for building precisely nothing that any car enthusiast would ever want to own has transformed into a maker of hugely desirable, yet attainable cars.

Capping off Hyundai’s stellar year is this, the N Vision 74, a one-off concept harking back to Hyundai’s first in-house product, whilst simultaneously pointing to the future with an 600+ bhp hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.

This excellent recreation of the best concept car of 2022 comes from Leo 1 of Flickr, who has captured the retro-futuristic Hyundai brilliantly in Model Team form. Building instructions are available and there’s lots more to see at Leo’s photostream; take a look via the link above, or alternatively shout in the comments how wrong we are about Hyundai no longer being crap and boring.