Apoco-truck
Halloween may have passed but the Elves are still feeling a bit spooky, and thus one returned to the office carrying this, Proudlove‘s Mitsubishi Pick-Up ‘Famine’. Proudlove’s preceding creation was entitled ‘War’, so expect a few more Horseman of the Apocalypse to come.
Whoooeeooeoeoeah! (Ghost noises)
Halloween approacheth, and in recognition of one of the weirder annual celebrations we bring you this ghostly creation from Marin Stipkovic on MOCpages. Underneath the Flinstone-esque bones is a fully working Truck Trial chassis, powered by the blood from bats and piloted by the undead (probably). Check it out here.
The 2012 Technic Flagship; 4×4 Crawler
Back in March we fired up our highly complex supercomputer and attempted to calculate the prices of the three Summer 2012 Technic releases. These new Technic models are now on sale at the Lego Shop, and we’re pleased to say our supercomputer was a) fairly accurate, and b) the small variance is a positive one; all three LEGO sets are exactly £10 less than our March estimates – how’s that for consistency!
To Battle! Right after we express deliver these packages.
This chunky lump of yellow is Private Pyle‘s ‘Mine Resistant Ambush Protected’ vehicle (MRAP), just the thing for going to parts of the world that are a bit explode-y. The Lego Car Blog Elves like this, as their quest can take them to some downright hazardous places too at times. Once three of them were trapped inside a broken MOCpages for nearly a week. Talking of which, MOCpages is where you need to head (if it’s working).
7 years in the making
Today’s post was suggested by the owner of the MOC in question. We’re not in the habit of fulfilling self-requests, but this story is quite a nice one, and the model featured is well worthy of your time, so we bent the rules a little.
LegoKitteh1138 wrote to us detailing his Technic HumVee. Built and refined over the course of 7 years it shows what you can do with patience and practice, even if you don’t have all the pieces you need at the start or haven’t yet mastered all the techniques required. As is the way with many of the current crop of Technic vehicles, this model features Lego’s excellent Power Functions remote control system for drive and steering, as well as independent suspension, All-Wheel-Drive and working lights. Read the story behind it at LegoKitteh’s blog.
Hungarian Army Transport
No, we hadn’t heard of the Csepel D-344 before either, (or even that an ‘s’ could follow a ‘c’), but a quick Google search reveals Kisvakond’s excellent MOC is true to the original Hungarian Army truck. View it on Brickshelf.
Zblj’s 4×4 ‘Panther’ is one of the best Lego Off-road vehicles we’ve seen. Combining Power Functions with Lego RC, it can climb almost anything. Zblj describes it as ‘fast and black’. Like a ninja with hiking boots? View it on Brickshelf or YouTube, but if you’re under 12 don’t read the number plate.
YouTube Video:
The big green Lego machine
Welcome to the next instalment in our series of Lego’s ‘ultimate’ car sets reviews.
Originally released in 2001, 2 years after 8448 (Super Street Sensation). It is clearly related to 8448 as it shares many functions. Includes 1102 pieces (plus spares) including those awesome chunky wheels and 2 dampers.
Much like 8448 the core of the chassis is made up of traditional Technic studded beams multi layered for strength. Due to this the core of the chassis is very strong. However, the simplistic method used to attach the modern studless beams and liftarms to create the bodywork and ‘undercarriage’ just aren’t strong enough. With light play pieces will start to come loose. This might be due to mine being second hand and maybe the Technic pins are a little tired.
The gearbox and transmission is the best part of this model, but nothing new. From memory the 6 speed gearbox (5 forward gears plus reverse) is exactly the same as 8448 and works very well. The V8 engine transmits the power to all four wheels through 3 differentials – nothing spectacular but it does the job well and I enjoyed building it.
Independent suspension using double wishbones on all four wheels sounds great but the weight of the model coupled with the very poor positioning/angle of the front suspension springs equates to complete front suspension failure. If you push the front of the truck down it will not recoil. I have even tried brand new springs but the problem still persists. The rear of the truck is much lighter and the springs are positioned slightly differently (due to there being no steering) and subsequently work much better.
The Hand of God device and in-car steering would suggest that this is a very playable model and is the only improvement on its predecessor (8448). However the steering lock and front suspension is so poor that it hardly turns.
The bodywork is typical of models from this era using panels and flexi tubes to create a well shaped and distinctive look. The greeny/gold panels shimmer in the light and look great in my opinion. The gullwing doors are a really nice touch and great fun to build and play with. Again the principle is not new and has been seen before in 8448.
The interior is simple and befits the off-roader feel. The seats are a good size and much more in proportion than modern Technic sets. There is ample room in the back to add motors or the optional crane arm.
The chunky balloon tyres are excellent. I am not sure how much weight they could support but they are very cool and a great addition to any collection.
It comes with few stickers subtly used on the panels, gearbox and dashboard. The box is reasonably sturdy but does not include the plastic trays. TLG Pleeease bring these back.
Overall, 8466 is a slightly disappointing addition to the supercar range, and offers nothing new in terms of technical advancements. I must admit that it is not all that bad. I enjoyed the build and it has massive potential for modification. Many of its faults could be rectified by the clever builders out there and power functions could easily be added. I have seen some fantastic power function RCs on YouTube. The opening doors and wheels are great fun, and the colour scheme and bodywork is like Marmite – you either love it or hate it. However, when compared with the other supercar 4x4s; 8880 (the black supercar) and 8110 (The Unimog) this model is quite poor. 6/10 and I think I am being a little generous due to the potential for modification.
Happy building 🙂
'Diamondback' Off-Road Racer
There’s Duplo in this. Prizes* for those of you who can find it. If you wish to cheat, check out Brian Kescenovitz‘ MOCpage.
*Not really
Lego Technic 9398
The Lego Car Blog Elves have been spying, and can shed some further light on Lego’s largest known Technic release of 2012; 9398 Rock Crawler.
Since the release of Power Functions a few years ago, Lego fans have been making use of the IR parts to add remote control functions to their creations. We’ve featured many such models here in the blog, and it seems Lego would like a slice of this pie too, taking inspiration from both the Truck Trial scene and RC vehicles posted online.
9398 is the first remote control wheeled vehicle from Technic, using Power Functions for 4×4 drive and 4-wheel steering. It also features the portal axels debuted on the 2011 Technic Unimog, pendular suspension and host of new pieces previously unseen.
With a release date of Q3 2012 we have a while to wait before we can get our hands on it, but from what we’ve seen so far, this could be the new Technic flagship.
YouTube Video:
Toyota Hilux
Toyota’s Hilux is widely regarded as the world’s toughest vehicle. Used by everyone from Aussie farmers to Libyan freedom-fighters via most of the world’s terrorists, they’ve seen action in war zones, forests, deserts and even the poles. It’s the perfect vehicle to recreate in LEGO then, and Matija Puzar has done just that. He’s a certified LEGO Professional too.
Before bling: 1966 Bronco
The MOCpages Elves are feeling festive (well, they are Elves) and have been desperately trying to find a sleigh or snowmobile for The Lego Car Blog to feature over Christmas. This, whilst not a sleigh or snowmobile, is at least red and white, so we can pretend it’s Santa’s summer holiday transport. Dylan Denton over on Flickr (and MOCpages too) is the creator – and it’s worth a look for the SNOT work on the front alone!
If your forest is on fire, call these guys
Due to the excellence of Lego’s official Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, there’s a steady stream of elves returning to the The Lego Car Blog office clutching modified versions and home-brewed attempts. Most are given a swift and hard kick back out of the door, but not this one, which manages to take the Unimog theme up a considerable notch. ‘VFracingteam’ is the creator, and you can check out further pictures and the awesome technical features on Brickshelf.
The most exciting release from Lego Technic for a long time. This very faithful representation of the Mercedes Unimog go-anywhere light truck could mark the beginning of a return to form. We can but hope…
First Impressions… it’s a big and vividly illustrated box, promising great marvels within. The pieces are bagged according to sub-assembly, but since the main ‘sub-assembly’ is about three quarters of the total this isn’t as helpful as it might be… still, I somewhat absurdly quite like trawling through masses of bits. Instructions are good and clear, with no colour mysteries but such tiny incremental build steps you suspect they could be followed by a reasonably gifted 7 year old. Nothing wrong with that, but it does make for a lot of pages…
The build. What can I say – a revelation! It’s a really enjoyable thing to put together, especially as this set brings elements I haven’t seen before and cleverly combines electric motive power and pneumatics (in the same way as the old 8868 Claw Rig but no less effective for that). It’s a long process, mind – give yourself most of a day to wallow in it.
There’s no shortage of features to delight and intrigue (and in one case infuriate, but we’ll come to that…), so in no particular order:
Engine. An in-line four cylinder nestling in a quiet corner of the undercarriage and driven (rather slowly) by all four wheels. There’s only a single ratio fixed transmission but there simply wouldn’t be room for anything more.
Suspension. Live axles at both ends, sprung by a single, very firm, spring for each wheel. Ground clearance is convincingly high, thanks to gear blocks at each wheel that send the drive down to them from high-mounted differentials. The suspension’s movements at first appear to be corrupted by the Panhard Rod that helps to locate the axle, but then you appreciate just how thorough the designers have been : It’s supposed to be like that . Hats off to Lego for that one, especially as the springs seem to be correctly resilient, there’s ample travel and an amusing lack of stiffness in roll. That’s probably correct, too.
What can’t be correct is the steering. As standard, this model has the turning circle of a supertanker, with an action so sloppy it makes you fear something will break! And WHY, in Lego’s flagship model, can’t we have the in-cab steering wheel connected ? End rant. It can be corrected. Omit the three quarter pins that so restrict the movement, gear it down so that there’s less strain on the control wheel and change those STUPID ‘knob wheels’ for bevels and it feels much better. Still not as nice as most of Lego’s early Technic models, but no longer terrible.
Pneumatic crane. My favourite part. I could play around with this for hours (yes, I know…), it works very well and is completely capable of doing what it looks like it should. The working of it is a little jerky and hard to modulate, but can be done with practice and a light touch. Or airtanks. The air feed and alternative mounting point to the front allow it to work equally well there, too. The built-in retractable stabilisers do their job superbly, not something you can say about every Lego model that has such things… All in all, this part is a triumph.
The winch on the front, to which can be switched the motor’s power, works well, too, although it’s rather low-geared – I suspect to protect the motor. Easy enough to fix that, of course.
The cab. So big, so bright, so orange! It looks great – better than in the pictures on the box. An easy thing to put together, it comes as a bit of light relief after the complexities of the chassis. There’s enough detail here to satisfy, as well, including the welcome use of some actual old fashioned studded bricks (remember those ?) on the front. It’ll tilt by releasing the long red pins at the back, but you’ll need small fingers for this.
Verdict
Overall, this is both a superbly playable toy (once you’ve fixed the steering…) and a delightful display object, well worth the (steepish) price of admission. If only the steering didn’t let it down so badly, it would merit an easy 10; as it stands it still earns 9/10. Recommended.