Tag Archives: 6×6

Dog Years*

Leave a reply

This is an M8 Greyhound 6×6 Light Armoured Vehicle (or something close to it, as builder Robson M doesn’t specify!), built by Ford in the 1940s for Allied troops during World War 2.

The British, who like naming their military hardware after animals and the weather, gave it the ‘greyhound’ name, as it could sustain 55mph on reasonable roads, which was very quick for the time. And – at least in this one’s case – it was grey.

Much like a real greyhound though, the M8 wasn’t particularly well armoured, especially underneath, and nor was it very good off-road, despite being a 6×6. However it was useful enough that 8,500 were made, and – again like its namesake dog – many found new homes after being retired from their first military owner, with some M8s still in service around the world as late as the 2000s!

This neat Town scale version captures the M8 Greyhound rather well, with Robson using a few custom decals and a custom machine gun mounted on top to add to the model’s realism. There’s more of Robson’s build to see at his photostream – click the link to make a visit to the dog track.


*Today’s lovely title song.

LEGO Technic H2 2020 | Set Previews

5 Replies

Summertime is here at TLCB Towers, when skirts get shorter (the pedestrians outside, not TLCB staff), it doesn’t get dark until 10pm, and a select group of Elven ‘volunteers’ are fired over the walls of The LEGO Group’s HQ tasked with bringing back the second half of the year’s new Technic sets.

Those that successfully dodged LEGO’s guard dogs (who surely look forward to this biannual event), have returned with their finds which – thanks to the magic of the internet – we can share with you today! So here they are; the three brand new for H2 2020 LEGO Technic sets…

…

42112 Concrete Mixer Truck

The first new addition to the Technic line up is an interesting one, being hefty eight wheel concrete mixer truck that adopts Technic’s recent more detailed aesthetic and includes a brand new bespoke mixing drum piece. Whether this giant single part is a welcome addition or is at odds with the very point of LEGO is open to debate, but the model itself does look rather excellent, with almost Model Team levels of detail yet also retaining decent Technic functionality.

The front two axles offer mechanical steering via a roof mounted gear, whilst that new mixing drum can rotate either as the truck is pushed along or via a gear on the side, allowing it to ‘unload’ its contents all over the kitchen floor. 42112 also adds a few more dark blue pieces to range, with its attractive colouring enhanced with a few neat decals, and it’s expected to cost around €100 when it reaches stores in August.

…

42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey

The second set to join the 2020 Technic line-up is as interesting as the first, and it adds another officially-licensed partnership to LEGO’s impressive list to date. It’s also a partnership we never expected, as this awesome looking tilt-rotor aircraft is based on the real (and amazing) Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey.

LEGO have dabbled with tilt-rotor aircraft only once to our knowledge, back with the 8082 Multi-Model Control set from 1993 (come to think of it, why don’t LEGO make multi-model sets anymore? They were great), making 42113 one of the most unusual and original Technic sets in years.

It’s also the first set to feature LEGO’s new ‘Powered Up’ battery box, which when combined with the ‘Powered Up’ Motor drives the set’s two rotors and (we hope) the tilting mechanism that converts the V-22 Osprey from helicopter to plane. An opening cargo door and working landing gear also feature, as do a few orange panels to break up the military grey.

42113 will place towards the top end of the Technic range upon its arrival (although the mid-point definitely seems to be shifting upwards), is aimed at ages 10+ (as per the 42112 Concrete Mixer Truck above), and is estimated to cost around €130 when it reaches stores later this year.

…

42114 6×6 Volvo Articulated Hauler

The final new addition to the 2020 line-up is another complicated and expensive set, meaning that all three of LEGO’s H2 sets cost upwards of €100. 42114 sits at the top of the trio, costing an enormous €250. It is itself rather large though, which helps off-set some of that eye-watering cost, and it brings an old favourite back to the range; Volvo Trucks.

Often the ‘B-Model’ (which is ironic, as all three of the new sets don’t seem to offer a B-Model at all), articulated haulers have appeared a few times in the Technic range, but never on this scale. The 42114 6×6 Volvo Articulated Hauler is huge, and packed with LEGO’s latest components, chief amongst which is the Control+ bluetooth brick, which enables the set to be operated remotely via a mobile phone or other bluetooth device.

42114 includes three of LEGO’s new ‘Powered Up’ motors, which deliver the all-wheel-drive, articulated steering, and power the massive linear actuator-driven tipping bucket. High levels of visual realism are present once again, with the set enhanced by both accurate decals and a level of detail that was only present on Model Team sets not that long ago. It’s an impressive combination, and one that has created a set that looks to be both a fine display piece and gloriously playable. But it still looks mightily expensive…

42114 is aimed at ages 11+ and joins 42112 and 42113 in stores later on this year. Better start saving. A lot!

To the Moon and Back!*

Leave a reply

The Space Race was an incredible time. Not only were the two world Superpowers spending millions on things to blow one another up and poison the earth for a hundred-thousand years, they were also spending millions sending things into space. Probably so they could use it to blow one another up and poison the earth for a hundred-thousand years, but still – it was pretty cool.

It was the U.S. that got to the moon first (and is still the only nation to have done so)*, but it was actually the Soviet Union that won pretty much every other race, sending the first satellite into space, the first man, the first woman, and conducting the first EVA (extra-vehicular activity); or spacewalk to us non-astronaut types.

Of course getting there was only half the battle, as getting home again (unless you were a Soviet dog) was just as tricky. To that end the Soviets developed this in the 1970s; the remarkable Zil 4906. They may have won the Race for Space but the Americans had a much better Naming Department.

The ZIL 4906’s boring title hid its remarkable ability, being a 6×6 amphibious off-road crane designed to fit aboard a transport plane and recover the Soyuz astronaut capsules from the vast Russian wilderness.

Powered by a standard Zil 150bhp V8 the 4906’s weren’t fast, but they could go literally anywhere, with six-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steering, and two propellors with rudders for water recoveries.

This amazing Technic recreation of one of the Soviet Union’s coolest designs comes from previous bloggee Samolot, who has replicated the 4906’s incredible drivetrain brilliantly in Lego form. Two Control+ XL Motors power all six wheels, with a separate driveshaft for each side. This allows a gearbox to transfer power to the propellors when in water, whilst the L Motor that steers the front and rear axles also turns the two rudders.

A second L Motor controls the differential locks, whilst a fourth powers a compressor that builds pressure for the pneumatic crane, which the real Zil 4906 used to fish the Soyuz capsules from watery landings. A LEGO Education WeDo motor winds the crane winches and all of the above is controlled via bluetooth courtesy of LEGO’s new Powered Up Control+ system.

It’s a remarkable build and one that is definitely worth a closer look, which you can do at Eurobricks – where full build details are available, Bricksafe – which houses a complete image gallery of both Samolot’s Technic Zil 4906 and the real deal, and via the excellent video below.

YouTube Video

*Unless you believe it was filmed in a studio, the Earth is flat, and that climate change is a hoax invented by Al Gore. In which case go back to school.

Arctic Roll

Leave a reply

It’s been a while since the last Elven smushing. Today the familiar sounds of Elven screaming, followed by crunching noises, echoed down the corridor, and this TLCB writer wearily got to his feet to investigate. Powering across the carpet was this, Andrew Gurtovoy‘s 6×6 Arctic truck, inspired (loosely) by the LEGO City 60194 ‘Arctic Scout Truck’ set.

Considerably larger than its mini-figure scale inspiration, Andrew’s model packs in all-wheel-drive courtesy of three Buggy Motors, working suspension on all wheels, Servo steering, and a surprising top speed thanks to twin BuWizz bluetooth batteries.

After grabbing the truck as sped past, the Elf at the controls ran off, leaving us to tidy up as usual. Whilst we do that you can check out more of Andrew’s Arctic Truck in a fairly un-arctic looking setting via the link above.

Not a Car

Leave a reply

This is not a car. But nor is it a lunar rover. We think. We’re not quite sure when a rover isn’t a rover, but we suspect this isn’t. Maybe. What it is, accordingly to builder Brick Ninja, is a ‘Doves of War’ artillery truck, complete with a ‘Big Peaceful Gun’. Which sounds a lot like it’s been named by the NRA’s marketing department. Unlike the NRA though, it is awesome, with some spectacular building techniques used almost everywhere you look. Join the fight for peace at Brick Ninja’s ‘Artillery Truck’ album by clicking here.

Mince Meat

Leave a reply

Well the Elves have found their favourite creation of the year so far…

This is the ‘Harshharvestor’, it’s been built by Horcik Designs, and whilst it doesn’t feature any racing stripes, it does include just about everything else that a spectacularly violent mythical creature could wish for.

Mounted to the front, and engaged via a selectable power take-off, is a giant whirling spiky arrangement that we can only assume is for mincing one’s enemies. Linear actuators (controlled by the warning lights on the roof) allow the aforementioned implement to be raised, lowered and tilted depending upon which body part the driver would like to remove first, whilst rear four-wheel-steering controlled via a ‘Hand of God’ mechanism provides the agility to ensure that escape is very difficult indeed.

Horcik hasn’t stopped there either, having equipped his creation with a button-activated mine-laying device at the rear to deter assailants along with a giant towing crane, presumably to allow the machine to drag the minced/exploded remains of its foes back to base. A V6 engine up front, opening doors, and side mounted machine guns complete the specs, making this one of the most violent vehicles that we’ve ever featured.

Thankfully all of the ‘Harshharvester’s contraptions are hand operated, meaning no remote control and that we won’t spend today getting Elf blood out of the office carpet.

There’s more to see of Horcik’s magnificent if deranged creation at his Flickr album, much more at Bricksafe, and a video and build description at the Eurobricks discussion forum, where this creation was entered into ‘TC17’ building competition. Click the links to take a look!

Selectable Six

Leave a reply

The Elves are very excited today. One of their number brought this astonishingly well-engineered 6×6 off-road truck back to TLCB Towers, and whilst it’s too slow to mow any of them down, it’s certainly fast enough for them to enjoy riding around the office grounds in it.

Built by previous bloggee Thesuperkoala, the truck’s remote control prowess comes courtesy of a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery delivering power to several LEGO Power Functions motors that drive the steering, high/low range gearbox, and selectable all-wheel-drive system.

Combined with pendular suspension on all axles this gives Koala’s truck brilliant off-road ability, allowing the Elves to ride out in the office courtyard and crush some flowers, which has excited them immensely.

It also features a working V6 engine, opening doors and hood, plus folding drop-sides. We’re about to pull the pins on these so the Elves will all fall out when they next go around a corner (in order to preserve our daffodils), so whilst we do that you can check out more of Koala’s awesome 6×6 at his Flickr album by clicking here, where you can also find a link to a video of the truck in action.

Безумный Макс

Leave a reply

Parts of Russia may look a bit like a post-apocalyptic wasteland (and even more so in the former Soviet Union), but that has meant Russians have needed to build some awesome vehicles in order to traverse the wild landscape. We’ve featured many such off-road cars and trucks over the years, but none quite like this.

Based on a ZIL 130, this is Samolot’s ‘Peacemaker’, a 6×6 skid-steer monster that imagines what Mad Max would be like if were set in Russia.

With each of the six wheels driven by a Power Functions XL Motor and offering eight studs worth of articulation, Samolot’s creation can drive over pretty much anything, particularly as the twin BuWizz bluetooth batteries on board can deliver up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own system.

If that wasn’t enough, the ZIL also features a trebuchet mounted on the rear for… er, we’re not sure – shooting down airliners? Whatever it’s for it makes Samolot’s build one of the wildest we’ve featured yet, and you can guess what happened when one of our Elves brought it into the office earlier today.

It’s safe to say we have some tidying up to do, so whilst we do that you can visit Samolot’s post-apocalyptic Soviet future at the Eurobricks forum, where you can also watch a video of the Peacemaker in action.

Double Bubble

Leave a reply

It’s Valentine’s Day, and what better way to show the Classic Spacewoman in your life that you love her than through a romantic journey across the wilderness of an empty moon? Flickr’s Horcik Designs has built the perfect tool for the job, with this brilliant Neo-Classic Space rover able to transport two mini-figures in style thanks to separate bubble canopies suspended above the rover’s six wheels. This setup may make conversation difficult of course, but perhaps that’s the secret to a long and happy relationship. Click the link above to head out on a date across the moon.

War Wreckin’

Leave a reply

The U.S military operates vehicles in some pretty inhospitable places. Currently most of these places are dust-filled ovens, putting the machinery in use under intense strain. And, let’s face it, they are American vehicles so they will break.

Unfortunately the local recovery services in such places are unlikely to be willing to help out, and – even if they were – an Abrams tank is probably a bit beyond their ability. Fortunately the U.S military has these ready to rescue their broken vehicles; the M936 6×6 Wrecker.

Built by TLCB regular Ralph Savelsberg this mini-figure scale replica of the M936 may not be in ‘dust-filled oven’ camouflage but it is mightily accurate in all other respects. A working rotating crane, detachable stabilisers, and wonderful detailing are all included and there’s more to see at Ralph’s M936 Wrecker album on Flickr by clicking here.

DAFish Truck

Leave a reply

This is a GINAF F 275 6×6 and it was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr. It comes from previous bloggee Arian Janssens who is something of a DAF-building specialist. “But this isn’t a DAF” we hear you say! OK, not one of you said that, but we’ll carry on with this train of thought anyway, otherwise the title doesn’t make sense. GINAF hail from the Netherlands alongside fellow truck-makers DAF, and build uniquely engineered vehicles based on DAF trucks for custom applications such as riot control, military, fire-fighting and garbage disposal. This one has been designed to transport sugar beet (which the Elves mustn’t know about or they’ll raid it and get high on the contents) and uses a 6×6 drivetrain to allow it load up off-road. Arian’s superb Model Team recreation includes a trailer in tow, working tipper and drop-sides, and brilliant attention to detail throughout. Head to Arian’s GINAF F 275 album on Flickr via the link above to see all the photos.

Space Container

1 Reply

Oh. Crap.

That’s what went through this writer’s head when he entered TLCB Towers this morning. The Elves don’t have a bedtime as such, returning to the office as and when they find a blog-worthy creation, although they often sleep in their cage room when we turn the lights out in-between foraging for builds.

Normally this is a peaceful affair, with only minor scuffles reported the following morning. That was not the case today.

Squashed Elves where everywhere, ingrained into the carpet or slammed against furniture. They’re resilient little creatures so they’ll all be fine (probably), but recovering our Elven workforce to a functioning state and cleaning up the Elven bodily fluids spilt during the night is not a fun job. Still, at least we get paid to do it. No that’s not right…

The cause of the destruction was found abandoned in the corridor with an Elf squashed underneath it and another swinging miserably from the crane mounted on the rear.

But what on Earth was it? Well it turns out ‘on Earth’ is the wrong place to start, as this amazing machine is apparently a ‘Martian Heavy Transporter’, a six-wheel-drive, skid steer, off-road crane truck, built to carry containers across the Martian landscape.

Each of those six wheels is fully suspended and powered by an individual XL Motor, with all six hooked up to a BuWizz bluetooth control that delivers up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions system. No wonder it could catch the fleeing Elves.

Mounted on the top of the chassis is an enormous remotely operated linear-actuator powered crane that can pull a large container onto the rear of the vehicle with ease, in a manner somewhere between LEGO’s neat 1994 6668 Recycle Truck and something from Robot Wars, or slide it to the ground by unfurling itself rearwards.

It’s a seriously slick piece of engineering and one we’re properly impressed by, even if it the cause of some considerable tidying up plus the need to administer a bit of Elven healthcare. Whilst we get on with that you can see more of this remarkable vehicle courtesy of desert752 of Eurobricks / Kirill Mazurov (aka Desert Eagle) of Flickr.

Head to Eurobricks and/or Flickr via the links for more, where a video of Desert / Kirill’s ‘Martian Heavy Transport’ and a complete gallery of imagery can also be found.

Elf Mining

Leave a reply

Whir… Crunch. Whir… Crunch. Unhappy – if familiar – noises floated down the corridor and into TLCB Office today. TLCB staff looked at one another. One writer was eating a packet of crisps, one was rocking gently backwards and forwards in the corner, lips moving furiously repeating the words ‘not again… not again…’ following a recent Elven event, and one was pretending to take an important phone call. Sigh. This writer got up and trudged out of the office, knowing full well what he’d find.

What he found – as expected – were several Elves limping around in circles, and a couple more squashed into the carpet, having been run over by one of their colleague’s finds. The find in question was the model pictured here, a rather excellent fully RC Technic recreation of the world’s largest articulated mining truck, the Atlas Copco MT85.

Built by Superkoala of Eurobricks, this replica of the MT85 is controlled via a third-party BuWizz bluetooth brick, which delivers power to all six-wheels, the articulated and rear axle steering, plus the tipping bucket. Said BuWizz brick also unlocks up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions battery system, giving the model a surprising burst of speed and explaining the Elven casualties.

Superkoala’s creation had also been rather cunningly filled with a variety of office objects to make it heavier, thus maximising its smushing ability. Hiding behind a pot plant was the Elf responsible, from which the controls were swiftly taken a meal-token begrudgingly awarded.

Whilst this writer tidies up, and has a well deserved drive of the Atlas Copco himself, you can see all the images and full build details at the Eurobricks discussion forum by clicking here, plus you can also watch the creation in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Moon Cat

1 Reply

This TLCB Writer does not particularly like cats. The moon therefore, seems like a good place for them. Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74 might think so too, having created this very cool ‘Moon Cat’ lunar rover, possibly to transport cats? The Moon Cat comes with a large cargo hold capable of transporting many cats, a neat dual cockpit handily separated from the aforementioned hold (and therefore also the aforementioned cats), and the most inspired use for LEGO crutches we’ve seen in the form of the headlight surrounds. We can’t think of how that links to cats. Join this writer in dreaming of a cat-free planet (and a cat-heavy moon) at Norton74’s Moon Cat album via the link above.

It’s All White on the Night

Leave a reply

Lego Febrovery

‘Febrovery’ 2019 has entered its final days, with rovers of all shapes, sizes and colours being uploaded to Flickr. Previous Febrovery bloggee Frost has built many of them, but today we’re featuring three of his builds that take a more minimalist approach to aesthetics.

Frost has successfully managed to combine the colour approaches of these folks and this guy to create the planet Whitetron and the seriously cool-looking vehicles that rove about on it.

Lego Febrovery

Using pieces of only black and white Frost’s ‘Whitetron’ rovers are some of our very favourites from this year’s ‘Febrovery’ contest, and range from small quads to huge eight-wheel-drive armoured transports.

We’ve featured three of Frost’s rovers here and there are more available to view at his ‘Whitetron’ album on Flickr – click here to make the jump!

Lego Febrovery