Time for a brief trip outside the world of cars with Henrik Jensen’s superb P-47D Thunderbolt. Used throughout the Second World War and the Pacific, the P-47 was the heaviest fighter ever built to be powered by a single piston engine, the huge turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800. This gave the Thunderbolt a massive payload capacity; on short flights it could carry more than half the payload of a dedicated B-17 bomber. You can see more of Henrik’s Lego recreation on MOCpages by clicking here.
The Lego Car Blog becomes The Lego Plane Blog momentarily as we feature a Mustang without a Ford badge; an ace P-51D Mustang fighter by MOCpages’ Henrik Jensen. The P-51 was built for the Allies as high altitude fighter by North American Aviation and – once fitted with Rolls Royce’s Merlin engine – it became a formidable machine throughout the Second World War. Henrik’s mini-figure scale version is based upon a surviving P-51D now in private hands that saw service with the US Air Force, Swedish Air Force, and finally the Dominican Republic Airforce all the way until the 1980s. You can read more about the plane and see more images of Henrik’s model on MOCpages here.
Winter is finally coming to end here at The Lego Car Blog Towers. Good news for us, as skirts outside the office get shorter, and good news for the Elves, who require a lot less de-frosting than they did a few weeks ago when returning from their hunts. A perfect time to publicise a tan-coloured Lego creation then, a colour that’s not often employed in Lego builds due to its rarity, but one that looks superb if it’s used well.
Aircraft-building extraordinaire Sydag has done just that with his wonderful mini-figure scale B-25 Mitchell bomber. Flown throughout the Second World War in all regions of combat the B-25 was adopted by almost all the major Allied airforces and continued in service until well after the war ended. You can see more of Sydag’s beautiful tan recreation of the American classic on Flickr at the link above.
The Lego Car Blog Elves have moved on from the Transformers movies, having since discovered the ’80s gems from the Indiana Jones franchise. Indiana might be the star, but it’s his Nazi enemies that get the best toys. This one though, is actually British, so we’re not sure how the Nazi’s got their hands on it in the movie The Last Crusade. No matter, because it’s damn cool and JBIronWorks‘ Lego recreation of the Mark VIII International tank used in the 1989 blockbuster is too. See all the photos on Flickr at the link.
We’ve not posted a plane for a while, so here’s one of our favourites; the beautiful Supermarine Spitfire, built here in Mk. IX form by Henrik Jensen on MOCpages. See all the photos at Henrik’s MOCpage.
Here at The Lego Car Blog we love to hear your feedback and your suggestions if our Elves have missed a creation worth posting. A little outside competition helps to keep them sharp too.
This post was suggested to us via the Feedback and Submission Suggestions page by one of our readers, and although it’s not a car we do occasionally blog other transport-related creations. It is in fact a 1/350 replica of the USS Missouri battleship that saw service in World War 2 and the Pacific, built by a previous ‘Featured TFOL (Teen Fan Of Lego)’ Achintya Prasad. See all the photos, and a video demonstrating the motorised rotating fore guns, on either MOCpages or Flickr.
If you’ve found a creation our Elves have missed and you think it should be here please visit our Submission Guidelines. Please note that self-requests are not encouraged.
This nondescript abbreviation is an American GMC army truck built during World War 2, that then saw service in the Korean War a few years later. Featuring 6×6 drive the CCKW was used to transport all manner of military goods and was built in a variety of specifications. =DoNe=‘s closed cab flatbed version is shown here and you can see more on Flickr.
Until now we’d not seen a Russian World War 2 fighter recreated in LEGO. Perhaps this is because the US and UK wrote much of post-war history, or because Russia’s contribution was quickly forgotten due to its Stalin-esque links and the Cold War.
This one-sided praise has gifted the Spitfire, Hurricane and Mustang with everlasting fame, whilst Russia’s contributions lie largely ignored. Which is shame, because this plane, the Ilyushin II-2, repelled the German invasion of Russia and is in fact the most numerous miltary plane ever made. In sheer numbers, no aircraft made a larger contribution to halting the spread of Naziism. Flickr’s Dornbi gives the Ilyushin some much needed recognition, and you can see the full gallery at the link.
This strange-looking device was built by Jon & Catherine Stead on Flickr. It’s a British Mark IV Tank, one of the first operational, which saw service during World War I. Whilst tanks are an all too familiar sight in modern war footage, and even film from World War II, back in 1917 they were revolutionary, and – frankly – not something you would want to serve in. A top speed of 4mph, early automotive reliability and a tendency to get stuck in soft ground meant that they were easy targets once they fell behind the advancing front line. Germany even captured 40 in one battle alone and, somewhat bravely/foolishly, redeployed them as their own.
Despite the early problems the British invention was a formidable foe when used to attack enemy trenches, and as such it was developed rapidly after the war into ever more capable variants and has since been adopted by almost every army in the world.
See Jon and Catherine’s pioneering Mark IV on Flickr and, because as a community we often overlook why creations such as these are built at all, see what you can do to help those caught in conflict via the Red Cross.
Whilst we are primarily a car blog, as defined by our imaginative title, we do occasionally like to poke an exploratory tentacle into the world of planes. Today we bring you two of the best recently uploaded to the interweb, representing both sides in the Second World War, and utilising markedly different technologies.
First up (above) is this beautiful Curtiss Seagull, built only between 1935 and 1940, but used extensively throughout the war aboard US warships as observation, scout and training aircraft. JBIronWorks has recreated the aircraft wonderfully, and landed it at a lovely tropical beach. See more on Flickr via the link above.
Second, and representing Germany, is the world’s first jet powered fighter; the Messerschmitt ME 262. Entering service in 1944 the Messerschmitt had, perhaps thankfully, only a brief operational history that ended with the conflict in 1945. It had proved a formidable (and deadly) opponent and influenced aircraft design long after the war. Flickr user LegoUli recreates what is arguably the first aircraft of the modern era, and you can see more of his Lego version along with his other wartime creations at his photostream here.
This Lego DUKW World War II amphibious truck is certainly more fun than a yellow bath toy, although it probably doesn’t float. The real thing does though, hence the ‘Duck’ nickname. Over 21,000 were produced for the Allies during the Second World War for use in the Pacific and during the D-Day Landings, with many surviving today as tourist and leisure craft on our cities’ rivers. Daniel Siskind has built the Lego version we have here, and you can see more of it and his other Lego creations via Flickr.
Following last week’s Mech Monday we’ve continued the alliterative theme with today’s post. It’s also a little heavier in tone than normal, but occasionally we like to shine a light where we can. If it’s not your bag then please skip this text and normal service will be resumed shortly!
First up is Mad Physicist’s P-61 ‘Black Widow’ diorama, complete with Willis Jeep and refuelling tanker. The Northrop P-61 was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar, intercepting enemy aircraft at night and allowing Allied fighters to do their stuff. Used in the Pacific in response to the atrocities committed by Japan (the Nazi’s murdered 26 million people during World War 2, Japan – often forgotten – murdered 30 million) it proved effective, being used right up until the Japanese surrender. At which point the U.S undid all their good work and granted immunity to those responsible for torture, rape, and biological and chemical weapons testing (on civilians) in return for the ‘research’ data. Yay America.
Which brings us onto the second of today’s posts, a superb Soviet T-72 AV tank by Chris L. Sold by Russia to various dubious regimes, the T-72 is currently in action in Syria, the Government of which is using chemical weapons against its own people. Syria largely buys its weapons from Russia, which developed its chemical weapons during the Cold War in response to the U.S. And as we know, the U.S got much of its chemical and biological weapons research via the immunity granted to Japan upon surrender. So there we have it; two models, 40 years apart, from rival superpowers, linked by mankind’s propensity for destruction.
Sometimes when we see a great military Lego creation it’s worth stopping to remind ourselves why they exist in the first place.
This wonderful little Supermarine Spitfire MkV comes from Dornbi on Flickr. Surely one of the most beautiful, and important, aircraft ever built, the Spitfire and its comrade the Hurricane saved British skies from German invasion. And therefore possibly saved Europe too.
Allied Sopwith Camel
A very excited Elf returned to TLCB Towers today. Excited because it was carrying two creations, and two creations means two meal tokens. So now we have a deservedly swollen Elf waddling round the building, and can bring you this pair of wonderful Great War airplanes designed and built by mrutek on Flickr. Handily for the unbiased nature of this post, each represents a side of the First World War; the Allies with an RAF Sopwith Camel and the Axis Powers with a Bomber Biplane, from the days when bombing involved dropping the explosive by hand out of the side of the plane. To see more of these fantastic creations click the link above.
Axis Bomber
A Super Dreadnaught, which is surely the best name for anything ever.
This is a World War 1 Super Dreadnaught class battleship, and it’s huge. Measuring 170 studs in length, and taking MOCpages’ Spencer D three years to complete, the HMS Warspite features spectacular detailing, down to a hanger containing a tiny reconnaissance plane, and a rather ingenious use of Power Functions motors. Click the link above to see them in action and a full gallery of photos.