This TLCB writer is finally able to start the count down to Christmas as the office-wide ban on mentioning the holidays in posts expired last night! Cue something red, fast, and open top. No, not Santa’s sleigh (hah, got one in already!) (Don’t push it. Ed.), but this rather wonderful 5-wide Caterham Seven 1600, as built by RGB900 of Flickr.
Despite its tiny size there’s no doubting which make and model of car RGB’s creation is replicating, which – although being wholly inappropriate for winter – often seem to appear on the roads over the Christmas holidays. Because British people are mad.
There’s more to see of RGB’s brilliant Seven at his photostream via the link, plus you can check out LEGO’s rather larger officially-licensed 21307 Caterham Seven set here.
The Lego Car Blog Review My Set Competition is nearly at an end, but we’ve just got time to squeeze a few more of your Set Reviews in before the competition closes in December. MOCpages’ Marco. qm joins us today with the set that everyone’s talking about, fresh from the LEGO Ideas platform and designed by TLCB Master MOCer Carl Greatrix, it’s the magnificent Caterham 7 620R…
The LEGO Company are known for making strong and resistant sets. Lego Fans are experts in making good-looking cars. When they get together, great things can happen. Things like a LEGO Ideas project that achieved the magical number of 10,000 supporters to gain approval to become an official LEGO set, which in in this case is the Caterham Seven 620R by Carl Greatrix.
Two years ago, on December 2014, Carl’s Seven started its journey on LEGO Ideas, by May 2015 it reached 10,000 votes and finally in March of this year Carl’s design was approved for production as an official LEGO set.
Now let’s talk about the product, the $79.00 brick-built Caterham, or as the builder called it ‘the kit of a kit car’. Although officially licensed by Caterham, 21307 is not a particularly expensive set; it’s $20 cheaper than LEGO’s previous Creator Expert sets and it comes in a nice black box with wider cardboard usual, something that I think is a nice detail.
Upon opening it, you’ll find one instructions book and seven bags of bricks, with the typical larger 1, 2 and 3 numbered bags, plus some smaller bags with the same numbers on them.
The moment you start building it you notice how cleverly designed the 21307 set is, with a very rigid chassis and a nicely detailed exterior, it’s a builder’s dream. Upon finishing the first part of the build you’ll already have a strong chassis and the rear fenders completed.
Next you open the bags labeled with a 2 and build the second stage of the car, in which you construct the engine, the seats, the front wheel arches (which by the way are very well designed!) and the exhaust. Basically all you’re missing after this is the nose cone, the hood, the trunk and the wheels. Continue reading →
Master MOCers is back!… And Episode 2 is blurring the lines between itself and the Become a Pro series more than ever before. Today’s interviewee could well fit into either category, but as recipients of the Master MOCers award are rumoured to receive a priceless trophy, he thought this series best.
Carl Greatrix has appeared here several times over the years, most recently with the evolution of his stunning Caterham Seven model. Thanks to the LEGO Ideas platform that model has now become a real LEGO set, officially licensed by Caterham themselves, and is available to buy today! From the pages of Flickr to the shelves of stores, Carl has made his Lego dream happen. Find out how via the link below…
Hello TLCB Readers! My name is Carl Greatrix, I’m a member of the Brickish Association (U.K. LUG), I’m also the Senior LEGO Model Designer for TT Games / Warner Bros (for the official LEGO video games), and I now have my own LEGO Ideas set produced, the Caterham Seven 620R – 21307. Continue reading…
Following our reveal of LEGO’s superb new fan-designed 770-piece Caterham Seven 620R set the internet has been buzzing with excitement. But what if you only have around 70 pieces rather than 770? RGB900 might have the answer, with his tiny version of the new Caterham Seven set. Suggested by a reader there’s more to see on Flickr – click here to take a look.
It’s finally here! After sending a crack team of commando Elves into The LEGO Company headquarters we are delighted to reveal the latest release from LEGO’s Ideas programme, the officially-licensed 21307 Caterham Seven 620R!
Designed by Carl Greatrix, and first featured here over 2 years ago, the design was picked up and backed by Caterham themselves, and in March of this year we revealed it had been chosen as the next official fan-designed LEGO set.
Joining the authorised sets from Ferrari, Ford, McLaren, Porsche, Mini, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and others, LEGO’s latest real-world replica looks every bit as good as we hoped it would.
Aimed at ages 12+ we’re expecting around 700 pieces from the set when it goes on sale later in the year, and it’s one set we can’t wait to review! Congratulations to Carl, who has seen his design go from a usual Flickr upload to an official LEGO set, and we’ll bring you more news on 21307 later in 2016!
Carl Greatrix’s incredible replicas of the Caterham Super Seven have featured here at TLCB several times in the last year (here, here, here and here), as we’ve supported the LEGO Ideas campaign to turn his model into an official LEGO set.
Well Carl’s hard work has paid off, as over 10,000 of you got behind the project to take it to the next stage of the review process, and LEGO have just announced that the Caterham Super Seven will become the next official LEGO set created via the Ideas platform.
We’re super excited about getting our hands on a Super Seven, and this also means that LEGO can add Caterham to their ever expanding list of official manufacturer sets, alongside Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Volvo.
You can read LEGO’s press release announcing the new Caterham Super Seven set via LEGO Ideas here, or via the video below, and a super congratulations to Carl from all of us here at TLCB!
Carl Greatrix continues his run of Caterham Seven’s with this R300 racing version. Carl’s hoping his design will become an official LEGO set (and we are too) – click the link above to make it happen!
After featuring Carl Greatrix‘s Model Team Caterham 7 last month he’s boshed out another version. This time it’s the R500 and it looks better than ever.
Carl’s hoping his design will become an official set via the LEGO Ideas programme. He’s nearly half way to securing enough votes, so if you’d like to build your own Seven click the link above and give him your vote. It of course depends on Caterham playing ball with their licensing, but even if they say no there are another dozen or so little British companies making almost exactly the same car to choose from!
Despite the complete debacle that is the ‘Caterham’ Formula 1 team, we still quite like the company that makes their road cars (they’ve got nothing to do with the F1 outfit anyway). Unfortunately though Caterhams are surprisingly pricey cars. Of course you can save a few quid by building one yourself, but then you’d have no friends, and you’d talk about spanners in your sleep for months.
Luckily Carl Greatrix has the answer! After refining his previously featured Caterham Super 7 design you can now vote for it to become an official LEGO set through the LEGO Ideas platform. It’s not just any 7 either, but the ridiculous 620R version.
Visit Carl’s Flickr page for details, and if he secures enough votes you might be able to build your own Caterham 7 at home, and keep your friends!
Originally designed and produced by Lotus, the remarkable Super 7 has been in production for well over half a century. Caterham Cars bought the rights to the design in the mid-’70s and it’s been the mainstay of their business ever since.
A wonderfully simple car in real life, the Super 7 is actually fiendishly difficult to recreate from Lego; just working out how to let the front wings turn with the wheels gives us a headache. Carl Greatrix wasn’t phased though, and he’s recreated the British icon with such attention to detail it’s quite possible his models are of higher quality than many real Sevens built by Caterham customers.
Much as we enjoy building things we think we’d leave the construction of a real Seven to the guys in the Caterham factory. Likewise we’re fairly sure that the quality of Carl’s builds will take some beating. See just how good his pair of Super 7s are by clicking the link to Flickr above.
Sheepo, probably the best Lego Technic vehicle builder in the world right now, is back with a bang. This incredible Caterham 7 is his latest work. The remarkably accurate bodywork is constructed almost entirely from studless beams, but it’s what’s underneath that really impresses.
Featuring an inline 4-cylinder engine, working remote control drive, steering, all-round brakes, suspension and a remotely operated sequential 5+R gearbox with automated clutch, Sheepo’s model ‘7 is more technologically advanced than the real car.
To see the full details of how Sheepo created his Caterham visit his brilliant Blog, see the gallery on Brickshelf, or watch the video below. We’re going to do all three…
