Tag Archives: Construction

Big Tip

Discovered by one of our Elves on Eurobricks, this fantastic model is an Iveco T-Way, a heavy-duty 8×4 truck outfitted – in this case – as a huge tipper.

Built by previous bloggee mpj, the truck includes remote control drive on the rear two axles, steering on the front two, all-axle suspension, and – of course – a massive tipping body driven by a motorised linear actuator.

LEGO’s Powered-Up components allow the truck to be operated via bluetooth, and you can see more (and find a link to building instructions) at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above for a big tip.

My Other Piece of Machinery’s a Combine Harvester

The LEGO Technic 42186 John Deere 9700 Forage Harvester has only been on sale a few weeks, yet previous bloggee M_longer of Eurobricks has already built it, un-built it, built something else, and created building instructions.

His ‘something else’ is this, a rather excellent forklift truck, constructed from around 500 pieces (90%) of the 42186 set.

Featuring rear-wheel-steering, a fork tilt mechanism, and – with no linear actuators available – fork elevation via a clever scissor-lift, M_longer’s forklift packs in as many working functions as the set upon which its based.

There’s much more to see, including a link to building instructions, at the Eurobricks forum, and you can fork off over there via the link above.

My Other Digger’s a Jeep

We love alternative builds here at TLCB. They’re at the very core of what LEGO is all about, turning the pieces used to create one thing into another thing entirely.

Flickr’s Dyen’s Creations earns our admiration today, having flipped their 42122 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon into something altogether different, creating this excellent (and operational) Technic backhoe loader from only the parts found within the 42122 set.

There’s a working front arm complete with a tilting brick-built bucket, an unfurling rear arm, working stabilisers and functioning steering too.

We think we might like it even more than the set upon which it’s based, and if you agree you can take a look at Dyen’s ‘LEGO 42122 – Backhoe Loader’ album via the link above, plus you can check out all the other things that the 42122 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon set has become by clicking this bonus B-Model link!

The Cat’s Out of the Bag

‘Oh cra…’ thought this TLCB Writer upon entering TLCB Towers this morning. Locked during Sunday, with the Elves left to their own devices, Monday is always a riskier day to come in to the office.

And so it proved, as one of their number grinned at him from eye level, sat as it was atop a bookshelf, thumbing through a classic car magazine.

A brisk jog through the office revealed other elevated Elves, although fortunately none in off-limits areas following to our revised key-storage-policy, but all either curiously exploring things, or – less harmlessly – eating them.

The cause of the chaos then came trundling down the corridor, a rather brilliant fully remote controlled Caterpillar telehandler, commanded by an Elf sat atop the forks wearing a paper crown on its head.

With the King for a Day removed and order restored, we can take a look at the vehicle the Elves had used to access various previously inedible objects, including a book, a photo, a wooden ornament, and – perhaps most surprisingly – a potted cactus.

Built by previous bloggee LegoMarat, this superb Caterpillar TL642 telehandler is powered by no fewer than four motors, driving the wheels and steering, the boom elevation, and the fork tilt, all of which can be controlled via bluetooth thanks to a third-party BuWizz battery.

A life-like body is constructed from system pieces, enhanced by some excellent decals, and there’s more of Marat’s exceptional remote controlled Caterpillar to see at his photostream. Click the link above to take a look, whist we set about returning an undetermined number of Elves to ground level…

Happy Being Single

Discovered by one of our Elves on Eurobricks, this is newcomer McMarky’s rather good tracked excavator. Like all good Technic models, McMarky’s creation can operate just like the real deal, being able to drive and steer, rotate the superstructure, and dig – thanks to a three stage boom and excavating bucket – all of which are motorised.

Naturally such functionality necessitates a suite of motors, so how many do you think McMarky’s excavator has packed inside?

Nope. One.

Just a singular Power Functions L motor is able to drive all of the aforementioned functions, and – in many cases – multiple functions simultaneously. Which means not just no additional motors, but also no fancy programmable app-based remote control is required either, with the huge array of working functions instead controlled via a trio of red levers, each linked to the most complicated gearbox that we’ve ever seen.

It’s an outstanding example of mechanical engineering, and demonstrates that even if you don’t have the finances for a suite of motors, a third-party bluetooth battery, or access to a programmable app, immensely realistic motorised Technic creations are still within reach.

There’s more of McMarky’s seriously impressive uni-motor tracked excavator to see on Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, where further images and a video of all those motorised functions in action can be found. Click the link above to be happy being single.

B-Hoe


LEGO’s 42081 Volvo Autonomous Loader set thoroughly perplexed us when it was revealed a few years ago. It still does really, but tungpham of Eurobricks saw greater potential in the Technic oddity than we did, turning his 42081 set into this fantastic backhoe loader.

Looking considerably better than the set on which it’s based, tungpham’s 42081 B-Model includes a raising and tilting front bucket, in-cab steering and rear arm skewing control, stabilising legs, and a rotating driver’s seat.

It also features some of the finest presentation we’ve ever seen on a LEGO model, mimicking LEGO’s own box, catalogue and digital imagery with superb photography and editing.

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see of tungpham’s incredible alternate at the Eurobricks forum – click the link above for a B-Side that’s better than the Single.

Get Your Digs for Free


The internet is full of wonderful Lego models, many of which can be recreated at home thanks to readily available building instructions. For a fee.

Because one of life’s few certainties is that if something can be monitized, it will be.

But not today! Previous bloggee Thirdwigg is the hero we need, having created this excellent Technic tracked excavator, complete with a linear-actuator operated arm and bucket, a working piston engine, and a slewing superstructure, and he’s released building instructions for free.

The Lego Community could do we a few more members like Thirdwigg, and you can see more of his tracked excavator on Flickr. Click here to take a look, and here for a direct link to the free instructions.

A Doosy

It was all going so well at TLCB Towers this morning, until this arrived…

This astonishing creation is a 2,600-piece fully remote-controlled Doosan DL 420-7 wheel loader, driven by four Power Functions motors and powered by a BuWizz bluetooth battery.

It’s the work of the amazing Michał Skorupka, better known as Eric Trax (a TLCB Master MOCer no less), who has replicated the South Korean wheel loader in simply incredible detail.

Working four-wheel-drive, articulated steering, pendular suspension, plus a motorised lifting and tipping bucket arm all feature, and all of which the Elf at the controls used to launch an assault on today’s other four-motor remote control creation.

A brick-based ‘Battle Bots’ inevitably ensued, with the Elves happily riding upon the other combatant machine being squashed in a variety of ways.

Anyway, we have control of both now, so whilst we commence some important ‘testing’ (which may or not be a similar remote control construction machine battle…) you can check out more of Eric Trax’s stunning Doosan DL 420-7 wheel loader via  Flickr, Eurobricks, and Brickshelf.

Skid Row

The Lego Car Blog Elves are having a great time this morning. Too slow to run them over but fast enough for them to ride upon, Bricksley’s four-motor Liebherr LR 636 G8 tracked skid-steer loader is providing much amusement to our little workers.

Those four motors are the LEGO Powered-Up variety (meaning they can be controlled via bluetooth), and they power each track, the arm, and the bucket, with two Powered-Up Hubs delivering the control.

The Liebherr’s exterior realism matches the excellent engineering within it too, with outstanding attention to detail, beautifully accurate decals, and perfect presentation making it a specularly life-like creation. Except in the TLCB Office that is, where half-a-dozen mythical creatures are joyfully riding upon it.

It’s all fun and games until one of them falls under the tracks, but until then we’ll continue to enjoy Bricksley’s brilliant build, and you can check it out too to via Eurobricks, or their ‘Liebherr LR 636 G8′ album on Flickr, where over twenty top quality images are available to view.

Diggidy

We like giant yellow diggers here at The Lego Car Blog. Because we’re six. Luckily for us one of the Elves found this one, a 20-ton Komatsu PC200, as replicated in brick-form beautifully by previous bloggee Y Akimeshi. With a posable arm and bucket, slewing superstructure, and a mound of brick-built earth to dig, Y’s creation is one of our favourites so far, and there’s more of the model to see at their photostream. Click the link above if you’re diggin’ it too.

Paving the Way

Diversity is the corporate buzzword of the 2020s. Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re not one to be left behind, so proving our diverse nature is this, a Hanta Machinery BP31W5 asphalt paver.

Yes this website might usually feature giant trucks or racing cars, but without machines like the BP31W5, we – as a society – would be nowhere. That’s probably a metaphor for something…

Anyway, whilst we figure out if we’ve accidentally written something curiously insightful, you can see more of the BP31W5 courtesy of Y Akimeshi of Flickr; click the link to pave the way.

Diggie Smalls

We like humble workhorses here at TLCB, and they don’t come much humbler or more workhorsey than a mini excavator. This one is a Yanmar Vio17, pictured here within the flatbed of an equally workhorsey Isuzu truck. Both are the work of Y Akimeshi of Flickr, who has recreated the real-world construction site staples brilliantly in mini-figure scale, and there’s more of each to see at his photostream. Click the link above to start digging.

Bigger Than it Looks

This is a Liebherr LTM 1100-4.2 mobile crane – well, a Lego version obviously – and it comes from Mateusz Mikołajczyk, making their TLCB debut with one of the most highly-detailed small-scale creations of the year so far.

Despite being only roughly Town-scale, Mateusz’s model looks much larger, thanks to some brilliantly intricate detailing, much of which utilises LEGO’s fiddliest tubes and clips.

The model works too, with a slewing superstructure, tilting control cab, working eight-wheel steering, functioning outriggers, and – most importantly for a mobile crane – an enormous three-stage extending boom complete with a working winch.

Superbly presented, there’s more to see of Mateusz’s Liebherr LTM 1100-4.2 at his Flickr album of the same name, where you can also find images of the model shown in a considerably larger configuration than it appears here.

4950 Redux

‘Rock Raiders’ was one of LEGO’s weirder themes. Somewhere underground some mini-figures were mining energy-giving crystals (because every LEGO theme at the time had energy-giving crystals), there was a monster trying to stop them, and everything was brown and turquoise. Oh, and the logo looked rude.

It was all over in just two years, but BobDeQuatre is keen not to forget the Rock Raiders theme, reimagining the 4950 Loader-Dozer set to keep the memory alive. A working bucket, an opening cockpit, and a brick-built ‘rock monster’ all feature, and you can hunt for energy crystals underground circa-1999 whilst sniggering at the logo via the link above!

The Best a Man Can Get

There seems to be only one measure when it comes to marketing razors; The More Blades the Better. “You have three, well we have four.” “Well now we have five.” “Alright then, six.” It’ll only end when razors have a different blade for each individual hair on your face.

Trucks are much like razors, being marketed primarily as masculine tools, and where – at least according to Flickr’s Martin Nespor – more is more.

Cue Martin’s excellent fully remote controlled cab-over dumper, with not two, nor three, but five axles. It’s the Gillette razor of trucks.

All five axles are suspended, axles three and four are powered, whilst axles one, two and five are steered. There’s also a huge tipping dumper, operated via a linear actuator, with a self opening and closing bucket door cleverly linked to the tipping mechanism.

Well presented on-location in a sandpit, there’s more to see of Martin’s razor… er, truck at his photostream, and you can take a look via the link in the text above before someone builds one with six axles to beat him.