Tag Archives: convertible

My Other Car is a London Bus

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You wait ages for a bus and then two Mercedes-Benz 280 SEs come along at once. Or something.

This splendid classic Mercedes-Benz 280 SE is the work of recent bloggee FanisLego, who has built it only from the parts found within the LEGO 10258 Creator London Bus set. There’s a detailed engine and interior, opening doors, hood and trunk, and it can built as either a coupe or a convertible from the same parts source.

There’s more of Fanis’ excellent alternate to see at his ‘Mercedes-Benz 280 SE’ album on Bricksafe and you can take a look via the link above.

Topless Summer

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It’s summer here at TLCB and it’s HOT. Elves are scattered everywhere panting, and the office ‘air conditioner’ (a fan gaffa-taped to a window ledge) is just moving hot air about like the one in the back of an oven, ensuring everything is equally cooked.

Those of you reading this in sunnier climes than the UK (that’s all of you) will be wondering what all the fuss is about, but this TLCB Writer is well-travelled and no-where gets hot like the UK. Thank the high humidity, limited air conditioning, and buildings designed to keep in, not out, for that.

It also might explain why the British buy more convertibles than the French, Germans, Italians, and Spanish. Put together. Thus we have two here today, and they’re both… um, a bit crap.

The Dodge Viper was basically a truck engine shoved in a kids’ plastic toy, and was predictably rubbish as a result. But on the other hand, it was a truck engine shoved in a kids’ plastic toy, and it was therefore excellent. This superb Speed Champions scale Dodge Viper convertible was suggested by a reader, and it comes from previous bloggee RGB900 who has nailed the 1990s American icon in 6-wide form.

Equally iconic (and rubbish) was the modern Volkswagen Beetle convertible; a bubble-shaped Golf with a pram roof stuck on the back that predictably became the must-have accessory for people that knew nothing about cars.

Fashion is fickle though, and without any substance whatsoever the modern Beetle is now dead, and its customers have all moved on to Mini convertibles. SP_LINEUP hasn’t forgotten it though, creating this excellent brick-built version that was also suggested by a reader.

There’s more to see of each convertible on Flickr via the links, and if you’re wondering why we haven’t featured good drop-tops instead of a kids’ toy and VW pram, just be thankful we didn’t find one of these to post. See, the British do stupid things when it gets hot.

The Answer’s Always ‘Miata’

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Ask the internet any sports car question and the answer is always ‘Miata’. Except when it’s ‘Put an LS in it’. Although sometimes the answer is both.

Today’s answer is Miata too, courtesy of David Elisson‘s neatly recreated version of the iconic Japanese sports car in its fourth (ND) generation.

There’s space for two mini-figures, the doors and hood open (the latter revealing a well detailed engine underneath), and – rather impressively – the convertible roof works too.

Click the link above for the obvious answer.

Get Low*

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Built (mostly) from the LEGO 10271 Fiat 500 set, Flickr’s Orion Pax has decided to use his primrose yellow pieces for something far more American.

This is a 1960s Chevrolet Impala convertible, complete with custom chrome bricks, and no less than four Power Functions motors. However they don’t do what you might expect…

Instead of the driving the wheels, Orion’s Impala deploys each motor for fully adjustable suspension, with each wheel able to do its own thing independent of the rest. Servos bounce the front wheels up and down, whilst the rears are adjustable thanks to a pair of motor-driven linear actuators.

It’s an ingeniously simple piece of engineering, and one we’d love to see fitted to a MOC of an old Citroen. Because we’re so un-street here at TLCB that we find old Citroens more interesting than pimped American barges.

Until then you can check out Orion’s brilliant Chevy lowrider album on Flickr by clicking here, which includes a video of the remotely controlled suspension in action.

*Today’s title song. Obviously.

America! F*ck Yeah!* (II)

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It’s an American double here at The Lego Car Blog! After today’s other post here’s one celebrating the best of what the USA has to offer; the C8 Corvette**. For most of its history the Corvette has been… er, Not Very Good, but the latest version is a properly good sports GT, with the ability to go around a corner and everything.

Pleased with this not insignificant step, Chevrolet were on the verge of taking on the big league of European sports cars, but their Corvette still lacked one key ingredient; its engine is in the wrong place.

Cue the brand new 2020 C8 Corvette, which – for the first time in the Corvette’s history (and pretty much America’s for that matter***) – has the engine in the middle. This could be a proper Porsche beater.

Following his brilliant Chevrolet Corvette C8 coupe featured here last year, Flickr’s Lasse Deleuran has now built the convertible version, and it looks fantastic! A beautifully replicated interior and a sort-of-working roof are our highlights, and there’s more to see of his 2020 Corvette C8 convertible at both the Eurobricks forum and his Flickr photostream – click the links to take a look!

*Today’s title song. Again.

**And the swivel chair of course.

***Before someone comments; the Ford GT40 was British. The Pontiac Fiero was American however, but it was crap.

Car Surfing

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Car surfing is Darwinism in action, and long may it continue. Still, if you’re not a complete moron you can still surf in your vehicle, and all without ending up as a thin veneer on the asphalt, thanks to Versteinert‘s ‘Aedelsten’ classic convertible. With surfboards for doors, binoculars for side-lights, and a windshield mounted, er… kinda diagonally upside down, Versteinert’s creation is bursting with brilliant building. See more via the link.

Christmas Convertible

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Lego Santa Roadster

It’s not quite the festive season yet, but as we hate Cyber Monday almost as much as we do Black Friday we’re willing to come a little early to avoid the frenzied consumerism. Anyhoo, Santa and his Elves (which, make no mistake, are a very different sub-species to ours) are about to enter their busiest month, so Saint Nic is having one last wild party before the hard work begins.

Father Christmas’s parties are world-renowned, and this one involves a sports car, a polar bear, a reindeer, and an anthropomorphic lump of snow, so it easily beats the last party we had here at TLCB Towers which involved little more than sausage rolls, cheap beer and regret.

LEGO 7 is the doorman at Santa’s shindig and you can see if your name is on the list to get in courtesy of his photostream – click the link above and cross your fingers.