Tag Archives: Creator

My Other Car’s Also a Classic Truck

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This is a UAZ 452-3303, one of many imaginatively named Soviet off-road van truck thingies designed during the Communist era.

The UAZ 452 was launched in 1965 with a 75bhp 2.45 litre petrol engine that could run on fuel as low as 72 octane (basically spicy water), and it’s still in production today, with nine different variants available.

This one, the 3303 dropside pick-up truck, is affectionally know as the ‘tadpole’, because it looks rather like one, and has been recreated beautifully in brick form by ArtemyZotov of Eurobricks.

It also continues our run of B-Models, being constructed entirely from the 10290 Creator Pickup Truck set. Opening doors, dropping bed sides, and a load of fruit and veg all feature, and there’s more to see – including a link to building instructions – at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

My Other Car’s a Porsche

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LEGO’s excellent 10295 Creator Porsche 911 set has produced some wonderful alternates to date, and this might be our favourite so far.

The Chevrolet Corvette C3 was America’s answer to the Porsche 911 of the time, and is – at least in the eyes of this TLCB writer – still one of the best looking American cars ever made.

Capturing the C3 Corvette brilliantly, and using only the pieces from the 10295 Porsche 911 set to do so, is Lego-building legend and TLCB Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber.

Firas’ expertly presented creation recreates the iconic classic Corvette in T-bar form, with pop-up headlights, opening doors and hood, a superbly detailed engine bay and interior, and a removable targa roof.

It makes for one of the finest alternates from any set that we’ve seen yet, and best of all if you own the 10295 Porsche 911 set you can turn it into a Chevrolet Corvette C3 yourself, as Firas has produced building instructions too.

Head over to Firas’ ‘Corvette C3’ album on Flickr for the complete gallery, you can find the building instructions at his website here, and you can click here to read Firas’ interview in the Master MOCers series if you want to find out more about how he creates his amazing models such as this one.

My Other Car’s Also Really Small

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Fiat’s original 500 was really small. But back in the 1950s you could go even smaller.

Microcars, often dubbed ‘bubble cars’, were popular in post-war Europe, thanks to limited metal supplies, a need for cheap transportation, and a population that was still largely moving itself about by motorcycle. Or horse.

This is one of the most well known bubble cars, the BMW Isetta. Less well known is the fact it was actually an Italian design by ISO Rivolta that BMW produced under license, so it’s fitting therefore that this one is also built from the bits of an Italian car.

The work of previous bloggee Tomáš Novák (aka PsychoWard666), this beautifully presented BMW Isetta is constructed only from the parts found within the official 10271 Creator Fiat 500 set, although such is its accuracy you’d never know. Unless you see it alongside the 10271’s rather pointless easel of course…

Building instructions are available and there’s lots more of Tomáš’ BMW B-Model to see (including that give-away image) at both Eurobricks and Flickr – click the links above to take a look.

Also Available in Blue

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The charming 10271 Creator Expert Fiat 500 set became a firm favourite when it joined LEGO’s ever growing line-up of officially licensed vehicles last year. Although we still don’t know why it comes with an easel.

Whilst the primrose yellow hue of the original set suites the Fiat 500 perfectly, the humble Italian city car was also available in a range of other pastel colours in the 1960s, and LEGO have decided to release a new version of the 10271 set in this lovely light blue.

Becoming 77942, the new Fiat 500 set is identical to the yellow version, only in, er… blue (with even the pointless easel updated accordingly).

On sale in the UK now, 77942 will hopefully roll out elsewhere (otherwise expect some ludicrous pricing on eBay), and could perhaps signal a wider multi-colour strategy from LEGO for successful sets?

Our picks would be the 10265 Ford Mustang updated in Bullitt green, or maybe even a Herbie-d 10252 Volkswagen Beetle!

LEGO Creator 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper | Set Preview

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The crack team of Elven ‘volunteers’ fired over The LEGO Company’s HQ permitter wall tasked with uncovering this summer’s new sets had – we thought – all returned/been eaten by guard dogs, but no! Today one last bedraggled Elf returned home to TLCB Towers with a final new-for-2021 LEGO set, at it’s a great one…

This is the brand new Creator Expert 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van, LEGO’s officially licensed successor to the wonderful 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van that has been on sale for almost a decade (making it one of the longest serving LEGO sets ever).

Improving on the 10220 set is no mean feat – it achieved a full 10/10 review here at TLCB – and LEGO have certainly gone all-out, nearly doubling the parts count to a whopping 2,207 pieces.

Many of these are tiles too, as a new building technique deploys outward facing ‘SNOT’ to construct the bodywork in place of the original set’s traditional stacked bricks.

A fully detailed interior complete with a canvas pop-top, opening cabinets, a fridge, a stove (with all important tea pot), and a sink is included, whilst a brick-built surfboard (first seen on the 10252 Volkswagen Beetle set) along with two folding deck chairs ensure the T2 is suitably beachy.

Working steering, a sliding door, a brand new windscreen piece, and an opening engine cover add to the realism, whilst period-correct (and hippy default) ‘Peace’ and ‘Love’ decals ensure the model reflects the late ’60s – early ’70s era that still defines the T2 today.

Expect the new LEGO Creator Expert 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van to cost around $180/£150 when it hits stores later this year, and LEGO’s successful Volkswagen Camper story to continue for some time yet. A T3 set in 10 years’ time? We wouldn’t bet against it!

Remotely Truckin’

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TLCB favourite Sariel is back with another build, and this one is rather simpler than some of his previous engineering masterpieces, but rather more attainable for it.

Submitted to LEGO Ideas, Sariel’s Kenworth-esque truck features remote control drive and steering (which also turns the steering g wheel in the cab), opening doors and hood, and a working trailer hitch.

A battery box is easily accessible in the sleeper portion of the cab, whilst the Control+ hub that enables bluetooth control is activated via a brick on the roof.

It’s neat, simple, and very ‘set-able’, which isn’t a word but should be. Head to Eurobricks or Flickr to see more, including links to Ideas, the full image gallery at Bricksafe, and a YouTube video of the truck in action.

Creator Expert 10295 Porsche 911 | Set Preview

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Yes yes yes! LEGO’s partnership with real-world vehicle manufacturers is probably the best thing the company has done since inventing the brick itself, and in no set is this more evident than the brand new 10295 Creator Expert Porsche 911.

Containing a whopping 1,458 pieces and aimed at ages 18+, the 10295 Porsche 911 sets a new high for the Creator Expert series.

Two iconic ’80s versions of the Porsche 911 can be built from 10295; the pretty Targa, or the yuppie-killing Turbo. Each measures over 35cm in length and features working steering, opening doors, engine cover (under which the Turbo features a replica turbocharged flat-6 engine) and front trunk (under which the Targa’s removable roof can be stowed).

An excellent (and very brown) interior contrasts beautifully with the white bodywork, and makes this – in our opinion – probably the finest Creator Expert set yet.

The new Creator Expert 10295 Porsche 911 set will reach stores in March of this year with a recommended retail price of $150/£120, which is rather a lot for a toy, but not a lot at all for a classic Porsche 911. Plus there’s also the 75895 Speed Champions version so you can get your brick-built classic 911 fix for pocket money.

Top job LEGO!

My Other Other Car’s a Fiat…

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The Fiat 500 has been a runaway success across Europe. Over two million have been sold to date, despite the design remaining virtually unchanged in fourteen years of production.

Fiat, unused to building a car that people actually like, subsequently decided that literally everything they make should be a 500[something]. This has unfortunately led to hideous monstrosities like this, which have been about as successful as storming the U.S. Capitol building in the hope of overturning a legitimate election.

However unlike Fiat, LEGO’s ace 10271 Creator Fiat 500 set is proving not only a hit, but also one that can be used to create a range of other vehicles that don’t just look like a regular 500 has died at sea and washed up on a beach months later.

Cases in point are these two brilliant B-Models, each built only from the parts found within the 10271 Fiat 500 set, and each managing to successfully create something new and excellent from the recycled parts.

First up (above) is monstermatou‘s marvellous 1920s Citroen 5HP Trefle, which captures the real car so well you’d be hard pushed to know it’s an alternate (which explains why monstermatou very nearly won TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition with one of his past builds). Building instructions are available and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link above.

Today’s second 10271 alternate comes from a past official LEGO set designer no less, the incredibly talented Nathanael Kuipers, who has turned the little classic Fiat into a 1950s pick-up truck.

Cleverly using the Fiat’s interior pieces to make up for the shortfall in available bodywork bricks, Nathanael’s B-Model includes opening doors, hood and tailgate, and building instructions are available too.

Click the link above to check out more of Nathanael’s B-Model at his photostream, and if you own a 10271 Creator Fiat 500 set, perhaps see what you can create from it! You’ll easily do a better job than Fiat have managed with the real thing…

Gullwing

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Is there anything cooler than doors that open skywards? Nope, and that makes the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ one of the coolest cars of all time. Powered by a three-litre straight six, the 300 SL was also the first car to feature fuel injection, boosting power by around 50% and making it the fastest production car in the world, with a top speed in excess of 160mph.

This spectacular recreation of the 300 SL is the work of Tobias Munzert, who has built it largely from the pieces found within the 10262 Aston Martin DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ set. As well as accurate opening ‘gullwing’ doors, Tobais’ model includes an opening trunk, raising hood, and a detailed engine, and there’s more to see of his fantastic creation at his ‘Mercedes-Benz 300 SL’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

My Other Car’s a Fiat

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LEGO’s brilliant 10265 Ford Mustang set has been turned into all sorts of B-Models by the enterprising online community. So too has the equally marvellous 10271 Fiat 500 set, but this is the first time one set has been used to create the vehicle from the other!

This excellent 1960s Ford Mustang fastback comes from Flickr’s Gerald Cacas, and it’s been built only from the parts found within the 10271 Fiat 500 set. Like the official LEGO version Gerald’s model includes opening doors, trunk and hood, under which there’s the option of fitting a gloriously oversized hood-protruding engine. Combine that with it being both yellow and adorned with racing stripes and you have a car almost made for TLCB Elves.

There’s more of the creation to see of Gerald’s Ford Mustang 10271 Alternate Build album, where you can also enquire about building instructions should you wish to convert your own 10271 Fiat into Ford’s iconic ’60s pony car.

Now if only someone could build a Fiat 500 from the 10265 Ford Mustang set to complete the circularity…

My Other Car’s a Camper

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You may not be familiar with Matra, but they’re probably the most important car company you’ve never heard of. Enormously successful on track, Matra won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1969, and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1972, ’73 and ’74. They designed the first MPV, the first crossover, and – for a while – they made this, the delightfully weird three-seat Bagheera sports car.

Powered by 1.3 or 1.5 litre Simca engines, the lightweight Bagheera was faster than most other European small sports cars of the time, and cheaper too. It was a trend-setter in other ways however, being appalling built to the point of winning the ‘Silver Lemon’ award in 1975 for poorest quality, which when combined with a chassis without any rust protection whatsoever, makes the Bagheera a very rare sight today.

One Bagheera that won’t rust is this excellent Model Team version by previous bloggee monstermatou, who has constructed his entirely from the parts found within the Creator 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper set. Following his stunning Citroen DS19 built for TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model competition, Monster’s Matra continues his weird-French-cars-built-from-LEGO-sets theme, and his run of incredible B-Model builds that you can find at his photostream.

There’s more to see of monstermatou’s Matra Bagheera on Flickr via the link above, along with a host of other ace alternates including the aforementioned Citroen, a Morgan built from a Mini, and a Fiat 500 constructed from the same Camper set as this classic French oddball.

My Other Helicopter’s an Aston Martin

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We’re sure that many helicopter owners also have an Aston Martin in the garage. Flickr’s Serge S thinks so too, having turned the 10262 Aston Martin DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ set into this rather neat helicopter for TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition. There’s just two days to go to get your entry in, which is how long Serge took to build this one. Head to Flickr to see more of his ‘Bond’s Helicopter’ by clicking here, and you can see the original LEGO set from which this model has been built via the link above.

My Other Car’s a Mustang

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We’re just over half way through TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition, and choosing the winners who will receive an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack just got harder! This is Nathanael Kuipers’ entry, a simply brilliant AC Cobra built purely from the parts found within the excellent (and very B-Model-suitable) 10265 Creator Ford Mustang set.

Capturing the look of the ’60s Anglo-American sports car brilliantly, Nathanael’s alternate includes opening doors, hood and trunk, a wonderfully lifelike interior, and a detailed engine too. The Elves are also happy because it two giant racing stripes down the middle of it.

Not only that, Nathanael has made instructions available should you wish to build his Cobra for yourself, earning him extra TLCB points. You can see more of Nathanael’s brilliant 10265 B-Model at his photostream by clicking here, plus you can read a round-up of some of the other alternative builds that the 10265 Ford Mustang set has generated (including a few other designs by Nathanael), by clicking these words.

TLCB Lock-Down Competition – One Month to Go!

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We’re half way through TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition!

Whether you’re stuck inside due to that pesky virus thingy, because your streets are burning after another senseless killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer, or even if you’re not locked-down at all, we want you to build something new from what you already have.

That’s the joy of LEGO, and it also rails against the consumerist throw-away nature of society. Oh, and you can win an awesome SBrick Plus Pro pack and bring programmable bluetooth remote control to your creations!

We have three more blog-worthy competition entrants to share today, so without further pre-amble, on to the contestants…

First up is Pauls Technic‘s ‘concept racer’, constructed only from the parts found within the 42022 Technic Hot Rod set. Looking like a cross between a sand rail, short track racer, and an Indy car, Paul’s alternate includes working steering, a mid-mounted V4 engine, opening cabin roll cage, and an adjustable rear wing. Head to Eurobricks via the link above to check it out!

Next we have Jan Geurts‘ 31046 B-Model, the ‘Jeebuggy’; a mix of… you guessed it, a Jeep and a buggy. Which looks rather fun. You don’t need a giant set with which to create your B-Model (although you certainly can use one of LEGO’s most enormous sets should you wish), and Jan’s model gets right to the heart of the competition by creating something new out of a standard and unremarkable LEGO set. See more on Flickr.

Our third mid-point entry comes from previous bloggee (and a previous entrant into TLCB Lock-Down Competition) Serge S, who has redeployed the pieces found within the 10252 Creator Volkswagen Beetle set to create this beautifully presented muscle car. Opening doors, hood and trunk all feature, as does a detailed interior and engine bay, and there’s more to see of Serge’s excellent alternate at his photostream via the link above.

If you’d like to enter your own alternate and be in with a chance of winning an SBrick Plus Pro Pack take a look at the competition details by clicking the link below, familiarise yourself with our Submission Guidelines, and submit your B-Model before the end of June!

TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition Details

My Other Car’s a Beetle. Mostly.

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This is a Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, one of the rarest and most expensive cars ever produced. Just four SC Atlantics were built, named for Ettore Bugatti’s friend whose plane crashed into the Atlantic after an engine failure. Today the cars command a price in the millions, so it’s quite cool to see one built (almost) from the parts of a vehicle far more humble, the Volkswagen Beetle (and VW of course who now own the Bugatti marque).

95% of the Bugatti’s pieces come from the Creator 10252 Volkswagen Beetle set (606 of the 640 used), meaning that builder ZetoVince almost qualifies for TLCB’s B-Model Lock-Down Competition. But not quite. Still, it’s an excellent build and one you can see more of at Zeto’s photostream; click the link above to make the jump and take a look, and if you’d like to create your own B-Model and be in with a chance to win an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack take a look at the competition by clicking here.