Tag Archives: digital

Sci-Fi Sunday

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OK, we’re not always strictly a car blog here at The Lego… er, Car Blog, but today’s sci-fi creations do have wheels! Well, two of them do, and enough to average 4.67 wheels per model in today’s post, which is good enough for us!

First up is Capt. Dad‘s Neo-Classic Space ‘Mobile Research’, because there’s nothing the mini-figures of Classic Space (or indeed, Neo-Classic Space) like more than researching stuff. Much greebling, many opening compartments, and a brilliant interior all feature, and you join in the research via the link above.

Next up is a creation from Neo-M-Tron, a sub-theme which we’ve just invented. This is the ‘Gigatron Flux Inductor’, a giganormous 6×6 cross between the mole thingy from Thunderbirds, a steam train, and a petrol tanker. Created digitally in Bricklink Studio plus copious editing programmes, Ghalad‘s creation is apparently the latter, and you can fill up your stranded lunar rover via the link in the text above.

Today’s third and final sci-fi build features no wheels at all, but it does use two LEGO transparent ball pieces for, um… reasons. Sylvain Daunais‘ ‘Universe Explorer’ looks superb however, and there’s more to see of his excellent Neo-Classic Spaceship on Flickr. Click the link above to take a look, whilst we find some things that have definitely got wheels…

Industrial Roving

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It’s FebRovery, and this is an ‘NTERRA B400 MEGA HAULER’, the latest in industrial grade multi-directional rovers from the [ S E /\ Z Y ] corporation.

Able to service an entire moderately-sized colony*, the NTERRA B400 can take a gigantic load*, thanks to an enormous tilting deck with a 300 ton payload capacity and its ‘revolving mecanum wheels’.

Rendered in Bricklink Studio 2.0 with considerable post-production enhancement, [ S E /\ Z Y ]’s gargantuan design shows what’s possible when taking digital building to the extreme, and there’s more to see of his moon-based monster-mover on Flickr via the link above.

Alternatively, if enormous digital creations aren’t your thing, here’s a brick-built FebRovery entry of a similar aesthetic that’s altogether smaller…

*Just like your Mom.

Senna & Cigarettes

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Formula 1 was different in 1991. Cigarettes, a variety of engine configurations, and only one Unites States Grand Prix. Oh, and a titanic battle between McLaren’s Ayrton Senna and Williams’ Nigel Mansell, that culminated in a third Driver’s World Championship for Senna and the only Constructor’s World Championship ever won by a V12 powered car.

This is that car, the awesome McLaren-Honda MP4/6, as designed, liveried, rendered and presented beautifully by Robson M aka BrickDesigners, and there’s more to see of Robson’s stunning recreation on Flickr. Click the link above to race in ’91.

Lift-Off!

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It’s Neo-Classic Space time here at The Lego Car Blog, and we know what you’re thinking; “Uh oh, here comes another failed attempt by TLCB to understand a sci-fi theme…”.

And you’d be right. We suck at sci-fi. Many other things too, but especially sci-fi.

Still, some builders absolutely do not, and Flickr’s OA KD is one of them. OA KD’s impressive back-catalogue includes enormous space bases, 6×6 rovers, lunar sheep, and whatever this is, all rendered beautifully in Neo-Classic Space style.

His latest is this Neo-Classic Space transport, a sort of spacey Sikorsky Skycrane, complete with three chunky swappable space containers. Yes we are just adding the word ‘space’ in front of things to cover our sci-fi ineptitude.

No matter, because you can check out all of OA KD’s space-based builds at his photostream, where sci-fi competence is immeasurably higher than it is here – click the link above to make the jump to Neo-Classic Space brilliance, whilst we get back to cars and stop embarrassing ourselves…

Skytrain

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‘Skytrain’ might be a slightly ambitious title, but nothing moved as many troops about during the Second World War as the Douglas DC-3 / C-47. In fact so reliable is the DC-3 that many are still in use today, some eighty years on from when the plane first saw service, ferrying people and objects to and from the world’s most inhospitable places.

This lovely recreation of the iconic aircraft comes from SirLuftwaffles of Flickr, and – full disclosure – it’s digital. But you can’t tell, as SirLuftwaffles has used only readily available pieces, real-world construction methods, and produced a render that is really very good indeed.

There’s more to see including full build and digital design software details at SirLuftwaffles’ photostream – take to the skies with 27 other troops via the link in the text above.

Conclusion of Mundanity

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Judging the near one-hundred entries submitted to BrickNerd and TLCB’s Festival of Mundanity is underway, but before we reveal the winners there’s time for a few entries that snuck in before the deadline.

First up, and managing to span both the ‘Object’ and ‘Vehicle’ categories, is Caleb Flutur‘s ‘3x Upscale 6654’. “A mundane set, in a mundane theme, from a mundane year” to quote Caleb, his digital super-sized 6654 doesn’t just inflate the scale of the model, but each individual brick used in its creation.

A monumentally clever undertaking, this competition entry is both appropriately mundane and fascinating in its construction. With Caleb vowing to build his design in real super-sized bricks soon, we’ve never been so intrigued by something so dull. Big points.

Equally clever yet unexciting is Sberwing007’s Festival of Mundanity entry, that most forgotten of vehicles; the scissor-lift.

Not just a dull machine, but a dull machine designed to enable dull tasks, Saberwing’s Technic scissor lift captures the dreariness of the real thing beautifully, including its operation, with working tight-radius steering, an extending platform, and – of course – a linear actuator operated lifting mechanism.

There’s more to see of Saberwing007’s scissor lift at both Flickr and the Eurobricks discussion forum, where further details and images of the creation’s really rather clever mechanisms can also be found.

Click the links above to complete such boring tasks as changing a lightbulb, de-leafing the gutter, and removing that dead pigeon from the air-conditioning duct.

Before we sign-off our final Festival of Mundanity post prior to the Winner’s Announcement (and a review of the awesome BuWizz 3.0 Pro prize on offer), here’s a secret bonus link to an entry which recreated the most boring vehicle of all time. Every single one of us will have ridden in this vehicle, multiple times, and yet we’ve never once thought about it. Maximum mundane points!

Automotive Cool

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’60s Italy was, in the mind of this TLCB Writer, the peak of automotive cool. The Vespa, the Fiat 500, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lancia, and – of course – Alfa Romeo.

This glorious 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA takes us back to Italy’s golden era, having been wonderfully recreated in brick form by 5eno of Flickr.

A realistic interior is accessed through opening doors, a brilliantly detailed engine resides under the opening hood, and there are more images of the model to see at 5eno’s Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint album.

Head back to ’60s Italy via the link in the text above, when every vehicle was infinite cool.

Quick Cig

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LEGO’s new 42141 McLaren Formula 1 Race Car comes from a time when advertising dangerous things is no longer acceptable. Unless you’re Ferrari of course. Back in the ’80s and ’90s though, anything was OK.

Cue this giant packet of cigarettes, which – like the aforementioned LEGO set – isn’t based on one particular McLaren Formula 1 car, but rather is inspired by the Marlboro McLarens of the time.

It comes from apachaihapachai of Eurobricks, who has included a BuWizz bluetooth battery, and Buggy Motor to ensure his model has the speed to match the looks. Free building instructions are available and there’s more to see of apachai’s renders at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Digital Boss

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We rarely post renders. Rarer still creations where the first part of the description is a link to building instructions. We are today though, because a) this Ford Mustang Boss 302 looks epic, and b) because builder w35wvi, here making their TLCB debut, has released building instructions for free. And that – in an era of increasing Lego building profiteering – earns them a hundred TLCB points. See more, including that link to those free instructions, via the link.

I Met Her in a Club Down in Old Soho…

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We often get asked to feature more digital builds, but, well… we just prefer the real thing. So too did Ray Davies, who – in his 1970 hit with The Kinks – rejected the advances of Lola, despite later addressing the controversy around his lyrics by stating “It really doesn’t matter what sex Lola is, I think she’s alright”.

Cue a seamless link to ‘LOLA’ from Marvel’s ‘Agents of Shield’, a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette that hides some rather trick abilities, as recreated here in this marvellous image by Flickr’s Vaionaut.

Like Ray’s admirer in that Soho club, Vaionaut’s ‘LOLA’ doesn’t feature the real pieces you’d expect, but it looks so good we can’t help but think it’s alright too. It’s also capable of doing a few things that a brick-built creation can’t, being rendered in flight in a way that’s very probably more realistic than if it had been constructed from real bricks.

Somewhere in all that there’s a metaphor for accepting someone for who they are, and you can see more of Vaionaut’s digital Chevrolet Corvette ‘LOLA’ via the link above, whilst we ponder it.

*Today’s title song.

Sparky’s Dream*

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We’re cheating a bit today, but whilst this creation by Flickr’s L E G O Z ; ) is digital, being ‘built’ in Bricklink Studio 2.0, it’s also awesome. Called the ‘SPARKY’ High Mobility Salvage Rover, it’s based on the concept art of John Wallin Liberto, and features only genuine (digital) LEGO pieces plus some rather neat photoshopping. The result looks mega and there’s more to see via the link above!

*Today’s ace (and suitably spacey) title song.

Cyber Crime

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Much of crime now occurs online. From serious stuff like bank fraud, trivial stuff like calling someone names on Twitter, or absurd stuff like teaching a pug to nazi salute, the internet is a cesspool of scumbagery. It is, of course, where The Lego Car Blog is based, which probably just adds to the argument for closing the whole thing down.

Fortunately (apart from in that pug case), there are cyber police attempting to control the online douchbaggery, and in our minds they travel around in things like this.

Appropriately digitally rendered by TLCB debutant cixpack, this ‘2069 Polara’ NYC Police hover car looks like something in-between the Blues Brothers and Fifth Element; and would be suitably terrifying if it turned up outside a troll’s abode to administer a kick to the balls (TLCB’s favoured proposed internet policing style) whenever they used the internet as a toilet.

There’s more to see of cixpack’s virtual NYPD hover car on Flickr – click the link above to take a look. Just remember to be nice!

Digital Doodoo

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Our workers may be mythical creatures, but their turds sure aren’t. And that doesn’t even make any sense. Fortunately a reader has suggested this robotic street sweeper, which looks just the thing for removing Elf droppings for TLCB Towers. Finn Roberts (aka ORION_brick) is the builder, or rather ‘designer’ as this is a digital creation, although so good is the render it’s very hard to tell. There’s more to see of Finn’s cyberpunky cleaning robot on Flickr – click the link above sweep the streets on 2077.

Probably Pixellated Porsche

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We’re not 100% sure that this superb Porsche 911 Carrera GTS by 3D supercarBricks is a virtual build, but that’s why it can appear here – it looks that good. Opening doors, a detailed interior, and some rather cunning SNOTery are all present, and there’s more to see of 3D’s probably digital Porka on Flickr via the link above.

Cab-Over-Banana

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Curvy, yellow, delicious, and contained within its own handy wrapper, the banana is a wonderful fruit. Equally curvy, nearly as yellow, and highly delicious (if you’re a TLCB Elf), Tauriel1‘s hot rodded cab-over got the Elves most excited. Until they found out it’s digital, meaning it can neither be ridden on or chewed.

Still, it does look absolutely marvellous, and if you’re wondering ‘why don’t TLCB publicise more digital builds?’, it because they rarely look like this.

Newcomer Tauriel1 has an array of digital creations in their photostream and you can view more of the ‘cab-over’ featured here alongside their other designs on Flickr. Click the link above to make like a banana and split.