Not a car, but rather brilliant nonetheless, this glorious Grumman F-14A Tomcat was found by one of our Elves on Flickr. It comes from previous bloggee [Maks], and – unusually for a brick-built fighter jet – it’s mini-figure scale. Tremendous detail abounds though, which [Maks] has enhanced via some excellent custom decals, and there’s much more of the build to see at his ‘F14A Tomcat’ album via the link.
Is there anything cooler than a fighter jet with a skull and crossbones painted on it? The answer is no, and thus here’s Lennart Cort‘s Grumman F-14 Tomcat resplendent in VF-84 ‘Jolly Rogers’ livery. See more at the link!
This is the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, as flown by the U.S Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron 41, the ‘Black Aces’ until he mid-’00s before being superseded by the F-18 Super Hornet.
First flying the in the early ’70s, the F-14 is a twin engine variable-sweep wing fighter that saw deployment in Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and is – somewhat oddly – still in service with the Iranian Air Force today, despite the U.S destroying its retired aircraft to prevent spare parts ending up in Iran.
This spectacular replica of the F-14A resplendent in ‘Black Aces’ markings is the work of Jonah Padberg (aka Plane Bricks) of Flickr, who has recreated the supersonic fighter in breathtaking detail.
Featuring working flaps, ailerons, elevators, rudders and air brake, plus an opening canopy, functions landing gear, and an array of explody things slung underneath, Jonah’s F-14A is so realistic we wouldn’t be supposed if Iran try to buy it for spare parts. Which they can do, as Jonah is making his model available for purchase in kit form!
There’s more of Jonah’s incredible Grumman F-14A to see on Flickr, including detailed photos of the underside and all the explody things too. Click the link in the text above to visit Jonah’s photostream, where a few Iranian aviation maintenance people may also be snooping about…
This may look like a propellor plane and the Starship Enterprise have had a horrendous accident, but it is in fact a Grumman E-1 Tracer early warning aircraft. One of the first carrier-based airborne detection planes the E-1 Tracer operated in the US Navy from 1958 to 1977, and if you think it looks strange here it looks even weirder with its wings folded for carrier storage.
This amazing recreation of the airborne oddity is the work of previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Ralph Savelsberg (aka Mad Physicist) and there’s more to see of his superb E-1 on Flickr by clicking here.
Flickr’s Dornbi has appeared here numerous times with his stunning Lego aircraft. He’s recently pictured three of his historic US Navy planes together, with the F14a Tomcat, A-6E Intruder and A-7E Corsair all faithfully recreated in grey and white bricks. There’s more to see of each at Dornbi’s photostream – click there for the full set of images.
This wonderfully weird contraption is a Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft, currently serving in the U.S Navy aircraft carrier fleet. First flying in 1960, the E-2 Hawkeye is not only still in service some five decades later, but is actually still in production, giving it the longest production run of any carrier-based aircraft.
The huge disc atop the Hawkeye is a 24-foot rotating radar dome equipped with long-range radar and IFF systems, the only carrier-based aircraft to possess such technology. This enormous eye/ear allows the E-2 to detect incoming threats long before they become a danger, allowing the carrier upon which it’s stationed to prepare defences.
This remarkably accurate replica of one the the U.S navy’s oddest aircraft comes from previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad Physicist, and he’s used some absolutely genius techniques to recreate the Hawkeye’s unique shape. There’s lots more to see at Ralph’s photostream by clicking here – just know that the Hawkeye is sure to see you coming…
It’s been a while since we posted a historic warplane here at The Lego Car Blog, so in rectification today we’ve got three! First up (above) is JBIronWorks’ beautiful blue Grumman F4F Wildcat and accompanying diorama. There’s more to see on Flickr by clicking here.
The second of today’s trio of Word War 2 fighters comes from Daniel Siskind, who has constructed a brilliant mini-figure scale replica of the legendary Supermarine Spitfire. Daniel’s version pictured here is a Mark V in desert camouflage and there’s lots more too see at his photostream – click the link above to make the trip.
The final creation in today’s threesome, representing the Axis Powers – and the nemesis of the Spitfire above, is the formidable Messerschmitt BF-109. This stunning recreation of the famous fighter has been built by Flickr’s Lennart C, and you can see more of his model by clicking here.
The Elves have just returned from a dawn raid on MOCpages. They swooped out of the sun to scoop up two models of classic WWII fighter aircraft. First up is c bigboy99899’s Bf 109. As he says, this was one of the first truly modern fighter aircraft of its era, with its all metal, stressed skin construction and closed cockpit. The Bf 109 was incredibly successful, with somewhere around 34,000 being built, which is a bigger production run than many of the cars that we feature here. Examples were used by airforces all over the world, with the Spanish retiring their last example in 1965. Click this link to see more of this Bf 109, plus a pair of LDD versions in alternative colour schemes.
Early in the Second World War, the Bf 109 easily outclassed many of the aeroplanes flown by the Allies, especially the carrier based Sea Gladiators and Martlets (Wildcats) of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. This was also true in the Pacific, where the famous Zero could outmanoeuvre anything in the sky. Pilots such as the RN’s Eric “Winkle” Brown had to use cunning and tactics to stay alive. Things changed when Grumman produced the Hellcat, with vastly upgraded performance. Jim McDonough normally builds ships but is building a whole squadron of Hellcats (and another of Avengers) to put on the deck of his next creation. This epic project is going to be an impressive sight when it’s finished. Click this link to Jim’s MOCpages to see more of his aeroplanes and ships.
Before we go, if you’ve some spare time, click this link to BBC Radio 4’s website and listen to the stories and music of Capt. Eric “Winkle” Brown on Desert Island Discs. It’s classic edition of the programme with a man who has lived a life of real adventure. The Lego Car Blog writers also hope to be buying their latest sports car when they get to the age of 95!