Usually found on cars that are very much at the other end of the vehicular spectrum from the Stuttgart product they’re referencing, it’s certainly never a trade-up from the Porsche that wears the ‘My Other Car’s a Porsche’ bumper sticker. Except today that is.
Yes, this glorious Ford GT40 is constructed entirely from the pieces found within the LEGO 10295 Porsche 911 set, and whilst there aren’t many cars cooler than a ’70s Porsche 911 Turbo, the Ford GT40 is surely one of them.
Built by TLCB Master MOCer Firas Abu-Jaber, this wonderful 10295 alternate includes as many functions as its donor set, including opening doors, hood and engine cover, plus working steering and a detailed interior too.
Best of all, if you own the 10295 set and fancy trading up to a GT40, Firas has created building instructions too.
There’s much more of Firas’ superb 10295 B-Model to see at his ‘Ford GT40 Mk1’ album on Flickr, and you can find instructions to build it yourself (plus many more alternate models besides) at Firas’ ace website by clicking here.
Much of the world, including here at The Lego Car Blog, is in lockdown. The COVID-19 epidemic is claiming thousands of lives now, with the potential for millions if it reaches poorer nations. As such many of us have been instructed – by law – to remain inside. If you’re reading this post in the future; yeah this was that thing old people always talk about. And if your world is some kind of nearly-empty post-apocalyptic society; yeah this was that thing where everyone died.
On a less pessimistic note, if we all stay inside we’re probably going to be fine, the world will get back to normal, and we’ll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about. So to help us to do just that, here’s TLCB ‘Alternative Lifestyle’ suggestion, or to give it its working title; ‘Something to do during Coronavirus’.
LEGO’s brilliant 10265 Creator Ford Mustang set is one of our very favourite additions to their officially licensed line-up, and – being packed with great parts – it has spawned an entire car dealership of alternate builds. This is the latest, the work of a past LEGO set designer no less, Nathanael Kuipers. Built using only parts found within the 10265 set, this Ford GT40-esque classic supercar features working steering, opening doors and engine cover, and removable V8 engine.
Nathanael has made instructions available too, so if you own a 10265 Ford Mustang set and you’re stuck at home bored you can convert your set into your very own GT40. Find out how via the link above, and if you fancy building a few more vehicles from your 10265 set, take a look below!
Dodge Charger R/T (Firas Abu-Jaber): This 10265 B-Model featured here last month, built by Flickr’s Firas Abu-Jaber this superb Dodge Charger R/T looks so perfect you’d never know it was a set alternate. It’s even modifiable with a huge supercharger like the original set, so if you’re of an Elven persuasion you can build it to your tastes too. Check out the original post here where you can find a link to all the images.
Tesla Cybertruck (Gerald Cacas): Tesla’s yet-to-be released and decidedly odd Cybertruck is not a vehicle we expected to be built from the 10265 Ford Mustang set, yet Gerald Cacas has done just that with this excellent alternate. Gerald promises instructions are on the way so you can build one yourself – take a look at its original appearance here to find the links.
DeTomaso Pantera GTS (Serge S): Powered by a Ford V8 like the Mustang from which it’s built, the DeTomaso Pantera was a genuine alternative to the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of its day. If you own the 10265 set you can build one for yourself, as Serge S has constructed this superb Pantera GTS using parts only found within it. Instructions are available and you can find a link to them and the full gallery of images via this link to Serge’s original appearance here in January, long before someone ate an illegal bat soup and started a worldwide pandemic.
Ford F100 Pick-Up (Nathanael Kuipers): The Ford GT40 at the top of this page isn’t the only 10265 B-Model to come from Nathanael, as back in October last year he published this Ford F100 inspired classic pick-up. There are opening doors, an opening hood, and a dropping tailgate, and most importantly he’s produced building instructions so that you can build it for yourself. Find out more via the original post by clicking here.
Ford Mustang GT500 (Firas Abu-Jaber): Our sixth and final 10265 Ford Mustang alternate is… a Ford Mustang. But it jumps forward about 55 years, bringing Ford’s latest 2020 GT500 into brick form. Best of all, like every other model on this page this incredible GT500 can be built using only the parts found within the 10265 set, giving you two Mustangs for the price of one! Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them and the complete image gallery by clicking here.
Finally, if you don’t wish to dismantle your 10265 Ford Mustang set but you do want something to do with it, try Game Of Brick’s spectacular lighting kit that was reviewed here by a reader at the start of the year.
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And so ends our ‘Something to do during Coronavirus’ post, with six brilliant alternative models that can be constructed from just the pieces found within the 10265 Creator Ford Mustang set. You can find links to all six in the text above, almost all of which include building instructions. Stay safe, stay indoors, and give alternate building a go! If the current lockdown continues we may even award some loot for your best B-Model builds.
2019’s excellent and surprisingly moving film about the development of the Ford GT40 and the amazing men behind it was a joy to watch last year. Whilst the film did gloss over the fact that car isn’t really American at all, it did pay tribute to the unsung hero of its creation; Englishman Ken Miles, who was tragically killed during testing just a few short months after winning Le Mans.
The GT40 would go on to win the event multiple times and achieved success in numerous endurance races around the world during the 1960s. Built by previous bloggee James Tillson, this particular GT40 finished in second place at the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring, and has been recreated superbly in both digital and Technic-brick forms.
James’ GT40 features all-wheel independent suspension, a working V8 engine hooked up to a four-speed gearbox, functioning steering, and an opening clamshell front and rear. There’s more to see of James’ build in both digital and real-brick forms on Flickr, plus you can join the discussion at the Eurobricks forum by clicking these words, where there are also instructions available.
The excellent looking Le Mans ’66 (Ford vs. Ferrari) movie is in theatres now, and tells the story of one of the greatest (and most unlikely) racing rivalries in history. Ford, annoyed at having their offer to purchase Ferrari snubbed, decided to build a car to beat the Italians at their own game. Cue a story of American heroism, engineering brilliance, and underdog victory. Except the Ford GT40 was actually British…
No matter, it is a great story, and this lovely digital Ford GT40 road car captures the legendary American British endurance racer wonderfully. It comes from cshowd of Flickr who is in the midst of building it for real and there’s more to see at his photostream. Head back to 1966 and conquer Ferrari via the link above.
Despite a politically strained relationship at present, the United Kingdom and the Unites States of America can achieve great things when they work together. Here are two of the greatest, the magnificent Ford GT40 and AC Cobra.
Both cars were designed in the UK, but powered (and funded by) Ford USA, and both dominated racing in the 1960s. These two brilliant Speed Champions style models of the Gulf Racing GT40 and Cobra 289 are the work of previous bloggee Jonathan Elliott who has captured each car beautifully.
There’s more to see of each build at Jonathan’s photostream – click the links above to take a look at the complete image galleries for both cars.
There’s one question we get here at The Lego Car Blog more than any other; ‘Can I have instructions?’. Mattia Zamboni, author of the previously reviewed ‘Tiny LEGO Wonders‘ and previous bloggee ZetoVince have decided to respond to the call, and recently sent us their latest book that claims to provide the answers…
Thunderbay Press’s ‘How to Build Dream Cars with LEGO Bricks‘ aims “to deliver accurate car models of epic cars”, and it really does feature some epic cars. From legendary American classics like the Ford GT40, Dodge Charger and Corvette Stingray, through European supercars such as the Lamborghini Countach and Porsche 911, to modern-day exotic hypercars like the Pagani Zonda.
Epicocity achieved then, but how about accuracy? Well Mattia is so confident in the realism of the builds within ‘How to Build Dream Cars’ that the contents page doesn’t name them, or even feature colour, instead showing simply black and white renders of each of the models featured. It works too, creating a beautifully clean look that is maintained throughout the book.
The models are indeed instantly recognisable, at least for car fans which we suspect you’ll be if you’re reading this. LEGO’s own Speed Champions sets are too of course, and we’ve loved seeing each new release in this line-up as LEGO create more partnerships with real-world car manufacturers. However there are many brands that LEGO have not yet partnered with (and may never), and often the sets can be quite sticker-heavy, making recreation from spare parts at home impossible.
‘How to Build Dream Cars’ manages to accurately recreate some of the world’s best known cars without a single sticker, whilst using more advanced techniques to achieve greater realism than LEGO’s Speed Champions sets. Let’s take a look at how!
Each model starts with a description and image of the real car, including the all-important fact sheet that all car fans require. The instructions continue the black and white theme and add colour simply via the bricks used in the build. Like Mattia’s ‘Tiny LEGO Wonders’ book, these are slightly more complicated than those found in an official LEGO set, both because the techniques themselves are, and because LEGO have simplified their own steps, sometimes to the point of adding just one piece at a time.
‘How to Build Dream Cars’ feels more like LEGO instructions did a decade or so ago, being noticeably more advanced, and using more monochrome piece colours. This means that there are few contrasting-colour pieces in hidden places (as LEGO now use to make them easier to find/identify), which is appropriate given most builders will be creating these models from their own parts and black/grey is a safe bet.
Ingeniously the book also contains a complete parts list (which can be dropped straight into Bricklink should you need to buy them) and video instructions for each model, accessible via the QR Codes printed inside. This makes creating the models in ‘How to Build Dream Cars with LEGO Bricks’ a properly interactive experience should you wish it to be, and makes us wonder why LEGO haven’t done this themselves.
Graphics are excellent, and whilst black-on-black isn’t quite as easy to follow as LEGO’s white-pages the instructions are well laid out, clear, and printed in high quality, with good visuals for sub-assemblies and piece positioning. Most importantly the results are superb, successfully mixing System and Technic parts to recreate the iconic shapes of some of the world’s most famous dream cars, such as the AC Cobra pictured below.
LEGO are a roll right now with their ever-expanding line-up of officially licensed vehicles. However there are many more amazing cars out there not yet licensed to become official LEGO sets.
If you’d like to expand your own car collection by building some stunning real-world replicas that LEGO haven’t yet created themselves (and that are more detailed and more advanced to build to boot), ‘How to Build Dream Cars with LEGO Bricks’ fulfils the brief brilliantly. From vintage classics to modern supercars, Mattia and Vince have created an excellent instructional guide to building your own dream cars at home, with enough technical specs and vehicle history to keep car fans happy too.
That the book also contains complete parts lists, video instructions, and looks beautiful is the icing on the cake. Highly recommended.
It’s 50 years since Ford famously finished the Le Mans 24 Hour race with a 1-2-3, thanks to their stunning Lola-developed GT40. Half a decade later and Ford returned to Le Mans with their new GT, aiming to prove to America that big inefficient V8s really have had their day, and the future is smaller, more efficient, and turbo-charged.
This astonishing creation is the work of professional model-maker Pascal Lenhard, who was commissioned by Ford to build a replica of their 2016 GTE-competing racing car. Three weeks and 40,000 bricks later and this is the incredible result.
A full gallery of images is available to view at the Autoweek website (thanks to one of our readers for the tip!), where there are also images of an original 1960s Ford GT40 model that Pascal built to accompany his recreation of Ford’s latest Le Mans challenger.
And 50 years on, did Ford manage a Le Mans comeback worthy of their original result? They sure did, with the new Ford GT winning the GTE class and taking third place. In fact the team were only denied repeating their remarkable 1966 1-2-3 finish by some cheating Italians.
The Alan Mann racing team Ford GT40, built by MortalSwordsman for the burgeoning Classic Race Teams group over on MOCpages, which is rapidly become the top one-stop shop for happy elf hunting.
