We like humble workhorses here at TLCB, and they don’t come much humbler or more workhorsey than a mini excavator. This one is a Yanmar Vio17, pictured here within the flatbed of an equally workhorsey Isuzu truck. Both are the work of Y Akimeshi of Flickr, who has recreated the real-world construction site staples brilliantly in mini-figure scale, and there’s more of each to see at his photostream. Click the link above to start digging.
This astonishing creation is a fully-working 1:10 scale pick-up based tow truck, inspired by the bespoke Isuzus in use by Slovenia’s Automobile Association. Designed and constructed by Zerobricks – one of the team behind the 5-star rated BuWizz bluetooth brick – no fewer than eleven motors accurately recreate the functions of Slovenia’s real roadside recovery vehicles.
Two BuWizz 3.0 bricks power and control those eleven motors, which drive all four wheels, a high/low gearbox, working steering, three differential locks, a winch, and – of course – the brilliantly engineered rear lift, which can raise/lower, extend, and lock/grab the wheels of the vehicle to be towed, all of which can be controlled remotely via bluetooth.
A suite of manual functions compliment the electronic wizardry, including all-wheel suspension, a V8 engine, LED lights, opening doors, hood and tool compartments, and 3D-printed brake discs, whilst accurate decals and brick-built accessories such traffic cones and fuel cans further enhance the model’s likeness to the full-size AMZS trucks.
It’s a spectacular creation that beautifully demonstrates the combined power of LEGO Technic and the BuWizz bluetooth battery and control system, and there’s a lot more to see at the Eurobricks forum, including full specifications, digital renders of the internal mechanisms, and further imagery, plus you can watch the model in action alongside its real-life counterpart via the excellent video below.
Click the links to take a closer look, or here to visit the BuWizz store if you’re interested in how their amazing bluetooth brick could add superpower to your creations.
YouTube Video
The Elf. Green, weird looking, and rather small. Of course we had to publish this one.
First produced in 1959 and still sold today, Isuzu’s Elf light truck has seen six generations, been built in over twenty manufacturing facilities, and worn a multitude of badges on its nose, including Chevrolet, Nissan, Mazda, Hino, GMC and Bedford.
This is the first, as built from 1959 to 1968, and recreated here beautifully by regular bloggee 1saac W. 1saac’s model wears the marks of its life wonderfully (much like our own Elves), and there’s more of it to see at his photostream via the link above. Take a look whilst we award an extra Smartie to the Elf that found it.
This is an Isuzu Trooper, a robust, reliable, bland, Japanese 4×4 from the 1990s. But it is a rather good Technic model and it also allows us to tenuously link to a movie trailer where everything blows up, so there’s that.
This neat Technic version of the Trooper comes from Kent Kashiwabara of Flickr, features working steering, suspension, and opening hood, tailgate and doors, and there’s more to see via the link above.
Tokyo’s 14 million inhabitants live in easily one of the coolest cities in the world. But it’s not without risks; such as earthquakes, Godzilla attack, and common fire.
Tokyo’s incredible population density, congested streets, and narrow roadways mean that to combat the effects of the above American or even European-sized fire trucks would be much too large. Toyko’s fire department therefore use a range of smaller vehicles that are better able to navigate the city (with even converted kei cars deployed in some districts), such as this Isuzu pumper.
This superbly detailed recreation of a common Japanese fire truck comes from Flickr’s Ralph Savelsberg (aka Mad Physicist), and follows his excellent Toyota HiMedic ambulance that appeared here a few weeks ago.
With accurate fire fighting apparatus (including a hand-drawn cart used for Tokyo’s narrowest alleyways), opening doors and hatches, and even a pair of brick-built fire-fighters there’s plenty more to see – click here to check out all the imagery via Ralph’s photostream.
A successful raiding party of Elves has returned from the Eurobricks forums with not one but two Technic lorries. First up is an RC Isuzu NPR from Shineyu. This little gem is a real contrast to the massive front loader from the same builder, which we featured earlier in the week. Fortunately its small size meant that there was nowhere near the same scale of Elf carnage as on Monday.
In the meantime, there was no Elf carnage at all caused by Razor‘s Scania R500 6×4, as his Power Functions pieces are deployed in another MOC. Nonetheless, this lorry looks great and takes advantage of some of the new Technic panels in blue to get a smooth cab. Click the links in the text to see more of each vehicle.
Considering they are so numerous in the real world we see surprisingly few Isuzu trucks recreated in Lego form. Isuzu are the backbone of the Asian heavy commercial vehicle market, and even if a truck doesn’t say ‘ISUZU’ on the front, it’s probably got an Isuzu diesel engine powering it.
This lovely Technic version of the prolific commercial workhorse comes from previous bloggee Shineyu and it’s packed with functions, including working steering, opening doors and an operational tail-lift. There’s more to see on MOCpages – click the link above to make the jump.
An Isuzu Coupe. Yes, really.
This gorgeous little red coupe is the work of Datsun on MOCpages. But it isn’t a Datsun. It’s an Isuzu. Famous for their prowess in making diesel engines for a huge variety of trucks and buses, Isuzu were actually pretty decent at making whole cars when they put their minds to it. This 117 Coupe was produced from 1968 until the early ’80s, with over 80,000 units sold. You can see more of this Japanese oddity on MOCpages.