Tag Archives: Land Rover

Back to the Studio

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Unlikely as it may sound today, in the 2010s the biggest television programme in the world came from an old airfield hangar just outside of Guildford, in which three middle-aged men talked about cars.

The newly rebooted BBC ‘Top Gear’ grew from its producer having to pay audience members from his own pocket to stick around to the end of filming, to the most-watched television event on the planet. Over twenty seasons, dozens of cross-country adventures, and countless celebrity laps in reasonably-priced cars are now embedded in the memory of an entire generation, and Flickr’s NV Carmocs takes us right back to the height of mid-2010’s television with his fabulous homage to the place where it was all made.

With mini-figure versions of Top Gear’s three most famous hosts, a studio audience, and some of the most iconic vehicles and sets from the show, NV Carmocs has captured a hundred Top Gear memories in one spectacular diorama.

The studio set includes ‘The Cool Wall’, a V8 coffee table, the ‘Power Board’, and the plinth for perhaps Top Gear’s most famous ever vehicle, the near-destroyed late-’80s Toyota Hilux, also faithfully recreated in brick form.

There’s a huge amount more to see of NV Carmocs’ incredible mini-figure BBC Top Gear Studio diorama at their Flickr photostream, where over a dozen high quality images are available to view, plus even more of the starring Top Gear vehicles themselves.

Click the link above to go back to studio, and to take yourself back to when Sunday night TV couldn’t get any better…

This is the Self Preservation Society

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It’s 1969, career criminal Charlie Croker is out of prison, and he’s just learned that his friend has been murdered by the mafia whilst planning a $4 million gold heist. Charlie decides to continue the job left by his departed fellow thief, breaking back into prison to enlist the help of crime lord Mr. Bridger before heading to Italy with a convoy of fast cars, a converted coach, a minibus, a Land Rover, and three Mini Coopers.

What follows is the greatest movie car chase of them all, with the definitive cliff-hanger ending, and the vehicles from which Flickr’s FifthPixel has recreated brilliantly in brick!

His adapted Bedford VAL Harrington Legionnaire coach, Land Rover Series 2A Safari, and – the target of the whole operation – OM Furganato Sicurezza Bullion van beautifully encapsulate the period motors from the movie, plus he’s constructed the Ford Thames 400E minibus, Alfa Romeo Guilia police cars, and construction machinery used by the mafia to dispatch their foes too.

You can find FifthPixel’s entire ‘The Italian Job’ vehicular cast at their photostream; take a look via the link above plus you can click here for a few snippets from the film’s wonderful chase sequence.

The Antidote

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TLCB Towers is surrounded by brand new Land Rover Defenders. Which is a good thing for the viability of JLR, if not the likability of Land Rover. Because every single one is vanity-plated black-on-black with extra black driven by a sleeve-tattooed-holiday-in-Dubai-park-on-yellow-lines-whist-getting-a-weekly-skin-fade-douchebag. And we hate them.

We need a new Defender antidote, and it comes in the form of… the old Defender. Everything the new one isn’t, we’ve never yet seen a spotless original Defender parked illegally outside the Turkish barbers, because they’re still driving around the countryside, often with a sheep in the back. And we love them.

This splendid brick-built Land Rover Defender 90 captures the original 4×4 beautifully in classic Model Team form, and there’s more to see courtesy of brittle.lime.joint / CaptainSirMig on Flickr and Eurobricks respectively. Join us taking the antidote to the modern Defender via the links above.

Off-Road Alternative

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The excellent LEGO Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set has successfully brought one of the market’s best known 4x4s to bedroom floors (or more likely Dads’ shelves) everywhere.

But what if you like retro-looking off-roaders but you’re not a wealthy Russian laundering money in the South of England? (Who seem to make up 100% of the G Wagen owners around TLCB Towers). Previous bloggee gyenesvi has the answer!

Using only the parts from the official 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set, gyenesvi has created this superb Land Rover 90, complete with all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-suspension, working steering, an inline-4 engine, an operational gearbox, opening and locking doors, a detailed interior, and a whole heap of accessories.

The result is so good you’d be hard pressed to know it’s an alternate, and with building instructions available you can rebuild your own Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Land Rover 90 too.

There’s much more of gyenesvi’s phenomenal 42177 B-Model to see at the Eurobricks forum, where a detailed description and further links can be found, plus the complete image gallery is available to view at Bricksafe.

The Best 4×4+1

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LEGO’s 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender is a rather nice little 150-piece pocket-money set. But add just a single extra stud to the dimensions (and a few more advanced building techniques) and it can become something altogether more authentic. Cue SvenJ.‘s excellent 7-wide Land Rover Defender 90, which adds the Defender’s famous ‘barrel side’, triple-rear-window, posable steering, and a whole heap more interior and exterior detail. Building instructions are available and you can upgrade your own 40650 set via the link above.

Honey I Shrunk the 10317

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LEGO’s brilliant new 10317 Icons Land Rover Defender 90 set is one of the coolest looking Technic sets in ages. However, it’s also $240, which is some way outside of pocket-money attainability.

Fortunately LEGO’s upcoming 150-piece Creator 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender set will allow their Land Rover partnership to feature on far more bedroom floors, and it’s this lovely little set that has formed the basis for Thomas Gion’s own heritage green Land Rover Defender 90.

Taking the un-accessorised yellow Defender from 40650, Thomas has rebuilt the 6-wide Creator set replicating the best bits of its much bigger Technic brother, equipping his Land Rover with a snorkel, bonnet-mounted spare, and a packed roof cage, whilst adding a does of extra visual accuracy via clever SNOT building techniques.

There’s more to see at Thomas’ ‘Land Rover Defender 90’ album, plus you can check out the two official LEGO sets that inspired it via the links in the text above.

LEGO Creator 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender | Set Preview

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LEGO’s Land Rover partnership continues apace! This is the brand new 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender.

Interestingly branded ‘Creator’ rather than ‘Speed Champions’ despite being the correct scale for the latter, 40650 brings the Land Rover Defender, featured twice in Technic form, into a far more attainable price bracket.

Aimed at ages 8+, 40650 features 150 pieces including a mini-figure, and includes some decent SNOT building techniques plus be-stickered headlights and front grill.

The new 40650 Land Rover Classic Defender set will reach stores later this year, and looks to be a very welcome officially-licensed product within reach of pocket-money-funder LEGO fans. Great job LEGO.

Icons 10317 Land Rover Classic Defender 90 | Set Preview

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Land Rover may have released a new Defender, as have LEGO with the officially-licensed 42110 Technic version, but this is the Defender we want! Yes, LEGO have finally created a ‘classic’ Land Rover Defender set, and doesn’t it look good? This is the brand new 10317 Icons Land Rover Classic Defender 90.

Of course the real car isn’t called ‘classic’ anywhere in its title, but we suppose both LEGO and Land Rover are keen to remind us that there is indeed another Defender on the market. Replicating the short wheel-base ’90’ hardtop, 10317 does wear Land Rover’s marvellous heritage green colour (as re-used on the final run of ‘classic’ Defenders) superbly though, with a good proportion of the set’s colossal 2,336 pieces in the hue, including the wheels and the new wheel-arch parts similar to those that first debuted on the ‘other’ Defender set some four years ago.

Working steering and suspension, opening doors and hood, and a really beautifully detailed engine account for some of that chunky parts count, as does a degree of customisability, because – as per the recent 10304 Chevrolet Camaro, 10300 ‘Back to the Future’ Time Machine, and 10265 Ford Mustang sets – 10317 can be built in a number of configurations.

Two different engines and three different hoods can be constructed, but the bulk of those extra parts are there should you wish to build your Defender to look like every single one in London; with a huge array of totally unused off-road accessories. These include an uprated front bumper with a working winch, side rails, jerrycans, a toolbox and jack, a shovel, pickaxe, hammer and axe, fire extinguisher, roof cage, snorkel and traction plates.

Of course any real Land Rover Defender driver wouldn’t be within 100 miles of those items – with their vehicle instead carrying a flask of tea, a roll of duct-tape, and a sheep – but you can always build these at home for true Defender authenticity.

The new LEGO Icons 10317 Land Rover ‘Classic’ Defender 90 will reach stores in April of this year, is expected to cost around $240 / €240 / £210, and we’re in the queue. We’re already working on our brick-built sheep.

To the Tip!

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Christmas at TLCB Towers is over for another year, and thus the slightly depressed-looking Christmas tree in the corner of the office can finally be laid to rest. This usually means strapping it to the roof of the office’s Rover 200, driving to the tip, and lobbing it into a giant container of compostable waste.

Flickr’s Jonathan Elliott takes a much more fun approach to tree disposal though, with his Christmas tree dragged behind a Land Rover 109 tow-truck like a wake-boarder behind a power-boat. Or a soon to-be-executed 15th century criminal behind a horse.

The Land Rover is mighty good too, with the exquisite detailing including probably the best small-scale Land Rover tail-lights we’ve ever seen. There’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream, and you can take a look via the link above whilst we find out if a knackered Rover 200 is up to the job of towing a Christmas tree through the streets.

Land Rover Series 1 80″ | Picture Special

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This is without doubt the loveliest Lego Land Rover we’ve seen this year. Because the loveliest Land Rover is of course a green Series 1 80″.

Built by recent bloggee FanisLego, this utterly beautiful recreation of the definitive Land Rover captures every aesthetic detail of the wonderful 1950s original, with brick-built leaf-spring suspension, a replica of the simple 50bhp 1.6 litre engine, holes for the power-take-offs (can you imagine a modern Defender including the ability to run farm equipment from the engine!), flipping seats, a folding windscreen, plus opening doors, hood, and tailgate.

Photographed and presented superbly, FanisLego’s Land Rover Series 1 80″ is available to view on Bricksafe, where fifteen stunning images are within in the model’s album. Better yet, a link to building instructions can also be found, so if – like us – you think the Series 1 Land Rover is probably the best vehicle ever built, you can create your very own in brick form.

Head to Bricksafe via the link in the text above, where you can find full build details, the complete image gallery, and a link to building instructions.

The Long Way Home

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This return journey will be familiar to anyone with an extended period of Land Rover ownership in their vehicular history.

Actually that’s not entirely fair; whilst classic Land Rovers (in this case a Series III) will break, they do only require electrical tape and a piece of string to fix. Clearly the owner of this one forgot to bring their string…

Ralph Savelsberg is the creator of this excellent MAN TGS AA recovery truck (along with the lovely Series III Land Rover it’s recovering), which includes a working under-lift, sliding platform, tilting cab with four opening doors, and some beautifully authentic decals.

It could only be more realistic if the Land Rover Series III on the back was replaced by a Range Rover Sport. And that’s definitely not a car that’s repairable with electrical tape and piece of string.

Discotheque

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Before unnecessary off-centre number plates and fake vents, the Land Rover Discovery looked like this. Which is infinitely better than the new one. Recreating the iconic ‘Disco 3’ is Jonathan Elliott, who has miniaturised it perfectly in Speed Champions form. Despite the Disco 3’s squareness, it’s actually not an easy thing to build well from LEGO, but Jonathan has nailed it. See more at the link.

Vicuna

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The vicuna, the smallest species of camel, stands no taller than a metre and weighs less than 50kg. That’s your random fact of the day and you’re welcome.

Cue today’s post, which is – we think – the smallest camel (Trophy) creation we’ve featured, standing only four studs wide and weighing, er… we don’t know. Not a lot.

It comes from Jan Woznika, instructions are available, and there’s more of the build to see at his ‘Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy’ album by clicking here.

Sand Rover

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This TLCB Writer has been fortunate enough to go to a great many sandy places, but never has the sand been blue. Yellow, white, grey, black, red… but not blue. Someone at LEGO must’ve been somewhere this writer hasn’t though, as ‘Sand Blue’ became the name for one of their later colour additions.

The hue is also a near perfect match for one of Land Rover’s original ’60s colours, which regular bloggee Jonathan Elliott has deployed to wonderful effect with his Land Rover Series II.

Unfortunately not quite all the pieces required are available in Sand Blue, so some photoshop tricky might have been used too, but if you can tell which parts are altered you can win 100 TLCB Points!

Head to Jonathan’s photostream to see more, and to find out which pieces aren’t quite as blue as they appear.

Camp Fire

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We love repurposed vehicles (or anything else for that matter) here at The Lego Car Blog. Taking something and transforming for a different purpose is not only far less environmentally damaging than making something new, the results are often way cooler. As evidenced by Beat Felber‘s wonderful 1984 Land Rover 110.

Beat’s real-world Land Rover served as an off-road fire engine for about twenty-five years, before it was retired and converted into the superb off-road camper it is today, and Beat has now recreated it in Lego form, capturing his real-life vehicle beautifully.

Underneath the brilliantly life-like exterior – complete with opening doors and hood – is a remotely controlled 4×4 drivetrain powered by an SBrick, with L-Motors driving both axles (each of which is suspended), a Servo the steering, and an M-Motor the high/low gearbox.

It’s a delightful build made all the better by its real-world counterpart, and there’s more to see of both Beat’s Lego Land Rover 110 and the real fire-engine-turned-camper that inspired it via the link above.