Tag Archives: LED Lights

Double Head

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This bizarre machine is a 1984 DAF ‘Double-Head’, built to compete in the Paris-Dakar rally by Dutch driver Jan de Rooy, who wanted more power than one DAF truck could provide. So he used two.

Joining two 11.6 litre DAF 3300s back-to-back behind the cabs, Jan created a twin-engined all-wheel-drive 13-ton behemoth, and one of the strangest Dakar competitors to ever enter.

Sadly the DAF ‘Double-Head’ failed to finish, but it set the template for Jan de Rooy to refine the idea and return with a vehicle that would go on to become a Dakar legend…

But we’ll stay in 1984 for now, courtesy of this spectacular recreation of the DAF ‘Double-Head’ by Flickr’s p.vanderloo, who has replicated not just the truck’s mad exterior but its drivetrain too.

A beautifully replicated livery and full LED lights complete the build, and you can head to the desert in 1984 – twice – via the link above.

Mining Cornwall

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The Cornwall Peninsula in the very south of the United Kingdom is famous for its pasties, beaches, cider, and – at one time – mining.

This began with silver and tin, plundered by the Romans, and ended with coal, plundered by the Government.

Mines were a combination of dangerous ‘pits’ and open cast, with the latter exploited by enormous mechanisation in later years. This is one such machine from the time, the 390-ton Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B electric rope shovel.


Recreated in 1:28.5 form, this spectacular replica of the Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B comes from recent bloggee Beat Felber, to work alongside his Terex 33-11C mining truck.

Like his previously featured Terex, Beat’s electric rope shovel is packed with electronics to bring it to life, with four Power Functions motors driving the tracks, two the swing motion, another the main winch, and an eighth the dipper handle. No, we don’t know what a dipper handle is.

Finally two CaDA micromotors power the bucket door release and motorised access ladder, there are two sets of LEDs lighting the model, and the whole lot is controllable remotely via twin SBricks.

It’s a hugely impressive feat of engineering, with lots more of the model to see at Beat’s ‘Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B’ Flickr album – where it’s pictured alongside the Terex 33-11C with which it would have worked mining Cornish coal.

Grab a pasty and a cider and head to 1980s Cornwall via the link above.

Aerial Platform

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This is a Volvo FM Angloco Aerial Platform, or ‘massive fire truck’ to most of us. Based on the real aerial platforms in service in the UK, this terrific Technic example comes from MCD of Eurobricks, who has not only recreated the exterior and British livery beautifully, his model works too, thanks to a motorised main boom, mechanical support legs, working steering, and a suite of Game of Bricks LED lights.

There’s more to see at the Eurobricks forum, where MCD has published his Volvo Aerial Platform alongside a more conventional Scania P280 fire truck also outfitted by Angloco, and you can call the fire brigade via the link above.

Space Race

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The mid-’90s were a high watermark for Renault. Their Espace multi-purpose-vehicle was a smash hit, creating an entirely new class of car in Europe that other manufacturers scrambled to copy, whilst on track their V10 Formula 1 engine was winning absolutely everything with Williams and Benetton. And then in 1995, in moment of utter genius, they decided to merge the two…

The result was the Renault Espace F1, a one-off carbon-fibre minivan with a mid-mounted 800bhp V10 F1 engine, a top speed of nearly 200mph, and publicity other manufacturers could only dream of.

This fantastic recreation of Renault’s unhinged MPV is the work of Flickr’s Sergio Batista, and features replica decals, 3D-printed wheels, LED lights, a detailed engine and brick-built suspension, plus – in authentic Espace tradition – space for multiple mini-figures. There’s lots more of the model to see at Sergio’s photostream you can race back to when Renault were on top via the link above.

Red Before Yellow

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This is a Bucyrus 495HR electric rope shovel, a 1970s-designed mining excavator capable of lifting over 100 tons at a time. Which make is very large indeed.

So large in fact, that this astounding fully-functional recreation of the 495HR is actually mini-figure scale, making this probably the largest ‘Town’ category post this site has ever published.

Created by Konajra of Flickr, it’s an update to his previously blogged Caterpillar 7495, adopting the original red livery of its creator Bucyrus before the design was purchased by Caterpillar, who painted it yellow and who still use it today.

With remote control movement via a suite of motors and several third-party programmable SBricks, LED lighting, and authentically replicated decals, Konajra’s creation is one of the most impressive of 2025, and there’s lots more to see – including some work-in-progress shots – at his ‘Bucyrus 495HR’ album. Take a closer look red rope shovelling before Caterpillar yellow via the link above.

Dihedral Synchro-Helix

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You see, it’s not all Your Mom jokes and toilet humour here at The Lego Car Blog, because today we’re doing science. Just look at that title!

The source of our newfound intelligence is this incredible Koenigsegg Agera RS by Eurobricks’ mihao, which includes – amongst much else – fully functional dihedral synchro-helix doors.

Of course our enormous brains know exactly what ‘dihedral synchro-helix’ means, but we’re not going to write it here so as not to alienate our readers.

Besides those brainiac doors, mihao’s phenomenal Technic Supercar includes opening front and rear clamshells, a removable roof, front and rear LED lights, remote control drive, steering, and motorised adjustable independent suspension, plus a V8 engine hooked up to an eight-speed (plus neutral and reverse) paddle-shift sequential gearbox.

It’s a Technic engineering masterclass, and one you can have a go at yourself as mihao has released building instructions for his astonishing model for free (a hundred TLCB Points to mihao).

There’s loads more to see, including a link to those free instructions, at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can watch this amazing Agera in action via the video below. Click the link above to earn your engineering doctorate.

YouTube Video

Well Groomed

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As you’d expect, working for a world-famous Lego website means VIP invites, public speaking events, and meetings with top LEGO executives. Therefore being well-groomed is an essential part of the job.

Well, we’d imagine it is anyway. Fortunately we’re not The Brothers Brick and thus we receive precisely none of the above. So we can look like tramps.

But today, and most unusually, we do in fact have a grooming device in TLCB Towers! Because this is a 1:13 scale fully remote controlled Kässbohrer PistenBully 800w snow-groomer, and it’s tremendous.

Constructed by Zeta Racing of Flickr, this incredible creation features no fewer than twelve Power Functions motors, providing remote control to the drive and skid-steering, snow-plough blade elevation, profile and tilt, crane and winch operation, and the remarkably complicated looking, um… grooming thingy on the back.

A piston engine, four sets of LED lights, and superb custom decals also feature, making Zeta’s build one of the most impressive Technic creations of the year so far.

Beautifully presented as well as engineered, there’s much more of this phenomenal model to see at Zeta Racing’s photostream, where over thirty top-quality images are available to view.

Click the link above to see snow groomed better than any human here at TLCB…

Digging Dirt

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The Elves here at TLCB Towers eat all sorts of things. These include actual meals, awarded to them for finding a blog-worthy creation such as this one, but also glue sticks, dog treats, erasers, and anything else they deem edible.

This means that everyone’s least favourite job is cleaning out the Elves’ cage room, but today this TLCB Writer doesn’t have to get close to the little turds’, um… turds, because he can clean remotely thanks to this spectacular fully motorised Volvo EC300E excavator!

Built by Nura of Eurobricks, this incredible creation blends the best of Technic and third-party suppliers, with three SBricks delivering Bluetooth control to eight Power Functions motors, a suite of Bricktec LED lights, and two custom pneumatic units, with the result being that the 3D-printed bucket can move just like the real thing.

The tracks, rotating superstructure, two-stage boom, bucket, and twin pneumatic compressors are all operable remotely, with the electronics hidden inside a superbly realistic and authentically liveried exterior.

It’s a masterpiece of Lego engineering, and you can see more of Nura’s amazing creation at the Eurobricks forum, and via the video below. Take a look via the links whilst we put this Volvo to work.

Good Prospects

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This enormous floating monolith is – according to its maker Vince_Toulouse – a ‘T8-Prospector’, and it’s magnificent.

Whilst we know not what it does, we do know that Bionicle, Galidor, and Duplo pieces are used in its immense construction.

Motorised mechanics including the arm-mounted drill and LED lighting bring Vince’s spectacular creation to life, and there’s more to see of this other-worldly machine on Flickr via the link above.

Big Fifty

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Turning fifty is a big occasion, and especially so for today’s birthday boy. Yes Big Foot, the original car-crushing monster truck, is half-a-century old!

This spectacular brick-built replica of the Ford F-250-based colossus is the work of Orion Pax aka Alex Jones (no not that one), complete with custom chrome, superbly authentic decals, plus LED lights and remote control drive and steering.

It’s a monstrously good build and there’s more to see of Alex’s fantastic fiftieth birthday homage to the all-time monster truck great at his photostream. Click the link above to take a look, or here to see more of Big Foot doing what it does best.

When a Truck Overtook a Rally Car

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Back in the ’80s, motorsport rules were… loose. Group B rallying created monsters beyond anything seen before, and Dakar… well that was even wilder. Entered in the late-’80s, DAF’s unbelievable eleven-ton TurboTwin 95 X1 was powered by two engines with three turbochargers each, producing a combined 1,200bhp, and which – as this infamous helicopter footage from the 1988 event shows – made it so fast it could overtake the leading cars.

Piloted by Dutch legend Jan de Rooy, the TurboTwin won the truck category in 1987, before an awful 180km/h crash killed one of Jan’s teammates the following year, causing DAF to immediately halt all motorsport activities and withdraw the TurboTwin mid-competition.

Sadly we’d not see its like again, but we can still get up close to DAF’s astonishing Dakar racer courtesy of previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and his spectacular brick-built replica.

Constructed in 1:16 scale, Nako’s TurboTwin recreation includes those two triple-turbo engines, complete with intake pipes, radiators and intercoolers, pressure vessels and ancillaries, a removable body liveried with superbly replicated decals, a hugely detailed interior behind opening doors, and full LED lighting from Brickstuff.

On display at the DAF Museum in Eindhoven later this year, there’s more to see of Nanko’s amazing creation at his ‘DAF TurboTwin 95 X1’ album on Flickr, and you can overtake a Dakar-winning Peugeot rally car at 200km/h in an eleven ton truck via the link above.

Duke 690

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LEGO’s expanding range of 1:5 scale Technic motorcycle sets is not only allowing fans to build some of the world’s best bikes in brick form, it’s also furnishing the Lego Community with a plethora of new pieces to enable them to create their own.

This is one such creation, borne from the pieces found within LEGO’s flagship motorcycle sets, and constructed by JoKo of Eurobricks. This stunning KTM 690 Duke brings a bike brand not yet amongst LEGO’s licensed partners into the fold, and includes working steering and suspension, a detailed engine with piston, timing chain, camshaft, and a light-brick synchronised with the combustion cycle, and a sequential gearbox.

JoKo has also built a motorised display stand that allows his model’s engine and gearbox to operate, and you can check out the full details, imagery, and a video of the bike in action at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Insanity Incoming

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Is there any car more likely to be driven by someone with a looser grip on reality than the Hummer H1. You’ll notice there’s no question mark at the end of that sentence because no, no there isn’t.

Owned exclusively by those who don’t believe in vaccines, but do believe that 911 was a hoax, in staged mass shootings, giant space lasers, and that the government controls the weather, the Venn diagram for the Hummer H1, Collecting Canned Food, and Wildly Unnecessary Gun Display overlaps so tightly it’s just a circle.

As socialist Europeans, the Hummer H1 is very much Not Our Sort of Car, but no matter, because this Model Team replica of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s electoral chariot is fantastic.

Complete with the pre-requisite American Flag, Tony Bovkoon’s brick-built H1 features four Power Functions L Motors for drive, Servo steering, LED lights, working suspension, four opening doors, and is fully remote controlled. Just like the weather apparently.

There’s much more of the model to see at Tony’s ‘Hummer H1’ album on Flickr, and you can join the Flat-Earthers, members of QAnon, and Marjorie Taylor Greene hoarding ammo and decrying Socialism via the link above.

Light It Up

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It’s the early-’80s, and computers have the power of a Casio wristwatch. But that didn’t stop programmer Kevin Flynn from being sucked inside one and having to fight his way out. Kinda like trying to leave Facebook today.

The 1982 movie ‘TRON’ was groundbreaking in both its exploration of the virtual world and its use of computer generated imagery (CGI), which handily fitted the visuals required by the storyline perfectly. And it featured some wicked-cool motorbikes.

This is the aforementioned virtual vehicle, the TRON ‘Light Cycle’, brought to physical reality by TLCB Master MOCer Sariel, lit via beautiful LED strip lighting and rotary beacons from Brickstuff, and powered and controlled by a BuWizz 2.0 bluetooth brick.

A LEGO RC Buggy Motor drives the bike’s (amazing) rear wheel whilst a Power Functions Servo steers, and you can watch this incredible creation in action via the video below. A full gallery of stunning imagery is available at Sariel’s ‘TRON Bike’ Flickr album, and you can discover how he creates jaw-dropping models like this via the link to his interview here at TLCB in the text above.

YouTube Video

Microscale Mech Mining

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It’s sometime in the future, where humankind have traversed the vast void of space, colonised  whole new worlds, and yet are still digging big holes in the ground to extract minerals. Sigh.

Interplanetary destruction aside, Duncan Lindbo‘s ‘Gila’ six-legged mobile mining mech does look rather neat though, and it comes to life too, thanks to a motorised bucket-wheel and LED lighting.

There’s more of this microscale mech to see at Duncan’s photostream, and you can lay waste to an alien eco-system via the link above.