This delightful DAF FAS 2600 truck was found by one of our Elves today, and it comes complete with an equally satisfying drawbar trailer. The work of serial-bloggee Arian Janssens, this beautifully detailed classic combo was used to transport sugar beet, and there’s more to see of his confectionary carrying creation on Flickr. Click the link above for a taste, whilst we award the Elf that found it with an appropriately sweet treat.
Running from Burford to near Worcester, the A424 is a main north/south road in the Cotswolds, passing through the pretty Norman town of Stow-on-the-Wold whilst avoiding the busy conurbation of Chipping Norton. It’s also a 2024 Le Mans endurance racer. But back to road, an… Oh, you’d prefer the car? Um, ok… bit weird, but alright.
This is the Alpine A424. Which is not a road. It is instead rebranded-Renault’s 2024 offensive into the burgeoning Le Mans Hypercar class, using an Oreca chassis and Mecachrome V6 engine from Formula 2, but featuring lots of ‘Alpine’ decals.
This superb Speed Champions replica of the road between Burford and Worcester 2024 Le Mans Hypercar comes from SFH_Bricks, who adds it to his ever-growing list of endurance racers. Building instructions are available (as are the excellent custom stickers), and you can drive to Worcester via Stow-on-the-Wold via the link above.
Previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks doesn’t just build, well… supercars. No, he also builds mediocre European hatchbacks, such as this 2010s Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. The model includes a detailed engine, opening everything, and is enhanced by his trademark 3D-printed parts (in this case the door window frames and wheels). Take a look at 3D’s photostream via the link above, where more exotic vehicles are also available.
Or alternatively – because this is taking place in the vacuum of space – silence… But we suspect even there you’ll still be able to hear appalling George Lucas movie dialogue.
Anyway, this nerdiest-of-all-scenes comes from Flickr’s Tim Goddard, and there’s more to see of his delightfully explody TIE Fighter and the X-Wing wot did it at his photostream. Nerd-out via the link above.
A long time ago it wasn’t diesel, electricity, or gasoline that powered humanity’s vehicles, but steam. Very heavy, with minimal range and requiring regular impractical refuelling, steam-powered vehicles were nevertheless immensely powerful – far more so than those powered by other fuels – and thus they were the engines of choice for heavy duty applications, even as all other vehicle types moved on.
This is one such steam vehicle, Nikolaus Löwe‘s fabulous Fowler traction engine, here outfitted with a working crane. Connected to the tractor-part via a wonderfully complicated-looking arrangement of ratchets and gears, Nikolaus’ creation harks back to an era of coal, soot, noise, and perhaps a little magic.
Get steamy at Nikolaus’ photostream via the link above, whilst we ponder if today’s electric fuel of choice – being very heavy, with minimal range and requiring regular impractical refuelling, but nevertheless immensely powerful – really marks a century’s worth of progress from when this was trundling down the roads.
It’s the day after the conclusion of the Russian Presidential Election, in which the highest voter turn-out in history awarded incumbent Vladimir Putin an amazing 204% of the vote, securing him a record-breaking fifth consecutive term in office.
But as bad as Russia is at elections, it’s as good at off-road trucks.
State-backed Kamaz – previously part-owned by Daimler (before the Ukrainian unpleasantness), and also part-owned by a close personal friend of the newly re-elected president – produce arguably the best off-road trucks in the world, and today’s is awesome even by Kamaz’s lofty standards.
Built by previous bloggee mpj, this spectacularly cool Kamaz 8×8 Arctic Truck is roughly mini-figure* scale replica of the real eight-wheel-drive, centre-articulated behemoth.
Featuring that 8×8 drive system and articulated steering, plus pendular suspension, a tipping bed, and a working folding crane, it’s a fantastic Technic creation, and you can check it out in full at the Eurobricks forum, where an image of the real Kamaz Arctic Truck can also be found.
Click the link above to jump into the Russian Winter, as the country celebrates another six years.
*Yes, the real truck is that big!
As Russians head to the polls for another totally free and fair election, last week NATO welcomed its 32nd member state into the alliance. Recent aggression by its enormous neighbour forced Sweden to end its two century long neutrality, bringing with it some of the world’s most advanced pieces of military equipment to the defence union, including this; the formidable Saab 39E Gripen multi-role fighter.
Built by newcomer Akergarden, this incredible 1:18 scale recreation of the Saab 39E Gripen is fittingly one of the most advanced Technic aircraft we’ve yet featured, with four motors concealed inside powering the removable twin-spool turbofan engine, retractable landing gear, radar, and canopy.
A suite of mechanical functions are included too, with full flight-surface control via the cockpit stick and pedals, comprising of moving ailerons, canards, rudder, airbrake, flaps and slots, plus a working ejector seat, a folding air-refuelling beam, and nose-wheel steering.
It’s a phenomenal feat of engineering and there’s much more to see – including a video of the aircraft in action – at both the Eurobricks forum and Akergarden’s Flickr photostream. Click the links above to take a look at NATO’s newest toys, whilst we wonder who’s going to win the election in the country that necessitated their addition…
You don’t need a million pieces and to know The Brothers Brick secret handshake to see your creation blogged. A few dozen, cunningly deployed (sideways in this case), combined with careful presentation is all we need, as proven here by previous bloggee David Roberts and this delightful ‘Off-Road Tow Truck’. Working winches, a lovely Technic crane, and a cheery mini-figure make David’s model reminiscent of LEGO sets gone by (if LEGO built sideways), and there’s more to see on Flickr. Click the link above to jump sideways to David’s photostream.
We’ve all wanted to do it. Build a desk-toy forklift that is. Well Flickr’s Nathan Hake did anyway, and has done so, with this neat and brilliantly-engineered desk-appropriate creation.
A knob at the back raises the forks, enabling the movement of a variety of pallet-based items, one of which is itself smaller forklift. If that one was lifting an even smaller forklift it’d be some kind of forklift inception…
We’ll move on before our brain melts, but you can check out more of Nathan’s desk-toy forklift in action at his photostream. Click the link above to climb onto his desk.
Maserati might today make a range of boring SUVs (which brand doesn’t?), but back in the mid-’00s they made something rather more special. This is the Maserati MC12.
Based on the chassis and V12 engine of the Ferrari Enzo, just fifty road-going MC12s were produced, the minimum number required for FIA homologation. A further twelve MC12s were built to go racing, which they did very successfully, taking forty race wins and claiming six Teams and Drivers’ GT championships.
This incredible replica of the Maserati MC12 is the work of previous bloggee ArtemyZotov, who has recreated the real car in stunning detail. A working V12 engine, 6-speed sequential gearbox, adjustable suspension, steering, plus opening and removable body panels make Artemy’s MC12 one of the best Technic Supercars of recent times.
Building instructions are available, and you can find a link to these plus full build details at the Eurobricks discussion forum, with the complete image gallery available via Bricksafe; take a look via the links above.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on, shelling important strategic military targets such as maternity hospitals, apartment buildings, theatres, shopping malls, and schools, at the cost of over 10,000 civilian lives.
Of course Russia has counted its own losses in this tragic conflict, with 315,000 Russian troops killed or seriously injured to date.
Many of these have been in tank divisions, with Russia producing tanks at a rate of up to 100 a month to replace those lost. This is one such ‘Armoured Fighting Vehicle’, the Uralvagonzavod BMPT “Terminator”.
Brilliantly constructed by Flickr’s Константин Тихомиров, these two “Terminator” AFVs are ready to take on a Ukrainian nursing home, kindergarten, or post office, and you can join the effort via the link to Константин’s photostream above.
France isn’t known for strong animal symbolism, with a chicken usually being selected as the animal of choice.
Peugeot – weirdly – does have a good animal symbol, what with the marque’s badge being a roaring lion. Cue this rather appropriate Peugeot 2008 DKR, first entered into the Dakar Rally in 2015, when it was, um… held nowhere near Dakar, instead taking place in South America. Where there are no lions.
Oh well, the title would’ve made sense if the rally was still held in Senegal.
No matter, because Peugeot’s desert lion was a cunning thing, being two-wheel-drive rather than four, thus allowing it to adhere to Dakar’s ‘Buggy’ regulations which permitted far more leeway in other areas.
Powered by a twin-turbo V6 diesel, and with in-built hydraulic jacks to change inevitable punctures, the 2008 DKR was… rubbish. But the following year Peugeot returned, and – having worked out the 2008 DKR’s reliability issues – won the race outright, with the 2008’s successor winning again in 2017 and 2018.
This spectacular homage to the wild mid-2010s buggy has been constructed by previous bloggee Lipko, who has not only captured the 2008 DKR’s exterior brilliantly, he’s included the mid-mounted V6 diesel engine, in-built jacks, monster suspension, working steering, and a 4-speed sequential gearbox, plus squeezed in two spare wheels, which was apparently the hardest part of the whole build.
A neat livery, full roll-cage, and a superbly-detailed engine bay and interior add even more realism, and you can check out full details and find further photos of Lipko’s model at the Eurobricks forum.
Click the link above to see more, or on the video below to watch the desert lion in action.
YouTube Video
No, not this TLCB Writer (despite the fame and girls that writing about Lego cars brings*), but this rather lovely and decidedly old-school replica of a Vallée 4DA20 forklift, as built by Philippe Moisan, here making their TLCB debut.
Articulated steering, a worm-screw lifting mechanism, a detailed engine under a hinged cover, and a whole lot of studs make Philippe’s forklift a charming build, and you can check it out in full at his ‘VALLEE’ album on Flickr. Click the link above for fork-load more.
*Which is none at all.
TLCB Elves are rather fond of Lego Ferraris. Particularly red ones. Which means we have a happy contingent today, because here are no less than three of them.
Each is the work of previous bloggee Fabrice Larcheveque, who has captured the Ferrari LaFerrari, 512 BB, and 288 GTO brilliantly in 8-wide Speed Champions scale.
Fabrice’s updated builds are presented beautifully, and there’s more to see of the LaFerrari, 512 BB, 288 GTO, and many more models besides at his Flickr photostream.
Click here to take a look, where you might also find a link or two to building instructions, should you wish to create your very own Lego Ferrari at home. Or three.
It’s been a relatively quiet week here at TLCB Towers, but we can end it with three thoroughly excellent models in one. This fabulous ‘Van der Vlist’ liveried DAF XF-105 truck, Gebruder Recker gooseneck trailer, and Claas Tucano 320 combine harvester are all the work of TLCB Master MOCer Ralph Savelsberg, who has captured each in astonishing detail.
More amazingly, each model is only mini-figure(ish) scale, yet packs in as much realism as models several times the size. There’s more to see of the whole superbly presented rig and its constituent parts at Ralph’s ‘DAF XF-105 and Claas Combine Harvester’ Flickr album, plus you can read his interview here at TLCB via the first link in the text above.
