Tag Archives: Lego

Behind Enemy Lines

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After decades of peace, Europe is once more at war, thanks to an under-endowed dictator intent on re-colonisation. However the last time war raged along Russia’s borders, it was defending against, rather than fighting for, a maniacal despot.

This wonderful diorama depicts a small part of that fight, when in 1942 German ace Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke was shot down by a Soviet Air Forces Hawker Hurricane, crash landing on an icy lake. 

His Messerschmitt Bf 109 slipped through the ice to the bottom of the water, but Wolf-Dietrich survived to continue his service in the Luftwaffe, before finally being killed in action in March of 1944, with a scarcely believable 162 victories to his name.

Constructed by Jonah Padberg, this beautiful creation captures the moment of Wolf-Dietrich’s crash, and you can visit the frozen lake on which he landed, before it claimed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 but not his life, via the link above.

Blue and Yellow*

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A lucky Elf is the recipient of two meal tokens this morning, thanks to Flickr’s Calin (aka _Tiler) and these two fantastic hot rods beautifully presented alongside one another in the same shot.

A regular bloggee here at TLCB, these two hot rods join an extensive back-catalogue of blogged builds, and there’s more to see of them and the rest of Calin’s creations at his photostream via the link above.

*Today’s title song.

Cam Sensation

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Don’t worry, we’re not exposing your Mom’s side hustle. Rather this excellent brick-built Petebilt 389 dump truck, the full-size version of which is owned by the uncle of its creator StudWorks of Flickr.

StudWorks’ aforementioned uncle is apparently “dash cam sensation” ‘Joey Whispers 1776’ who we… er, hadn’t heard of, but a quick look at his videos shows he doesn’t whisper at all. He does swear though. A lot.

Stud’s homage to his uncle’s truck includes a working dumping mechanism with lift-gate, posable lift-axle, and some splendid detailing, with more to see at his ‘JoeyWhispers1776 Peterbilt 389 Dump Truck’ album on Flickr.

Click the first link in the text above to find all of the imagery of StudWork’s Peterbilt, or the second to watch ol’ uncle Joey swearing at traffic.

Squaring the Circle

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The Porsche 911, having its roots in the Nazi’s “peoples’ car“, is a rather bubbly, round, and curvaceous vehicle.

The official LEGO 10295 Porsche 911 set is not therefore the obvious parts choice from which to construct a supercar from a brand at the very other end of the design spectrum; wilfully angular Lamborghini.

At least it wouldn’t be the obvious choice for the unimaginative dullards here at TLCB Towers, however previous bloggee Marcin Majkowski is rather more creative.

Taking the resolutely round 10295 set, Marcin has somehow managed to turn it into one of the most straight-edged supercars of modern times, the limited-run Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4.

Utilising 1,204 (c80%) of the 10295 Porsche 911’s parts, Marcin’s Lamborghini includes opening scissor doors, a lifting engine cover, and working steering, and there’s more of his angular alternate to see at Eurobricks, on Bricksafe, and via Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

Click the links above to square your 10295 circle.

The Lego Train Blog

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Whilst this crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet is (mostly) a Lego Car Blog, we do like a Good Train. Which is probably the nerdiest sentence written outside of The Brothers Brick. Still, this is a very Good Train indeed, and it comes from previous bloggee Nikolaus Lowe.

A replica of a 1908 German steam locomotive ‘PtL 2/2 Glaskasten’, Nikolaus’ creation includes gorgeous detailing, some wonderful brick-built valve gear, remote control drive, and custom LED lighting front and rear.

Built for a competition there’s more of Nikolaus’ lovely locomotive to see on Flickr, and you can jump back to Germany in 1908 via the link in the text above.

Paint my Porsche

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This incredible car is a Porsche 911.2 Speedster, and it’s been built as a commissioned piece by previous bloggee 3DsupercarBricks.

Consisting of around 1,000 parts, with opening doors, front trunk, engine cover, and flip roof, 3D’s commissioned Speedster has – purists look away now – been custom painted in the real Porsche ‘Azzuro Thetys’ metallic paint to create the amazing aesthetic you can see here.

Custom 3D-printed wheels add to the authenticity and there’s much more of the painted Porsche to see at 3D’s photostream.

Click the link in the text above to take a look at all of the fantastic images, whilst we ponder whether spraying a Lego model faded-red-and-rust to accurately recreate the office’s Rover 214 would deliver the same wow factor as 3D’s ‘Azzuro Thetys’ metallic…

Super Sunday

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If you’re six (or a TLCB Elf), this post is for you. Yes today we have two of the greatest supercars ever made in LEGO form, and best of all they’re tiny, showing you don’t need to have a million pieces to build a blogworthy replica of your favourite supercar.

The first (above) is Jonathan Elliott‘s beautifully presented Lamborghini Diablo GTR, constructed to almost ridiculous accuracy in Speed Champions scale. Parts facing in every direction hint at the complexities within, and there’s more of the model to see at Jonathan’s photostream.

Today’s second small-scale supercar (below) is one from a later decade, the phenomenal Lexus LFA. Also constructed in Speed Champions scale, Flickr’s Tommy ñ has captured the iconic carbon-fibre supercar superbly in brick form, and you can check it out at his photostream via the link above.

Whirligig

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The LEGO Company likes an ultralight helicopter. Like this one. And this one. And this one. Which were all slightly tragic.

However today’s example of the diet helicopter looks actually rather cool, particularly in this clever upwards shot. Flickr’s atp357 is the builder, there are cunning techniques in abundance, and you can take to the air via the link above.

Scania & Stepframe

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From a truck-based flight of whimsy to a hauler altogether more real-world. Ralph Savelsberg’s Scania T730 with stepframe trailer is an exact miniaturisation of one of the trucks in use by Hodge’s of Scotland, pictured here with a Volvo excavator in tow. A replica livery adds to the realism and there’s more of the models to see at Ralph’s album by clicking here.

MANions

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Today’s post is a Minion-coloured MAN with a mobile banana lab. Because shut up, that’s why.

The highest grossing animated movie franchise of all time, the Minions certainly have the resources, if not the intellect, for a giant mobile banana research centre. But seeing as mankind has genuinely conducted studies to determine that ‘Electric Fans have a Beneficial Effect in Extreme Heat’, ‘All Mammals above 3kg in Weight Empty their Bladders in Between 8 and 34 Seconds’, and – our favourite – ‘People Would be Able to Run Across a Pond if it was on the Moon and They were Wearing Flippers’, who are we to argue with the Minions’ choice of research?

Flickr’s Stefan is the unseen supervillain in command of this arrangement, and there’s more of his MANion to see at his photostream. Click the link above take a look, or here to learn that, shockingly, ‘People Adjust their Clothing Choices Depending Upon the Temperature‘. Thanks Scientists.

My Other Car’s a Ferrari

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Once seen as a knock-off Ferrari, yet now revered more than the Maranello products it sought to take on, Honda’s NSX is often regarded as the pinnacle of driver’s cars.

It’s fitting then, that this stunning Technic recreation of the first generation Honda NSX is built only from the parts found within an official Ferrari product, the LEGO Technic 42143 Ferrari Daytona SP3.

Built by Eurobricks’ Romanista, who is making not just their TLCB debut but also posting their first ever creation online, this amazing alternate includes all-wheel double-wishbone suspension with positive caster, working steering with Ackermann geometry, a V6 engine linked to a functional gearbox, pop-up headlights, and opening doors, front trunk and engine cover.

Full details and further imagery of Romanista’s spectacular 42143 alternative can be found at the Eurobricks discussion forum via the link above, and if you’d like to check out TLCB’s huge archive of brilliant B-Models that have appeared here over the years – many of which have building instructions available – you can start your search by clicking here.

HINO HE

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The Toyota Corporation owns many, many things. From shares in well known brands including  Subaru, Daihatsu, Isuzu, Mazda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Panasonic, to telecommunications, housing, steel manufacture, and even broadcasting networks.

Since the 1960s they’ve also invested in trucks, via Japanese commercial vehicle and engine maker Hino, and now wholly own the company.

This is one of the brand’s products from those early years, the Hino HE, as constructed beautifully in Model Team scale by TLCB newcomer TsungNing Lee.

Featuring working steering, a tilting cab, opening doors, a superbly detailed chassis, and some really inventive parts choices to recreate the HE’s curvy shape, TsungNing’s Hino is well worth a closer look, and you can do just that via their ‘HINO HE’ album on Flickr. Click the link above make the jump to all the images.

My Other Car’s a Camaro

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Whilst the ‘pony car’ revolution was sweeping America in the ’60s, pioneered by the Ford Mustang bringing affordable power to the masses, here in the UK we decided we wanted a piece of the action too.

Thus Ford of Europe decided to create its own sporty car for the common man, and the rather excellent looking Capri was born. Produced with twelve different engines ranging from 1.3 to >3.0 litres, there was a Capri for everyone, and it showed in the wildly successful sales figures.

Two generations of Capri followed the 1968 original, with the model name finally retired in the mid-’80s as buyers switched to hot hatchbacks. It’s the first generation we have pictured here, as built by previous bloggee Szunyogh Balázs (aka gnat.bricks) entirely from the parts found within the official LEGO Icons 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 set.

Opening doors, hood and tailgate all feature, as does a detailed engine and a life-like interior, and there’s more of Szunyogh’s Ford Capri 10304 B-Model to see on Flickr. Click the link above to take a look at the UK’s equivalent of the Ford Mustang, built only from the parts of its fiercest rival.

Agent Orange

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It’s been a while since we let TLCB Elves watch Transformers cartoons, but today a number are happily crowded round an ancient TV thanks to one of their number and this; Angus MacLane‘s OR-ANJ G1 Transformer.

A normal-looking orange coupe (apart from the roof-mounted rocket launcher, which – let’s face it – we’ve all wanted as an optional extra at times), Angus’ creation can niftily transform from car to rocket-wielding robot via a few swivels, and there’s more to see at his photostream, where a range of other brick-built robotic contraptions can also be found.

Ascent to Orbit

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Uh oh, more sci-fi incompetence from TLCB Writers. But it is ‘SHIPtember’, the annual month-based bandwagon wherein builders create science fiction builds one-hundred studs or more in length, so at least the creations are impressive even if our descriptions are not.

This one is the ‘USS Alliance’, a ‘United States Space Navy (USSN) Potomac-Class guided missile frigate’, according to the immensely talented Ryan Olsen, and measures 106 studs in length.

Constructed from over 4,000 pieces, Ryan has presented his creation just as beautifully as he’s built it, with the model pictured here ascending into orbit alongside another one of his other brick built behemoths.

There’s more of the build to see at Ryan’s ‘USS Alliance’ album, and you can make the jump to orbit alongside 106 studs of ‘SHIPtember’ brilliance via the link above.