This dinky 1950s Mercedes-Benz Unimog ‘Gasolin’ tanker probably isn’t going fill many gas tanks, but it’s going to look properly cute filling what it can. Christoph Ellermann‘s is the builder behind this wonderful classic off-road tractor, and you can fill your tank in the ’50s, as long as too many people haven’t filled theirs first, via the link in the text above.
TLCB Elves like giant remote controlled behemoths here at The Lego Car Blog. So do we if we’re honest, but we’re also marginally more sophisticated than our mythical workforce, and thus we also like creations that are rather smaller. In fact, clever parts usage, attention to detail, and top-notch presentation often count for more in small-scale.
Proving that point today we have two excellent examples of small-scale building, each of which is only approximately Speed Champions set size, yet packs the visual punch of models a hundred times the parts count.
The first of today’s small-scale creations (above) is previous bloggee SFH_Bricks‘ superb Mercedes-Benz CLK LM. Entered in the 1998 24 Heures du Mans, both CLK LMs retired around the half-way point with engine issues, but were the fastest cars by some margin prior to their retirement. Entered in shorter races and the CLK LMs were dominant, coming first and second in every single round of the ’98 FIA Endurance Championship. You could even get a road legal version, which SFH_Bricks has built too.
Today’s second small-scale build comes from Ids de Jong, and is a gloriously Blacktron-coloured cyperbunk sports car entitled the ‘Blackstar CX2′. Two deeply cool-looking mini-figures (or – presumably – two less cool-looking ones) can fit inside, and there’s more of Ids’ creation to see at their photostream.
Click the links above to check out more of both builds, and if you’ve found a small-scale creation that you think is deserving of an appearance here you can take a look at our Submission Guidelines and let us know by clicking these words.
Running a world-famous Lego blog has its upsides. Probably.
We however, are running a crumbling ruin in the corner of the internet, and whilst we receive precisely none of the fame and riches of the proper Lego sites, we do receive all the spam, marketing messages, ‘guest post’ requests, and doubtless-deserved complaints that go with it.
These take many forms, but are usually centred around medicines of a dubious nature, ‘Gucci’ handbags, and women of an also dubious nature. Cue today’s title, because we already receive a torrent of spam on the subject, how much worse can it get?
These two mini-figure scale escort vans are not the European Ford variety (nor ladies of negotiable affection), but the sort used to prevent inattentive drivers from crashing into the back of a slow-moving house, boat, or house-boat.
Built by regular bloggee Ralph Savelsberg they are a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Volkswagen Transporter respectively, both feature some neat decal-based liveries, and there’s more of each van to see at Ralph’s photostream. Click the link above to be escorted there.
The most Germanic of German cars is – these days – African.
Nearly two million Mercedes-Benz W114 and W115s were built during the 1970s, with countless numbers registered as taxis across Germany.
Painted in mandatory primrose yellow, they covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres during their working lives, before – at the end of their service in Europe – being shipped to Africa to cover hundreds of thousands more, and where thousands of W114 and W115s are still in use today. It’s safe to assume taxi standards may not be quite as rigorous in their second countries of residence than they were in 1970s Germany.
Of course a sign on the roof is one of the many items that you don’t need in order to operate as a taxi in much of the world, thus battered W115s once owned by German businessmen in the ’70s are now also doing something far more important; keeping whole communities connected.
These two superb brick-built replicas of the car that continues to keep parts of Africa moving are the work of SvenJ. of Flickr, who has made free building instructions available so you can create his excellent Mercedes-Benz W115 too. There’s more of the model to see via at SvenJ.’s Flickr album, and you can head to 1970s Munich, or – more likely – central Africa today, via the link in the text above.
Ever since LEGO released the incredible 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U400 set over a decade ago, the internet has been awash with home-made ‘mogs. Dozens of the best have appeared here over the years, countless Elves have been run-over by the remote control ones, and the online Lego Community is showing no sign of slowing up on the ‘mog-making. Which we’re totally OK with, because Unimogs are cool.
They’re also interesting from an engineering perspective, and offer plenty of scope for the recreation of real-world mechanics in brick form. Cue the latest Mercedes-Benz Unimog to appear here, this excellent flat-bed U5000 built by Teo LEGO Technic.
With a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery remotely controlling the twin Power Functions XL Motor four-wheel-drive, M Motor steering, pneumatic differential locks, and a high/low gearbox, plus some serious suspension, Teo’s U5000 looks to be as good off-road as the real deal.
There’s more to see, including a video of the model in action, at the Eurobricks forum, plus a complete image gallery with mechanical break-downs can be found at Bricksafe. Click the links to take a look, and you can see all the many ‘mogs that have appeared here over the last eleven years via the search function in the sidebar or footer.
We love simple mechanical models here at The Lego Car Blog, particularly if they’re recreating simple mechanical vehicles. Cue regular bloggee Thirdwigg, and his thoroughly excellent Mercedes-Benz 917 AK truck.
Featuring no electric motors, zero app-based controls, and completely devoid of bluetooth, Thirdwigg’s truck is an old-school homage to vintage Technic sets, with a range of mechanical hand-powered functions in place of the software-based wizardry now commonplace in Technic construction.
Working ‘Hand of God’ steering, a piston engine connected to the pendular-suspended rear wheels, a high/low gearbox, tilting cab, and a three-way (snigger) tipper with dropsides pack the model with mechanical functions, and there’s more to see – including free building instructions – at Thirdwigg’s ‘Mercedes 917’ Flickr album, Rebrickable page, and Eurobricks discussion topic.
Click the links to tip it old skool.
First appearing here in December with a suitably rubbish Christmas pun, Thirdwigg’s Mercedes-Benz Unimog U423, complete with working steering, suspension, piston engine, power take-offs and free building instructions, is just the sort of creation we like.
Of course to be a proper miniature Unimog, an array of attachments and implements should also be available, to which Thirdwigg had duly obliged, with a snow plow and gritter, three-way tipping bed, and knuckle-boom crane all able to be mounted to the truck.
One combination that was missing however, was the set-up from the spectacular and considerably larger official 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, where a tipper is combined with a rear-mounted triple-boom crane and stabiliser legs.
If you missed the chance to get hold of an 8110 set when it was available, Thirdwigg may have added just what you need, creating a small-scale version of the 8110 configuration for his 1:20 scale Unimog U423.
As with the previous iterations, free building instructions are available so you can create your very own miniature 8110 at home, and you can see more of Thirdwigg’s excellent model on Flickr by clicking these words.
This is an Isdera Commendatore 112i. Nope, us neither, but apparently it was a Mercedes-Benz V12-powered supercar numbering just two units.
Futuristic in a way only an early ’90s supercar can be, the Isdera Commendatore 112i was engineered with support from Mercedes, Bilstein, and BBS, featured a gearbox from RUF, active suspension, a space-frame chassis, and even an air-brake.
The long bodywork was designed to go endurance racing, and indeed the car proved to be seriously fast. Unfortunately however, Isdera went bankrupt even faster…
Just one unit was built before Isdera’s insolvency, with a second completed six years afterwards via an enthusiast who bought an unfinished space-frame and the body moulds. Which makes the Isdera Commendatore 112i rarer than your Mom refusing cake.
This magnificent Model Team recreation of the unknown 1993 supercar is the work of TLCB debutant Jakob Semajer-Garic, and features gull-wing doors and engine covers, a replica V12 engine, and some truly incredible chassis detailing.
There’s much more to see of Jakob’s 1,600-piece Isdera Commendatore 112i at his Flickr album of the same name, where you can view over thirty superbly presented images of the model. Click the link above to take a closer look.
After spending some time with your Mom over Christmas, she said we needed ‘more endurance’. Well today’s post will rectify that (we assume this is what she meant), with no less than five glorious historic Group C / Endurance racers.
Each is the work of TLCB debutant SFH_Bricks, who has recreated an array of classic Le Mans racer winners wonderfully in Speed Champions scale, with some of the best decals (courtesy of Brickstickershop) that we’ve ever seen.
From the iconic Rothmans Porsche 956 (top), the wild V12-powered Jaguar XJR-9 LM, the Sauber C9 (above) that was so fast along the Mulsanne Straight that chicanes were added the following year, the Mazda 787B (below) – still the only car to win Le Mans without using a reciprocating engine, to the Peugeot 905 Evo (bottom) that took victory in ’92, each is a near perfect Speed Champions replica of its amazing real world counterpart.
Each model is presented beautifully and all are available to view at SFH’s ‘Le Mans Collection Series’ album on Flickr, where you can also find links to building instructions at the Rebrickable platform. Click the link above for even more endurance.
What’s more Christmassy than a Mercedes-Benz Unimog? Ok, pretty much anything that’s not a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. But then the title wouldn’t work.
This excellent 1:20 scale Mercedes-Benz Unimog U423 comes from TLCB favourite Thirdwigg, who has recreated the off-road tractor/truck rather brilliantly in the style of recent Technic sets, blending Model Team aesthetics with Technic functionality.
That functionality includes mechanical steering and drive to a piston engine, rear suspension with portal axles, front and rear power-take-offs, and a tilting cab with opening doors.
A variety of attachments can also be fitted, including a three-way (snigger) tipping bed, a crane and winch, or a snow plow and gritter. See, it was Christmassy after all! There’s more to see at Thirdwigg’s ‘Unimog U423’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found – click the link above for a Merry Christmog!
This is a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series. Although it’s blue. But confusing name aside, it is excellent, and been built (with the aid of a few 3D-printed pieces) to replicate a car owned by a YouTube influencer. Previous bloggee 3D supercarBricks is the builder behind it, and there’s lots more to see at his ‘SLS AMG’ album via the link above.
After yesterday’s MAN 8×8 expedition truck, today we have a bonus build. Casually added into the Eurobricks topic alongside the MAN, collaborative builders MTC also published this brilliant-looking Mercedes-Benz Unimog outfitted for off-road adventuring. A complete Technic chassis is topped with an excellent Model Team body, consisting of a four-door cab and an integrated RV unit, and there’s more to see alongside the previously-blogged MAN 8×8 on Eurobricks. Click the link above for more off-road adventures.
…is always a terrible idea. Every few years a new ‘F1 car for the road’ is announced, and it is inevitably an unreliable, undrivable, top-trumps card.
But then Mercedes-Benz AMG decided to have a go, and the result is… an unreliable, undrivable top-trumps card.
However perhaps that’s not as daft as it sounds. All 275 units of the AMG Project One – each powered by a 1,050bhp 1.6 litre hybrid Formula 1 engine and costing $2.72 million – were sold out years before the first car was finished, to customers who will park them in their garages alongside seventeen other unused hypercars.
Which means the fact that the AMG Project One doesn’t work is as relevant to the ownership experience as calorie information is to a KFC bucket meal customer.
Cue 3D supercarBricks‘ excellent recreation of Mercedes-AMG’s ‘F1 car for the road’, complete with opening butterfly doors, 3D-printed wheels, and as much likelihood of actually being driven as its full-size counterpart.
Top drawer building techniques and high quality presentation abound, and there’s lots more of the model to see at 3D’s photostream. Grab a KFC bucket meal, ignore the calorie information, and take a look via the link above.
This is where it all began. Supercars, muscle cars, minivans, Tesla, drive-thus, The Fast and the Furious franchise, Magic Tree air fresheners, and the Pontiac Aztek. All trace their existence back to this, the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the world’s first commercially-available motorcar.
Designed by German engineer Carl Benz, and financed by his wealthy wife, around twenty-five Patent-Motorwagens were produced, each powered by a 950cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine making between 2⁄3hp and 1.5hp. The car transported Carl’s wife Bertha and their two sons on the first ever long-distance car journey (66 miles) to raise publicity for the machine, a feat that she undertook without Carl’s knowledge or approval from the authorities. Which makes her excellent.
It worked of course, and began Benz’s journey to becoming one of the most well known companies on earth, ushering in the complete dominance of the internal-combustion-engined motorcar too, with all the planetary consequences that followed.
This lovely recreation of the motorcar’s genesis comes from Simon Pickard, who has built and presented the Benz Patent-Motorwagen beautifully in brick form. Click the link above to take a look at where it all began.
Making not only their TLCB debut, but their MOCing debut too, today’s creation publicises a newcomer to the online Lego community via a well-trodden path; the Mercedes-Benz Unimog.
We’ve featured dozens of brick-built Unimogs here over the years, and TLCB debutant Rajesh Sriram (aka Voldemort87) adds another to the roster, with his excellent fully RC truck trial version of the famous off-road truck.
PoweredUp motors deliver the all-wheel drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, whilst the cabin tilts, there’s a working piston engine, and all-wheel suspension too.
There’s more to see of Rajesh’s first published MOC at both Eurobricks and Flickr, and you can take a look via the links above.
