Tag Archives: Off-Road

All Fours

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The SUV dominates today’s new car market. Whether they’re four-wheel-drive or only look like they’re four-wheel-drive, all are tapping into the marketing of an outdoorsy lifestyle. Which usually means adverts showing impossibly handsome people parked at the beach. Or going hang-gliding off a mountain. Or unpacking some kayaks.

Of course the most adventurous thing the owners will actually do is watch a nature documentary on Netflix, but that hasn’t slowed the unstoppable rise of the pseudo-4×4. Today though, we have two proper all-wheel drive icons, the legendary Audi quattro, and the evergreen Jeep Wrangler.

The Audi (above) comes from Sam Andreas (aka Sseven Bricks), who has placed his superb Speed Champions Audi quattro Sport in its natural environment, navigating a perilous icy mountain pass high above Monaco. It’s here the quattro demonstrated to the world the benefits of all-wheel-drive in a performance car, and today almost every high performance saloon, estate, and yes – SUV, is driven by all four wheels.

At the other end of the four-wheel-drive scale is the Jeep Wrangler, a car derived from a vehicle so synonymous with off-roading it became the catch-all name for anything 4×4. This brick-built version of the Wrangler’s latest incarnation (below) is the work of yelo_bricks, who’s captured the ‘JL’-series in Speed Champions scale with aplomb.

There’s more to see of both four-wheel-drive icons on Flickr. Take a look via the links above whilst we – as SUV owners – go hang-gliding off a mountain or something.

Marble Run

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This skeletal-looking creation is a Mack Marble trial truck, and it comes from regular bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Thirdwigg, who has eschewed his usual all-mechanical approach for a suite of Power Functions electronics. Which means his latest model has done 100% more Elf-smushing than all his others combined.

There are mechanical functions too though, with working suspension and a 5-cylinder piston engine present, and you can check out more of Thirdwigg’s Mack Marble at his Flickr album of the same name.

Technic Trials

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Technic building can be difficult. In fact the comment we receive most into The Lego Car Blog Inbox (besides spam for crypto currencies obviously) is ‘Can I have building instructions?’. Well yes, today you can! Because this superb fully RC flatbed trial truck by TLCB Master MOCer Kyle Wigboldy (aka Thirdwigg) has been published with free building instructions. One hundred TLCB Points to Kyle. Four-wheel-drive, steering, and all-wheel-suspension are on the features list and you can find all the (beautiful) imagery and the link to building instructions at Kyle’s ‘Off Road Pickup Truck’ album. Take a look via the second link above, plus you can click the first to read Kyle’s interview here at TLCB.

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.

Zillie Smalls

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The Lego Car Blog Elves have a well-publicised penchant for extreme violence. They’ve squashed, flattened, and smushed one-another via a variety of brick-built creations, and whilst they may be mythical, the stains left by their bodily fluids certainly aren’t.

Cue another can of carpet foam today, thanks to previous bloggee gyenesvi and this most excellent Buwizz-powered Zil 130 trial truck.

Propelled by two Powered-Up L Motors driving all six wheels with another controlling the steering, and with live-axle suspension (coil up front and leaf sprung at the rear), gyenesvi’s Zil can climb over almost anything, including a few unsuspecting Elves who were quietly watching something with Megan Fox in on the TV in their cage room.

Luckily for us gyensvi’s Zil trial truck is actually really small (and therefore a rather clever feat of Technic engineering), and thus it didn’t take long before an Elf got wedged between the rear wheels and brought the rampage to an end.

There’s more of the model to see at both the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe, where links to building instructions can also be found, plus you can watch the truck in action in the video below. Take a look via the links above, whilst we sponge some Elf blood out of the carpet.

YouTube Video

Mysterious Liking

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There are some things that this TLCB Writer probably shouldn’t admit to liking. Made in Chelsea. His own farts. Nickelback. Star Wars Episode I. And, most embarrassingly of all, the Opel Frontera.

Launched in 1991, the Opel Frontera (or Vauxhall Frontera in our home market) was based on the amazingly-named Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard, and is perhaps the most successful worst car ever, being rebadged around the world as the aforementioned Opel/Vauxhall Frontera, the Holden Frontera, Chevrolet Rodeo, Isuzu Rodeo, Honda Passport, and finally the Landwind X6/X9.

Each was a different flavour of awfulness, with appalling build quality, terrible ride and handling, leaking doors, an interior of the dreariest plastic imaginable, and yet… this TLCB Writer rather likes them. This is one of those occasions were it’s a good thing our identities are secret.

Cue a strange enthusiasm therefore, when one of our Elves found this brick-built example on Flickr, as created brilliantly by Fedor Kolbasin.

Featuring all-wheel-drive, working steering and suspension, four opening doors, plus one of the most realistic interiors we’ve ever seen fitted to a Technic model, Fedor’s Opel Frontera blends working functions with a beautifully executed exterior to create one of the nicest ’90s 4x4s we’ve published yet. (Even if you’re not as much of a Frontera fan as the writer of this inexplicably is. Ed.)

There’s lots more of the model to see at Fedor’s ”99 Opel Frontera / Isuzu Rodeo’ album, and you can head to peak ’90s SUV-ness via the link above. You might even leave with a mysterious liking for the real thing. (Probably not though. Ed.)

Deere Wrangling

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The LEGO Technic 42157 John Deere 948L-II set hasn’t borne many B-Models here at The Lego Car Blog to date. Just one in fact. Which is odd, as it does look like a rather good source of parts, and it comes with four mega yellow wheels.

Cue newcomer legoRookie2021, who has repurposed the pieces from 42157 to create this gloriously cartoony Jeep Wrangler. Reminiscent of those insane Icelandic cliff-climbing racers, Rookie’s Wrangler includes working steering, a six-cylinder engine, opening doors and hood, plus an intriguing pneumatic suspension system.

Instructions are available and you can see more of Rookie’s Wrangler alternate at the Eurobricks forum – click the link above to swap your John for a Jeep.

The Weird One

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The Mercedes-Benz section of our A-Z of Lego Trucks is about 85% Unimog. A licensed LEGO set, alternates built from other LEGO sets, fire trucks, snow plows, tippers, cranes… there are nearly as many brick-built variants of Mercedes-Benz’s famous off-road tractor as there are variations of the real thing.

Cue TLCB Master MOCer, and builder behind many of the Unimogs already in the Archive, Kyle Wigboldly (aka Thirdwigg), who adds another to his already expansive back-catalogue. And this time it’s the weird one.

Thirdwigg’s Technic 1:21 recreation of the Unimog U90 captures its strange asymmetrical form brilliantly and is packed with working functionality. An inline 5-cylinder engine under an opening hood is turned by the wheels, there’s working ‘HOG’ steering, a rear portal axle, rear hitch, tipping load bed, and a variety of attachments than can mount both fore and aft, including a winch, street-sweeper, and snow plow.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them plus all of the excellent imagery at Thirdwigg’s ‘Unimog U90 1:21’ album on Flickr. Take a look at the weirdest Unimog of the lot via the final link in this post, plus you can discover how Thirdwigg creates models like this one via his interview here at TLCB by clicking on the third.

Kübelwagen on Location

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We run a tight ship here at The Lego Car Blog. Models need to be of the highest quality of course, but so does their presentation. We have a whole page explaining the need for clean uncluttered backgrounds, so, um… here’s a model with a messy cluttered background.

It looks fantastic though doesn’t it? Just look at that reflection. Martin Spunkt‘s Kübelwagen shows how outdoor photography should be done, and there’s more to see of the model that’s earned him his TLCB debut via the link above.

Common Off-Roading Dangers

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We’ve all been there when off-roading; you get stuck in a muddy river bank, lose your glasses, and then you’re eaten by a velociraptor.

Flickr’s 1saac W. has captured the number one off-roading danger perfectly with his early-’90s Jeep Wrangler, resplendent in Jurassic Park livery and with the prerequisite velociraptor courtesy of a LEGO 76958 Dilophosaurus Ambush set.

Join the off-road adventure via the link above, or click here to see a velociraptor eat a fat guy.

Rambo Lambo

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Supercar manufacturers might sell more SUVs now than actual supercars, but their foray into the 4×4 market is actually nothing new. Because in the mid-’80s if you were an oil sheik you could be the proud owner of this; the mad Lamborghini LM002.

Designed mostly for the Middle East, the LM002 featured bespoke sand tyres, the V12 engine from the Countach, and a 169 litre fuel tank.

301 units were produced between 1986 and 1993, with owners including sultans, princes, dictators, sons of dictators, and Tina Turner.

This one however is owned by previous bloggee Zerobricks, who has recreated the LM002 in Technic form complete with BuWizz-powered remotely controlled all-wheel-drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, independent suspension with planetary hubs, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a working V12 engine.

There’s lots more of Zerobricks’ ‘Rambo Lambo’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including renders of the drivetrain and a video of the model in action, and you can join such LM002 owners as Beyonce, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Uday Hussein via the link in the text above.

Brickin’ Bronco B-Model

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LEGO’s brand new Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 Professional Line set is proving to be a veritable goldmine of parts. Despite only launching a few weeks ago, several superb 42177 B-Models have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog already, and today we have another; this fantastic Ford Bronco by Eurobricks’ Alex Ilea.

Featuring four-wheel-drive with three locking differentials, working steering via the wheel or HOG, independent front and live-axle rear suspension, a high/low range gearbox, a V6 engine, opening doors, hood, and tailgate, a folding bench, plus removable body panels and roof, Alex’s Bronco is as packed with functionality as the official G-Wagen set on which it’s based.

91% (2,625) of the donor set’s pieces are used in the Bronco’s creation, and if you prefer your 4x4s with American fun rather than German assertiveness you too can turn your 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Ford Bronco, as Alex has also produced building instructions for his alternate design. See more at both the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe, plus you can also click here to watch a video of Alex’s Bronco B-Model in action.

Ice Blocks

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re the best place to find the highest quality images of the finest Lego vehicles anywhere on the internet. OK… we’re a place to find said vehicles, but whist the quality of this site may be dubious, the vehicles and the imagery that appear here are top class.

Our Submission Guidelines set out what we look for, and key among these are clean, clutter-free images, preferably on a white background. This is the easiest way to ensure your creation is blog-worthy, but if you want to play in ‘hard mode’, then you can take your images to a whole new level…

Recent bloggee Nathan Hake has done just that, taking his previously blogged remote control MAZ-537 8×8 off-road truck (presented beautifully on a clean, clutter-free, white background), and chucking it onto the snow and mud.

The results are spectacular, with the Model Team MAZ looking almost life-size when set against a backdrop that the real vehicle was built for, and it also gave Nathan the chance to test his model’s off-road credentials.

You can watch how Nathan’s MAZ-537 got on in the snow by clicking here, where you can also find these stunning new on-location photos alongside the studio-based originals. Take a look via the link above, and perhaps be inspired to take your models outside too.

My Other Car’s a G-Wagen

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In the vehicular arms-race raging around TLCB Towers, a normal SUV is no longer enough. Range Rovers, new Defenders, and G-Wagens (all in black of course) appear to be the minimum entry requirements, and thus we’re convinced it won’t be long before little Isabella is picked up from her private school in an actual tank. Painted black.

Or one of these…

The Hummer H1 was the ‘civilian’ version of the military HMMWV ‘Humvee’, designed to appeal to those convinced that civil war will start any day now, and they must protect themselves, and their family.

Constructed solely from the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set, Eric Trax’s brilliant Hummer H1 B-Model captures the outrageousness of the real deal wonderfully in brick form.

Using around 2,500 pieces (86%) of the original set, Eric’s H1 features four-wheel-drive with a centre locking differential, a V8 piston engine under an opening hood, HOG steering, a high/low gearbox, independent suspension, plus opening and locking doors and a dropping tailgate.

Presented as beautifully as it’s been made, there’s more to see of Eric’s fantastic 42177 alternate at his ‘Hummer H1 – Lego 42177 Model B’ album on Flickr and via the video below, where you can also find a link to building instructions.

Convert your Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen into a Hummer H1 via the link above, and win the SUV arms race once and for all! Unless Isabella’s Mom gets that tank…

YouTube Video

Acceptable in the ’80s

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A simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck would probably do brilliantly in 2024. But because they don’t cost much less to produce that monstrosities like this, guess what manufacturers choose to make…

Back in the ’80s though, and you could buy a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck, with Toyota’s being so simple it didn’t even have a name, being called simply the ‘pick-up’.

It did in the rest of the world though, where the ‘Hilux’ gained a legendary reputation. This neat grey Technic recreation of the ’80s icon (pictured in front of some equally grey ’80s wallpaper – buy some white card paave!) comes from previous bloggee paave, and features four-wheel-drive linked to a 4-cylinder engine and a high/low gearbox, leaf-spring suspension, working steering, plus opening (and locking) doors, hood and tailgate.

There’s more of paave’s ’85 Toyota Hilux to see at the Eurobricks forum, where a link to building instructions can also be found. Build yourself a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck in 2024 – even if it is from the ’80s – via the link above!

*Today’s (fantastic) title song.