Tag Archives: Poland

Christmas Star

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It’s nearly Christmas, and so TLCB is entering the season of tenuously-titled festive posts. Cue this excellent FSC Star 21 tipper truck, which probably isn’t quite as important as the star that appeared two-thousand years ago over Bethlehem, but we still like it.

Created by Flickr’s Jakeof_ it captures the 1960s Polish truck superbly, including a working tipper with an opening tailgate too, and you can follow the Star to our infant saviour in a Bethlehem stable a building site in Poland via the link above.

A Little Nysa

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The vehicular oddity continues here at The Lego Car Blog. Unless you’re Polish, in which case today’s creation probably isn’t odd it all. It’s a 1960s Nysa N61, powered by a 2.1 litre 50bhp engine, a three-speed gearbox, and with a 0-60mph time of never. This lovely mini-figure scale recreation of the Nysa comes from previous bloggee K P, with a train front window, a ‘roller shutter’ cargo door, and best of all it appears to be carrying our favourite Danish bricks. Take a look at K P’s album via the link above.

Polishing a Fiat

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It might seem like the posts here at The Lego Car Blog are simply a scattergun of whatever the Elves have found that meets our criteria, but no – just look at the seamless and completely non-coincidental links running through the last few posts; a Ma.Ktober mech that looks like a Jurassic Park dinosaur followed by the Jurassic Park Jeep and said dinosaur, and an ancient little Fiat followed today by an even more ancient little Fiat. Exactly.

Anyway, this ancient little Fiat is a 126p, a cheap 1970s rear-engined city car that unbelievably endured until 2000 in Polish Polski-Fiat form. Over three-million Fiat / Polski-Fiat 126s were produced during its 28 year production run, and this excellent brick-built homage to one of Europe’s most popular people’s cars captures the real Polish 126p in wonderful detail.

Working suspension, posable steering, opening doors, front trunk and engine cover, an accurate engine, and a superbly life-like interior all feature, and there’s much more to see – including a link to building instructions – courtesy of SIM CAMAT on Flickr.

Click the link above to take a look, whilst we try to somehow link whatever the Elves find next with a 1970s Fiat…

50cc of Fun

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We often feature vehicles with ginormous engines here at TLCB. Because we’re six. But there is much joy to be had at the other end of the vehicular scale, and nowhere is that more evident than the humble moped. Cheap, slow, and hilarious fun, 50cc is all you need for a good time.

This example is a Polish Romet Pony, produced from 1978 until 1994, with a top speed of just 40km/h, and with an engine smaller than most food blenders. And we love it.

Flickr’s Fuku Saku is the builder, and there’s more to see of this wonderful machine at his ‘Romet Pony M2’ album. Click the link to go for a ride.

Polestar

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Communist Polish manufacturer FSC – makers of vehicular magnificence such as this – also made something not terrible. FSC’s Star truck line began in the late 1940s, and despite the shackles of the Iron Curtain produced reliable, cheap and reasonably powerful heavy duty trucks for a variety of markets until it was swallowed up by MAN in the 1990s. This is one such truck, the Star 660, as created really rather wonderfully by previous bloggee [Maks]. Ingenious parts usage, clever building techniques, and a custom mini-figure are all worth a closer look, and you can follow the pole star on Flickr via the link.

Zuk but Nysa

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This is a ZSD Nysa 522, a Polish communistical van based on the FSC Zuk, only a little nicer (hence our terrifically amusing title!). The Zuk was itself based on an FSO, which was based on a GAZ, making the Nysa the last link in effectively one long chain of Iron Curtain automotive misery.

Said Iron Curtain meant the Nysa 522 remained in production – unbelievably – until 1994, by which time the newly democratic Polish government could elect to import vans that weren’t based on the design of a Russian passenger car from the 1940s.

This lovely Model Team recreation of the ZSD Nysa 522 comes from previous bloggee and weird-Eastern-European-communist-era-specialist Legostalgie, who has captured its characterful styling beautifully. There are opening doors, including a clever sliding one on the passenger side, a detailed engine, and a lifelike interior, and there’s much more to see at Legostalgie’s ‘Nysa 522’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found.

Click the link above to take a look, and the link above that to see all of the weird-Eastern-European-communist-era vehicles from Legostalgie that have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog to date. All are fantastic, but we think this one is even a little Nysa…

Zuk Me

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This is an FSC Zuk, a Polish one-ton truck based on an FSO based on a GAZ from the ’50s. And we love it. Because it’s crap.

Like pretty much everything from behind the Iron Curtain, the Zuk was cheap, simple, and produced for far longer than it should have been. It’s TLCB of trucks.

This lovely Model Team recreation of the FSC Zuk in curtain-sided flatbed form comes from Soviet specialist Legostalgie of Flickr, who has captured the Polish workhorse beautifully. Expert detailing and some rather clever building techniques make this one of our favourite vehicles of the year so far, and there’s lots more of it to see at Legostalgie’s photostream – Click the link to make the jump.

Polish Bison

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The European Bison is one of Poland’s national animals. Hunted to extinction in the wild (as late as the 1920s – surely we knew better by then?), the heaviest land animal in Europe has now been reintroduced successfully across multiple countries, led by Poland, and has progressed from ‘Extinct’, through ‘Threatened’, and is now classified as ‘Near Threatened’, which has got to be a win for nature.

Cue this rather formidable looking classic combine harvester by Flickr’s Montgomery Burns (no, not that one), a Polish machine which shares its name with their national animal. The whirly thingies, spikey thingies, and the tube out the side (we’re not farmers…) are all accurately recreated in brick, and there’s more to see at Montgomery’s photostream. Click the link above to take a look.

Just Like a 911. Sort of.

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The Porsche 911 is not the only rear-engined rear-wheel-drive European car. In fact there were loads, including Volkswagens, Tatras, Skodas, the Smart ForTwo, and – of course – Fiats.

Following the phenomenally successful 500, Fiat followed up with another rear-engined, rear-driven design, the near five-million selling 126.

Much of the 126’s technology was based on the 1950’s 500, which – considering it was produced in Polski-Fiat 126p form until the year 2000 – is both an astonishing achievement and rather frightening.

It’s the Polski-Fiat version we’re featuring here today, a car that mobilised Poland, although only if you were prepared to wait years or had communistical connections. Recreated in a fetching ‘hearing-aid beige’ / ‘baby-sick yellow’, Legostalgie‘s Model Team replica of the 126p captures the real car wonderfully, with a near perfect exterior, detailed interior, plus opening doors, front trunk and engine cover, with a realistic two-cylinder engine underneath.

Legostalgie has presented his model beautifully, and there are more top-notch images available to view at his ‘Polski Fiat 126p’ album on Flickr – click on the link above for all the drawbacks of a 1970’s Porsche 911, but none of the thrills…

Polish a Turd

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Italy, no stranger to maniacal despots itself, had a nice little business selling its old products to scumbag dictatorships in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The most famous of these is probably the Polski-Fiat 126, built under license in Poland alongside the Italian made, and actually quite good, Fiat 126.

The two cars were almost identical in the 1970s, with the Polski version using a few lower specified components but otherwise being indistinguishable save for a little ‘p’ on badge.

The Italian-made 126 ceased production in 1980 after an eight year production run, however the Polski-Fiat version, with its Communist standard long waiting list (with Poles largely dependent upon coupons from the Government to buy one), survived for another twenty years, by which point it really was a turd.

This wonderful model of the Polski-Fiat 126 isn’t a turd at all though, being a thoroughly excellent recreation of the humble Polish peoples’ car. Built by previous bloggee Dornbi of Flickr it captures the real 126p beautifully (and is pictured above alongside an equally good communist counterpart Trabant).

Head to Poland (via Italy) sometime in the 1980s at Dornbi’s photostream by clicking on the link above.

Farmville

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We like a good tractor here at TLCB. We even like a not very good tractor, which – knowing little about this Ursus C-360 from 1970s Poland – today’s one may well be. It is a lovely build though, coming from Flickr’s Thietmaier (aka Damian Z) who has recently updated his previously blogged design with LEGO’s latest parts. He’s also built a plethora of farming equipment to accompany it, including whatever that green thing is above. See more of it and the fabulous tractor pulling it at Thietmaier’s Ursus C-360 album by clicking here.

Pole Position

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This rather lovely looking automobile is the CWS T-1, the first serially-produced car to be manufactured in Poland. The T-1 was a clever piece of design too, with the entire car using only a single bolt size meaning just one was tool was needed to take it apart completely.

Unfortunately the T-1 had a relatively short life as CWS were swallowed up by the Polish state in 1930, who then signed deal with FIAT. FIAT didn’t like competition much and requested that production of the T-1 cease, and the Polish state agreed, giving FIAT a monopoly that eventually led to such abominations at this and this. Oh well.

This mini-figure scale recreation of the long-forgotten Polish pioneer comes from Mateusz Waldowski of Flickr and there’s more to see of his excellent CWS T-1 at his photostream. Take a look via the link above.

Ursus C330

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This beautiful little Ursus C330 tractor was found by one of our Elves on Flickr today. Built by Thietmaier aka Damian Z it deploys a brilliantly chosen array of tiny pieces to give a wealth of detail to the build. See more on Flickr at the link.

Tractor Trailer Trailer

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Flickr’s Jakeof_ is back, with this beautifully constructed MTZ-82.1 tractor – complete with hot dogs for wheel arches – towing a pair of Autosan D-732 trailers. Lovely detailing is visible throughout and there’s much more to see of this superb threesome at his MTZ-82.1 / Austin D-732 Flickr album. Click the link above to visit Jakeof_’s farm.

 

Ursus 912 | Picture Special

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Lego Usus 912 Tractor

Founded in 1893 by a team of seven engineers and businessmen the Ursus factory began producing exhaust engines and trucks. In 1930 the company was nationalised during the Great Depression and Ursus switched to making vehicles, machinery and arms for the Polish military. Not enough of them sadly as Germany (and the Soviet Union weirdly) successfully invaded and then annexed Poland in 1939, triggering the start of the Second World War.

The Ursus factory, now under German control, was forced into producing arms for the German military, building Panzer II and Wespe tanks. Following the Allied victory in 1945 Ursus returned to making tractors, copying designs from Germany and working with Zetor of Czechoslovakia to dramatically increase tractor production in Eastern Europe.

Lego Usus 912 Tractor

It worked too, with a combined 120,000 units produced across both brands annually at the firms’ peak. However, the Cold War loomed, and an over-ambitious state-sponsored expansion programme in the late ’70s and 1980s led to Ursus (and many other Polish businesses) incurring massive amounts of debt in the push for modernisation. Although up to 80% of these loans were eventually written off Ursus production was crippled, and now numbers around just 1,500 units a year.

Builder Marek Markiewicz (aka M-longer) remembers happier times at Ursus when orders were c60,000 a year with his gloriously accurate 1980s Ursus 912 4-cylinder tractor. Using the wheels from the LEGO Technic 42054 Claas Xerion set has enabled Marek to build his Ursus big and as such it’s absolutely packed with detail. An opening ventilated roof and a pendular front axle also feature and there’s a whole lot more to see courtesy of Marek’s Flickr photostream and via the Eurobricks discussion forum. Follow the links in the text above for the full set of images of Marek’s brilliant Ursus 912.

Lego Usus 912 Tractor