Tag Archives: power functions

Soviet Snowrunner

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This is a UAZ 3151, one of the Soviet Union’s many fantastically-boringly-titled, but actually very capable off-roaders. Built by Keymaker, this stunning fully RC recreation of the Russian off-roader not only looks the part in both standard and off-road modified forms, it’s absolutely packed with brilliant Technic engineering.

Drive for all four wheels comes from two L Motors whilst a Servo controls the steering. A Medium Motor operates front and rear remotely locking differentials, and not only are both axles suspended, the suspension height can be adjusted via an L Motor to vary the ground clearance.

These off-road mods are apparently inspired the video game ‘Snowrunner’, and Keymaker has gone further with his Technic model equipping it with a removable hardtop roof, removable bodywork, folding rear seats, an opening glovebox, opening and locking doors, a working inline-4 engine, and LED head and tail lights.

It’s an incredible build and one that’s definitely worth a closer look. Head to Eurobricks for full details and a video of the UAZ in action, and to Bricksafe for the complete image gallery, where you can find outdoor shots and pictures of the model in various states of off-road modification.

The Pusher

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This TLCB Writer’s peaceful afternoon watching Top Gear re-runs working hard to keep TLCB wheels in motion was unwelcomely disturbed today. Disturbed by the unusual sound of distant Elven screaming, getting increasingly louder, before fading away again, only to be repeated a few minutes later.

Sigh. Whatever was going on it probably wasn’t good. A trudge out to the corridor revealed the cause; a rather unique vehicle, powerfully pushing a cohort of several enraged Elves up and down the halls of TLCB Towers with a large blade.

Upon seeing a ‘hoomun’ arrive to interrupt the fun, the Elf at the controls raised the blade so its colleagues passed underneath it, only for them to be squashed not once but twice by the following tracks, whereupon the delighted perpetrator promptly abandoned the controls and ran off.

Order restored we can take a look at the vehicular cause, a fully remote controlled Technic ‘Snow Dozer’ by Kirill Mazurov (aka desert752), powered by no less than thirteen Power Functions motors.

Eight of these drive the tracks, with two more powering the articulated steering, another two the rear crane, and the last the blade elevation used so effectively by the Elf that found it. A pair of third-party BuWizz bluetooth batteries provide the power (eight times as much as LEGO’s own system) and control mechanism, allowing Kirill’s machine to both push an impressive quantity of snow (or TLCB Elves) and to travel far faster than it has any right to.

There’s much more of Kirill’s strange yet spectacular creation to see at both his ‘Technic Snow Dozer’ Flickr album and via the Eurobricks discussion forum, plus you can watch it in action in the snow via the video below.

YouTube Video:

*Today’s wonderful title song. Which could be about a different kind of snow.

Snow Beast

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Febrovery’s barrage of sci-fi has ceased, allowing our Elves to change gears. The first to return to TLCB Towers duly took no notice of this whatsoever though, and brought back a sci-fi truck. Still, at least some Elves got run over…

Yes this hefty-looking ‘Snow Beast’ by Flickr’s Bongobert is fully remote controlled, with its pendular-suspended axles driven by Power Functions motors hidden within. The Elf at the controls of course used this feature to smush some colleagues into the office carpet, as has become customary.

Whilst we get the carpet cleaner out you can head out onto the frozen wastes of Hibernia via Bongobert’s photostream, and we’ll be back soon with a car. Yes really.

Vintage Velocity

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An Elf wandered into the office this morning. It had tyre tracks down its middle and was jabbering dejectedly. Sigh.

A shuffle out to the corridor revealed several more cartoonishly tyre-tracked Elves and the cause, overturned in the corner, wheels spinning furiously.

With the delighted culprit apprehended we can take a closer look at their weapon of choice, and it’s a rather wonderful thing.

Built by Lego-building legend Sariel, this is a fully remote controlled 1931 Mercedes-Benz SSKL, powered by two LEGO Buggy Motors and a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery, delivering up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own system.  That explains the tyre tracks then.

A Servo Motor steers the front wheels (and turns the steering wheel), which are suspended via wishbones and torsion bars, whilst the rear is suspended via a live axle.

There’s lots more of Sariel’s creation to see at his ‘Mercedes-Benz SSKL’ album on Flickr, plus you can watch the model in action via the excellent video below.

YouTube Video

Beast of Turin (Probably)

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The inline four-cylinder petrol engine is the most commonly fitted engine to cars the world over. The optimum balance between smoothness, power, efficiency, and er… cheapness, the inline-4 needs only one cylinder head, there are always two cylinders going down as two go up, and when mounted transversely it takes up little space.

Despite all those worthy attributes however, these days the inline 4-cylinder can be seen as a bit dull, despite the efforts of the world’s best engineers to liven it up. Back in the earliest days of motoring though, it was anything but.

Bentley’s amazing ‘Blower‘ racing cars used 4-cylinders, and so too did Fiat, who – in 1911 – fitted a four-cylinder engine to their S76 World Record Car of twenty-eight litres capacity. The result was quite fiery, and allowed the ‘Beast of Turin’ to hit an unofficial top speed of over 130mph.

It’s this car that Joe Maruschak‘s ‘Vintage Race Car’ most closely resembles, itself being fitted with a working 4-cylinder engine utilising LEGO’s suitably vintage square pistons and featuring pushrod-operated valves.

A hidden Power Functions motor brings Joe’s creation to life and there’s more to see of his mighty 4-cylinder racing car on Flickr via the link above.

Synthing Through the Snow

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The snow around TLCB Towers is melting away, however TLCB Master MOCer Mahjqa appears to still be enjoying it wherever he is, with the most accurately titled video on YouTube. ‘Lego truck driving through snow whilst synth music plays’ is available to view above, or at Eurobricks here.

Dodgy Drag

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This Elves are very excited today. Not only does this excellent 1970 Dodge Challenger feature a hood scoop (Elf points), many drag racing modifications (more Elf points), and a brick built nitrous kit (even more Elf points), it’s fully remote controlled too, with LEGO’s monstrous Buggy Motor driving the rear wheels.

A Servo powers the steering, not that you’ll really need that at the drag strip (in this case TLCB office corridor), there’s working suspension (independent front and live-axle rear), plus opening doors, hood, and trunk.

It’s a mega bit of kit and one we fully intend to drive up and down the corridor to much Elven whooping until the battery is flat. Whilst we get on with that arduous testing you can check out more of Michael217’s awesome creation at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe – click the links to take a look!

Cycling Circles

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The Lego Car Blog’s home nation isn’t good at many things, but track cycling is a rare exception.

Cycling quickly in circle in a big group, cycling slowly in a circle with someone else, before suddenly cycling quickly, cycling in a circle behind a weird electric scooter thing… we can do all of them. It’s a good thing there are so many ways to cycle in a circle too, otherwise we wouldn’t win half the number of medals.

Previous bloggee George P angeleno (aka ZetoVince) pays homage to cycling in a circle with this fantastic kinetic sculpture, with a slithery track cyclist at the bottom of the banking and a motorised mechanism hidden underneath to bring it to life.

There’s more to see including a video of the cyclist in action at George’s photostream. Click the link above to follow the weird electric scooter thing.

Giant Vibrator

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Get your minds out of the gutter. This is a Vibroseis Tracked Vehicle, designed to send shock waves through the ground to map rock density for the oil and gas industry, and it is – in effect – a giant vibrator.

This intriguing Technic recreation of one of the world’s more unusual vehicles comes from Master MOcer and multiple previous bloggee Nicco71, who has built it using only parts from the 42100 Technic Leibherr R 9800 excavator set.

The three repurposed XL Motors drive both sets of tracks plus the piston engine mounted in the rear section, whilst the set’s four L Motors power the winch, the articulated steering, the vibrator height, and the vibrating action.

There’s loads more to see of this remarkable creation at Nico71’s website by clicking here – where building instructions can also be found so you can use this giant vibrator for yourself at home – plus you can watch it in action in the only safe-for-work vibrator footage on the internet via the video below.

YouTube Video

Front Loaded

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It’s an exciting time to be a TLCB Elf today. One of their number found this; a magnificent Volvo-esque 4×4 wheel loader with full remote control. It comes from FT-creations and it’s packed with functions, all of which can be controlled via bluetooth thanks to a pair of third-party SBricks hidden inside.

An XL Motor drives all four wheels, an L Motor controls the pivoted steering, whilst four more power two on-board compressors that, with the help of two Servo Motors, operate the boom and bucket movements.

It’s all exceptionally clever and allows FT’s model to function just like the real thing.  Which is to say rather slowly.

Of course that means there’ll be no Elf squashings taking place today and instead several of them are happily riding around in the bucket. However we think the bucket of FT’s front loader might have enough elevation to reach the toilet, so whilst we try that out on the unsuspecting passengers you can see more of FT’s ace build at both Eurobricks and Rebrickable, where building instructions are also available.

A Canadian in Siberia

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Canadians are known for their politeness and generosity. Although that might just be in comparison to their noisy neighbour in the basement. Still, even Canadian inventions demonstrate this altruism, with the country responsible for insulin, the pacemaker, the garbage bag, the electric wheelchair, road lines, and the Wonderbra, all of which – we’re sure you’ll agree – have been massively beneficial to mankind.

Cue today’s creation, a Ural 5920 tracked off-road truck, based on a design shared by the Canadians (of course) in the early 1970s. The Soviets took another decade to copy re-engineer the Canadian design, fitting a Ural 375 cab and starting production the mid-’80s until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This magnificent fully remote controlled Technic recreation of the Ural 5920 captures the Canadian Soviet tracked truck brilliantly, including the two huge track bogies that swivel thanks to motorised linear-actuators. An XL Motor drives each pair of tracks (plus the V8 piston engine under the hood), and each track wheel is suspended by an individual torsion beam, allowing the model to traverse a landscape as varied (albeit smaller) as that travelled by the real thing.

Previous bloggee Samolot is the builder behind this amazing creation and there’s more to see – including a video of the model in action and detailed photos of the remarkable drivetrain – at the Eurobricks discussion forum, plus the complete image gallery can be viewed via Bricksafe here. Click the links above to head into the wilds of Siberia.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA | Picture Special

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This is an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, and we don’t think we’ve ever wanted a car more.

Built by Zeta Racing, this incredible recreation of Alfa Romeo’s brilliant ’60s sports saloon has jumped right to the top of the list for Best Creation of 2021, with a depth of engineering that is amongst the most advanced that this site has ever featured.

Inside the fantastically well-executed exterior, which captures the Giulia Sprint GTA in Technic form with almost unbelievable realism, is one of the finest Technic Supercar chassis yet built.

Alongside all-wheel suspension and a working 4-cylinder engine, Zeta’s model includes a Power Functions drivetrain that not only delivers remote control drive and steering, but also a motorised sequential gearbox and – amazingly – working brakes with callipers that genuinely squeeze the discs when activated via an on-board pneumatic compressor.

It’s a phenomenal piece of engineering, wrapped in one of the most brilliant Technic bodies we’ve ever seen, which also includes beautifully accurate period-correct decals, and a wonderfully detailed interior too.

There’s much more to see of Zeta’s jaw-dropping Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA at his photostream via the link above, were a wealth of stunning imagery is available to view. Click the link above to join us viewing perhaps the best Technic creation of the last few years.

Tipping Tatra

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Something remarkable appeared to be occurring today. Following the Elves’ peaceful trundle around the office in the back of an RC flatbed truck a few days ago, one of their number returned with this – Martin Nespor‘s excellent remote control Tatra Phoenix 8×4 truck.

Like the aforementioned flatbed, Martin’s Tatra is too slow to run down any Elves, and thus the Elf at the controls instead offered rides to its compatriots, in a moment of apparent Elven generosity never witnessed before.

Could this be a turning point for Elf-on-Elf relations? Well, no. You see the Elf at the controls had worked out that Martin’s Tatra not only drove and steered via Power Functions motors, but that the container on the back could be tipped too, and had placed thumb-tacks in the corner of the corridor in preparation. Sigh.

A gaggle of Elves was duly driven to the awaiting push-pins and tipped on top of them, before the Elf at the controls ran off in delight.

We now have an enraged mob of Elves prowling the office looking for revenge, which often means another completely innocent Elf will be selected at random to replace the missing perpetrator. Whilst we consider whether Mr. Airhorn will be brought out for his first Elven clearance of the year, you can check out more of Martin’s Tatra Phoenix 8×4 tipper truck on Flickr – click the link above to take the trip.

Flat Share

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The Lego Car Blog Elves have been busy since their re-release after the Christmas break, so it was only a matter of time before one of them found a remotely controlled creation. Those you expecting a tale of mass Elven squashings will be disappointed though, as – excellent though this model is – it’s too slow to cause any Elven casualties, much to the annoyance of the Elf that discovered it.

However, now that we have the controls, it can be used to trundle a great multitude of Elves around TLCB Towers, which they’re enjoying very much.

Eurobricks’ damjan97PL (aka damianPLE) is the builder responsible for this rare moment of Elven calm, thanks to his fully RC 50cm long flatbed truck. An L motor provides the drive, a Servo the steering, and an M motor operates the third axle lift system via a clutch.

It’s an excellent build and one that you can create for yourself as building instructions are available, although you probably don’t have any Elves to transport. Head to the Eurobricks discussion forum for all the details.

VeeDub WooWoo

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Ah, LEGO’s ‘Light & Sound’ system. Before Control+ Apps, Code Pilots, and third-party SBricks, a simple 2×2 brick with a little battery in it that went either ‘Niiii!’ or ‘Wooo!’ depending which way it was turned was the only thing available. And it was marvellous. If a little annoying for every parent of a child that owned one.

Ralph Savelsberg has dug out his thirty-year-old LEGO ‘Light & Sound’ bricks to fit them to his thoroughly modern Miniland scale Dutch police Volkswagen Transporter, and they duly give it ‘Niiii!’ and ‘Wooo!’ abilities as well* as they did to models three decades ago!

Ralph hasn’t left it there either, installing a Power functions remote control drivetrain to his Transporter, cunningly concealed in the back.

There’s more to see of Ralph’s excellent ‘Niiii’-ing and ‘Wooo’-ing Dutch police van on Flickr. Click the link above to annoy your parents.

*’Well’ is a relative term.