Tag Archives: Powered-Up

BuWizz 4.0 Ultra | Kickstarter Preview

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If you’re a regular here at The Lego Car Blog you have doubtless seen dozens of creations powered by a little programmable bluetooth battery brick; BuWizz.

Since their first Kickstarter featured here a decade ago, BuWizz have moved through three iterations (and from four to the full five stars in our Reviews), and are now ready to launch the fourth generation of the amazing programmable powerbank. This is the BuWizz 4.0 Ultra.

Retaining the same dimensions, 100m bluetooth range, and immense power as before, the new BuWizz 4.0 Ultra features four Power Functions ports, one of which can toggle to control Powered-Up components. With its output programmable in increments, you no longer need a Servo Motor for precise steering or gearbox positions, as any Powered-Up Motor can act as a servo.

The BuWizz 4.0 Ultra also debuts an in-built three-axis gyroscope for the first time, allowing a vehicle to maintain a heading or radius without wobbling about (which is perhaps something of a worry here at TLCB Towers as the Elves have used many a BuWizz-powered build to flatten their colleagues, even with dodgy steering), and four programmable fibre-optic ports with integrated LEDs, enabling head and tail lights, flashing beacons, indicators, and more to be programmed into the sequence.

Rechargeable via USB-C, the new BuWizz 4.0 Ultra features a Li-Ion 2400mAh replaceable (not inaccessibly sealed, hurrah!) battery, allowing for easy replacement and continued reuse. And with original BuWizz 1.0 units still going strong after ten years’ of service, we’re sure the 4.0 Ultra could power decades of creations.

Expected to cost €229, the BuWizz 4.0 Ultra Kickstarter campaign opens on November 4th for three weeks, and you can find all the BuWizz bluetooth bricks and motors currently available via the BuWizz store. The BuWizz 4.0 Ultra will hopefully appear there (and in creations featured here) very soon…

Click here to visit the BuWizz 4.0 Ultra Kickstarter

British Sea Power*

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Of the world’s seven largest off-shore wind farms, six reside in TLCB’s home nation, including the four biggest. Of course the UK is the perfect country to capture the power of the wind because, well… there’s a lot of it. Plus a huge coastline and considerable expertise in how to build along it thanks to the legacy of North Sea Oil.

But despite the normality of off-shore wind farms in the UK’s waters, this TLCB writer is continually amazed at how the enormous turbines are placed where they are, considering the violence of their location.

Rather calmer, yet somehow just as remarkable to watch, are Master MOCer mahjqa and AppieNL, whose collaboration for the LEGO World 2026 show saw a pair of Technic tug boats and enormous crane barges construct modular ‘floating’ wind turbines entirely remotely.

Power Functions and Powered-Up motors, pneumatic compressors, magnets, and some seriously clever mechanics saw an entire wind farm gradually rise out of the floor, without a single human hand touching even one LEGO brick.

It’s one of the most enrapturing 7 minute Lego videos we’ve ever seen, and you can harness the power of the wind via the embedded player below, plus you can see more of the Technic components contained within it (including the remote control tug boat featured in this post) via the link to mahjqa’s associated Flickr album here.

YouTube Video

*Today’s wonderful title band.

Remotely Racing

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This morning has been somewhat messier than we hoped. A remote control creation was found by one of our Elves, which – as regular readers will know – of course means it was used to run over as many Elves as possible before it inevitably crashed.

Rather annoyingly however, the Elven attrition continued post-crash, because whilst the truck was out of action it was able to jettison the racing car it carried which was also remote controlled. Sigh.

Order has now been restored, the culprit given a Smartie (that’s how it works…), and we can take a look at the creation/s that caused the ruckus.

Built by Technic genius mahjqa, this remotely controlled transporter and racing car duo are a wonderful demonstration of brick-based engineering.

As well as both featuring remote control drive and steering, the racing car includes an oversized V8 engine with working cylinders, whilst the truck is equipped with a clever tilting hook-lift platform, with even cleverer automatic wheel chocks that deploy during the tilt to ensure the racing car doesn’t roll off.

It’s a brilliant solution and you can watch both models in action via the fantastic video below, in which mahjqa also reveals the ingenious Technic camera cars used to capture the footage, plus you can find full details at Eurobricks as well as all the images on Flickr here.

YouTube Video

 

We’re Slammin’, and We Hope You like Slammin’ Too

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We’re feeling loooow today, not in mood, but in stance, thanks to this beautiful air-bagged Peterbilt 389 truck and MAC 4-axle trailer.

Constructed by Grigoriy, this stunning custom Peterbilt features a remote control ‘air ride’ system via a Powered-Up L Motor, motorised drive and steering, an inline-6 engine, opening doors and hood, a sprung front bumper, and a working fifth-wheel, whilst the huge MAC trailer includes a lift-and-steer system too.

There’s much more of the model see at both Bricksafe and Eurobricks, building instructions are available, and you can get low with us via the links above.

Big Green Bogie

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We’re on a bit of an Eastern European streak here at TLCB which continues with this, gyenesvi’s fantastic Zil 131 6×6, which replicates a monstrous real-world trial truck.

The 6×6 drivetrain is propelled by three Powered-Up motors plus a fourth to steer, with the wheels also turning a V6 engine under the hood. More impressive is the immense suspension, which is a combination of live-axle at the front and a tandem bogie at the rear, each with spring-loaded linkages. The result is some seriously impressive ground clearance, as displayed in the wonderful on-location shots, and you can recreate it for yourself too as gyenesvi has produced building instructions for the design.

There’s more of the Zil to see at both the Eurobricks forum and at Bricksafe, and you can pick a big green bogie via the links above.

Brickin’ Blazer

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‘What’s that crunchy sound?’ muttered this TLCB Writer to himself as he sat in TLCB Office. A weary trudge out to the corridor revealed the source, as a remote control 4×4 drove forwards and backwards over a small pile of flattened TLCB Elves.

On seeing a human the Elf at the controls abandoned its activity and fled the scene cackling maniacally, leaving its vehicle of choice (and the pile of Elves underneath it) behind. We’ll administer first-aid to the victims later, but first let’s take a look at the model!

It’s a K5-series Chevrolet Blazer, as recreated superbly in Technic form by Madoca 1977. A suite of Powered-Up electronics are packed inside, providing remote control four-wheel-drive, steering and a high/low gearbox.

Madoca has also engineered a properly clever drivetrain, with linked pendular suspension that automatically locks the differentials at high rates of axle articulation. No wonder it made such light work of squashing our mythical workers.

There’s lots more of Madoca’s model to see – including images of the ingenious engineering within – at the Eurobricks forum, plus you watch the Blazer in action via the video below. Click the links to take a closer look.

YouTube Video

Vive la Révolution

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The thing about revolutions is, they always end up right back where they started.

Cue the Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution, a $2.1million ultra-limited hypercar developed by England’s Delta Motorsport and produced by Texas-based Hennessey Special Vehicles.

This astonishing Technic replica of the Venom F5 comes from TLCB Master MOCer Lachlan Cameron (aka loxlego), who has recreated of one of the world’s fastest ever production cars in stunning detail.

Created using many of the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42172 McLaren P1 set, and available as a traditional manual Technic ‘supercar’ or with a suite of electronics to enable remote control drive, Lachlan’s build includes working suspension, steering, a V8 engine, sprung scissor doors, and ride-height lift.

Wheels from the 42172 McLaren P1 set and the exhaust tips have been beautifully chromed for added realism, plus the model features working LED head and tail lights, and one of the most accurate Technic interiors we’ve seen yet.

It’s an incredible homage to a wild real-world car, and with building instructions available you can create your very own Venom F5 at home. Full details, videos, and further imagery can be found at the Eurobricks discussion forum and via Lachlan’s ‘Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution’ album on Flickr, plus you can find out more about the builder via his interview here at TLCB.

As for the real Venom F5 Revolution, it’s aiming to record a top speed of over 300mph / 500kmh if Hennessey can find somewhere long enough for its 1,800bhp twin-turbo ‘Fury’ V8 to achieve it. And in a world of all-electric hypercars, that makes the Venom F5 something of a revolution. And proves that revolutions are indeed cyclical after all.

Blue Blood

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The Lego Car Blog Elves have been peaceful of late. We have Febrovery to thank for that, what with there being a regular supply of whimsical space-based vehicles arriving at TLCB Towers, none of which have motors, remote control, or giant smushy wheels at all.

We knew it couldn’t last forever though, and thus today normal service was resumed as one of the Elves thundered into TLCB Towers atop this, gyenesvi’s giant ‘Blue Bird’ BuWizz-powered remote control Ultra4 off-road buggy.

The Elves serenely making beep-boop space noises in the corridor stood no chance, as twin BuWizz Buggy Motors, four-wheel-drive, and double-wishbone / trailing-arm suspension squashed them into the carpet, before the Elf at the controls – maniacal with glee – fled the scene on foot.

We’ve now got some tidying up to do, so whilst we do that you can check out gyenesvi’s Ultra4 buggy at Eurobricks and Bricksafe, where further images, renders, a video, and a link to building instructions can all be found.

Green Space

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Remote control all-wheel-drive, gearbox operation, steering, and all-wheel suspension, are features normally associated with large Technic Supercars with thousands of parts. Today however, they’re all present on a model with fewer than a thousand pieces. Plus opening doors, hood, and a full interior. Which is some kind of magic.

Slovenian builder Zerobricks is the engineering wizard responsible, and you can find out how he’s squeezed a suite of Powered-Up and BuWizz components invisibly into his 1:12 green wedge-shaped racer at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to take a look, and play the video below to watch his creation in action.

YouTube Video

Fare Dodging

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Fare dodging is the preserve of the terminally shifty. But not today, because Flickr’s mahjqa (a TLCB Master MOCer no less) is the creator of this excellent steam locomotive, and has released building instructions for free! A motor and battery box are hidden inside to bring this locomotive to life, with more to see at mahjqa’s photostream and via the video below. Plus you can dodge the fare to recreate it for yourself by clicking here.

YouTube Video

Duke 690

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LEGO’s expanding range of 1:5 scale Technic motorcycle sets is not only allowing fans to build some of the world’s best bikes in brick form, it’s also furnishing the Lego Community with a plethora of new pieces to enable them to create their own.

This is one such creation, borne from the pieces found within LEGO’s flagship motorcycle sets, and constructed by JoKo of Eurobricks. This stunning KTM 690 Duke brings a bike brand not yet amongst LEGO’s licensed partners into the fold, and includes working steering and suspension, a detailed engine with piston, timing chain, camshaft, and a light-brick synchronised with the combustion cycle, and a sequential gearbox.

JoKo has also built a motorised display stand that allows his model’s engine and gearbox to operate, and you can check out the full details, imagery, and a video of the bike in action at the Eurobricks forum 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

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.

Building Bridges

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Slightly less Russian military hardware will be unleashed on Ukraine of late, what with the latter’s decision to bring the conflict of Russia’s warmongering president to his own soil.

At least two Russian bridges, used to transport weaponry amongst other things, have been destroyed by Ukraine in recent weeks, making the scene above a little less common than it was a fortnight ago.

Said scene comes from previous bloggee Nathan Hake, whose MAZ-537 and gorgeous bridge-based diorama was built for a recent Lego show.

Fantastic attention to detail, presentation, and construction techniques are evident in abundance, with the MAZ packed with working functionality too, featuring remote control all-wheel-drive, steering, and trailer hitch lock, whilst the trailer also includes motorised legs and ramps.

There’s more to see at Nathan’s photostream and you can head to a bridge somewhere in Eastern Europe via the link above.

Get the Fire Brigade*

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we can be a bit guilty of leaning towards creations with twelve motors, fifteen sets of LEDs, and six programmable bluetooth controllers. Because we are (and this will no doubt come as a surprise to readers of a niche website about Lego cars), nerds at heart. Not Brothers Brick levels of nerdiness, but still.

Creations featuring the aforementioned suite of electronics are often amazing in their operation (there’s one before this post and there’ll be another after it too), but they’re also out of reach for many Lego fans due to the cost of the components within them.

Thus today we’re replacing resources with intellect, thanks to this superb fire truck by Flickr’s Jeroen Ottens.

Featuring just a single Powered-Up motor, Jeroen’s fire truck can rotate, raise, and extend its ladder, all of which can be controlled independently, plus deploy four stabiliser legs too. An ingenious gearbox – activated mechanically by levers mounted on the sides and rear of the truck – takes the motorised power to where it’s needed, whilst the model also features mechanical steering (front and rear), as well as opening doors and hatches.

It’s a brilliant example of Technic engineering ingenuity, and you can take a look at how Jeroen has done all this with just one motor at his photostream. Click the link above to get the fire brigade.

*Today’s wonderful title song, featuring equally wonderful moustaches.