Tag Archives: Rolls-Royce

Winged Horse

The Lego Car Blog has published dozens of Mustangs over the years. But not all of them are the four-wheeled variety.

This is the North American P-51B Mustang III, built to bolster Allied fighter number numbers over Europe during World War Two.

Outfitted with the British Rolls-Royce Merlin supercharged engine, the P-51 Mustang scored an incredible 6,000 kills, many delivered by the Polish Air Force as they battled for air superiority over Germany in the final two years of the war.

This astonishing Lego version of the British-engined, American-designed, Polish-operated North American P-51B Mustang III is the work of JuliusZ D. of Flickr, who has captured the iconic fighter in magnificent fashion.

Accurate brick-built camouflage, an authentic livery, working control surfaces, and retractable landing gear all feature, and there’s more to see of JuliusZ’s phenomenal P-51B Mustang model at his Flickr album. Click the link above to fly over hostile Germany in 1944.

Battle of Britain

There are a few machines of the many that were borne out of the Second World War that changed the course of it. The Russian T34-85 tank, the American Willys Jeep, and this; the British Supermarine Spitfire.

First flying just before Britain entered the conflict, the Spitfire became the backbone of the Royal Air Force’s defence of the skies over the British Isles, which – had they been lost – would have enabled a German invasion and likely a very different world to the one we live in now.

Produced throughout the entire conflict, both the Spitfire and the formidable Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that powered it were upgraded and improved multiple times in just a few years, with the design operating not only with the Royal Air Force but with several Allied partners, with this example representing a unit flown by the Canadian Air Force.

It’s the work of Juliusz D., who has captured a ‘clipped wing’ variant of the Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk. XVIe beautifully in brick form.

Wonderful building techniques, excellent decals, and top quality presentation make this a model worth a closer look, and you can take to the skies over Europe in 1944 in the defence of liberty via the link above.

James Young

Who? Well back in the ’60s (and a lot more before then), you could buy a car without a body. Usually a really posh one.

The point was a coach builder could create something more bespoke, and they were used frequently by the top luxury automotive brands of the time including Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and – of course – Rolls Royce.

This particular coach-built Rolls Royce is a 1960s Phantom V Limousine by James Young, and it has been recreated rather beautifully in Technic form by Agent 00381 of Eurobricks.

A full ‘Technic Supercar’ chassis sits underneath the elegant bodywork, with all-wheel suspension, working steering, an ‘auto’ gearbox, and a V8 engine.

Opening doors, hood, trunk, and glovebox are included, and there’ s even a rising partition to separate the peasant driving up front from the elite classes riding in the back.

There’s more of Agent’s Rolls Royce Limousine to see – including a link to building instructions and a video of the model’s features – at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to enter the rear of James Young.

They See Me Rollin’

The Rolls-Royce Phantom isn’t just for new money. In fact it’s been around almost as long as the brand itself, with this example being the Phantom II, launched way back in 1929.

The Phantom II came powered by a 7.7 litre straight-six mated to a four-speed gearbox, with semi-elliptical spring suspension and servo-assisted brakes. At the time Rolls-Royce only made the chassis and running gear for their cars, with the customer choosing a body from one of several ‘coachbuilders’, including Park Ward, Mulliner, Hooper and others. We don’t know which bodywork this example by Flickr’s Lennart C (aka Everblack) is wearing, but it looks lovely whatever it is.

There’s more to see of Lennart’s beautiful Rolls-Royce Phantom II at his photostream – click the link above to see how they rolled in the 1930s.

B is for Bomber

Lego Avro Lancaster B Mk.1

It’s the 3rd of January and we still haven’t posted a car. No matter though, because just look at today’s find! This jaw-droppingly beautiful creation is a near-perfect replica of the Avro Lancaster B heavy bomber in Mk.1 specification, as built by Plane Bricks of Flickr.

The Lancaster was the RAF’s primary bomber during the Second World War, with over 7,000 built from 1941 to ’46. The aircraft was powered by four Rolls Royce Merlin liquid-cooled V12 engines, each making well over 1,200bhp, and was capable of carrying the largest payload of any bomber during the war, including the 10,000kg ‘Grand Slam Earthquake’ bombs and the amazing ‘bouncing bombs‘ used to take out German dams.

Lancaster bombers completed around 156,000 sorties during the Second World War, dropping bombs totalling over 600,000 tons, destroying dams, ships, bridges, railways, and armaments. The aircraft were also deployed to drop food aid over occupied Holland, preventing the starvation of thousands of people (a fine hour indeed), but also to indiscriminately fire-bomb the cities Hamburg and Dresden, resulting in their complete destruction and the deaths over 65,000 civilians (a less fine hour…).

Almost half of all the Lancasters built were lost during the war, with only thirty-five completing more than a hundred missions. Today seventeen Avro Lancasters survive of which two are airworthy, flying in Canada and the UK. For readers further afield Plane Brick’s stunning recreation of the Mk.1 Avro Lancaster offers a chance to see this war-defining bomber in incredible detail. With custom decals, superb brick-built camouflage, working land-gear, and a fully detailed interior, Plane Bricks’ mini-figure scale Avro Lancaster B is definitely worth a closer look. Join the fight on Flickr by clicking here.


Lego Avro Lancaster B Mk.1

Hunting Tigers

Lego Rolls Royce Armoured Car

Are you the type of discerning gentleman who requires a vehicle for hunting tigers in Africa, plundering antiquities in the Middle East, or just keeping the peasants at bay? The Rolls Royce Condor is the vehicle for you!

Based on our exquisite limousine chassis, the Condor adds 4″ armour-plating, custom strengthened bumpers, and a 360-degree rotating gun turret equipped with a Browning .50 caliber machine gun. That’s a lot of tigers!

Direct all enquires to Joshua Brooks at certified Rolls Royce Distributor JBIronworks to arrange a viewing.

The Most Beautiful Model…

Lego Supermarine Spitfire

…of the most beautiful aircraft ever built. This is of course the thunderous Supermarine Spitfire, recreated in astonishing realism in Mk. 1a form by Lennart C of Flickr. There really aren’t words to do the photos justice, so we’ll get straight to the link. Click here to see more of this incredible creation.

Lego Supermarine Spitfire

Black Phantom

Lego Rolls Royce Phantom

Aircraft, a creepy opera character, and a ghostly spectre all wear the Phantom name, but this is our favourite; the near 6-meter long, 6.75 litre V12-engined Rolls Royce. Launched in 2003 the Phantom is only just due for replacement, but even those that are now 13 years old still command a high price tag. TLCB regular Ralph Savelsberg has built one that’s far more attainable though, and you can see more of his instantly recognisable recreation at his photostream via the link above.

Yes M’Lady

Lego FAB1 Thunderbirds Rolls Royce

The gloomy catchphrase of Lady Penelope’s chauffeur Parker there, who seemed permanently beset my misery at the prospect of driving her ladyship around in a bright pink six-wheeled Rolls Royce. Cheer up Parker, it’s still a six-wheeled Rolls Royce, and we bet she got changed in the back a few times too…

Recreated by Flickr’s Ralph Savelsberg, and complete with Lady Penelope and Parker, you can see more of the amazing ‘FAB1’ Rolls Royce from Thunderbirds at the link above.

High Roller

Lego Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

This beautiful creation is the latest work of vehicle building legend, TLCB Master MOCer, and all-round excellent human being Firas Abu-Jaber. It is of course a Rolls Royce, in this case their spectacular 1926 Silver Ghost Springfield ‘Playboy’ Roadster, and it’s been built for LUGNut’s 100th Challenge. Firas has recreated the vintage Roller down to the last detail, including a stunning interior, fold-out ‘dickie’ seat, and an external rear-mounted luggage trunk. There’s a huge range of excellent images available on both MOCpages and Flickr – click the links to see all the details.

Lego Vintage Rolls Royce Playboy Roadster

Not a Car

Lego Technic V22 Osprey RC

…Or a plane. Or a helicopter.

Bell-Boeing’s ingenius V-22 Osprey is in fact a tilt-rotor aircraft, the first of its kind in the world. Powered by two mighty Rolls Royce AE engines unique to the V-22 (and therefore frighteningly expensive), the Osprey can both take off and land like a helicopter and cruise like a turboprop plane.

Conceived way back in 1983 the V-22 first flew in 1989, and just over half of the planned 400 aircraft have been built to date.

This superbly engineered Technic recreation of one of the world’s most remarkable aircraft has been built by Brickshelf’s leinhardt and it features folding rotors, working landing gear and an opening rear loading ramp. There are more images available on Brickshelf at the link above – click the link to take off.

Fetch the Phantom Jeeves

Lego Rolls Royce Phantom III

Never was the division of the classes more obvious than when the 1930s social elite were being driven to their next dinner party; safe and warm inside the quilted cocoon of their luxury cabin, sipping spirits from the onboard drinks cabinet and chuckling at the peasants outside. Which is where poor Jeeves was sitting, at the wheel, in the cold, and covered in soot. There are absolutely no parallels with this and TLCB office staff and the Elves at all…

Whilst we feel slightly guilty, and then quickly get over it with a few beers, you can see more of the glorious 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville pictured above by clicking this link to ER0L’s photostream. Or you can get your butler to do it.

High Roller

Lego Technic Rolls Royce Phantom II

I left the Jag and I took the Rolls, if they aint cutting then I put ’em on foot patrol.
How you like me now, when my pinky’s valued over three hundred thousand,
Lets drank you the one to please, Ludacris fill cups like double D’s.
Me and Ursh once more and we leave ’em dead, we want a lady in the street but a freak in the bed

Indeed. The sage words of Ludacris and Usher there, on why driving a Rolls Royce is a splendid thing to do. This one is a classic 1934 Phantom, built by martijnnab of Eurobricks. It’s fully remote control with a working engine, functioning rear suspension, and side-opening bonnet, suicide doors and trunk. You can see more of the Roller at the link above.

Lego Technic Rolls Royce Phantom II

Town Trio

Lego Town Cars

This lovely trio of Town cars was discovered by a very fortunate Elf. An Elf which now has three meal tokens. Will it use these over a number of days, or will it go on a bender and use all three in the next hour? We think we know the answer to that…

Anyway, as we prepare for the appearance of a perfectly spherical – and possibly quite ill – Elf, you can check out its finds by heading to Aitor Fernandez‘ MOCpage. There’s an ’80s Ford Crown Victoria taxi, a beautiful Rolls Royce Phantom, and a neat ’65 Pontiac Firebird – all of which can be viewed via the link above.

Yes M’Lady

Lego Thunderbirds FAB1

The phrase made famous by Thunderbirds’ permanently morose chauffeur Parker, whom shuttled Lady Penelope about her business in the brilliant 6-wheeled FAB1 Rolls Royce.

This spectacular Miniland scale version of the legendary car is the work of Stephen Sander, and was suggested to us via the Feedback page by a swift-spotting reader. Stephen has recreated the Roller beautifully, including the retro-tastic interior, and has photographed his model on location at Herrenhausen Royal Gardens to great effect.

Photographing a Rolls Royce in Germany might seem a little out-of-sorts, but they are of course now German-owned and that gives us a seamless link into the Germany vs. Argentina World Cup Final tonight!

We’ll be back after the Final with our new feature series. It has nothing to do with either Germany or Argentina, but it is rather good. Until then you can check out Stephen’s FAB1 at either MOCpages or Flickr. Thunderbirds are Go!

Lego Thunderbirds Rolls Royce