Tag Archives: rover

Roving Mad

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There’s under a week to go of this year’s Febrovery, with dozens of lunar rovers of all shapes and sizes created so far. Which means dozens of creations about which TLCB Writers – whose comfort zone really doesn’t extend much beyond ‘double-overhead cam’ – know nothing. Still, we like spacey things, so here are three of our favourites so far…

Here in TLCB’s home nation we’re pretty sure that some of the vehicles on our roads are helmed by plant-life, so non-reactive are they to any stimulus around them. Here it’s invariably an ageing small hatchback (most often a Peugeot) with a pink ‘Powered by Fairydust’ sticker on the tailgate, but Austin Vail‘s botanically-driven lunar rover is something far more retro-futuristic! Inspired by the bubble-canopied concept cars of the 1950s and ’60s, Austin’s design is ideal transportation for the flowers within, and there’s more to see of his ‘FloraTron Mooncruiser’ on Flickr.

Like, space dudes, we’re totally surfing the Mercury Nebula! There’s a Duplo van in the centre of the Scott Wilhem‘s ‘S.U.R.F for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’ rover, and a whole lot of ‘greebling’ on the outside. The smiling classic spaceman looks pretty stoked by his ride, and you can catch a cosmic wave at Scott’s photostream via the link above.

And lastly… Blacktron aren’t just about thieving things from the other ‘trons – they need downtime too. And thus here they are tending to some crystal snails. Flickr’s Frost (aka TFDesigns!) is the maker of the ‘Blacktron Surveyor’ and you can join the mini-figures of Blacktron chilling out with some galactic gastropods via the link.

Black to the Future

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This TLCB Writer is over new cars. Unending app updates, simulated ‘manual’ transmissions, three sub-menus to turn on the heater, and constant bonging to tell you to sit up straight, that you’re 1mph over the speed limit of the road next to you, and that the width to the central white line is narrower than the car itself. Bleugh.

We’d go back to analog cars any day, and it seems the villains of Blacktron have done just that, deploying a unique combustion-powered buggy to avoid leaving a digital footprint for the Space Police to follow.

That they’ve also made it look like every ‘70s concept car is even better, and you can see more retro-futurism Blacktron style courtesy of Flickr’s Kristof and his Febrovery entry via the link.

The Human Centipede

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It’s Febrovery! That time of year when members of the Lego Community get into line, following closely behind one-another to build rovers all shapes and sizes. None seem to be the wares of the defunct British car company which shares the name, to this site’s continual disappointment, but there are some marvellous contraptions nonetheless. This one, a sort of centipede of mini-figures, comes from Nikolaus Lowe, and you can join the back of it on Flickr via the link above.

Bring a Trailer

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Oh… you already did. Well if there’s a car worth bringing a trailer for, the monstrous Metro 6R4 is it.

Loosely based on the oft-derided but actually phenomenally successful Austin/Rover/MG Metro, the all-wheel-drive, mid-engined 6R4 was developed by Williams Grand Prix Engineering for Group B rallying in the mid-1980s.

The result was… wild, so wild that the engine later went into the Jaguar XJ220, the fastest production car in the world at the time, with the 6R4 becoming an icon in rallycross after the demise of Group B rallying in 1986.

This fantastic homage to the 6R4 was found by one of our Elves on Eurobricks and comes from midlife crisis, making their TLCB debut. A highly detailed engine and interior plus a superb period-correct livery and sponsorship feature, and you can take a closer look at the maddest Rover ever made at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Febrovery Round-Up

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It’s the final day of Febrovery, much to the relief of TLCB Staff who are several lightyears outside of their comfort zone. But no matter, because the creations – as with each year’s event – have been stellar. We round up Febrovery 2025 with three of our favourites…

First up (above) is 1corn‘s ‘Woodtron Forester’, a cosmic tessellation with Toblerone levels of triangularity. Triangulate yourself to 1corn’s photostream via the link to see more.

Next we have Frost‘s ‘Space Van Life’ (above), proving that even billions of miles from Earth, there’ll still be a top-knotted douchebag in a van vlogging about their vegan lifestyle. Like and subscribe via the link above!

And lastly, as at the end of any good event, there’ll be some tidying up to do. Ids de Jong‘s ‘Kisora CT30 – Garbage Truck’ (below) looks just the thing, and you can head to the newly swept streets of an other-worldly cyberpunk city via the link above. Until next time, Febrovery…

Febrovery Special

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The Lego Car Blog Elves are well-fed during Febrovery. A huge array of blogworthy spacey vehicular creations are created, earning the Elves many meal tokens, and TLCB Staff much angst, as it’s a subject about which we know nothing.

No matter, because here are some of our Febrovery favourites from the last week or so, beginning with Pascal’s ‘Turtle P.O.W.E.R’ (above), cunningly created from an upside-down boat hull.

Next we have previous bloggee Nikolaus Lowe’s ingenious ‘Earth Mover’ (above), which has taken the most literal approach possible to its name, whilst newcomer EXT511’s ‘Mineral Detector’ (below) is deployed to… um, detect minerals. Look, we said we knew nothing.

On to Blacktron, and another builder making their TLCB debut. Luna S’s ‘Electroplanetary Tracer’ (below) joins the growing catalogue of 2025 Febrovery entries, and brings the villains of classic space into the roving community.

And finally (below, clockwise from top left), a montage of oddities, from Littlepixel’s ‘UggyBuggy’, Martin Spunkt’s ‘Biscuit Rover’ (no we don’t know why either), to – frankly – a pair of vehicles transplanted from the tarmac at Heathrow airport into space, courtesy of fiftyshadesofbley and David Roberts. Because spaceships need boarding stairs and avgas too.

All are available to view via their respective links in the text above, and you can find them – plus lots lots more – at the Febrovery Flickr group, where thousands of roving creations of all shapes and sizes reside.

Roving Magnificent

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This year’s Febrovery is just over half-way through, with interplanetary oddities of all shapes and sizes appearing by the dozen. This one comes from martin.with.bricks, rocking a Neo-Classic Space aesthetic, swing-arm mounted wheels, and a giant roof-mounted ray gun. Oh, this is Classic Space – we mean ‘scientific research device’. There’s more of Martin’s Febrovery entry to see on Flickr, and you can join the roving via the link above.

Anthropomorphic Breadbins

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Febrovery has barely begun and we’re already deep into weird purple trees and anthropomorphicised breadbins. Amongst the peculiar biology is Frost (aka TFDesigns!)‘s fantastical rover, a unique dome-canopied 6×6 piloted by the famous adventurer Kepler Van Allen himself. There’s more to see of Kepler, his rover, and the sentient toasters on Flickr, and you can rove the planetary surface for yourself via the link above.

Bond Bug(gy)

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It’s the first of February, which means the annual build-a-thon ‘Febrovery’ is back for another year! Before enthusiasts of old British cars get excited, Febrovery is not a homage to long-dead Brit car-maker Rover (Aww. Ed.), but instead expands upon one of LEGO’s earliest set staples, the lunar rover. Although we say lunar, but planetary is fine too.

We’re only on Day 1, yet an array of roving machinery has already been uploaded to the Febrovery Flickr group, including this wedgy orange example from prolific sci-fi builder David Roberts.

Looking rather like the weird ’70s British microcar, the Bond Bug (Hooray! Ed.), David Roberts’ creation points the way to a plethora of rovers sure to follow, and you can check out his orange wedge at his photostream via the link above, whilst this TLCB Writer tries to avoid our editor before he starts talking about crap British cars again…

Born Slippy*

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According to cartoon lore, the banana skin is the slippiest object in the universe. Not the obvious choice for tyres therefore, which tend to require the opposite characteristics of skiddy fruit, but that hasn’t stopped Renaud Petit Lego, who has equipped his sci-fi water tanker with wheels wrapped in the bendy berries. Keep your eyes peeled and slither over to Flickr via the link above.

Today’s seminal title song.

6928 Redux

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The year is 1984, and the mini-figures of Classic Space are hunting for uranium. For what we’re not sure, but as their exploits are entirely peaceful we’re sure it’ll be for noble research purposes.

Fast forward forty years and the Classic Spacemen have moved on to light and sound, at least if our German is up to scratch. Cue 1corn’s ‘Mobile Licht- und Schallmeßstation’, a fantastic redux of the 6928 Uranium Search Vehicle of 1984.

Sixteen wheels, a smiling mini-figure crew of four, an array of light and sound measuring equipment, and some lunar baseplates covered in sand add to the whimsy, and you join the Classic Spacemen in their measuring at 1corn’s ‘Mobile Licht- und Schallmeßstation’ (6928) album on Flickr.

Colour My Rover

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TLCB Staff, being curmudgeonly bores, think that Rovers are old British cars of increasing mediocrity. The Online Lego Community however, thinks the word means something far more whimsical.

2024’s ‘Febrovery‘ – wherein dozens of extraordinary planetary exploration vehicles are constructed – is well underway, and we have another two wonderfully diverse rovers-of-the-spacey-type here today.

The first (above) is the delightfully hued ‘Greeble Transport Rover’, built to carry the tiny grey pieces that make up the most science-fictiony parts of spaceships. Ironically needing none itself, the ‘Greeble Transport Rover’ is instead a riot of colour, and there’s more to see courtesy of Febrovery veteran Frost.

Our second rover (below) forgoes the colour of Frost’s machine replacing it with earthy greys. Four sets of tracks and a great many triangles complete the utilitarian look, and there’s more to see of Horcik Designs‘ ‘Rover Expedition Ready’ at his photostream on Flickr.

Click the final two links above to see more of each rover, and the first if you fancy checking out the Febrovery building bonanza in full, where there’s not an old British car to be found anywhere. We promise.

Mega Rover

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Febrovery is back for another year, when the Online Lego Community comes together to build various planetary roving vehicles in innumurable styles and themes.

This is spaceruner‘s, a small 6×6 single-occupant articulated pick-up, used to transport various spacey items and/or whatever crystals LEGO have determined are part of the plot this week.

Oh, and it also comes with a gigantic 10×10 mobile command centre.

Yes, spaceruner’s entry for this year’s Febrovery includes a rover (and several other small craft) within its enormity. Manned by a crew of eight, with a vast interior, landing pad, crane, plus a wide assortment of tools, vehicles, and other space-related accompaniments, spaceruner’s astonishing Spyrius ‘CX-1 Basilisk’ is one of the most impressive sci-fi creations we’ve ever seen.

A spectacular array of imagery showcases the creation superbly, and there’s more to see of spaceruner’s rover (and the mobile command centre if that’s what you’re into) on Flickr. Click the link above to make the jump.

Technically Roving

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The annual space-based buildathon that is Febrovery is here for another year, in which a myriad of mini-figure scale lunar rover of all shapes, themes, colours and sizes will join the thousands already present in the long-running Flickr group.

Previous bloggee Nikolaus Lowe is roving rather differently however, having built his Febrovery entry in Technic-figure scale. It’s also rather contemporary looking, owing more than a little of its aesthetic to the 1971 ‘LRV’ (or ‘moon buggy’), the only actual manned lunar rover to exist.

Working steering and a constantly rotating radar dish are included, and you join Nikolaus technically roving at his photostream. Click the link above to get your rove on.

Mighty Metro

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It’s the early-’80s, and British Leyland has a new small (and surprisingly good) car on its hands. The Metro, first sold as an Austin and later a Rover, rapidly became a best seller, with over 130,000 sold in 1983 in the UK alone. Aiming to capitalise on this success British Leyland decided to take the Metro racing, and the pinnacle of motorsport in the mid-’80s was rallying’s monstrous ‘Group B’.

Bearing a physical resemblance (but little else) to road-going cars, Group B racers featured tubular-steel space-frames, mid-mounted engines, and trick all-wheel-drive systems, and the Metro got the lot.

Developed by Williams Engineering, the Metro 6R4 gained a mid-mounted naturally-aspirated V6 engine, loosely developed from the all-conquering Cosworth DVF Formula 1 unit, a glassfibre body, and MG badges – to better align it with the hot-hatch versions of the road-going Metro. For homologation purposes customers could actually buy a road-going 6R4 too, which must’ve been a wild thing to take to the shops.

The new Metro 6R4 rally car debuted at the end of 1985, taking a podium at its first event. However, by just the middle of the following year, it was all over.

After a series of fatal accidents, Group B was banned mid-season, and the 6R4 – along with rest of the Group B field – was orphaned. Without a global series in which to race, Rover sold the cars on, but their motorsport life wasn’t over. Rallycross and British rallying became the 6R4’s new home, and in the hands of privateers the cars became formidable opponents, winning so frequently the rules had to be tightened to restrict them.

The 6R4’s V6 engine also went on to a rather interesting new life… but you can read about that another time.

Thus, despite such a short life in world rallying, the Metro 6R4 remains one of the most iconic and fearsome cars ever borne out of Group B, and previous bloggee Samolot has paid homage to the unlikely rally star with his incredible Technic replica.

Under a one-piece removable body Samolot’s 6R4 features a mid-mounted V6 engine, all-wheel-suspension, and a remote controlled all-wheel-drive system with working steering courtesy of LEGO’s Power Functions motors. Custom decals recreate the ’80s works livery, there are opening doors, bonnet and hatch-back, and there’s more of the model to see – including photos of the trick all-wheel-drive chassis – at the Eurobricks forum.

Click the link above to take a look at the maddest Metro ever built.