Tag Archives: Soviet

Orange Crush

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Lego Technic Zil 130

Another day, another find, another Elven catastrophe to tidy up. Following this week’s earlier Elf squashing our workforce has been in a cautious but nevertheless vengeful mood.

And so one of the week’s earlier victims found itself at the controls of a vehicle capable of exacting a hit-and-run based revenge. With the Elves it doesn’t really matter if the perpetrator of a previous act is actually present when the revenge is served, just as long as someone gets squished. And squished they were.

Lego Technic Zil 130 MMZ Truck

The vehicle in question is this absolutely wonderful ZiL 130 MMZ 555 tipper truck, in perfectly-suited Porsche 911 GT3 orange, as built by previous bloggee Samolot. In a convenient metaphor for the communist economy that spawned it, the Zil was the ideal tool for crushing the people, or in this case, Elves.

Remote control drive with a remotely controlled four speed gearbox, and a novel linear actuator based steering system give this ZiL 130 a surprising turn of speed, certainly enough to catch out a few slower Elves, whilst all-wheel suspension allowed the truck to roll over them with ease. Unrelated to the smushing, but a cool feature nonetheless, Samolot’s Zil 130 also includes a remotely controlled dumping mechanism powered by a Medium Motor, taking the total motor-count to four.

Lego Technic Zil 130 MMZ Truck

Opening doors, a working steering wheel, and an opening hood all feature too, and Samolot has included a level of detail that’s now becoming typical with many Technic builds that moves the theme ever closer to Model Team in terms of aesthetics.

There’s a whole lot more to see of Samolot’s superb ZiL 130 dump truck via Brickshelf, MOCpages and the Eurobricks forum, plus you watch all the working features in action courtesy of the excellent video below.

YouTube Video:

Shooting Santa

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Lego KAMAZ 4310

Communism, that bastion of equality and shared ownership, did away with such frivolities as freedom of movement, choice of employment, and creativity. In fact we’re pretty sure that creativity and inventiveness were actively banned, so mind-numbingly dull are all communistical product names.

This gives us a headache when we blog one of them, as there is zero chance of getting the vehicle name into a witty title. So – absent from the post title – here is today’s; the KamAZ-4310 military off-road truck, complete with a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft auto-cannon mounted in the bed.

Lego KamAZ-4310 and ZU-23-2

Built by the Soviets from the 1960s, the ZU-23-2 is still in production today, and is probably being used by both sides in the ongoing Syrian conflict which shows little sign of abating. Capable of hitting aircraft from 2.5km, or armoured vehicles from around 2km, it’s the perfect weapon for a dark Christmas night… just think of all the presents that you could make off with if you had this combo! It’s kind of a one-time deal though, as Santa probably wouldn’t be around next year for a repeat robbery.

Vova Rychkov is the builder and there’s more to see at his Flickr photostream – click the link to get armed.

Lego Kamaz Truck

Russian Refuel

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Lego ZIL 130 Tanker Truck

Ugly, low, and brown – this ZIL 130 fuel tanker could be any number of our Elven workforce. But like them it is useful, as without ground support vehicles such as these, airforces and airlines would operate for about 5 minutes.

This tidy recreation of the Russian truck comes from previous bloggee Dornbi, and he’s included a wonderful MiG 21 for it to refuel too. Head over to Flickr via the link above to see more.

Lego MiG 21

Seek and Destroy

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Lego Mi-24 Hind Helicopter

This has got to be one of the ugliest vehicles that we’ve ever posted. It’s even uglier than this. But it’s also one of the most beautiful examples of LEGO building we’ve posted too. It’s a Russian Mi-24 ‘Hind’ helicopter gunship, in service (and production) since 1972, and it’s a gloriously inventive build. The work of TLCB regular Daniel Siskind, there’s more to see on Flickr – click here to take off.

A Soviet Smasher

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btr-152

It’s been a fairly calm week at The Lego Car Blog Towers. You can therefore imagine our dismay, as we stumbled down the steps into our luxury penthouse editorial suite and found smushed Elves embedded in the Axminster. It could only mean one thing: the Elves had found a Technic Power Functions model.

This particular creation was discovered on MOCpages. It’s been built by Piotr K and features working 6×6 drive, suspension and gears. Weighing just over 2.5kg, it’s slightly lighter than the 1950s original.  Sadly that weight of bricks can smush even the largest of our workforce. Whilst we’re cleaning up, click this link to MOCpages to see more photos and a video of the machine in action.

Soviet Success Story

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Lego KamAZ 63501 Truck

As we’ve mentioned here, here, here, here and here, Communist state-run vehicle manufacturers were almost universally crap. Thankfully they’ve almost universally been consigned to history too, but there are two notable exceptions.

The first is Lada, who – despite their notoriety for being crap – do probably have a bright future ahead of them. No longer controlled by the Russian state they’re now half owned by the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and that means they’ll start making quite good cars quite soon (yes really! We’ve been right before…).

The second exception is the maker of the grey beast pictured here, KamAZ. Founded in 1976 by the Soviet Government (as was everything in the Soviet Union at the time), KamAZ have gone on to become an unlikely success story. To date KamAZ have built well over 2million heavy duty trucks, with 43,000 rolling off their production lines each year.

Unlike other examples of ‘successful’ Soviet vehicles (where the vast numbers sold were because consumers had no other choice), KamAZ trucks are successful in the competitive open market, are world renowned for their toughness, and have won the legendary Dakar Rally a record thirteen times – winning every single stage of the event last year.

Still half owned by the Russian state (whose military rely on their products), KamAZ are now part owned by Daimler AG – better known as Mercedes-Benz – and turn over $3billion a year. Some of that success is down to this, the ultra heavy duty (but rubbishly named) KamAZ 63501 8×8 truck.

This stellar Lego example of the 63501 is the work of VovaRychkov, and he’s recreated the Russian titan beautifully. There’s lots more to see at Vova’s photostream – click the link above to take a closer look.

Lego KamAZ 63501 Truck

Red Russian Repeat

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Lego MTZ-52 Belarus Tractor

Following his appearance here last week, Flickr’s Jakeof_ is back with another beautifully recreated Soviet oddity. This is a Belarus MTZ-52 tractor and approximately 200,000 were built from the mid ’60s until production ceased in the mid ’80s. Powered by a 4.7 litre four-cylinder diesel engine the all-wheel-drive MTZ-52 made around 50bhp, giving it a top speed of about… 17mph. Don’t worry though, we’ve sent the Elves out to try to find something fast to rebalance the blog a bit later in the week! You can see more of the Belarus at Jakeof_’s photostream – click the link above to make the jump.

Lego Belarus Tractor

Red Russian

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Lego DT-75 Bulldozer

This magnificent DT-75 vintage Belarusian bulldozer comes from TLCB favourite Jakeof_, and it’s glorious! But then, we are sometimes a bit odd here at TLCB, as obscure pieces of agricultural machinery from behind the Iron Curtain shouldn’t really excite anyone. If you’re as sad as us though you can see more of Jakeof_‘s excellent recreation at his photostream via the link above.

Lego DT-75 Tractor

Pipe Service*

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Lego Technic RC UAZ-452 Van

An enjoyable afternoon perusing the office intern’s Facebook holiday pictures seemed like a good use of this TLCB writer’s time today. Sadly the importance of this task was lost on the Elves, who decided to shatter the peace of the office by feeding one of their number into a desk fan. Sigh.

It turns out that this particular act of violence was the culmination of an Elf-fight, which started when a two of our Elves simultaneously returned to TLCB Towers with this remote control UAZ-452 gas-service van, found on both MOCpages and Eurobricks. Seeing as we’re feeling generous today (and we’re bored of the fights) we’ll let them each have a meal token. On to the model!

It’s a Soviet-issue UAZ gas-service van, used for… er, servicing gas. Underneath the Technic lift-arm body is one of the most compact 4×4 drive-trains that we’ve seen yet. An XL motor powers all four wheels, suspended by live axles, plus there’s a Servo motor steering the front axle, opening (and locking) doors, an on board LiPo battery, and a telescopic ladder.

Previous bloggee Paave is the builder and you can see lots more, including a video of the UAZ in action, via the two links in the text above.

Lego Technic RC UAZ-452 Van

*Insert your own ‘Your Mom’ joke!

Trolleyed

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Lego Trolleybus Remote Control

Looking like a normal bus, but powered by electricity via overhead cables (just like a dodgem), the Trolleybus is a very smart solution for emissions-free urban transport. With the current focus on air quality and global warming it seems very strange that the humble trolleybus is now completely extinct in TLCB’s home nation.

However trolleybuses do still exist in other parts of the world, and in Ukraine amongst other countries they’re still a reasonably common sight. This ZiU-9, a remnant from the extensive Soviet trolleybus system constructed in the 1960s, is the work of previous bloggee paave, and it’s packed with functionality.

Lego Technic ZiU-9 Trolleybus

Hidden within the realistic bodywork are three Power Functions motors, five linear actuators, a LiPo battery, two IR receivers, and a set of LED lights. An XL motor takes care of the drive whilst a Medium motor controls the steering, and a Large motor completes the set providing power to each of the automatic opening doors. All of this is remotely controlled via LEGO’s excellent Power Functions infrared system.

There’s lots more to see, including a video of the trolleybus in action, at several of the key creation-sharing platforms; click on a link to climb on-board: MOCpages, Brickshelf, Eurobricks.

Lego Technic Remote Control Bus ZiU-9

Route 66

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Lego GAZ 66 Truck Trial

This awesome-looking GAZ-66 is the work of newcomer VovaRychkov. Here at TLCB we have a well documented dislike of terrible Soviet vehicles, but we’re getting along with this one rather well. It’s mostly LEGO save for a few choice accessories and it looks the business. There’s more to see at Vova’s Flickr photostream – click the link above to make the jump.

Lego Gaz 66 Truck

Ugly Zukker

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Lego Technic FSC Zuk Truck

After a few deeply cool and exotic vehicles TLCB has returned to its place in the automotive gutter, a spot we seem to inhabit rather frequently. This is an FSC Zuk van, and it’s hideous in every way. It comes – as most vehicles of this type seem to – from behind the Iron Curtain, and was produced using leftover bits of FSO and GAZ vehicles from 1958, when it was probably a passable purchase, until a scarcely believable 1998. Yay communism. Thankfully after the fall of the Soviet Union the Zuk died a relatively quick death, but with over half a million units produced many can still be seen in its native Poland.

This Technic recreation of the communistical horror-show isn’t hideous at all though, and features some most excellent engineering, including remote control drive and steering, opening doors, and working suspension. Previous bloggee damianple is the builder and there are more images available on Brickshelf – click the link above to see the full gallery.

Lego Technic FSC Zuk Van

Brick Bucket

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Lego Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator ER-1250

At over 1.2 meters longs, weighing 8kgs, and with 14 motors, 4 batteries, and 6 IR receivers, Desert752 Kirill’s replica of the 700 ton soviet ER-1250 bucket wheel excavator is one of the most spectacular creations that this blog has ever featured. It’s also, if you’re a TLCB Elf, one of the most dangerous.

Four XL Power Functions motors power the excavator’s two tracks independently whilst two M motors can swing the platform through 360 degrees. Another two M motors rotate the conveyor unloading arm so that it can remain at a fixed point whilst the superstructure turns around it, a third M motor powers the conveyor belt, and a fourth controls the arm’s height. An L motor performs this role for the main boom, with a further M motor powering the bucket wheel on the end. Finally two micro-motors control the unloading mechanism.

If all that sounds a lot you’d be right, and the only way to really appreciate Desert’s incredible engineering feat is to watch his bucket wheel excavator in action;

YouTube Video:

Now imagine that you are a TLCB Elf. An Elf who has been squashed several times during employment at TLCB Towers, and who has gleefully discovered this particular creation.

You can probably guess the outcome when an 8kg remote control tank complete with a viciously rotating bucket is under the control of a bitter and vengeful mythical creature. It’s safe to say that we have a lot of tidying up to do this afternoon.

While we try to piece together what remains of our Elven workforce, and get the body parts out of various Technic mechanisms, we suggest you take a closer look at this amazing creation – you can see more of Desert’s ER-1250 on both MOCpages and Eurobricks, plus you can read a hint about something LEGO themselves have got coming here...

Lego Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator

Socialist Snowmobile

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Lego Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Snowmobile

Communist revolutionary, ‘Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union’, and Ming the Merciless inspiration Vladimir Lenin is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, pioneering the development of communism and the Marxist socialist state.

Decreeing that all resources should be under common ownership – thereby removing the need for money, reliance on social class, and inequality – Lenin was driven around in a 1915 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, modified by Adolphe Degrease in 1922 to run on tracks, whilst 6 million people died of starvation during the Povolzhye famine. Yay communism!

Nevertheless, Lenin’s Silver Ghost was a very cool vehicle, and today it resides in Russia’s Gorky museum. If that’s a bit far to travel, previous bloggee Karwik has the answer, with his gorgeous Town-scale version of the unique vintage Roller. Click the link above to make the jump to Flickr.

Lego Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Lenin

White Knight

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Lego T34-85 Tank

It’s time once more for some TLCB history. This is a Russian T34-85 tank, the most-produced tank of the Second World War and the second most-produced tank of all time. Whilst America’s contribution to the outcome of WW2 cannot be underestimated, it was not America, nor the British, that first rolled into Germany to end the conflict. It was the Russians, who made the biggest sacrifice of anyone – with more casualties than the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined – that got there first, thanks largely to this vehicle.

Over 84,000 T34s were built, and they remained in service within the Soviet Union until the late 1960s. Which makes this tank’s role in humanity a muddled one. It is possibly the vehicle with the single biggest contribution to the liberation of people, helping to end the Nazi oppression of millions, only to be re-purposed post-war as a tool of the Communist regime to oppress millions itself. How awful it must have been to escape the tyranny of Nazism in Eastern Europe to then be shackled by Communism a few short years later.

Still, much as we dislike megalomaniacal, nationalistic, homophobic, war-mongering Russian presidents (and we may not just be talking about Stalin here), Russia’s sacrifice for peoples’ freedom is perhaps the most remarkable and incredible of any country in all of history. Without the T34 tank Russia’s story, and the story of the World, may have been very different.

The Lego T34-85 featured here is the work of previous bloggee LegoMarat. It has four motors (controlled by the third-party SBrick, allowing operation via mobile device) which power the tracks, turret rotation and gun elevation, plus an authentic working recreation of the T34’s clever suspension system. There’s lots more to see on Flickr – click the link above to make the jump.

Lego T34 RC Tank