Tag Archives: Tatra

Super 8

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What’s better off-road than a 4×4? Two 4x4s. Bolted together. This is a Tatra T813 8×8 off-road truck, as recreated in Technic form by previous bloggee Horcik Designs for a Lego Truck Trial Championship.

Two LEGO Buggy Motors power all eight fully-suspended wheels, the front two axles steer, plus there’s a removable body and cab (re-used from Horcik’s previous Truck Trial entry).

Full details and further imagery can be found at Horcik’s Bricksafe album, in the video below, and at the Eurobricks forum, where video footage of the Tatra and its rivals competing in the Truck Trial Championship can be viewed too.

YouTube Video

Rise of the Phoenix

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We were going to title this post ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ until we realised that there was no suitable image of the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 actually rising. But then we couldn’t think of any other titles…

No matter, because the tipper of Porsche96’s Tatra Phoenix 6×6 does rise, thanks to an L Motor driving a linear actuator, which is controlled remotely via BuWizz bluetooth brick.Two further L Motors power all six wheels, all of which are suspended, whilst an M Motor steers the fronts (along with the steering wheel too), and there’s an inline-6 engine under the tilting cab.

It’s a top quality Technic build and there’s more to see, including a video of it in action (tipper rising and everything) at the Eurobricks forum, with the complete gallery of images available on Bricksafe. Click the links above to see the Phoenix rise.

Big Green Boxes

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This is a Tatra PR3333 6×6 truck, outfitted with a hook-lift system and depicted in Dutch Army specification by Flickr’s Arian Janssens.

We’re not sure what’s in the big green box it’s carrying, nor the second one towed behind via the neat drawbar trailer, but as we assume it’s army stuff we probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

The truck, trailer, and boxes are all superbly built, and there’s more to see of all components at Arian’s photostream. Click the link to take a look.

*Points for us for not going down the ‘Dutch Hooker’ route with this post! Until now. Damn.

Twin Tatras

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You wait ages for a Czech off-road truck, and then two come along at once. Or something like that.

Anyway, we do have two awesome brick-built Tatras today, each representing a real world counterpart and chosen LEGO building style beautifully.

First up (above) is Horcik Designs’ T813 8×8 Technic trial truck, complete with remote controlled eight-wheel-drive and four-wheel steering, functioning suspension, and much more besides.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them and a video of the model in action at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can check out all the images via Bricksafe by clicking here.

Today’s second Tatra switches from Technic to Model Team, but is just as feature packed. Arian Janssens‘ T815 6×6 also includes a working drivetrain and steering, plus a neat tipping container that can stand on its own legs to allow the truck to back up underneath it.

A variety of other trailer options fit Arian’s T815 and there’s more to see of the them and the iteration pictured here on Flickr – click the link above to take a look.

Phlattening Phoenix

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It was a peaceful morning here at TLCB Towers. Some Elves were quietly watching cartoons, some TLCB Writers were… er, quietly watching cartoons, and all was well with the world.

And then a BuWizz-powered truck ran a load of them over. Elves you understand, not Writers.

Built by Eurobricks’ blaz62, this monstrous Tatra Phoenix trial truck made easy work smushing our smelly little workers, thanks to twin motors, fully independent suspension, and six-wheel-drive.

The Elf at the controls was clearly enjoying itself, but fortunately we were on hand to promptly pick up the creation in question and end the violence, much to its annoyance.

A closer inspection of the model revealed modular construction, opening doors, and – for a Technic creation at least – a kinda detailed interior, but with a trial truck it’s really all about how the model drives.

Whilst we conduct some arduous ‘testing’ to determine this, you can see more of blaz62’s excellent all-wheel-drive Phoenix at the Eurobricks discussion via the link above, plus you can check out the creation in action via the video below.

YouTube

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.

What the Frack?

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This is a Tatra T815-7 10×10. Plus a few other things.

Built in collaboration across five companies and two continents, this remarkable machine is a mobile fracking rig, capable of extracting shale gas from deep inside the earth. The base is a Tatra T815-7 10×10 off-road truck, powered – in this case – by a six thousand horsepower diesel engine mounted behind the cab.

The reason for all that power is what is you can see at the rear of the vehicle, a GD-2500 Quintiplex well-pump constructed by American pump specialists Gardner Denver – itself rated at 2,500bhp – used to propel a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the well to force the shale gas to the surface.

The engine powering this pump comes from German company MTU, whose designs are more normally associated with ships than land-based vehicles, with a Czech Talosa auxiliary gearbox allowing the twelve cylinder diesel to drive both the pump and the truck itself.

Cylinder deactivation drops the power for driving the truck, so you don’t have 6,000bhp to play with (although that does sound like it would be fun), with this ‘one engine’ solution and the vehicle superstructure created by engineering company M.G. Bryan Equipment.

It’s an amazing real-world vehicle, recreated here in LEGO form (and to an equally amazing standard) by Pavol Vanek aka Paliason. Measuring a metre long and weighing 8kg, Pavol’s brick-built replica of the M.G. Bryan ‘Percheron’ Tatra T815-7 is a huge creation, and it features a host of impressively engineered features underneath the superbly well executed Model Team exterior.

A complete 10×10 chassis, with nine differentials, full suspension, and steering on the first, second, fourth and fifth axles accurately replicates the real truck, with the steering alone driven by four linear actuators and an XL Motor.

A working twelve-cylinder piston engine sits behind the cab, LEDs illuminate the head and taillights, and there are opening doors and control panel covers.

It’s a phenomenal recreation of a unique real-world vehicle, and there’s loads more of Pavol’s astonishing model to see at both Flickr and the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click here to visit Pavol’s ‘M.G. Bryan ‘Percheron’ – Tatra T815-7 10×10′ album on Flickr, and here to visit Eurobricks where full details of the model, the real truck, and how it is used to frack for shale gas, can be found.

Streamliner

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This is a Tatra T87, and it was one of the fastest and yet most fuel efficient cars of the era. Built from the mid-’30s to early-’50s the T87 was powered by rear-mounted air-cooled 2.9 litre V8 engine which was about half the size of its competitors, yet – thanks to its streamlined shape – it could reach almost 100mph whilst using nearly half the fuel.

The occupying Nazis loved it, calling it ‘the autobahn car’, but so many German officers were killed trying to reach 100mph that the T87 was dubbed ‘the Czech secret weapon’, and they were subsequently banned from driving it.

This brilliant Technic recreation of the Tatra T87 comes from Horcik Designs who has replicated the car’s streamlined shape beautifully from Technic panels. Underneath the aerodynamic body is functioning swing-arm suspension, working steering, and a detailed engine under an opening cover, and there’s more to see of all of that at the Eurobricks discussion forum and at Horcik’s Bricksafe folder.

Click the links above to ty to reach 100mph on the autobahn c1940. Unless you’re a German Army officer.

Perfect 10

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We don’t get many 10×10 trucks in TLCB’s home nation, but Eastern Europe seems to get far more exciting(?) machinery. Ok not this, this or this, but the vehicle in today’s post certainly is. It’s the snappily named Tatra 8P6R53 10×10, a DAF-based tipper built by Czech truck-makers Tatra with, you guessed it, a 10-wheel-drive system. Of the five driven axles all bar one steer too, making it a fiendishly complicated drivetrain which is necessary in the Czech Republic for reasons that we don’t really understand. Whatever they are, this magnificent Model Team recreation of the Tatra 8P6R53 10×10 comes from previous bloggee Arian Janssens and it features the truck’s four-axle steering plus a working tipper, and there’s more to see by clicking here.

Czech Mate

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We are SO BORED of Brexit. Every day, all day, people shouting at one another. Racism, classism, elitism… every ‘ism’ you could wish for in one painfully tedious and never-ending argument.

So whatever your political persuasion (and as Americans make up the largest nationality of our readership we suspect the answer is probably this), here’s a celebration of European achievement in the face of considerable adversity.

This is the Tatra T600 ‘Tatraplan’, an almost spectacularly futuristic design produced by Tatra from 1948 from within a country battered by war and then shackled by the yoke of Communism thanks to a coup d’état that took place in the same year the car launched.

Unfortunately Czech Communism lasted considerably longer than the T600 (right up until the Velvet Revolution of 1989), by which point Tatra had almost completely wound down car production to focus on its (excellent) heavy-duty trucks, but we look upon the quirky Tatra with considerably more favour than the Communist regime that ruled during its production run.

The T600 was a large (six seat) family car powered by a 2-litre flat-four engine, featuring a monocoque chassis and with a wonderful streamlined body. Just over 6,000 units were produced during its three-year production run and the whole TLCB team would take one over a typical modern family car (which are mostly as boring as Brexit) in heartbeat.

This lovely Technic recreation of the Tatra T600 comes from Kent Kashiwabara of Flickr, and not only has he captured the car’s beautiful lines rather well in Technic form, he’s also given his model a flat-four engine, working steering, and full suspension underneath. There’s more to see of Kent’s excellent T600 on Flickr via the link above, which is where we’ll be pretending we live somewhere else other than the UK right now….

Proper PROFA Off-Road

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This is a Tatra T813 8×8 PROFA trial truck and it’s epic. Yes, we just dropped the most over-used word on the internet, but we’re sticking with it.

These amazing machines can traverse just about anything, with this one being run by Team Jansa in European Truck Trial events. Well not this one, because this is a fully functional remote control recreation of the real deal, powered by a total of nine motors, two SBricks and with some of the coolest suspension we’ve ever seen.

It comes from Technic-building legend Madoca 1977 whose work has appeared here numerous times over the years. His latest truck evolves a previous design with more power, more weight, and more off-road capability. Six L Motors drive all eight wheels, whilst two Medium Motors pivot the front four. A third Medium Motor operates a high/low range gearbox, with all of that controllable via bluetooth thanks to a pair of SBricks.

Finally there’s a V12 piston engine mounted under the cab, which is accessible through opening doors and front hatch. It’s an incredibly well engineered creation and there’s more to see of Madoca’s Tatra T813 8×8 (including a video of it in action) at the Eurobricks forum and on ReBrickable, where a parts list and yes – instructions – are available!

Kolos Krush

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Lego Technic Tatra Kolos 8x8

The Lego Car Blog Elves have been peaceful in 2019 thus far. Too peaceful. Fear not though avid readers, today the little scumbags were back on form courtesy of this; MajklSpajkl’s incredible remote control Tatra T813 KOLOS 8×8 trial truck.

Sitting atop eight of the enormous wheels found within the 42054 Claas Xerion set is a wonderfully be-stickered body, within which is hidden a wealth of Technic brilliance. Two Power Functions XL Motors drive all eight independently-suspended wheels, the first four of which steer via an L motor, whilst a further Power Functions motor operates a high/low range gearbox. A working V12 piston engine is placed under the cab, and the model can be driven via bluetooth thanks to a third-party BuWizz brick that delivers up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own battery system.

Lego Technic Tatra Kolos 8x8

That makes for a model with a seriously impressive off-roading capability, which also means the Tatra had no trouble driving over a multitude of Elves here at TLCB Towers. Even in the highest of its two gears, MajklSpajkl’s KOLOS is pretty slow beast, however the Elves have learned of ways to navigate this hindrance – in this case the lucky Elf responsible for finding the Tatra slipped away unnoticed whilst its compatriots were watching cartoons, and simply arrived back in the room riding on top of it to run them over from behind. There’s no honour in Elven battle it seems.

Lego Technic Tatra Kolos 8x8

Those that escaped the smushing promptly dragged the assailant from its vehicle and fed it into the VHS machine, as has become customary, so now we have many broken Elves, and possibly a broken VHS machine too. Whilst we continue the clear-up you can see more of MajklSpajkl’s brilliant Technic Tatra at the Eurobricks forum by clicking these words, where you can find a full description, some superb build and on-location shots, and a video of the creation in action too.

The Coolest Fire Truck

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Lego Technic Tatra T815 Fire Truck

All fire trucks are cool. OK, maybe not this one, but pretty much everything else. The coolest of the lot could well be this, the awesome Tatra T815-CAS32. With six-wheel-drive and a 360-degree rotating turret-mounted water canon, there’s nothing we’d rather put out a fire with.

This fantastic Technic replica of the Tatra fire truck comes from previous bloggee Horcik Designs of Flickr, and not only has he nailed the exterior of his T815, he’s engineered a fully-working miniaturisation of the Tatra’s drivetrain, suspension and fire-fighting apparatus underneath too.

Horcik’s model features six-wheel-drive courtesy of LEGO’s Power Functions Motors, with remote control steering, powered hose-reel winches, an on-board compressor, and a motorised elevating and rotating turret.

There’s more to see of Horcik’s superb creation at his photostream, including a money-shot of how all of that lot has been squeezed in. Head to Flickr via the link above to dial 911.

Tipping Twice

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Lego Tatra 815 Tipper Truck

First shown here in 2015, Jarda’s gorgeous Tatra 815 has been updated in red for an upcoming Lego exhibition in Denmark. With Power Functions remote control drive and steering and beautifully replicated detailing Jarda’s Tatra is amongst the very best Lego trucks on the ‘net.

Lego Tatra 815 Tipper Truck RC

Jarda’s update also allows us to showcase something that we overlooked previously; this 815 can tip in two directions. How this works is beyond the collective mind of TLCB staff but it appears to do so brilliantly. Click here to head to Brickshelf for the complete gallery of superb images.

Lego Tatra 815 Tipper Truck RC

Off-Road Orange

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Lego Technic Tatra Truck Trial

It’s as orange as your Mom and just as capable of getting dirty. The model in question comes from TLCB regular Horcik Designs and is based on the classic Tatra T148 all-wheel-drive truck.

Underneath the minimalist Technic bodywork is a full truck trial remote control drivetrain, with working suspension on all wheels, steering courtesy of a Power Functions Medium motor, and six-wheel-drive which – as any seasoned Technic builder will know – is a really tricky thing to do.

There’s more to see of Horcik’s excellent Technic Tatra on Flickr – click the link above to grab an orange slice.