The snow around TLCB Towers is melting away, however TLCB Master MOCer Mahjqa appears to still be enjoying it wherever he is, with the most accurately titled video on YouTube. ‘Lego truck driving through snow whilst synth music plays’ is available to view above, or at Eurobricks here.
This Elves are very excited today. Not only does this excellent 1970 Dodge Challenger feature a hood scoop (Elf points), many drag racing modifications (more Elf points), and a brick built nitrous kit (even more Elf points), it’s fully remote controlled too, with LEGO’s monstrous Buggy Motor driving the rear wheels.
A Servo powers the steering, not that you’ll really need that at the drag strip (in this case TLCB office corridor), there’s working suspension (independent front and live-axle rear), plus opening doors, hood, and trunk.
It’s a mega bit of kit and one we fully intend to drive up and down the corridor to much Elven whooping until the battery is flat. Whilst we get on with that arduous testing you can check out more of Michael217’s awesome creation at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe – click the links to take a look!
We don’t get bobcats here in TLCB’s home nation. We used to have the eurasian lynx roaming about, which is like a bobcat only three times the size, but we shot all of those. Along with pretty much everything else. Yay humanity.
Thus the only bobcats we’re going to see are the excavatorial types, such as this Bobcat S130. Constructed by Brick_Builder19, this neat Technic recreation of the skid-steer loader includes a working piston engine, a linear actuator operated lift arm, and a mechanical tipping bucket.
Full details of Brick’s Bobcat S130 are available on Eurobricks, where you can also find a link to the model on LEGO Ideas. Grab your gun and click the link above to take a closer look.
Ninety-five year old Spanish motorcycle manufacturer Rieju make some great looking off-road mopeds. And so too does previous bloggee Mathjis Bongers, who has recreated their MRT PRO ‘motard’ in Technic form, complete with working suspension, steering, and a replica of the Rieju’s tiny 50cc engine, which likely makes a disproportionately loud noise in relation to the forward movement in provides. Mathjis’ version is therefore our preference, despite how cool the real thing looks, and there’s more to see at both his ‘Rieju MRT PRO‘ album and via the Eurobricks discussion here.
LEGO’s new Technic 42122 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon looks cool, although on close inspection not all that accurate, but is something of a disappointment technically. It does include plenty of decent parts though.
M_longer of Eurobricks has used every single one of them in the creation of his 42122 B-Model, turning the Wrangler into a trophy truck complete with working steering, pendular front and trailing-arm rear suspension, opening doors, and even a pair of jerry cans for longer off-road excursions.
Building instructions are available and there’s more of M_longer’s 42122 alternate to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum.
The crack team of TLCB Elves dispatched over The LEGO Company’s perimeter wall at the end of 2020 had – we thought – all returned. By ‘all’ we actually mean ‘the survivors’, as each year we always lose a couple to German Shepherds with a taste for Elf meat. A simple ‘ceremony’ is held for those that didn’t make it, by which we mean they’re crossed off a list, and then we all get on with our lives.
Today though, we’ve got to get the TipEx out and add two names back onto the list, because a pair of Elves have miraculously returned, weeks after they were thought lost/eaten!
We’re not sure what took them so long, and we probably never will as we don’t understand the jibber-jabber of Elvish, but we’re pleased they’ve made it back, because it means we can share two more new-for-2021 Technic sets!
The first is this rather fetching orange contraption, the 42120 Rescue Hovercraft, or ‘Luftkissenboot fuer Rettungseinsaetze’ in German (it’s a beautiful language).
Aimed at ages 8+, 42120 includes 457 pieces – many of which are orange which is excellent – and features thrust propellors that rotate as the model is pushed along, and working steering that both turns the hidden wheels underneath and swivels the aforementioned fans.
Decals are included a-plenty and there’s a reasonable looking B-Model too. Expect 42120 to cost around $35/£30 when it reaches stores in March of 2021.
The second cause of today’s Elf-list-amendment is another new 8+ set, the excellent looking 42121 Heavy Duty Excavator. A purely mechanical set, 42121 includes around 100 pieces more than 42120, two of which are small linear actuators that operate the excavating movement.
A pair of hand-powered cogs drive these to extend the boom and tip the bucket, and it’s great to see mechanical functions are still (sometimes) alive and well in the Technic range – although there is a risk of these being rather annoying in practice, based on our past experience.
Superstructure rotation and rolling tracks are present too, and 42121 also includes a few extra details like warning cones and some ‘rubble’ for added playability. A slightly odd B-Model completes the set and you can expect it to cost around $45/£40 when it reaches stores later this year.
We think these two additions to the 2021 Technic line-up are rather good ones, joining a range that looked pretty strong already.
You can take a look at the other 2021 Technic sets revealed here via the Search box (just type ‘Preview’ in it), and you can check out our reviews of past years’ sets via the Review Library.
Take a look whilst we try to convince our Administrator that adding the Elves back onto the list is probably less work than Option B.
Get your minds out of the gutter. This is a Vibroseis Tracked Vehicle, designed to send shock waves through the ground to map rock density for the oil and gas industry, and it is – in effect – a giant vibrator.
This intriguing Technic recreation of one of the world’s more unusual vehicles comes from Master MOcer and multiple previous bloggee Nicco71, who has built it using only parts from the 42100 Technic Leibherr R 9800 excavator set.
The three repurposed XL Motors drive both sets of tracks plus the piston engine mounted in the rear section, whilst the set’s four L Motors power the winch, the articulated steering, the vibrator height, and the vibrating action.
There’s loads more to see of this remarkable creation at Nico71’s website by clicking here – where building instructions can also be found so you can use this giant vibrator for yourself at home – plus you can watch it in action in the only safe-for-work vibrator footage on the internet via the video below.
YouTube Video
It’s an exciting time to be a TLCB Elf today. One of their number found this; a magnificent Volvo-esque 4×4 wheel loader with full remote control. It comes from FT-creations and it’s packed with functions, all of which can be controlled via bluetooth thanks to a pair of third-party SBricks hidden inside.
An XL Motor drives all four wheels, an L Motor controls the pivoted steering, whilst four more power two on-board compressors that, with the help of two Servo Motors, operate the boom and bucket movements.
It’s all exceptionally clever and allows FT’s model to function just like the real thing. Which is to say rather slowly.
Of course that means there’ll be no Elf squashings taking place today and instead several of them are happily riding around in the bucket. However we think the bucket of FT’s front loader might have enough elevation to reach the toilet, so whilst we try that out on the unsuspecting passengers you can see more of FT’s ace build at both Eurobricks and Rebrickable, where building instructions are also available.
Bugatti’s Chiron probably shares more than a few parts with the Audi R8, what with both of them coming from the Volkswagen Empire. In fact we wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiron and the R8 share the odd part with a Skoda too, but that’s probably kept quiet…
Michal Wolski (aka Porsche96) has gone considerably further though, building his Audi R8 only from parts found within the 42083 Technic Bugatti Chiron set.
Michal’s alternate is just as features-packed as the donor set too, with all-wheel-suspension, a working V10 engine hooked up to a 4-speed sequential gearbox, steering by both the wheel and ‘Hand of God’, and a functioning convertible roof.
Full build details and a link to building instructions can be found at the Eurobricks forum, whist a complete gallery of images is available to view via both Bricksafe and Flickr. Click the links to take a closer look at Michal’s Bugatti-based R8, and if you’re feeling inspired we’d like to see a Chiron-based Skoda!
Porsche are perhaps the best known manufacturer to use flat engines, despite the fact that these days most of their cars are powered by Volkswagen Group Vs or Inlines. However Ferrari too once powered their cars by boxer engines, the first of which was this; the Berlinetta Boxer.
Ferrari’s first mid-engined twelve-cylinder road car, just over two-thousand Berlinetta Boxers were produced between 1973 and ’84 before the Testarossa picked up the flat-twelve mantle, although none were officially imported into the Unites States as Enzo Ferrari thought the flat-twelve was too much for U.S. 55mph speed limits and increasing emissions regulations.
This excellent Technic recreation of the ‘BB’ comes from previous bloggee and TLCB Competition Winner James Tillson, whose model includes working suspension, steering, pop-up headlights, plus opening doors and rear clamshell, under which is – of course – a functioning 12-cylinder piston engine.
There’s much more of James’ superb Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer to see at his photostream, including a photo of the flat-twelve engine. Click the link above to take a closer look. Even if you’re in the U.S.
Despite the presence of Amber Heard, 2011’s ‘Drive Angry’ is a properly awful movie. She does take up about 4/5 of the movie poster though, so we suspect those marketing it knew that themselves.
Kirill Mazurov (aka desert752) is driving angry too, having built this ‘Angry Racer’ to compete in a BuWizz contest, only for it to be cancelled as a casualty of Coronavirus.
Nonetheless, contest or not Kirill has a produced a great creation, with Power Functions motors hooked up to a BuWizz bluetooth battery that delivers eight times the power of LEGO’s own system.
All that power in such a lightweight model makes the ‘Angry Racer’ a little… drifty, and you can see more at both Flickr and Eurobricks, where a video of Kirill’s creation driving in anger can be viewed and a link to building instructions can be found so you can drive angry for yourself.
Click the links above to take a look whilst we continue Googling Amber Heard…
Canadians are known for their politeness and generosity. Although that might just be in comparison to their noisy neighbour in the basement. Still, even Canadian inventions demonstrate this altruism, with the country responsible for insulin, the pacemaker, the garbage bag, the electric wheelchair, road lines, and the Wonderbra, all of which – we’re sure you’ll agree – have been massively beneficial to mankind.
Cue today’s creation, a Ural 5920 tracked off-road truck, based on a design shared by the Canadians (of course) in the early 1970s. The Soviets took another decade to copy re-engineer the Canadian design, fitting a Ural 375 cab and starting production the mid-’80s until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
This magnificent fully remote controlled Technic recreation of the Ural 5920 captures the Canadian Soviet tracked truck brilliantly, including the two huge track bogies that swivel thanks to motorised linear-actuators. An XL Motor drives each pair of tracks (plus the V8 piston engine under the hood), and each track wheel is suspended by an individual torsion beam, allowing the model to traverse a landscape as varied (albeit smaller) as that travelled by the real thing.
Previous bloggee Samolot is the builder behind this amazing creation and there’s more to see – including a video of the model in action and detailed photos of the remarkable drivetrain – at the Eurobricks discussion forum, plus the complete image gallery can be viewed via Bricksafe here. Click the links above to head into the wilds of Siberia.
LEGO’s new 42122 Technic Jeep Wrangler Rubicon set, revealed here last month, has only been released for a week or two, yet previous bloggee Eric Trax has already managed to turn it into something awesome.
Using 557 of the 665 available parts, Eric has transformed his Wrangler Rubicon into this rather excellent off-road buggy, which – like the Jeep upon which it’s derived – features working steering and rear suspension.
Building instructions are available and there’s more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum via the link above.
This is an Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA, and we don’t think we’ve ever wanted a car more.
Built by Zeta Racing, this incredible recreation of Alfa Romeo’s brilliant ’60s sports saloon has jumped right to the top of the list for Best Creation of 2021, with a depth of engineering that is amongst the most advanced that this site has ever featured.
Inside the fantastically well-executed exterior, which captures the Giulia Sprint GTA in Technic form with almost unbelievable realism, is one of the finest Technic Supercar chassis yet built.
Alongside all-wheel suspension and a working 4-cylinder engine, Zeta’s model includes a Power Functions drivetrain that not only delivers remote control drive and steering, but also a motorised sequential gearbox and – amazingly – working brakes with callipers that genuinely squeeze the discs when activated via an on-board pneumatic compressor.
It’s a phenomenal piece of engineering, wrapped in one of the most brilliant Technic bodies we’ve ever seen, which also includes beautifully accurate period-correct decals, and a wonderfully detailed interior too.
There’s much more to see of Zeta’s jaw-dropping Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA at his photostream via the link above, were a wealth of stunning imagery is available to view. Click the link above to join us viewing perhaps the best Technic creation of the last few years.
The Lego Car Blog Elves have been busy since their re-release after the Christmas break, so it was only a matter of time before one of them found a remotely controlled creation. Those you expecting a tale of mass Elven squashings will be disappointed though, as – excellent though this model is – it’s too slow to cause any Elven casualties, much to the annoyance of the Elf that discovered it.
However, now that we have the controls, it can be used to trundle a great multitude of Elves around TLCB Towers, which they’re enjoying very much.
Eurobricks’ damjan97PL (aka damianPLE) is the builder responsible for this rare moment of Elven calm, thanks to his fully RC 50cm long flatbed truck. An L motor provides the drive, a Servo the steering, and an M motor operates the third axle lift system via a clutch.
It’s an excellent build and one that you can create for yourself as building instructions are available, although you probably don’t have any Elves to transport. Head to the Eurobricks discussion forum for all the details.
