Tag Archives: Technic

Honey, I Shrunk the Arocs!

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The Technic 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs is one of the highest rated LEGO sets of all time. Now a decade old (where did that time go?), the 2015 flagship united Power Functions and pneumatics into one of the most technically advanced sets ever released.

Today’s creation pays homage to LEGO’s original masterpiece, only rather smaller. Constructed in 1:35 scale (vs. 42043’s 1:17), TechnicMOCer‘s half-size tribute features twin-axle steering, three-axle pendular suspension, a working piston engine, tipping bed, and mechanically-operated crane and outriggers.

Building instructions are available, to which you can find a link, as well as further imagery, at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above to shrink your Arocs.

The Alternative

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Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re big fans of up-cycling. Repurposing one thing into another thing is both advantageous to the wallet, and means that one fewer new thing has had to be made, usually by digging something out of the ground/cutting down a tree, melting/refining it in a factory, and shipping it in a giant box full of other new things half-way round the world.

Of course LEGO by design is an up-cycler’s dream. Endlessly reusable, reconfigurable, and hand-down-able, it is the antidote to crappy single-use plastic toys that will last a thousand times longer in landfill or our oceans than they will in the hands of a child.

Cue previous bloggee M_Longer, who today demonstrates LEGO’s greatest attribute brilliantly by up-cycling two 2025 entry-level Technic sets into entirely new models.

M_Longer’s JCB Fastrac (above) uses every one of the parts from the 42199 Monster Jam DIGatron set, whilst his helicopter (below) swaps the ocean depths of the 42201 Deep-Sea Research Submarine for the skies, and includes a pitching main rotor and a hand crank that turns it and the tail rotor simultaneously.

There’s more to see of M_Longer’s 42199 JCB Fastrac, or alternatively his 42201 helicopter, at both Eurobricks (where links to building instructions can also be found) and Bricksafe, and you can take a look at each up-cycled alternate via the links below;

Helicopter: Eurobricks / Bricksafe, JCB Fastac: Eurobricks / Bricksafe

My Other Car’s a Ford GT

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The most common basis for hot rods are Fords. Due to their abundance in America in the 1920s-’40s, all manner of blue ovals have been hot rodded; Model-Ts, Model-As, ‘Tudors‘, ‘5-Windows‘ and everything in-between. But not, we suspect, the Ford GT. Until today. Kinda.

Because this excellent Technic hot rod is built only out of the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42154 Ford GT.

Working steering, opening and locking doors, a V6 engine, all-wheel suspension, and the most ingenious use of Technic wheel arches we’ve ever seen all feature, and there’s more to see courtesy of Equilibrium at the Eurobricks discussion forum.

The Hook

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It’s New Year’s Day, and there’s already a hooker in the office. Nope, we haven’t gone ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ for 2025 (we’re still very much a ropey Lego blog rather than a stock market scam); this one is of the Lego variety, being a splendid fully mechanical Technic hook-lift truck courtesy of TLCB Master MOCer Thirdwigg.

Fitted with front and rear axle steering, a working piston engine under the tilting cab, a functioning hook-lift plus tipper mechanism, and two roll-off containers (one of which is also fitted with a slewing crane grab), Thirdwigg’s truck is an excellent creation with which to begin the new year.

There’s much more to see at Thirdwigg’s ‘Hook Lift Truck’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found, and you can click the link above for the hook.

Off-Road Alternative

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The excellent LEGO Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set has successfully brought one of the market’s best known 4x4s to bedroom floors (or more likely Dads’ shelves) everywhere.

But what if you like retro-looking off-roaders but you’re not a wealthy Russian laundering money in the South of England? (Who seem to make up 100% of the G Wagen owners around TLCB Towers). Previous bloggee gyenesvi has the answer!

Using only the parts from the official 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set, gyenesvi has created this superb Land Rover 90, complete with all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-suspension, working steering, an inline-4 engine, an operational gearbox, opening and locking doors, a detailed interior, and a whole heap of accessories.

The result is so good you’d be hard pressed to know it’s an alternate, and with building instructions available you can rebuild your own Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Land Rover 90 too.

There’s much more of gyenesvi’s phenomenal 42177 B-Model to see at the Eurobricks forum, where a detailed description and further links can be found, plus the complete image gallery is available to view at Bricksafe.

Duke 690

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LEGO’s expanding range of 1:5 scale Technic motorcycle sets is not only allowing fans to build some of the world’s best bikes in brick form, it’s also furnishing the Lego Community with a plethora of new pieces to enable them to create their own.

This is one such creation, borne from the pieces found within LEGO’s flagship motorcycle sets, and constructed by JoKo of Eurobricks. This stunning KTM 690 Duke brings a bike brand not yet amongst LEGO’s licensed partners into the fold, and includes working steering and suspension, a detailed engine with piston, timing chain, camshaft, and a light-brick synchronised with the combustion cycle, and a sequential gearbox.

JoKo has also built a motorised display stand that allows his model’s engine and gearbox to operate, and you can check out the full details, imagery, and a video of the bike in action at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Not a Bad Way to Spend $10,000

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The infamous words of Dominic Toretto, after lifting the hood of Brian O’Conner’s modified Mitsubishi Eclipse, and listing several things you wouldn’t be able to see by lifting the hood.

A ludicrous street race and the Mitsubishi’s demise at the hands of a Japanese motorcycle gang would follow, as would ten mostly terrible movies, and a whole load more modified cars.

But back to Brian’s first ride in the franchise, and previous bloggee ArtemyZotov, who has remembered the short-lived Eclipse from ‘The Fast and the Furious’ by recreating it in Technic form, complete with custom rims, opening doors, hood and trunk, working steering, and the option of remote control drive.

There’s more to see at both Eurobricks and Bricksafe, and building instructions are available so you can recreate your own ‘Fast & Furious’ street race at home. Click on the links above to race for pinks, and here to see the Eclipse’s rather more famous replacement.

LEGO Technic H1 2025 | Set Previews

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It’s a few weeks before Christmas
And all through LEGO’s HQ
TLCB Elves have been sneaking
Finding sets to preview.

Yes it’s that time of year once again, when a crack team of ‘volunteer’ Elves are thrown over the LEGO Company’s perimeter wall to uncover next year’s new Technic sets. This is the complete H1 2025 Technic line-up!

42197 Backhoe Loader

LEGO Technic 42197 Backhoe Loader

We kick off the 2025 Technic range with this, the new 42197 Backhoe Loader. A neat counterpart to last year’s 42163 Heavy-Duty Bulldozer, 42197 includes a raising front bucket via a worm gear and a roof mounted cog, a posable backhoe, and deployable stabilisers. Just 104 pieces are needed, it’s aimed at ages 7+, and it fulfils the starter-set brief beautifully.

42198 Bush Plane

LEGO Technic Bush Plane 42198

Trebling the piece-count is the 42198 Bush Plane, a welcome and too-rare foray into fixed wing aircraft.

Aimed at ages 8+, 42198 includes a flat-4 piston engine linked to the propellor and powered – we think – by an intriguing push-beam mechanism that simultaneously operates working ailerons (flaps) that flip in opposing directions to make turns.

Besides the rather clunky-looking landing gear, 42198 looks like an excellent small-scale set, with zebra-stripe stickerage and some good parts too, including propellor blades, new white beams, and a surprising number of gears. We like.

42199 Monster Jam DIGatron & 42200 Monster Jam ThunderROARus

After a short break away from Monster Jam for the Pull-Backs, LEGO is returning to the partnership for 2025. And that’s no bad thing, as these sets are really only designed for one purpose; being launched down a hallway and over a ramp made of books and a cereal box.

42199 Monster Jam DIGatron and 42200 Monster Jam ThunderROARus will no doubt perform said task admirably, and – outfitted with both stickers and teeth – they’re perfect for their 7+ target.

42201 Deep-Sea Research Submarine

On to one of 2025’s most unusual Technic sets, the 413-piece 42201 Deep-Sea Research Submarine. Reminiscent of the largely forgotten 1997 Divers sub-theme, 42201 looks rather un-Technic-y, despite being constructed almost exclusively from Technic pieces. A selection of cogs operate the pitch of the propellors and the grab-arm, and you’ll be able to scoop up the remnants of the Ocean Gate Titan when 42201 dives into stores from January 2025.

42202 Ducati Panigale V4 S Motorcycle

Wait, haven’t we done this already? Almost.

The 42202 Ducati Panigale V4 S moves one letter down the alphabet from 2020’s 42107 Ducati Panigale V4 R, and in doing so ups the piece-count by a thousand, the target age by eight, and the price by $100.

Measuring over 40cm long, the new 1,600-piece Ducati will arrive with a foot-operated three-speed (plus neutral) gearbox, a V4 engine chain-linked to the rear wheel, functioning steering, and working suspension, plus some spectacular looking bodywork.

Joining LEGO’s previous 1:5 scale Technic motorcycles (the 42159 Yamaha MT-10 SP and 42130 BMW M 1000 RR), the new 42202 Ducati Panigale V4 S is expected to cost around £170/$200 when it arrives next year, and whilst it does look to somewhat repeat its smaller 42017 brother, there have been dozens of red Ferrari sets to date, so a second (and much larger) Ducati is fine by us.

42203 Tipping Dump Truck

We complete* the new 2025 Technic line-up with a neat mid-size truck of the type LEGO has built for decades. The new 462-piece 42203 Tipping Dump Truck features ‘HOG’ steering, and hand-cranked tipper, and, um… that’s it. Perhaps for £45 we’d have hoped for some basic oscillating suspension or something, but we’re in the minority. LEGO know it’s aesthetics that sell their products today, even Technic ones, and thus 42203 likely loses that extra feature in favour of decals and visual detail. And on those counts it scores rather well.

Aimed at ages 9+, the new 42203 Tipping Dump Truck will join the rest of the new Technic range in stores from early next year, with a few of the new sets (including this one) available to pre-order via the official LEGO website from now.

*Plus of course the 42204 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra Mk4, 42205 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 car sets already revealed here at The Lego Car Blog, and the enormous new LEGO Formula 1 line-up of which the latter is part.

LEGO Technic 42204 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4 | Set Preview

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Aaaand here it is! Probably the most over-hyped car in history, the source of a million internet arguments, and a vehicle countless LEGO fans have been waiting for ever since the company secured both ‘Fast & Furious’ and Toyota licensing rights. It’s that Toyota Supra; this is the brand new LEGO Technic 42204 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4!

So does 42204 live up to enormous weight of expectation? Nope. Which makes it the perfect metaphor for the real thing. And after LEGO’s 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car snuck in three-hundred more pieces than its Ferrari counterpart for the same cost (just like the real Red Bull F1 car), we’re beginning to think LEGO have a mighty good sense of irony.

Aimed at ages 9+ and with 810 pieces, the new 42204 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra Mk4 is rather smaller than its movie contemporary the Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger from a few years ago. And nowhere near as good.

It is instantly recognisable though, in lurid orange, with truncated bodywork decals that are every bit as terrible as those on the real car, plus a load more for the intercooler, vents, side windows, rear lights, license plate… Still, if we were nine and LEGO asked us how ‘How many stickers would you like?, we’d have said ‘Yes’ too.

A working inline-6 engine, steering, removable targa roof, opening hood, and NO2 canisters in the trunk also feature, and you’ll be able to get your hands on the new LEGO Technic 42204 Fast & Furious Toyota Supra MK4 set for around £55 when it races into stores in March 2025.

For us, it’ll probably stay on the shelf. But LEGO know what they’re doing, and in targeting 42204 at the 9+ age bracket they’ll likely sell every one they can make. And that – considering said consumers were born fourteen years after the car’s appearance in the first ‘Fast & Furious’ movie – says everything about the appeal, and hype, of an orange Toyota Supra Mk4. Even if the reality doesn’t match it.

Marble Run

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This skeletal-looking creation is a Mack Marble trial truck, and it comes from regular bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Thirdwigg, who has eschewed his usual all-mechanical approach for a suite of Power Functions electronics. Which means his latest model has done 100% more Elf-smushing than all his others combined.

There are mechanical functions too though, with working suspension and a 5-cylinder piston engine present, and you can check out more of Thirdwigg’s Mack Marble at his Flickr album of the same name.

LEGO Technic 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car | Set Preview

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Following our huge preview of the all new LEGO Formula 1 range, encompassing all ten teams and spanning themes from Duplo to Technic, there’s one more Formula 1 set that escaped the reveal. This is the brand new LEGO Technic 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car!

Yes, like Red Bull evading the Formula 1 budget cap, or their team principal dodging responsibility for sexual misconduct, this new flagship Technic Formula 1 set eluded last week’s reveal. Although perhaps LEGO were waiting until Max Verstappen had wrapped up the Drivers’ World Championship for more clout.

Whatever, 42206 joins the equally-sized 42207 Ferrari SF-24 F1 Car previously previewed, and brings Verstappen’s title-winning F1 car to the Technic range. Like the Ferrari, the new Red Bull RB20 is aimed at ages 18+ and features a working V6 engine with spinning MGU-H unit, a two-speed gearbox, steering, suspension, operational rear-wing DRS, replica (although equal-width) Pirelli slicks, and a billion stickers.

Much like the real Red Bull F1 Team, the new 42206 set manages some trick accountancy too, costing the same €229.99 / $229.99 / £199.99 as its Ferrari counterpart, but with three-hundred more parts (although we’re not sure where they’ve all gone). How’s that for attention to the back-story! Thus if price-per-part is your thing, 42206 is the better value of the two 2025 Technic Formula 1 flagships.

You’ll be able to get your hands on the new LEGO Technic 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car when it races into stores in March 2025, joining the rest of an expansive LEGO Formula 1 line-up.

Volvo²

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No this time we’re not making classic Volvo jokes. Because today’s post is a Volvo atop another Volvo, for some kind of Volvo².

This phenomenal Volvo Aero truck is the work of MCD, and it might be – visually at least – the most life-like Technic truck our Elves have found to date. Constructed in 1:21 scale, the Technic panels MCD has used fit the model so perfectly it looks like they were purpose made for it, as do the genuine stickers from the LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX set which work a treat here.

A five-axle Nooteboom trailer in tow carries another beautifully recreated Volvo hauler, with MCD’s classic Volvo F89 every bit as good as the modern Aero transporting it.

There’s more to see of both creations at the Eurobricks discussion forum, and you can click the link above to get to the square root of Volvo trucks.

LEGO Technic 42205 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray | Set Preview

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It’s that time of year again, when a crack team of TLCB Elves is sent to sneak around The LEGO Company’s headquarters to find (and steal) the top secret imagery of next year’s Technic line-up.

Of course as with every year, we don’t publish said images here until they’re in the public domain, because we have integrity. But as this set has just been accidentally revealed by the Mexican arm of a famous online retailer, it matters not if we publish the images we’ve assuredly been sitting on for ages and definitely didn’t find leaked on the internet. So here it is, the brand new Technic 42205 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray!

Wait? Didn’t LEGO already do one of these? Well yes, back in 2019, with the last of the front-engined Corvettes, but this is the new mid-engined Corvette. The 42205 set also looks, to our eyes at least, rather more cohesive than the 2019 iteration, but as well it might, with around 25% more parts (at 732), and an expected $50 price tag.

It also features a tie-up with the ‘Asphalt Legends Unite’ video-game for some reason, and includes working steering, a V8 engine, opening doors, and stickers-for-everything.

On its own, the Technic 42205 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray looks nice enough. But perhaps we’ve been spoilt with LEGO’s explosion of officially-licensed real-world replicas because, well… the first mid-engined Corvette to become a LEGO set could perhaps have been a bit more interesting than a $50 Technic set with more stickers than working features.

However if you are excited by LEGO’s latest Corvette set you can get your hands on it when it lands in March of 2025, before which we’ll reveal of the rest of the brand new Technic line-up right here at The Lego Car Blog. Unless Amazon Mexico unwittingly leak it first…

Technic Trials

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Technic building can be difficult. In fact the comment we receive most into The Lego Car Blog Inbox (besides spam for crypto currencies obviously) is ‘Can I have building instructions?’. Well yes, today you can! Because this superb fully RC flatbed trial truck by TLCB Master MOCer Kyle Wigboldy (aka Thirdwigg) has been published with free building instructions. One hundred TLCB Points to Kyle. Four-wheel-drive, steering, and all-wheel-suspension are on the features list and you can find all the (beautiful) imagery and the link to building instructions at Kyle’s ‘Off Road Pickup Truck’ album. Take a look via the second link above, plus you can click the first to read Kyle’s interview here at TLCB.

Carry on Camping

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It’s nearly Black Friday, that magical time of year when consumers banish any thoughts of Thanksgiving to fight in the streets over discounted electronics, and when we want to escape to the wilderness in a camper van and stand on the top with a shot gun.

Cue previous bloggee damianPLE / damjan97PL, whose excellent fully remote controlled RV is fuelling our escapist desire.

Perfectly blending Technic and System construction, Damian’s ‘Mini Camper Van’ packs a whole heap of visual detail and Control+ drive and steering into a model under 10cm wide.

There’s lots more to see at Eurobricks (including a video of the model in action) with the complete gallery available via Bricksafe, and you can join us somewhere in the wilds via the links above.