Tag Archives: Technic

Lando Drives a Life-Size LEGO McLaren P1

1 Reply

LEGO’s near 4,000 piece (and near £400) 42172 Technic McLaren P1 set is pretty big. This one however, is rather bigger.

Constructed from a steel frame and over 342,000 LEGO pieces, this astonishing life-size LEGO McLaren P1 took a team of twenty-three specialists from both LEGO and McLaren 8,344 hours to develop and build.

Powered by 768 LEGO Power Functions motors and a car battery, this full-scale replica of one the world’s most iconic hypercars is the first life-size LEGO model to lap a racetrack. In fact, it is the first life-size LEGO model able to steer at all, and who better to steer it than race-winning McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.

Rumoured to be capable of around 40mph, the life-size LEGO P1 may not quite be able to match the real McLaren’s 217mph top speed, but watching Lando pilot it around the Silverstone Grand Prix track is perhaps even more exciting than watching him driving his usual wheels.

Take a look at LEGO and McLaren’s incredible feat of engineering in the video below, and click the link above to check out the rather smaller (but still pretty impressive) McLaren P1 you can own for yourself.

Rambo Lambo

Leave a reply

Supercar manufacturers might sell more SUVs now than actual supercars, but their foray into the 4×4 market is actually nothing new. Because in the mid-’80s if you were an oil sheik you could be the proud owner of this; the mad Lamborghini LM002.

Designed mostly for the Middle East, the LM002 featured bespoke sand tyres, the V12 engine from the Countach, and a 169 litre fuel tank.

301 units were produced between 1986 and 1993, with owners including sultans, princes, dictators, sons of dictators, and Tina Turner.

This one however is owned by previous bloggee Zerobricks, who has recreated the LM002 in Technic form complete with BuWizz-powered remotely controlled all-wheel-drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, independent suspension with planetary hubs, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and a working V12 engine.

There’s lots more of Zerobricks’ ‘Rambo Lambo’ to see at the Eurobricks forum, including renders of the drivetrain and a video of the model in action, and you can join such LM002 owners as Beyonce, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Uday Hussein via the link in the text above.

The Beast of Turin

Leave a reply

Four cylinders, twenty-eight litres, 290hp, and many flames. Fiat’s incredible S76 – nicknamed ‘The Beast of Turin’ – was built to claim land speed records, thanks to that astonishing engine that was also used to power airships.

This wild Technic interpretation of the 1910 racer was found by one of our Elves on Eurobricks, and comes from JoKo, who has created a working approximation of the S76’s enormous engine complete with functioning double overhead cams, valves, and timing chain.

Control+ components allow for remote control drive and steering, there’s leaf-spring suspension, a working hand-crank, and – perhaps most importantly – a marvellously moustachioed gentleman sitting in the cockpit.

Fire up all 28.4 litres via the link above, and click here to see (and hear!) the real Beast of Turin come to life.

Brickin’ Bronco B-Model

Leave a reply

LEGO’s brand new Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 Professional Line set is proving to be a veritable goldmine of parts. Despite only launching a few weeks ago, several superb 42177 B-Models have appeared here at The Lego Car Blog already, and today we have another; this fantastic Ford Bronco by Eurobricks’ Alex Ilea.

Featuring four-wheel-drive with three locking differentials, working steering via the wheel or HOG, independent front and live-axle rear suspension, a high/low range gearbox, a V6 engine, opening doors, hood, and tailgate, a folding bench, plus removable body panels and roof, Alex’s Bronco is as packed with functionality as the official G-Wagen set on which it’s based.

91% (2,625) of the donor set’s pieces are used in the Bronco’s creation, and if you prefer your 4x4s with American fun rather than German assertiveness you too can turn your 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 into a Ford Bronco, as Alex has also produced building instructions for his alternate design. See more at both the Eurobricks forum and Bricksafe, plus you can also click here to watch a video of Alex’s Bronco B-Model in action.

Tow Plow

Leave a reply

Summer is waining here in the northern hemisphere, which means for many readers, and perhaps TLCB Team, we’re on the path to winter snow. Fortunately previous bloggee M_longer is ready, having converted his LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator set into this spectacular Volvo VHD snow plow, complete with a gritter and secondary plow trailer in tow. A ‘tow plow’ if you will.

Utilising around 2,100 pieces from the 42175 set’s 2,274, M_longer’s alternate features working steering, a piston engine under the opening bonnet, a disengageable salt spreader / gritter, a pneumatically elevating front blade and – very cleverly – a pneumatically elevating trailer blade too, driven by the truck’s pneumatics.

Building instructions are available and you can find a link to them, full build details, and a reference image of the real ‘tow plow’ truck that inspired this build at the Eurobricks discussion forum, there are over forty high resolution images at M_longer’s ‘Tow-Plow’ Bricksafe gallery, plus you can check out this fantastic alternate in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Ice Blocks

Leave a reply

Here at The Lego Car Blog we’re the best place to find the highest quality images of the finest Lego vehicles anywhere on the internet. OK… we’re a place to find said vehicles, but whist the quality of this site may be dubious, the vehicles and the imagery that appear here are top class.

Our Submission Guidelines set out what we look for, and key among these are clean, clutter-free images, preferably on a white background. This is the easiest way to ensure your creation is blog-worthy, but if you want to play in ‘hard mode’, then you can take your images to a whole new level…

Recent bloggee Nathan Hake has done just that, taking his previously blogged remote control MAZ-537 8×8 off-road truck (presented beautifully on a clean, clutter-free, white background), and chucking it onto the snow and mud.

The results are spectacular, with the Model Team MAZ looking almost life-size when set against a backdrop that the real vehicle was built for, and it also gave Nathan the chance to test his model’s off-road credentials.

You can watch how Nathan’s MAZ-537 got on in the snow by clicking here, where you can also find these stunning new on-location photos alongside the studio-based originals. Take a look via the link above, and perhaps be inspired to take your models outside too.

Half-a-B

Leave a reply

What’s half a B? A D? Whatever it is, that’s what we have here today, in the shape of the excellent Technic bulldozer by Flickr’s Dyens Creations, who has constructed it only from the parts found within LEGO Technic 42175 Volvo FMX Truck & EC230 Electric Excavator set, specifically the pieces used to build the EC230 excavator.

An array of working functions feature, and the bulldozer can still fit onto the Volvo FMX’s trailer, for which the pieces – and those of the truck pulling it – remain unused. There’s lots more of Dyen’s half-a-B-Model to see at his ‘LEGO 42175 – Heavy Duty Excavator’ album, and you can swap your digging for dozing via the link in the text above.

The Last True Lotus

Leave a reply

This TLCB Writer, living in Lotus’ home-market, can’t remember the last time he saw an Elise. Or an Exige. Or an Evora.

He can however, remember the last time he saw Lotus’ new five-meter-long, 2.6-ton ‘hyper SUV’. Because it was yesterday. In fact, because of the previously alluded to SUV arms race that takes place around TLCB Towers, they’re seen with alarming regularity. This is of course good news for the future of Lotus, and – simultaneously – bad news for the future of Lotus. Because if a Lotus is a Lotus in name only, then arguably the company is already dead.

Happily though, there’s one last hurrah before all Lotuses become near-three-ton Chinese-built electric behemoths; the fantastic Emira.

Launched in 2022, the Emira is Lotus’ final combustion-engined car, powered by either an AMG-sourced turbocharged 4-cylinder, or a Toyota-sourced supercharged V6, and available with a manual gearbox.

It’s the latter we have here today, in the form of newcomer Combustible ice‘s superb Technic recreation of the British sports car. The transverse mid-mounted V6 is present, as is a six-speed gearbox, all-wheel suspension, working steering, and opening doors, front trunk and engine cover, along with a stunning replication of the Emira’s pretty bodywork.

It’s one of the standout Technic Supercars of 2024 and there’s lots more to see, including technical renders and images of the chassis, at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the link above for a look at the last real Lotus…

My Other Car’s a G-Wagen

1 Reply

In the vehicular arms-race raging around TLCB Towers, a normal SUV is no longer enough. Range Rovers, new Defenders, and G-Wagens (all in black of course) appear to be the minimum entry requirements, and thus we’re convinced it won’t be long before little Isabella is picked up from her private school in an actual tank. Painted black.

Or one of these…

The Hummer H1 was the ‘civilian’ version of the military HMMWV ‘Humvee’, designed to appeal to those convinced that civil war will start any day now, and they must protect themselves, and their family.

Constructed solely from the parts from the official LEGO Technic 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 set, Eric Trax’s brilliant Hummer H1 B-Model captures the outrageousness of the real deal wonderfully in brick form.

Using around 2,500 pieces (86%) of the original set, Eric’s H1 features four-wheel-drive with a centre locking differential, a V8 piston engine under an opening hood, HOG steering, a high/low gearbox, independent suspension, plus opening and locking doors and a dropping tailgate.

Presented as beautifully as it’s been made, there’s more to see of Eric’s fantastic 42177 alternate at his ‘Hummer H1 – Lego 42177 Model B’ album on Flickr and via the video below, where you can also find a link to building instructions.

Convert your Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen into a Hummer H1 via the link above, and win the SUV arms race once and for all! Unless Isabella’s Mom gets that tank…

YouTube Video

Acceptable in the ’80s

Leave a reply

A simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck would probably do brilliantly in 2024. But because they don’t cost much less to produce that monstrosities like this, guess what manufacturers choose to make…

Back in the ’80s though, and you could buy a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck, with Toyota’s being so simple it didn’t even have a name, being called simply the ‘pick-up’.

It did in the rest of the world though, where the ‘Hilux’ gained a legendary reputation. This neat grey Technic recreation of the ’80s icon (pictured in front of some equally grey ’80s wallpaper – buy some white card paave!) comes from previous bloggee paave, and features four-wheel-drive linked to a 4-cylinder engine and a high/low gearbox, leaf-spring suspension, working steering, plus opening (and locking) doors, hood and tailgate.

There’s more of paave’s ’85 Toyota Hilux to see at the Eurobricks forum, where a link to building instructions can also be found. Build yourself a simple, efficient, small, pick-up truck in 2024 – even if it is from the ’80s – via the link above!

*Today’s (fantastic) title song.

Crapper

Leave a reply

We like merging words here at TLCB, but – much like a bulldog and a shih-tzu – we’re not sure merging ‘crane’ and ‘tipper’ has worked particularly well…

No matter, because the creational cause of the linguistic faux-pas is rather excellent, being both a crane and tipper truck, and a beautifully engineered one at that.

Constructed by previous bloggee Thirdwigg (aka Wigboldy), this neat all-mechanical Technic crane-tipper combo features functioning steering, working support legs, a 6-cylinder engine under a tilting cab, a two-way tipper, and a three-stage extending and rotating crane grab.

It’s all brilliantly packaged and highly playable, and there’s more to see of Thirdwigg’s model on Flickr. Click the link above for a cracker of a crapper.

Monster MAZ

Leave a reply

This astonishing vehicle is a MAZ 543, an enormous Soviet 8×8 truck developed in the 1960s as a strategic missile carrier. Powered by a near 40-litre tank engine, the 543 could weigh up to 41 tons loaded, featured eight-wheel-drive, four wheel steering, planetary hubs, and an on-board tyre inflation system.

The single-cab ‘M’ variant followed in 1976, with the amazing creation pictured here representing part of the ‘A222 Bereg’ coastal defence force, which consisted of around half-a-dozen artillery units, a couple of support vehicles, and a central command centre (which is this one), all based on MAZ 543 M platforms.

Samuel Nerpas’ incredible Technic recreation of the MAZ 543 M-based central command centre recreates the enormity of the real ‘A222 Bereg’ coastal defence force vehicles brilliantly, and is packed with working functionality.

Six Power Functions L-Motors drive all eight wheels, a Servo steers the first four, two M Motors power pneumatic compressors that operate the stabiliser legs and engine compartment blinds, whilst three more lift a rotating radar antenna and observation equipment through an opening roof hatch.

It’s a terrific example of Technic engineering, and you can take a closer look at this gargantuan creation via Samuel’s Flickr photostream and at the Eurobricks discussion forum, where a full build description and several videos of the model in action can be found.

Building Bridges

4 Replies

Slightly less Russian military hardware will be unleashed on Ukraine of late, what with the latter’s decision to bring the conflict of Russia’s warmongering president to his own soil.

At least two Russian bridges, used to transport weaponry amongst other things, have been destroyed by Ukraine in recent weeks, making the scene above a little less common than it was a fortnight ago.

Said scene comes from previous bloggee Nathan Hake, whose MAZ-537 and gorgeous bridge-based diorama was built for a recent Lego show.

Fantastic attention to detail, presentation, and construction techniques are evident in abundance, with the MAZ packed with working functionality too, featuring remote control all-wheel-drive, steering, and trailer hitch lock, whilst the trailer also includes motorised legs and ramps.

There’s more to see at Nathan’s photostream and you can head to a bridge somewhere in Eastern Europe via the link above.

My Other Car’s a Ford

Leave a reply

We suspect that most Ford owners, given the option, would swap their car for a Lamborghini. Unless the Ford was a GT maybe. However if you own LEGO’s Technic 42154 Ford GT, you can make the probable trade-down to a Lamborghini in the form of this excellent Huracan RWD B-Model.

Built only from the parts from the 42154 Ford GT set, newcomer Marvelous Bricks has equipped his Huracan alternate with a working V10 engine and steering, plus opening doors and engine cover.

Building instructions are available and there’s more to see on Eurobricks; take a look via the link above and turn your Ford into a Lamborghini. Now if only someone could do the same thing with a 1998 Fiesta…

My Other Other Vehicle is Also a Mercedes

Leave a reply

It seems like only a week ago that that LEGO’s brand new 42177 Technic Mercedes-Benz G 500 set was wonderfully converted into Mercedes’ most extreme off-road vehicle. Because it was.

But as per gloves, bookends, and TV cops, 42177 Unimog alternates come in pairs, because today we have another.

Like Eric Trax’s previously-blogged U423, M_longer’s U437 uses only parts from the official 42177 set, and is packed with brilliant working functionality.

Featuring suspended portal axles, all-wheel-drive with differential lock, a 4-cylinder piston engine, HOG steering, high/low transfer case, opening and locking doors, a tipping bed, and an elevating snow plough attachment, M_longer’s 42177 B-Model includes very nearly as much functionality as LEGO’s own 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, all constructed from the parts of a G-Wagen.

A huge gallery of top quality imagery is available to view at Bricksafe, full details (including a link to building instructions) can be found on Eurobricks, and you can check out more of M_longer’s incredible 42177 B-Model Unimog via the links above.