Tag Archives: TV

Back to the Studio

Leave a reply

Unlikely as it may sound today, in the 2010s the biggest television programme in the world came from an old airfield hangar just outside of Guildford, in which three middle-aged men talked about cars.

The newly rebooted BBC ‘Top Gear’ grew from its producer having to pay audience members from his own pocket to stick around to the end of filming, to the most-watched television event on the planet. Over twenty seasons, dozens of cross-country adventures, and countless celebrity laps in reasonably-priced cars are now embedded in the memory of an entire generation, and Flickr’s NV Carmocs takes us right back to the height of mid-2010’s television with his fabulous homage to the place where it was all made.

With mini-figure versions of Top Gear’s three most famous hosts, a studio audience, and some of the most iconic vehicles and sets from the show, NV Carmocs has captured a hundred Top Gear memories in one spectacular diorama.

The studio set includes ‘The Cool Wall’, a V8 coffee table, the ‘Power Board’, and the plinth for perhaps Top Gear’s most famous ever vehicle, the near-destroyed late-’80s Toyota Hilux, also faithfully recreated in brick form.

There’s a huge amount more to see of NV Carmocs’ incredible mini-figure BBC Top Gear Studio diorama at their Flickr photostream, where over a dozen high quality images are available to view, plus even more of the starring Top Gear vehicles themselves.

Click the link above to go back to studio, and to take yourself back to when Sunday night TV couldn’t get any better…

Stranger Squawks

Leave a reply

The eagerly awaited final season of ‘Stranger Things’ is just a few days away, when we – along with millions of others – will return to 1980s Hawkins Indiana for one last time.

Hawkins’ news outlets are likely to be very busy, with ‘94.5 The Squawk’s news van ready to cover the mysterious disasters courtesy of Alex Jones (aka Orion Pax), who has recreated it and its ‘Upside-down’ counterpart brilliantly in brick.

Opening doors, a fully-fitted interior, a removable roof, and an accurate ‘94.5 WSQK’ livery all feature, and you can join us in Hawkins at Alex’s photostream via the link above.

LEGO Icons 10356 Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D | Set Preview

Leave a reply

[Read the following in an adenoidal internal monologue]. Nerds assemble! This is the brand new LEGO Icons 10356 Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D!

Engaging warp drive / beaming up / insert other space metaphor on November 28th 2025, LEGO’s homage to TV’s dorkiest spaceship finally brings the U.S.S Enterprise to the shelves of Star Trek fans everywhere.

And we do mean shelves, as this $400 / £350 set features no play features whatsoever. It does however feature “a secondary hull”, “warp nacelles with distinctive red and blue detailing”, nine members of the Enterprise crew in mini-figure form (none of whom we can name), a display stand, and – if you purchase before December 1st – a Star Trek ‘Type-15 Shuttlepod’ ‘Gift with Purchase’ set.

LEGO Star Trek fans can boldly go to purchase the new 10356 set later this month, whilst we boldly go to drink a beer and talk to some girls to rebalance ourselves after writing this.

The Indestructible Hilux

Leave a reply

The best selling pick-up everywhere except North America, the Toyota Hilux is favoured by farmers, NGOs, terrorists, and… Top Gear.

Some twenty years ago Top Gear embarked on what would become one of their most famous sequences ever filmed. And created the best advert for the Hilux that Toyota could have dreamed of.

Famed for their indestructibility, Top Gear decided to put the Hilux’s toughness to the test. They bought an old rusty example from a farm, and crashed it. A lot. They left it in the sea. Dropped a caravan on it. Set fire to it. Hit it with a wrecking ball. And, finally, placed it atop a tower block, and blew it up.

After all of that the Hilux was – unbelievably –  still working, and thus it became a permanent fixture in the Top Gear studio until the show’s demise. Which means the Hilux didn’t just outlive all of the tests that Top Gear put it through, but even Top Gear itself.

This homage to the world’s most famous pick-up truck comes courtesy of NV Carmocs of Flickr, who has recreated the Top Gear Hilux – dents, buckled chassis, fire-scorched paint and all – brilliantly in brick-form.

There’s more of the model to see at NV’s photostream via the third link in the text above, and if you’re one of the few people on earth that haven’t seen Top Gear’s most famous of vehicle tests, take a look at the first two…

The Other Donald

1 Reply

The news is currently filled with the economic shenanigans of a certain orange President, including the sudden announcement that – from next week – the cost of all cars not made in the U.S (as well as lots that are) will rise significantly. Because said elderly Twitter addict doesn’t understand that it’s not the seller that pays a tariff, but the buyer…

Thus in today’s post we’re featuring a Donald that’s the antithesis of his POTUS namesake, being witty, wry, warm and charming. And probably more economically competent. Feathered cartoon humanoid Donald Duck is at the wheel of his 313 Belchfire Runabaout, wonderfully recreated in 6-wide Fabuland form by previous bloggee Sven J.

A removable roof and flip-out rumble seat both feature, and best of all Sven has released free building instructions for the design. So in contrast to Trump’s latest executive order, here’s a car you don’t have to pay extra for.

There’s more to see at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, and you can get quacking via the links above.

A Grand Ending

Leave a reply

After two decades mucking about in cars, and a global audience of millions, Clarkson, Hammond and May have finally hung up their driving gloves. Well, May has. The others probably didn’t wear them.

Their final episode of ‘The Grand Tour’ – Amazon’s monstrously expensive continuation of BBC Top Gear – aired last year, in which the team returned to the location of their first ever road-trip adventure, undertaken some twenty years earlier.

A 1970s Lancia Montecarlo, Triumph Stag, and Ford Capri starred alongside the human trio, likely also completing their last ever drive, such is the nature of television production.

They live on in Lego form though, courtesy of NV_Carmocs (photographed by Studworks), who has recreated each car beautifully in Speed Champions scale. Accurate registration plates, 3D-printed wheels, and a brick-built animal skull on the Lancia enhance the accuracy, and NV_Carmocs has made building instructions available too, should you wish to relive ‘The Grand Tour’s last adventure at home. Have One for the Road via the link above.

Why Do Only Fools and Horses Work?

Leave a reply

And now for something that every one of our British readers will immediately recognise, the optimistically named Reliant Regal Supervan. Most famously wearing ‘Trotters Independent Trading Co’ livery, the Supervan was one the stars of the cult comedy ‘Only Fools and Horses’, in which it carried all manner of dodgy wares around Peckham, including – in this case – blow-up dolls that took their brief rather literally…

Newcomer BobKickflip is the builder behind this one, who has replicated it, its iconic ‘Trotters’ livery, and its payload of explosive replica females brilliantly. There’s more of the model to see, including a link building instructions, at Bob’s photostream, and you can head to Hookie Street via the link above.

THE CAPN

Leave a reply

‘Breaking Bad’ featured some perfectly cast vehicles over its five season run. Walter White’s Pontiac Aztek, the Fleetwood Bounder meth-lab, Gus Fring’s Volvo wagon, and this; Jesse Pinkman’s ’82 Chevrolet Monte Carlo lowrider.

Shot up during Tuco Salamanca’s well-deserved season two demise, Jesse’s ‘THE CAPN’ license-plated Chevy was a fixture from the opening episode, and has been recreated brilliantly in brick form by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz.

Complete with ‘furry’ dice, hydraulics control switches, fist and Mary figurine ornaments, and a ‘THE CAPN’ license plate, Jakub’s build wonderfully captures details of the TV car, and also includes opening doors, hood and trunk, a realistic engine, and a superbly replicated interior.

There’s more of the model to see at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, including links to building instructions, and you find full details and all the imagery via the links above.

A Good Omen

Leave a reply

Even demons need wheels. Well, at least according to Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s 1990 novel ‘Good Omens’, which recently became a hit for Amazon Prime.

Crowley (Bentley-driving demon) and Aziraphale (angel, guardian of the Eastern Gate) have become accustomed to their comfortable lives in England, so it is with some alarm that they learn of the arrival of the infant anti-christ, heralding both the end-times and the imminent loss of their cushy lives.

An unlikely partnership follows, as the pair attempt to sabotage the end-times for the good of… themselves, with Crowley’s 1926 semi-sentient Bentley Coupe playing a starring role in the TV adaptation.

Cue Daniel Church‘s superb brick-built rendition of the demonic Bentley, both constructed and presented beautifully, which you can take a closer look at via his photostream. Click the link above to join Crowley for a spot of lunch, followed by searching for the notorious son of Satan.

Just One More Thing…

2 Replies

The famous words of TV detective ‘Columbo’, uttered just before his inevitable cracking of the case. Produced throughout the ’70s, and then again in the late ’80s through 1990s, Columbo was (and still is) a stable of American television, and often cited as one of the greatest TV characters ever created.

Perfectly matched to the Los Angeles homicide detective’s shambling crumpled appearance was his car, an old Peugeot 403 convertible, which was never washed and – like Columbo – very often smoking.

Just 500 or so 403 convertibles were made, making Columbo’s choice a very rare vehicle (contrary to the sedan, station wagon and pick-up variants, which were produced in their hundreds of thousands), with two or three units used in the production of the TV show.

This lovely recreation of the Peugeot 403 convertible comes from previous bloggee SvenJ., and captures Columbo’s car beautifully in 1:32 brick form. Several images are available and you can find them all at Sven’s Flickr album; click the link above to crack the case. Just one more thing…

Let’s Cook

Leave a reply

It’s been over a decade since Breaking Bad (AKA The Best Thing That’s Ever Been on TV Ever) concluded, yet the seminal show is still inspiring Lego builds. Cue Nick Kleinfelder and this wonderful recreation of the infamous 1986 Fleetwood Bounder RV methlab that starred throughout out the series.

Complete with mini-figure Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, Nick’s cooked up a model of incredible detail, using a complex formula of ingenious building techniques. You can see how Nick’s done it at his photostream, and you can jump to the New Mexico desert via the link above.

Jesse’s Escape

Leave a reply

Breaking Bad, aka The Best Thing That’s Ever Been On Television, nailed its car choices. Walter White’s Aztek, the Fleetwood RV meth lab, Mike Ehrmantraut’s old sedans, Gus Fring’s understated Volvo… each was perfectly cast.

The final vehicle in the series was this, a 1981 Chevrolet El Camino, its owner recently deceased, used in Jesse Pinkman’s escape and subsequent movie of the same name.

Constructed by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz, this Model Team recreation of Breaking Bad’s last car includes opening doors and hood, working steering, a detailed interior, and a realistic engine, with lots more to see on Flickr.

Building instructions are available, you can click the link above to take a look, and here to see that final scene.

Where’s Buffy?

Leave a reply

We’ve not seen the TV show ‘Supernatural’. It sounds like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, only without Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And we only watched that show for, well… Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Still, whilst it’s missing the obvious key ingredient, ‘Supernatural’ does feature a cool car; an awesome black ’67 Chevrolet Impala.

This top-quality Model Team example of that car comes from previous bloggee Szunyogh Balázs, who has constructed and captured his Supernatural Impala model beautifully.

There are four opening doors, a detailed engine under an opening hood, an accurate brick-built drivetrain, and the trunk opens to reveal a weapons rack for hunting ghosts and ghouls. Although it might just be the content of the average American’s trunk.

There’s more of the model to see at both Eurobricks and Flickr, and you can take look via the links above if – unlike us – you haven’t already got distracted Googling pictures of Buffy the Vampire Sla…

Crack Commando Corvette

Leave a reply

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground, whereupon they bought a GMC van and a C4 Corvette, painted a giant red stripe down the side of each, and were somehow completely untraceable to the government.

No, we don’t understand how that works either, but no matter, because it allows us to publish this brilliant brick-built Chevrolet Corvette C4 (complete with a giant red stripe), as driven by the ‘A-Team’s Arthur Templeton “Faceman” Peck. Or someone rather more visually appealing.

Flickr’s László Torma is the builder behind it, instructions are available, and you can head to the Los Angeles underground via the link in the text above.

Sub-Optimus Prime

Leave a reply

If the Michael Bay ‘Transformers’ movies were directed by the people that make ‘Bob the Builder’, the result might look a little something like this.

Replacing angry alien robots with, er… cute alien robots, Angus MacLane has optimised the adorability of the leader of the Autobots, and there’s more to see of his charming ‘Sub-Optimus Prime’ transforming truck on Flickr.

Click the link above for the cutest robot in disguise you’ll see today.