This dinky 1950s Mercedes-Benz Unimog ‘Gasolin’ tanker probably isn’t going fill many gas tanks, but it’s going to look properly cute filling what it can. Christoph Ellermann‘s is the builder behind this wonderful classic off-road tractor, and you can fill your tank in the ’50s, as long as too many people haven’t filled theirs first, via the link in the text above.
Ever since LEGO released the incredible 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U400 set over a decade ago, the internet has been awash with home-made ‘mogs. Dozens of the best have appeared here over the years, countless Elves have been run-over by the remote control ones, and the online Lego Community is showing no sign of slowing up on the ‘mog-making. Which we’re totally OK with, because Unimogs are cool.
They’re also interesting from an engineering perspective, and offer plenty of scope for the recreation of real-world mechanics in brick form. Cue the latest Mercedes-Benz Unimog to appear here, this excellent flat-bed U5000 built by Teo LEGO Technic.
With a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery remotely controlling the twin Power Functions XL Motor four-wheel-drive, M Motor steering, pneumatic differential locks, and a high/low gearbox, plus some serious suspension, Teo’s U5000 looks to be as good off-road as the real deal.
There’s more to see, including a video of the model in action, at the Eurobricks forum, plus a complete image gallery with mechanical break-downs can be found at Bricksafe. Click the links to take a look, and you can see all the many ‘mogs that have appeared here over the last eleven years via the search function in the sidebar or footer.
First appearing here in December with a suitably rubbish Christmas pun, Thirdwigg’s Mercedes-Benz Unimog U423, complete with working steering, suspension, piston engine, power take-offs and free building instructions, is just the sort of creation we like.
Of course to be a proper miniature Unimog, an array of attachments and implements should also be available, to which Thirdwigg had duly obliged, with a snow plow and gritter, three-way tipping bed, and knuckle-boom crane all able to be mounted to the truck.
One combination that was missing however, was the set-up from the spectacular and considerably larger official 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, where a tipper is combined with a rear-mounted triple-boom crane and stabiliser legs.
If you missed the chance to get hold of an 8110 set when it was available, Thirdwigg may have added just what you need, creating a small-scale version of the 8110 configuration for his 1:20 scale Unimog U423.
As with the previous iterations, free building instructions are available so you can create your very own miniature 8110 at home, and you can see more of Thirdwigg’s excellent model on Flickr by clicking these words.
What’s more Christmassy than a Mercedes-Benz Unimog? Ok, pretty much anything that’s not a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. But then the title wouldn’t work.
This excellent 1:20 scale Mercedes-Benz Unimog U423 comes from TLCB favourite Thirdwigg, who has recreated the off-road tractor/truck rather brilliantly in the style of recent Technic sets, blending Model Team aesthetics with Technic functionality.
That functionality includes mechanical steering and drive to a piston engine, rear suspension with portal axles, front and rear power-take-offs, and a tilting cab with opening doors.
A variety of attachments can also be fitted, including a three-way (snigger) tipping bed, a crane and winch, or a snow plow and gritter. See, it was Christmassy after all! There’s more to see at Thirdwigg’s ‘Unimog U423’ album on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found – click the link above for a Merry Christmog!
After yesterday’s MAN 8×8 expedition truck, today we have a bonus build. Casually added into the Eurobricks topic alongside the MAN, collaborative builders MTC also published this brilliant-looking Mercedes-Benz Unimog outfitted for off-road adventuring. A complete Technic chassis is topped with an excellent Model Team body, consisting of a four-door cab and an integrated RV unit, and there’s more to see alongside the previously-blogged MAN 8×8 on Eurobricks. Click the link above for more off-road adventures.
Making not only their TLCB debut, but their MOCing debut too, today’s creation publicises a newcomer to the online Lego community via a well-trodden path; the Mercedes-Benz Unimog.
We’ve featured dozens of brick-built Unimogs here over the years, and TLCB debutant Rajesh Sriram (aka Voldemort87) adds another to the roster, with his excellent fully RC truck trial version of the famous off-road truck.
PoweredUp motors deliver the all-wheel drive, steering, and high/low gearbox, whilst the cabin tilts, there’s a working piston engine, and all-wheel suspension too.
There’s more to see of Rajesh’s first published MOC at both Eurobricks and Flickr, and you can take a look via the links above.
We’re back on track! With today’s other posts being a vehicle we vehemently hate and one with no tenuous Christmas link whatsoever, here’s one that ticks both boxes.
We love the classic ’70s Mercedes-Benz Unimog, and Lego recreations of it surely don’t come any better than this; proran’s beautiful Christmas-coloured Model Team U406 tipper, a creation five years in the making.
One image in particular caught our eye, in which proran has replicated a real-world U406 beside a log pile with wonderful attention to detail. We rarely publish images of real vehicles, but this is such a gorgeous composition we simply had too. Plus it makes the title work.
Alongside the stunning exterior, proran has faithfully recreated the Unimog U406’s mechanicals too, with solid-axle suspension, working steering via the wheel, four-wheel-drive linked to a 4-cylinder engine, a tipping bed, and front and rear PTOs selectable from within the cab.
A Power Functions motor can be applied to demonstrate the model’s functions, which you can watch via the excellent video at the end of this post, and an extensive gallery of imagery is available showing proran’s creation and the real-world U406 that inspired it via Bricksafe.
Click the link above to take a closer look, or here to visit the Eurobricks forum for full build details and to join the discussion.
YouTube Video
It’s only two more sleeps ’til Christmas! Which means as the Elves have returned to TLCB Towers they’ve been placed back into their cages for their enforced Christmas ‘break’. They don’t mind working over Christmas of course, but we’d rather be down the pub, er… we mean ‘working at the homeless shelter’, so they’re confinement is necessary if we aren’t to come back to the office to find all the glue sticks have been eaten.
Seriously though, Christmas is far more important than this dumpster fire of the internet, so this is the last creation to appear here before we pause for a few days. It’s a really good one though!
Built by previous bloggee Wigboldly/Thirdwigg, this brilliant Mercedes-Benz Unimog U430 is everything we like to see in a Technic creation. There’s working steering and suspension, all-wheel-drive, a 4-cylinder engine underneath a tilting cab, a tipping load bed, and front and rear power-take-offs with the option of pneumatic attachments.
All in it’s really not far off the much larger official Technic 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, so if you missed your chance to buy that when it was on sale, Thirdwigg’s U430 is an excellent alternative you can build at home. Yup, he’s even made instructions available too.
There’s more of Thirdwigg’s build to see at his ‘U430’ album on Flickr, and you can check out his equally good Technic Unimog U500 and Unimog U400 models that have appeared here previously via the bonus links.
Click the coloured words in the text above to make the jumps to all things Unimoggy.
LEGO’s official Technic 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U400 set earned a stellar 9/10 rating here at The Lego Car Blog when it was reviewed way back in 2011. Fantastic functional realism, excellent use of motorisation, and an on-board pneumatic compressor make 8110 one of the finest sets we’ve ever reviewed. However, whilst expensive then, 8110 is ludicrously pricey now.
Cue previous bloggee thirdwigg, who has created his own superbly engineered Technic Unimog U400, only all-mechanical.
The loss of Power Functions components hasn’t reduced the functional realism though, with thirdwigg’s U400 equipped with all-wheel suspension, four-wheel-drive connected to an inline-4 engine under a tipping cab, working steering, a front and rear PTO, three-way tipping bed, and a pneumatic take-off too.
It’s a brilliantly simplified (but in no way simple) take on the original 8110 set, and one that you can build for yourself, as thirdwigg has released instructions for his model alongside the excellent imagery you see here.
If you missed out on the official LEGO Technic 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U400 set a decade ago, and baulk at the price of them today, check out thirdwigg’s wonderfully engineered 4/5ths version at his ‘U400’ album via the link above, plus you can watch all of the model’s features in action via the video below.
YouTube Video
The Jeep Wrangler is one of the best off-roaders available, but what if even it isn’t quite off-roady enough? There aren’t many vehicles more capable than a Wrangler in the dirt, but one of them is the Mercedes-Benz Unimog, which will drive right over a stranded Wrangler and carry on without noticing.
Cue mpj of Brickshelf, who has turned LEGO’s 42122 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon set into a mighty Unimog tow-truck, complete with a working winch and functioning steering. Further images and instructions are available and there’s more to see of mpj’s 42122 alternate via the link above.
Three Mercedes-Benz?
Mercedes-Benz have made all sorts of vehicles. Cars, vans, trucks, and buses, plus engines for cars, vans, trucks and buses have all borne the three-painted star.
Flickr’s Moritz Zielger has built several items from Mercedes-Benz’s diverse back catalogue, and we have three to share with you today.
First (top) is a ’60s Mercedes-Benz W112 ‘Fintail’ in two-door coupe form, whilst above is a more modern Unimog off-road truck (complete with a working tipping bed), and below the classic 300SL Roadster.
Each has been built and presented beautifully and there’s more to see of all three Speed Champions Mercedes-Benz models (plus a few more) at Moritz’s photostream. Click here to take a look!
LEGO’s enormous official 8110 Technic Mercedes-Benz Unimog is a wondrous thing, with an array of motorised functions alongside pneumatics. However, Technic models can be just as engaging even at the smaller, non-motorised end of the scale. Cue TLCB favourite Thirdwigg, who has created this ace Unimog U500 and packed it with functions, despite not a single motor being used in its construction.
Working steering, four wheel drive, suspension, and a four-cylinder engine all feature, as do a front and rear PTO (selectable via a pneumatic switch and turned when the model is pushed along), a front winch, a tilting cab, and a three-way tipping bed, all powered by hand.
There’s more to see of Thirdwigg’s excellent fully mechanical Unimog at his ‘Unimog U500′ album, where a link to a video of the model in action can also be found. Click the link above to take a look!
Jonathan Elliott’s latest vehicle is large, heavy, and can handle a lot of wood. Just like your Mom. It’s a Mercedes-Benz Unimog U1700, fitted with a Hiab crane, stabiliser legs, and grabby-claw-thingy, enabling it to pluck felled logs from the ground for transport.
Jonathan’s model captures the real deal in beautiful detail, despite being only six(ish) studs in width, and there’s more to see of his brilliantly presented Lego lumberjack on Flickr – click here here to make the jump.
Following yesterday‘s Mercedes-Benz Unimog here’s another recreation of the iconic off-road truck. If the escalating Coronavirus apocalypse continues vehicles like this could become very in-vogue, so perhaps it’s reaching building habits on a subconscious level?
This one – a much older ‘406’ variant – comes from TLCB regular Jonathan Elliott, is fitted with a ‘canvas’ top, and looks just the thing for raiding the supermarket to stockpile toilet paper. But don’t do that, because you’re not an absolute douchebag.
Head to Flickr via the link above to check it out, whilst we expect a flurry of apocalypse-proof vehicles to appear here over the coming weeks…
LEGO’s incredible 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog was one of the first officially licensed Technic sets and – we think – still one of the all-time greats. With a vast array of functionality, motorised, pneumatic and mechanical, it’s one of the finest ever showcases of what LEGO can do. But LEGO’s not just about the big stuff, and little builds can be equally brilliant – case in point, this beautifully presented Town-scale version of the 8110 set.
Built by previous bloggee Nikolaus Lowe it not only looks absolutely brilliant, it kinda functions too, with a posable crane, steering, and working stabiliser legs too.
There’s more to see of Nikolaus’s fantastic mini-figure Unimog at his photostream via the link above, you can read our review of the huge 8110 Technic Mercedes-Benz Unimog set via the first link, and you can read some tips on how to create images as stunning as Nikolaus’s by clicking here.