Tag Archives: Vintage Car

Old Red

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Some cars are so cool that they transcend their real world existence to become something greater. Far greater. This one of those cars.

Owned by previous LEGO designer Craig Callum, whose hand was behind several of the new vehicle sets that have been revealed on these pages over the years, this battered and rusty Ford Model-A Coupe hot rod ‘Old Red’ has become an official Hot Wheels toy, which means that for hundreds, maybe thousands of kids, it’ll be the single best car in all the world.

Of course we’re not ‘The Hot Wheels Car Blog’, and thus today we’re featuring a recreation of Craig’s magnificent hot rod in Lego form, courtesy of regular bloggee _Tiler who has recreated ‘Old Red’ beautifully, complete with Craig at the wheel. There’s more to see at _Tiler’s photostream via the link above, and you can read more about the original car (and than man that owns it) by clicking this bonus link.

Poop-Poop!

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We’ve gone all Toad-of-Toad-Hall today, courtesy of this be-goggled mini-figure and his marvellous 1931 Mercedes-Benz SSKL. Flickr’s SvenJ. owns the hands behind it, which he’s also used to stretch LEGO’s latest tyres over their vintage rims for the perfect wheel/tyre combo. There’s more to see at Sven’s photostream and you can race along the roads in the early-’30s via the link above. Poop-Poop!

Dixi Chic

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Mini are these days owned by BMW. But before the ‘new’ Mini was the 1959 original, which was actually first called the Austin ‘Seven’ and not the ‘Mini’ at all. And that’s because it had an even smaller predecessor, the pre-Second World War Austin 7, a car that was also – weirdly – BMW’s first.

Produced under license in-between Britain and Germany killing one another and then Britain and Germany killing one another again, almost 10,000 Austin 7-based BMW Dixis were built, before BMW designed their first in-house model in the early-’30s (although this still used a licensed Austin engine).

This lovely recreation of the BMW Dixi 3/15 comes from SvenJ. of Flickr, who has captured the German Austin 7 beautifully. There’s more to see at Sven’s ‘BMW Dixi 3/15’ album and you can head back to 1920s Germany via the link above.

Ban the Booze

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It’s been a full century since the United States’ prohibition era, a time in which you could own a rifle but not drink a glass of wine. Still, if that sounds mad today, you can still own a rifle but you can’t eat a Kinder Egg.

Flickr’s Evancelt reimagines one of America’s weirdest decades with his marvellous array of 1920s mini-figures, but it’s the splendid vintage cars behind them that are of more interest to us.

There’s more to see at Evancelt’s photostream so grab a beer, Kinder Egg, rifle and head back to 1920s America via the link above.

T-Time

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It’s T-Time here at The Lego Car Blog, because we have two fabulous Ford Model-T hot rods to share. Each is the work of regular bloggee _Tiler, and include a pull-back motor concealed within for added floor-based fun. There’s more to see at _Tiler’s photostream, and you can pull-back and let-go via the link above!

Superprofilé

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Bugatti aren’t just Veyrons and Chirons. A century ago they made some of most luxurious cars in the world, including this, the excellently named Type 50 T Ventoux Coupé Superprofilé. This 7-wide example comes from previous bloggee ER0L and you can jump back to peak 1930s long-named luxury via the link above.

Booty Shot

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LEGO’s pirate treasure chest piece is normally found with, um… pirates. But not today, because it works perfectly as the boot-mounted chest of this lovely vintage Citroen by Flickr’s K P. Photographed beautifully, there’s more of K P’s model to see on Flickr. Click the link above for more booty shots.

Mr. T

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Bicycle wheels, a Fabuland middle, and a flag for a scarf. It’s the little pieces that make the whole, and there’s more to see of _Tiler‘s wonderfully presented Ford Model-T here.

The Other Donald

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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.

In the Beginning…

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This is the most important car that this site has ever featured. Because it is the father of them all.

Built in 1885, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nr.1 was first commercially available automobile in history, and the world would never be the same.

Powered by a single-cylinder 1 litre engine producing less than a single horsepower, Karl Benz’s creation forged a different future not just for transportation, but urbanisation, the environment, and even society itself.

This fabulous replica of the invention that changed everything is the work of Nikolaus Lowe of Flickr, who has recreated the Patent-Motorwagen’s single cylinder engine, horizontal flywheel, belt drive, and toothed-rack steering, riding atop third-party wheels, and all of which operate as they did some one-hundred-and-forty-years ago.

There’s more to see of Nikolaus’s beautiful creation at his ‘Benz Nr. 1’ album on Flickr, and you can head to the genesis of every model that this site has ever featured via the link above.

An Otterly Wonderful Christmas

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We’re back! And mostly sober. The Lego Car Blog Elves, locked in their cages over the festivities, have recommenced their hunt for the best Lego creations that the web has to offer, and no sooner had they been released it seemed, than one of their number had returned with this lovely vintage truck, complete with a Christmas tree, mini-figure family, and a pair of otters for some reason. We’re not sure otters are known as yuletide animals, but no matter, they’re wonderful nevertheless, and there’s more to see of K P‘s truck, family, and otters on Flickr via the link.

The Beast of Turin

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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.

A Good Omen

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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.

Elaborate Hattery

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With every new generation of car, the manufacturer will – without fail – claim it’s lower and wider than before, in order to “project an assertive dynamic stance” or some other bollocks. They can’t keep getting lower and wider indefinitely of course, otherwise at some point everything will be a Can-Am racer.

However despite this vehicular marketing nonsense, there is probably some truth in it, as back in the early days of the motor car designs were rather more… upright.

A narrow track, a chassis on top of the wheels, and space in the cabin for elaborate hats meant cars from the 1920s were wobbly, tottery affairs. Although with a top speed of about 30mph and tyres as wide as those on a bicycle, this probably mattered not. Plus you could keep on your elaborate hat.

Flickr’s _Tyler (aka Calin) reimagines a time of more vertical motoring (and headwear) with this beautifully presented creation, and there’s more to see of his vintage ‘Oldtimer’ at his photostream; click the link above take a look.

Wheeled Propaganda

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Formula 1 today seems to largely be an advert for crypto currency. Which is dodgy. But not as dodgy as it was in the 1930s, when Grand Prix racing was propaganda for naziism.

Yes, much like the Football World Cup, Olympics, and LIV Golf are used by various human-rights trampling regimes today, Hitler distracted the world – with huge success – through the display of Germany’s sporting and technological might. A triumphant 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin were followed by various state-sponsored Grand Prix winners – nicknamed the ‘Silver Arrows’ – from Mercedes-Benz and the company that would eventually become Audi; Auto Union.

Powered by a monstrous and innovatively mid-mounted supercharged V16 engine, the Auto Union Type C won basically everything in 1936, and the Nazis used this success to continue convincing the German people (and the rest of the world) that they were alright really.

Previous bloggee [Maks] has captured Hitler’s ‘sports-washing’ beautifully, with this wonderful scene depicting the Auto Union Type C taking a starring role in one of many expertly-produced Nazi propaganda films.

By the late-’30s of course, the Nazis’ engineering prowess was being used rather differently, and world realised that Hitler may not have been completely honest about his intentions in films such as the one being shot here. Still, at least the world learned, and hasn’t made that mistake since*…

There’s more to see of [Maks] brick-built homage to one of the Nazis finest achievements via his photostream; click the link above above to jump back to Germany in 1936. Just don’t believe everything you see..

*Except here. And here. And here. And all of this.