Tag Archives: Williams

A Quick Cig

The FIA is hardly a bastion of morality, but it has at least outlawed cigarette advertising on racing cars. Unless you’re Ferrari of course. Back in the ’90s though, promoting cancer was so acceptable that Williams not only had Camel cigarettes adorning its 1992 Adrian Newey-designed FW14B, they teamed it with alcohol sponsorship too.

We’re not sure the Camel or Labatt’s logos enhanced the FW14B’s speed in any way, but the money they brought sure helped, and Williams duly won the 1992 Championship – and made Nigel Mansell World Champion – with a then-record 9 race wins.

This brilliant small-scale replica of the title-winning Williams comes from TLCB Master MOCer Luca Rusconi (aka RoscoPC), who is better known for his hugely detailed large-scale Formula 1 recreations. Built using a fraction of the pieces but just as recognisable, Luca has turned his hand to historic racing cars on a much smaller scale, with the advantage of course that these are easier for others to build at home.

Suggested to us by a reader (and past bloggee themselves), Luca’s Williams FW14B is available to view on Rebrickable, where instructions can be purchased alongside those for a host of other famous classic F1 cars. Click here to see all the images and find downloadable building instructions to turn 169 pieces into William’s championship-winning cigarette advertisement.

F1 of Ages

Lego McLaren MP4-6

The 2018 Formula 1 season is all but over, so we’re heading back in time to some of the sport’s greatest racing cars. TLCB regular Angka Utama is the builder behind them and he’s done a simply spectacular job of recreating three of F1’s most iconic entries.

First up (above) is the McLaren-Honda MP4/6 in which Ayrton Senna won the 1991 F1 World Championship. Angka’s model captures the real car beautifully, including a neat brick-built miniaturisation of the famous Marlboro livery.

Lego Ferrari 641

Angka’s second historic F1 car comes from the previous year, when Ferrari’s 641 took second in the F1 Constructors Championship driven by Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. Like the McLaren above Angka’s model perfectly captures the famous racer’s shape and livery, and also includes some wonderful suspension and brake detail too, thanks to the ingenious use of mini-figure hands and Technic cogs.

Lego Williams FW14

Angka’s third and final classic Formula 1 car recreates one of the most advanced cars ever to enter F1. The Williams-Renualt FW14 was launched in 1991 with active suspension, traction control, and a semi-automatic transmission, and by 1992 it was utterly dominant, winning nine out of sixteen races and taking Nigel Mansell to the World Championship.

The model includes the FW14’s famous Canon/Camel livery and the superbly replicated bodywork and suspension of the Ferrari and McLaren too. There’s more to see of each brilliant miniature F1 car at both Angka’a Flickr photostream and via MOCpages – click the links to make the jump and ask Angka to build some more!

Williams FW14B – Picture Special

Lego Williams FW14B Formula 1

This is the Williams FW14, designed by the legendary Adrian Newey and powered by Renault’s formidable 3.5litre V10, it won more than half of the Formula 1 races that it ever entered.

Launched in 1991 the FW14 was a technical masterpiece, and one that many thought too complicated to work. With active suspension, a semi-automatic transmission, traction control and incredible aerodynamics, they were initially  right, and teething troubles meant a string of retirements throughout the 1991 season.

Despite the breakdowns Williams still managed to secure seven race wins and second place in the Constructor’s Championship, behind the slower but more reliable McLaren, and they set to work ironing out the reliability issues for the 1992 season.

Lego Williams FW14B Formula 1

The following year Williams returned with the upgraded FW14B and it proved utterly dominant, winning ten of the sixteen races and qualifying 2-3 seconds faster than anyone else. Williams took the Constructors’ World Championship in 1992, with Nigel Mansell becoming World Champion just a year after he considered retiring from the sport.

Williams replaced the FW14B with the FW15C for 1993, further the developing the active suspension, traction control and semi-automatic gearbox debuted on the FW14. The car took the team to another Driver’s and Constructor’s World Championship, before the FIA outlawed electronic driver aids in 1994, making the FW14 and FW15 possibly the most advanced Formula 1 cars that have ever been built.

This incredible recreation of the 1992 Championship-winning FW14B comes from previous bloggee and Master MOCer Luca Rosconi aka RoscoPC, who continues to upload his amazing back-catalogue of historic Grand Prix cars to Flickr. With a working V10 engine, pushrod suspension and functioning steering Luca’s beautiful build is as accurate underneath us it is on the outside.

There’s much more to see at the FW14B Flickr album, and you can read our interview with Luca as part of the Master MOCers series to find out how he builds creations like this one by clicking here.

Lego Williams FW14B Formula 1

The Killer Years – Historic F1 Picture Special

Lego Lotus Ford 72D JPS

Every so often we receive a suggestion here at TLCB that makes the whole office stop what it’s doing (which today seemed to mostly be Google-imaging attractive Rio Olympics athletes) to gaze in wonder at the creation/s found. This was definitely one of those moments.

Lego Ferrari 640 Formula 1

These incredible Model Team classic Formula 1 replicas have all been built by newcomer Idihnab Szalab from Hungary, and he’s uploaded all four to MOCpages in one go. Each is an exquisitely detailed creation that perfectly captures one of the Formula 1’s most famous and iconic cars in Lego form.

Lego Williams-Honda FW11

From top to bottom Idihnab has built; the dominant 1972-75 Lotus-Ford 72D in John Player Special livery, Ferrari’s 1989 640, the double World Championship-winning 1986-87 Williams-Honda FW11, and lastly the beautiful Lotus-Ford 72C from 1970-71 in magnificent Gold Leaf livery.

Lego Lotus Ford 72C Gold Leaf

We can’t recommend paying Idihnab’s MOCpage a visit enough – click here to view all four incredible creations and to step back in time to Formula 1’s greatest era.

Mustached Master

Williams Renault FW14BWith the 2013 F1 season well underway we’re looking back at one of the greatest team, engine and driver combinations of all time. Williams, Renault and Nigel Mansell came up with the winning combination in 1992, claiming both the F1 Drivers and Constructors Championships. Mansell also became the only driver to hold both the F1 and CART Championships simultaneously. bobalexander! is the builder of this brilliant Championship-winning Williams-Renault FW14B. See all the photos on Flickr.

 

Space Race

Renault F1 Car

To school!

A car! On The Lego Car Blog! About time…

Anyway, this slice of yellow magnificence comes from way back in 1995, when Williams and Renault were dominating F1, Shaggy was boombastic, and mobile phones were for playing Snake. Fitted with Renault’s spectacular race engine the F1 Espace became one of the stars of the first Gran Turismo game on the Playstation. The road car was also one of the stars of the school run, creating a whole new sector that’s only now disappearing thanks to the SUV. Marin Stipkovic has recreated the awesome 1995 one-off with some cunning SNOT and a big pile of yellow plates. Check out the full Espace gallery on MOCpages.