French builder F@bz has become something of a TLCB regular, with his futuristic builds that include spacecraft, cars and motorbikes. His latest creation is the Honda RZR, the mount of the bounty hunter Shen X. The bike features a variety of interesting parts usage and connections, jammed into a very small space. You can see more photos of the bike and its rider by clicking this link to F@bz’s Flickr Photostream.
Back in the ’90s before SUVs became fashionable hatchbacks and every manufacturer added several to their line-up, the Japanese had a monopoly on compact 4x4s. Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi led the way with proper body-on-frame vehicles with genuine off-road ability.
One of the smallest was a three door version of Mitsubishi’s Pajero, known as the ‘Pinin’. Except we won’t call it the Pajero because here in the UK it had a far cooler name: the Shogun. Previous TLCB bloggee piterx has recreated the ’90s Shogun he owns in real life in Technic form, and it’s got some serious Lego engineering under its minimalist bodywork.
Squeezed into the tiny Pinin wheelbase is a proper all-wheel-drive system, remote controlled drive, steering, 4 speed sequential gearbox with reverse and an automated clutch. It doesn’t stop there either, as working brakes (with brake lights), MacPherson front suspension, live axle rear suspension and opening doors, hood and tailgate all feature too.
You can view all the photos of this brilliant engineering via Eurobricks at the link above, plus you can see the Shogun in action on YouTube too, just click play below!
YouTube Video:
Silos are a common sight on any farm, used to store and dispense grain, animal feed, and er, …poo. One of the ‘net’s best Technic builders has taken the unusual step of building both a silo and the mechanism for erecting it from Lego Technic.
Sariel‘s Volvo FH12 truck and Silo placing trailer were discovered by one of our Elves on MOCpages, where Sariel details his build and includes a video demonstrating the placing mechanism in action. See more at the link above.
YouTube Video:
Friend of TLCB Marcus Paul (aka er0l) is back, with another addition to his ambitious moving-vehicles project. The brilliant Canadair CL-215 aircraft pictured here seats two mini-figure pilots and contains three Power Functions motors and an IR receiver. Find out why at the link above!
This incredible creation, suggested to us by a reader via the Feedback and Submission Suggestions page, is a Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) racing car. DTM is Germany’s Touring Car Championship, in which the world’s top drivers – including names from both LeMans and F1 – compete across Germany and Europe in 500bhp V8 ‘silhouette’ monsters. Only a handful of car manufactures take part, but the grids are huge, the action frantic and the crashes… m.a.s.s.i.v.e.
This amazing recreation of Audi’s 2013 RS5 DTM racer is the work of Eurobricks and Brickshelf regular Lipko. Underneath the spectacular aero-bodywork Lipko has perfectly engineered a monocoque chassis with integrated roll cage, working independent pushrod suspension, and a V8 engine complete with four speed gearbox. You can see all of this in detail too, as Lipko has made chassis images and the engineering details available. Click on either of the links above to see more, and then get lost in YouTube’s extensive DTM library…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sucks. Really sucks. But unnecessary, unimaginative and cynical as it is, the two hour turd still features the usual range of excellent Indiana Jones vehicles. This one featured in the opening title road race scene (perhaps the best part of the movie) and is built by BMW_Indy on Flickr. See more at the link.
Building with green LEGO can be tricky. Until relatively recently the colour was only found on plants, Octan stripes and Robin Hood’s tunic. However, green elements have become more commonplace in the last few years and thus several builders are venturing bravely into the limited green parts bin. One such builder is previous TLCB blogee Thietmaier who’s used the famous John Deere colour scheme to great effect. See more of his 6R Series tractor on Flickr here.
Piterx is making his second appearance here at TLCB in one week with another RC Technic 4×4, and it’s even smaller than his last one. We can’t help thinking that this one would look more appropriate in pink though. See more on Eurobricks.
Ask anyone from the Playstation generation what the most iconic car ever made is and you’ll get only two answers. One; the Nissan Skyline GTR, and Two; the Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
Brickshelf’s Pipasseyoyo has recreated the latter in simply astonishing technical detail, using standard LEGO Technic pieces to engineer the Scooby’s four-cylinder boxer engine, five-speed gearbox, symmetrical all-wheel-drive, and fully independent suspension and steering.
There’s a huge gallery of images available to view via the link above, but to really do this model justice it’s needs to be viewed in action. Thankfully Pipasseyoyo’s taken care of that too, with an excellent demonstration video. Watch it below…
YouTube Video:
Tricycles are easily the creepiest form of transport known to mankind. But that hasn’t stopped Eurobricks’ Milan from building one (rather spectacularly) from Lego. Now to find an empty hotel to ride it in…
The smallest official LEGO Technic sets in recent years have a been a bit, er… rubbish. But all that could change with Rabbitdesign’s tiny tracked tipper. Based on one of the Caterpillar Company’s more unusual vehicles, Rabbitdesign’s Technic version features working tracks and a tipping load bed via a worm gear. You can see more on MOCpages, and you can vote to turn this model into an official LEGO set via the newly re-launched LEGO Ideas website (formally LEGO Cuusoo).
The TLCB Elves are a bit grumpy today. Today’s post wasn’t discovered by them, which means no meal tokens and no Smarties. Sam (aka Sir.Manperson) is the responsible party who joins us as a Guest Blogger, following his contact via the Feedback page. Over to Sam…
Anyone who has been following the TLCB will recall the fantastic Lamborghini Diablo blogged early this year. And will probably recall being mightily impressed too. But little did we know that builder Epsilon Eta had a surprise in store. This was no ordinary model, but in fact it was a W.I.P of a transforming version. The incredible recreation of Transformers’ Sunstreak can be viewed and dribbled over/envied via his MOCpage. Epsilon has also produced a handy little video to demonstrate his genius; click play below to watch.
Many thanks to Sir.Manperson for joining us today. If you’d like to blog for us in a Guest capacity as Sam has done you can contact us in the usual ways. Now, do we cheer the Elves up by showing them the newly released trailer for Transformers 4?…
If we’re honest here at TLCB Towers we’re an egotistical bunch. We like to think these posts are about the creation pictured, but really we’re here to satisfy our craving for attention. The Elves on the other hand are just here for the food and an occasional screening of a Transformers DVD.
However this post really is all about the MOC, because this Ferrari 458 Italia might just be the most beautifully designed, built and photographed creation that we’ll post all year. Nathanael L aka Lego Builder Jr. is the brains (and hands) behind the build, and you can see more of his enchanting re-creation of Maranello’s finest at either Flickr or MOCpages via the links above.
Nathanael’s model is also available on LEGO’s ‘Ideas’ website (formally ‘Cuusoo’), whereby 10,000 votes could see it reach production as an official LEGO set. We’re not sure if the (brilliant) roof would pass LEGO’s set-suitability criteria, but it’d be a small concession to replace it with a more orthodox design. LEGO already partner with Ferrari to produce officially licensed products, so Nathanael’s model really could be a possibility. To vote for the 458 simply click on the ‘Lego Builder Jr.’ link above where Nathanael explains all.
Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones.
They’re the modern stone age family.
From the, town of Bedrock,
They’re a page right out of history.
Karwik, is the builder,
Of Fred’s prehistoric vehicle.
There’s more, via his Flickr,
Click this link and you will see it all!
Let’s ride, with the family down the street.
Through the, courtesy of Fred’s two feet.
When you’re, with the Flintstones
You’ll have a yabba dabba doo time.
A dabba doo time.
You’ll have a gay old time!
We quite like Fiat here at TLCB. They make the 500 and also own Ferrari, which has got to put them pretty high up on anyone’s cool car company list.
Unfortunately for every good thing Fiat have done there’s something else from the their back-catalogue to cancel it out. This is one such event, the truly awful Zastava 101 (named, we think, after the room from the George Orwell masterpiece ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’*).
As with most Soviet Bloc monstrosities from the Cold War era, the Zastava was based on an old Fiat (see also Lada, FSO, Yugo etc.) and was built with all the care and attention of a kamikaze pilot checking his landing gear. We can be fairly sure then that this wonderfully detailed Lego example by Chapachuk took far more skill and love to create than the real car. See more of the miniature plastic version on Eurobricks or Flickr.
*”You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.” (George Orwell)
Time for a brief trip outside the world of cars with Henrik Jensen’s superb P-47D Thunderbolt. Used throughout the Second World War and the Pacific, the P-47 was the heaviest fighter ever built to be powered by a single piston engine, the huge turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800. This gave the Thunderbolt a massive payload capacity; on short flights it could carry more than half the payload of a dedicated B-17 bomber. You can see more of Henrik’s Lego recreation on MOCpages by clicking here.
Ask any vehicle builder how they start a build and you’ll get the same answer: the wheels. Wheels dictate everything about a project, being the only fixed-size component. Luckily for builders LEGO have produced wheels in a huge variety of sizes and styles over the years, so many in fact that they’ve actually become the world’s largest tyre manufacturer. But what if LEGO’s offerings simply aren’t big enough? Ultimate Design has the answer!
Milan (aka Ultimate Design) has produced a FREE 52 page book detailing how you can create bespoke brick-built wheels of almost any size. He’s demonstrated one such design in action, using it on the Tricycle recently featured here at TLCB. To see more details of his book and the brick-built wheel designs within it visit his MOCpage, the discussion on Eurobricks or click below to download your FREE copy!
Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darth’s gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
See more of Fonda and Hopper’s new looks at mijasper‘s Flickr photostream.
The Elves are a happy bunch today. Several of them are riding around the office in the back of this chunky red truck courtesy of Flickr’s Peter deYeule, whilst several more do the pushing. It’ll probably end in a horrific Elf accident, but it’s fun while it lasts. Peter’s truck is made exclusively from the pieces found in the 7347 Creator set (reviewed here two years ago) and is one of the nicest ‘alternatives’ we’ve seen yet. You can see more at the link, and if you’ve got a 7347 too give some ‘alternativing’ a go and let us know the results!
