Holiday Haulage

December 28, 2014, 1:52 pm

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≪ Previous: Merry Christmas!

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We’re back! And we hope you had a very Happy Christmas!

We arrived in TLCB office today to the sound of a mug being dragged mournfully across metal bars. The Elves – locked up since Christmas Eve – were bored. Bored and hungry.

Upon their release they quickly dispersed back into the internet to resume their ongoing search for the best Lego vehicles from around the world. One of the swiftest/hungriest Elves returned promptly with this smooth-looking Model Team Freightliner FLD 120 truck by Brickshelf’s spongebrickpl. It features Power Functions remote control, opening doors and hood, and there are more photos available via the link above.

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A is for Arseh…

December 29, 2014, 4:02 am

≫ Next: 5541 Hot Rod Review

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Uploaded by Flickr’s Rolic during our Christmas break, and suggested to us by a reader, is this smart Model Team style Audi A6. We were hoping that Rolic had photographed his model straight-on at the front, as this is how we usually see Audis – when they’re in our rear-view mirror 6 inches from our rear bumper – but alas this picture will have to do.

In fairness to the A6 though, it’s not a main offender in Audi’s range. We have a theory that the cheaper the Audi, the more of an arse the driver will be. Q7 excepted of course. Anyway, you can see more of Rolic’s teutonic barge via the link above!

5541 Hot Rod Review

December 29, 2014, 4:46 am

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Whilst our recently-released Elves trek back to their favourite haunts around the internet in search of Lego vehicles for us, we’ll await their return with a Set Review of a model that turns twenty in a few days.

1995 was a great year for Lego vehicles. The Town range was expansive and almost entirely brilliant, Technic was on a roll, and Aquazone made its debut.

5541 joined this bumper year as the Model Team newbie, and like many of the other sets of the time it suggested a confidence and flamboyance within The LEGO Group. Something that sadly seemed to have all-but-dissapeared just two short years later…

Anyway, back to ’95, and the Blue Fury / Hot Rod. Aimed at moderately experienced builders aged 9+, 5541 featured some lovely (and newish) chrome pieces, a few tasteful (and very high quality) transparently-backed decals, and a remarkably high level of detail for an official set.

5541 was based on a fairly generic hot rod design, but is no less lovely to behold for that, and featured working steering, an opening trunk, and… er, that’s it. It was definitely more of a display piece than a playable toy, but sometimes that’s OK. It was in fact this very set that taught this reviewer about the importance of detailing – and every MOC created by him thereafter was a significant step up. A watershed moment if you like.

The Blue Fury / Hot Rod set contained just over 400 pieces, which is surprisingly low considering the detail, and these could be reconstituted into the dragster-type B-model that you can see pictured above.

It’s also worth noting that 5541 reappeared around a decade later during some dark times at LEGO as one of their ‘Legends’ sets – which frankly were the only sets worth buying at the time – bearing the set no. 10151.  This means that there should be plenty available on the second-hand market, and also that they hopefully aren’t in the hands of speculators intent on driving prices skywards.

If you can find a tidy 5541 or 10151 set it’s a worthwhile purchase for any Model Team fan. It does have limited play value, but it’s just so lovely to look at! 8/10

Fighting Bull

December 29, 2014, 12:39 pm

≫ Next: Spinner

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Our recently-released Elves are starting to return home with their finds after their Christmas incarceration, so another bedraggled creature entering TLCB Towers isn’t normally worth much excitement. However, the Elf that found this creation got the attention of the whole office. ‘We recognise that style!’, we thought in unison…

This beautiful Lamborghini Aventador marks the return of one of the internet’s most revered vehicle builders, the brilliantly talented Firas Abu Jaber.

Firas has been away for a number of years, but an invitation to submit models for the next No Starch Press Lego book publication enticed him back into the community. There will be more to see when the aforementioned book is released next year, but until then you can see more of Firas’ spectacular Aventador by visiting his Flickr page.

The book in which Firas features is being written by Dennis Glaasker and Dennis Bosman, both of whom have appeared here over the years, and is entitled ‘The Art of Lego Scale Modelling’. It’s due for release via our friends at No Starch Press in 2015 and we’ll bring you more details as soon as we can. In the meantime you can check out TLCB’s interviews with both authors by clicking upon their names above, plus you see what our partners over at Head Turnerz think are Firas Abu Jaber’s best ever creations by clicking here.

Spinner

December 30, 2014, 2:24 am

≫ Next: Red Russian

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Syd Mead’s ‘Spinner’ police car from the movie Blade Runner has become one of the most influential sci-fi designs of all time, with the basic premise used in countless films since its first appearance way back in 1982. The Spinner also makes a fine subject to recreate from Lego, and Flickr’s -derjoe- has done it superbly. You can see more of his mini-figure Spinner via the link above.

Red Russian

December 30, 2014, 2:30 am

≫ Next: Rat Run

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This, er… thingumy is apparently a Soviet Martian Dump Truck. And who we are we to argue when it looks this cool? Shannon Ocean is the builder, and you can see more of his whimsical creation here.

Rat Run

December 30, 2014, 2:38 am

≫ Next: Cherry Picked

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The final creation in today’s trio of Town posts is this beautiful mini-figure scale rat rod from Flickr’s _Tyler. There’s more to see after the jump.

Cherry Picked

December 30, 2014, 4:13 pm

≫ Next: If you can find them…

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You could say we cherry-pick the very best Lego vehicles for publication here at TLCB, and that this is some sort of metaphor, but that would be too tenuous a link even for us. Coincidentally, here’s a Technic cherry picker. See more at Krzysztof Cytacki‘s photostream.

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If you can find them…

January 1, 2015, 3:35 am

≫ Next: Liebherr Loader Picture Special

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We love it when a plan comes together, here at The Lego Car Blog. Using the Elves as our workforce has proved to be both cheap and successful over the last few years of brick-built, automotive exploration. Unfortunately some of the Elves were locked into their cages over the Christmas break with welding gear, a full set of Halford’s tools and various pieces of scrap machinery. They escaped into the Los Angeles underground, where they survive by finding creations for a flower arranging blog. Their colleagues are happy, as there are fewer mouths to compete for the Smarties.

Speaking of which, we gave out a rare, black Smartie to the lucky finder of Angka Utama’s A-Team GMC van. You can see it higher resolution by clicking this link to Flickr.

Liebherr Loader Picture Special

January 1, 2015, 4:32 am

≫ Next: New Year Fireworks

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It’s a whole new year, and we’re going to kick it off with a properly excellent creation. Technic genius, published author, and friend of TLCB, Sariel is back with another incredible working model.

Sariel’s Liebherr L538 Front Loader may look like a Model Team creation, such is its detail, but we’ve categorised it as Technic. That’s because underneath the remarkably realistic exterior there’s a huge list of working functions, including all-wheel-drive, articulated steering, working lights, remotely operated pneumatics…

It’s probably best if we let Sariel himself explain what this loader can do – take a look at the video below to see it in action.

YouTube Video:

There’s lots more to see on both MOCpages and Brickshelf, plus you can read our interview with Sariel for our ‘How to Become a Pro’ series by clicking here, and you can read our review of his superb new Lego book ‘Incredible Lego Technic’ by clicking here.

New Year Fireworks

January 1, 2015, 4:00 pm

≫ Next: 2014 Year in Review

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Everyone likes a big rocket,* and Flickr’s Billyburg has got two! They’re mounted on the back of his Mobile Intergalactic Rocket Command vehicle, a reimagining of LEGO’s own 6950 Classic Space set. See more at the link above.

*Especially your Mom.

2014 Year in Review

January 1, 2015, 4:39 pm

≫ Next: It’s Hip To Be Square

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The Lego Car Blog has made it to 2015! Here’s our round-up of the year that was 2014…

• Reviews! Lots more have been added to the Set Review Library throughout the year, both of LEGO’s latest sets and a few classic too. Click the link above to see all our reviews, and if you’re interested in reviewing a set for TLCB get in touch – we’d love to add some more to the database!
• Interviews! The final interview in our Master MOCer series was published and last month we announced its replacement – Become a Lego Pro. The first Pro interview, with the Technic legend Sariel, is available here, and we have another in the can to be published early this year.
• Views! The magic One Million mark was surpassed in 2014! A huge thank you to every single one of you reading this, to those who’ve visited, those who’ve been publicised, and those who’ve commented during 2014. We really couldn’t do this without you!

What’s coming in 2015:

We hope to keep blogging throughout 2015, and if we manage it we’ll continue to bring you the best Lego vehicles, news and set reviews. We’ll also be publishing a few more Become a Pro interviews, and we might even run a building competition at some point too! As always, you can let us know what you’d like to see via the Feedback & Submission Suggestions page, and you can contact us via Flickr – simply search for ‘The Lego Car Blog’ and send us a message.

Get involved!

We love being an accessible blog (we try anyway!). If you’d like to take the step from reading about Lego to writing about it – and in doing so see your words published to almost a million readers a year – then add us on Flickr and send us a Flickr Mail with your article idea. This could be a set review, event review, interview, or something we’ve not though of – we want your imagination!

Thank you from all of us here at TLCB Towers, and we hope you have a great 2015!

TLCB Team

It’s Hip To Be Square

January 2, 2015, 6:48 am

≫ Next: Recycle!

≪ Previous: 2014 Year in Review

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This Lego Lincoln Lowrider was discovered on Flickr. It’s the work of Doc_Brown and you can see more here.

Recycle!

January 2, 2015, 4:11 pm

≫ Next: Not a Porsche

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Christmas is almost over, and that means a bumper load for the bin men to haul away. Wrapping paper, boxes, and – in the case of the TLCB – many many empty bottles, are all ready to be thrown out.

Some of our more astute readers may have noticed a subtle message in this post’s title. We’ve given the job of sorting the office’s yuletide rubbish to TLCB Elves, who’ll be arranging it by material for our refuse collectors, or – if it’s even slightly edible – ‘disposing’ of it themselves. And if the Elves can recycle, so can anyone.

Oh, the model. It’s a rather brilliant remotely controlled Technic bin lorry / garbage truck with a whole host of thoroughly engineered working functions. Find out what it can do at Waler‘s Brickshelf page.

Not a Porsche

January 2, 2015, 4:27 pm

≫ Next: The Magnificent Seven Rides Again

≪ Previous: Recycle!

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European, rear engined, rear wheel drive… the Fiat 126 was nearly identical to a Porsche 911. Except in every other measurable way.

We’ve often derided the little Fiat and its siblings here at TLCB, because they spawned more hateful Communistical automotive landfill than almost any other design of car. However, before the 126 was handed over to Eastern Europe to be badly built by dictatorial regimes it was actually a damn good car. A segment leading one in fact, even to the point that Ford benchmarked it when designing their new supermini in the 1970s; the Fiesta.

This Technic version of the 126 has, somewhat confusingly, been built by Porsche96 over on Brickshelf. It’s got opening doors and trunk, Power Functions remotely controlled drive and steering, and a working gearbox too. You can see the Fiat’s full gallery by clicking the link above.

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The Magnificent Seven Rides Again

January 2, 2015, 4:39 pm

≫ Next: Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk…

≪ Previous: Not a Porsche

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After featuring Carl Greatrix‘s Model Team Caterham 7 last month he’s boshed out another version. This time it’s the R500 and it looks better than ever.

Carl’s hoping his design will become an official set via the LEGO Ideas programme. He’s nearly half way to securing enough votes, so if you’d like to build your own Seven click the link above and give him your vote. It of course depends on Caterham playing ball with their licensing, but even if they say no there are another dozen or so little British companies making almost exactly the same car to choose from!

Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk…

January 3, 2015, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: Tricky Tractoring

≪ Previous: The Magnificent Seven Rides Again

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The cheap and simple to maintain “tuk, tuk” is spreading everywhere today. Especially in Asia, Africa and South America they are thronging the roads of cities transporting both goods and people. Recently, a team of Elves have been using a tuk tuk to haul their Lego finds back to TLCB towers. Fortunately this noisily annoying vehicle was smushed into the carpet by another group, equipped with Sariel’s Liebherr Loader.

Tuk tuks have now made it into space, thanks to Pico van Grootveld’s entry into this year’s Classic Space Pocket Money Contest. His Tequilatron theme might explain why 1980s spacemen were always happy and smiling. Pico has also just published photos of his awesome ORCA MK II gunship. Click this link to his Flickr Photostream to see more of both builds, including the alternative models made from the Tuk tuk’s parts.

Tricky Tractoring

January 3, 2015, 4:17 pm

≫ Next: Daffy Truck

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This is one of the slowest and wobbliest vehicles to appear here at TLCB. But it’s also one of the most charming. Joe Perez aka MortalSwordsman’s classic tractor comes from an era when farming was more dangerous than Grand Prix racing. Three wheels and no roll-over protection meant you had to be pretty brave to attempt turning one of these round at the end of a sloping field. You can see more of more of Joe’s ’50s tractor on both MOCpages and Flickr.

Daffy Truck

January 4, 2015, 4:20 pm

≫ Next: Quick March

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This unusual (and huge) DAF crane truck was discovered on Flickr. It’s the work of Arian Janssens and you can see the full gallery by clicking here.

Quick March

January 4, 2015, 5:07 pm

≫ Next: Daffy Truck II

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Suggested to us via the feedback page by a reader (and previous bloggee) is Luca Rosconi‘s beautiful 1975 March 751 Formula 1 car, which won the Austrian Grand Prix in torrential rain that year. March were one of the most prolific racing car manufacturers of all time, building cars for dozens of race teams across a variety of racing formulas. Customer cars are now outlawed in Formula 1 so sadly you can’t just buy a car and enter a race. We think this is a bit of shame here at TLCB, so we’ll be imagining what it was like back in the ’70s via Luca’s Flickr page. Click the link above to join us.