The Power of Dreams

March 20, 2015, 5:18 pm

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≪ Previous: And It’s Go Go Go!

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The 2015 Formula 1 Championship kicked off in Australia last week, and with a long-absent name back on the grid. Or should we say back of the grid? Honda’s F1 return with McLaren has not been an easy one, and due to ever more ridiculous FIA rules restricting development, innovation, and fun, the once mighty engine supplier will probably be at the back for some time yet. But we like Honda here at TLCB, so we’re going to take a trip back to when they were allowed to do what they do best – innovate.

This gorgeous 1967 Honda RA300 is the work of previous bloggee Nico71, and not only does his Technic recreation of one of Honda’s finest moments look completely beautiful, it works too. There’s Power Functions controlled steering and drive, functioning suspension, and of course, a replica of Honda’s masterpiece V12 engine which powered the car to victory in its first ever race.

There’s lots more to see of Nico’s RA300 Formula 1 car on the image sharing platform Brickshelf – click here to make the jump.

 

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Speed Champions Italia

May 2, 2015, 2:32 am

≫ Next: Drag Racing

≪ Previous: The Power of Dreams

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LEGO’s Speed Champions series has been warmly received by the online community and we’re starting to see some excellent additions to LEGO’s original line-up. This is one of our favourites, ER0L’s lovely Ferrari 458 Italia. You can see more of the mini-figure scale Ferrari here, and if you’d like to get started building your own Lego cars the Speed Champions series is a great place to begin – and you may even get to see your creation blogged!

Drag Racing

May 13, 2015, 5:38 pm

≫ Next: Formula 3

≪ Previous: Speed Champions Italia

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Formula 1 might be constrained by four million regulations but it does still occasionally provide good racing. The surprise of the 2015 season has been Ferrari, who after a woeful 2014 seem to have mostly sorted their latest car. Don’t underestimate the role Vettel played in fixing the prancing horse though – as his previous team Red Bull seem to be going backwards (and doing so very ungracefully too). Coincidence?

Anyway, one of the more ridiculous of the four million regulations in Formula 1 these days is the DRS (Drag Reduction System). It’s a neat engineering solution that should be able to be used whenever the driver feels like it, not just when Bernie Ecclestone’s computer deems it to be OK.

TLCB regular Sariel has created a Ferrari-ish Formula 1 car that uses this feature the way we would like – his working DRS on the rear wing is deployed automatically in top gear. His fully RC model also features pushrod suspension, return-to-centre steering and a range of other Technic functions. You can see them all on MOCpages, plus a video of the car and its DRS in action.

Formula 3

July 29, 2015, 7:55 am

≫ Next: Feeling Elvish

≪ Previous: Drag Racing

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This neat idea comes from TLCB regular Angka Utama, who has designed a racing car set with interchangeable nose-cone, rear wing and side-pod bodywork.

There are three colours and styles to choose from (above) and these can be mixed and matched too (below). You can see more at either Flickr or MOCpages, where you will also find a link where you can vote for Angka’s idea to become an official LEGO set via the LEGO Ideas platform.

Feeling Elvish

August 7, 2015, 7:24 am

≫ Next: A Quick Drink

≪ Previous: Formula 3

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Entries for TLCB Summer Building Competition keep on rolling in! Here are two more of our favourites that arrived this week.

First up (above) is Sam the First (aka Sir. Manperson)’s digital ‘Prowler’. We don’t often feature digital creations here, and Sam immediately put himself at a disadvantage in the competition by choosing to build in virtual reality. But Sam must really want the awesome prizes up for grabs and has gone all out to tick as many boxes on the Elves’ wishlist as possible. Bright colour? Check. Racing stripes? Check. Violence potential? Big check. He’s even added a pair of Elves to the build to score himself some bonus points. You can see more of Sam’s entry on Flickr at the link above.

The second creation in today’s post comes from fellow Flickr builder and previous bloggee Calvin Sun. Calvin’s ‘Elves of Hazard’ model also ticks many of the Elves’ boxes, being brightly coloured, big engined and also featuring a rather suave-looking Elf (they really don’t look that good in reality). You can see more of Calvin’s competition entry on Flickr at the link above.

Prizes to be Won!

There are still several weeks to go in the competition, which closes on August 31st 2015. No-one has yet scored full marks, and we’re yet to see a Power Functions RC vehicle capable of Elf smushery entered – a remote control monster truck with racing stripes and an Elf at the wheel would stand a very good chance indeed.

All entries will be judged by TLCB Staff at the end of the competition and the winner will receive two of the brilliant Lego books pictured above from the awesome guys over at No Starch Press, plus the runner-up will also get their hands a top Lego publication too.

How to Enter

You can enter your creation for TLCB Summer Building competition in a number of ways, either here at TLCB, or via our partners on Flickr; LUGnuts and Headturnerz, where each has a discussion thread in which you can post your entry. Good luck!

A Quick Drink

August 8, 2015, 2:42 am

≫ Next: Dinosaur

≪ Previous: Feeling Elvish

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The 24 Heures de Mans has finally been won by someone other than Audi. Porsche, in their second Le Mans since returning last year, claimed an amazing outright victory in 2015. Of course, Audi still kind of won as the two brands are effectively the same company – following VW’s recent take-over to continue their plans for world domination – but it was nice nevertheless.

Back when Porsche were an independent auto-maker though, they were even more successful, largely thanks to this – the awesome 917. This particular car, raced by Martini Racing and driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs Van Lennep, won Le Mans outright in 1971.

The Lego recreation shown here is the work of prolific race-car builder Greg 998, and it includes a wonderfully detailed chassis, cockpit and engine, as well as the brilliant custom-decalled exterior pictured above. You can see more of the 917 and Greg’s other racing cars on MOCpages at the link above.

Dinosaur

September 1, 2015, 10:10 am

≫ Next: BMW M4 DTM – Picture Special

≪ Previous: A Quick Drink

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This glorious Ferrari Dino F2 racing car, built by Flickr’s LEGO Bro for TLCB Summer Building Competition, takes us back to a time when the top motorsport teams (and drivers too) competed in multiple racing categories at once. With race calendars only featuring events in single digits throughout an entire season competing in several championships concurrently was a common practice.

LEGO Bro’s Dino F2 might have been down on power when compared to its F1 brother, but it still comes from a time when downforce hadn’t made it off the drawing board and driver safety was second very much to speed. As a result the F2 cars of the 1960s were slightly deadly, but wonderfully pretty machines, and the Dino was amongst the prettiest of all. Step back in time with LEGO Bro at the link above.

BMW M4 DTM – Picture Special

November 14, 2015, 12:44 am

≫ Next: McLovin’

≪ Previous: Dinosaur

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DTM, Germany’s touring car championship is, along with Australia’s V8 Supercar Series, the absolute pinnacle of saloon car racing. No, NASCAR doesn’t count.

The racing cars of DTM make big power, create huge downforce, and – whilst they have almost nothing in common with anything you can buy for road use, aesthetically they closely resemble their real-world counterparts.

This spectacular machine is a replica of BMW’s current entry in the series; the mighty M4 DTM Coupe. Underneath the incredible (and very yellow) bodywork is a fully suspended chassis powered by four XL Power Functions motors, a servo motor for steering with Ackermann geometry, LED lights, and two re-chargable batteries.

It’s been built by BrunoJJ and it’s one of the best Technic racing cars we’ve featured this year. Suggested to us by a reader, there’s a huge gallery of images to view on Brickshelf, plus a Eurobricks forum with more details and close-up shots available here.

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McLovin’

November 24, 2015, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Tricolore

≪ Previous: BMW M4 DTM – Picture Special

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We don’t often post fictional cars here at TLCB, but occasionally one of our Elves will uncover one that we actually like. This find goes well beyond that, as we absolutely love it. Called the ‘Eunos LT1 GTR’ it’s a fictional racing McLaren and it looks, well… amazing. And very McLaren-y too, with many of the firm’s current design themes used throughout the build. It’s the work of serial bloggee Senator Chinchilla and there’s more to see on Flickr; click here to take a look, and – if you’re Ron Dennis – maybe pass it on to the McLaren design studio…

Tricolore

February 5, 2016, 6:47 am

≫ Next: Slot Machine

≪ Previous: McLovin’

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Sometimes it’s the simplest of creations that please the most, and Angka Utama‘s Indy 500 racer is quite possibly our favourite car of the year so far – we adore it. There’s more to see of his beautifully simple classic racer on Flickr – click the link above to make the jump.

Slot Machine

February 24, 2016, 4:16 pm

≫ Next: Carrera Cup

≪ Previous: Tricolore

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You can’t beat sliding into a slot and having a good quickie. Just be careful you don’t overdo it, fall out, and end up ploughing through the carpet by accident. Still, a swift retrieval and reinsertion by hand can fix the situation and allow the fun the continue. This neat slot racer by Flickr’s Jonas comes complete with track and hovering hand, and you can see more at the link above.

Carrera Cup

February 26, 2016, 4:17 pm

≫ Next: Super Speedway – Picture Special

≪ Previous: Slot Machine

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Today we have three brilliant cars to share with you, and all are products of the current LUGNuts Challenge ‘100 Ways to Win!’. The first is this, Thirdwigg‘s superb Technic recreation of the 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera Cup. Resplendent in Octan livery, which easily adds another 40bhp on it’s own, Thirdwigg’s Carrera features working suspension, steering, a functioning gearbox and the Porsche’s famous rear-mounted flat-6 engine. There’s lots more to see on Flickr – click the link above to make the jump.

Super Speedway – Picture Special

March 25, 2016, 11:22 am

≫ Next: The Easter Funny

≪ Previous: Carrera Cup

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We love racing cars here at The Lego Car Blog, and we love LEGO too. Both of these things are in our name and everything. So imagine our delight when one of our Elven workforce found this, an absolutely fantastic Town raceway, complete with grandstand, pit-lane, race control, snack stands, hilarious cameos, and of course a fleet of top-notch racing cars.

Newcomer Brick Knight is the creator of this enormous scene, and his attention to detail is spectacular. There are almost forty images available to view in his Flickr album, all abounding in imagination and many featuring some brilliantly chosen comic and TV cameos!

There is a lot more to see at Brick Knight’s photostream via the link in the text above – we highly recommend taking a look, whilst we figure out a way to reward possibly TLCB’s luckiest ever Elf.

The Easter Funny

March 26, 2016, 3:26 am

≫ Next: GT-One

≪ Previous: Super Speedway – Picture Special

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It’s Easter, and this is about as close as our Elves are going to get to anything seasonally appropriate. It’s only one letter away anyway. It is of course a ‘Funny Car’ – in effect a dragster chassis with a silhouette car body added atop it. This one comes from Technic legend and TLCB Master MOCer Crowkillers, and it’s got working steering, a blown V8 and the Funny Car necessity of hinged bodywork. Suggested to us by a reader, you can see more at Crowkillers’ Brickshelf page – click the link above hit the drag strip.

GT-One

March 27, 2016, 4:02 pm

≫ Next: Race Horse

≪ Previous: The Easter Funny

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Toyota have a long history in motorsport, and have won both the World Rally Championship and World Endurance Championship. Their current Le Mans contender, the TS050, looks as beautiful as ever, following the TS030 and TS040 racing cars of the last few years. Unfortunately for Toyota, so far none of these cars has managed to claim outright victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race, with each coming second to the dominance of the Volkswagen Group.

Back in the late 90s it was a similar story, as Toyota’s glorious TS020, better known as the GT-One, fought it out against the Germans of Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Ultimately the GT-One came second to BMW due to its hunger for tyres (and a series of huge crashes), but the car has lived on as something of a legend in the virtual world, becoming one of the stars of the Gran Turismo and Forza franchises.

The GT-One pictured here comes from Heiko Ruutel of MOCpages, who has recreated the road-going version of the car from the aforementioned games, and he’s done it brilliantly. His Lego version of the bonkers late ’90s racer looks every inch as good as the real car and it’s just as detailed underneath too, with a superb chassis and engine bay. You can see all of the photos of Heiko’s build – including those chassis shots – via MOCpages here.

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Race Horse

April 11, 2016, 4:16 pm

≫ Next: e-Tron

≪ Previous: GT-One

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What the hell is going on with Formula 1 right now? Oh yes, we remember; corrupt and greedy management are taking the sport apart bit by bit and then wondering why viewing figures are falling. At least Ferrari are finally back at the pointy end of the grid this year to bring some competition to Mercedes-Benz.

This stunning recreation of Ferrari’s SF16-H 2016 title challenger comes from previous bloggee Noah_L, and the brilliance of the build is matched only by the beauty of the photography. There’s lots more to see at Noah’s photostream – click the link above to take a closer look, and if you’re wondering how to take images as good as Noah’s you can check out our guide to photographing Lego by clicking here.

e-Tron

May 7, 2016, 4:39 pm

≫ Next: Lemon Shark

≪ Previous: Race Horse

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Audi didn’t win last year’s Le Mans (the first time in years they weren’t on the top step), but only because sister company Porsche took the honours. They’ll be looking for a win this year though to distract the motoring press from that unfortunate fraudulent emissions business. This small-scale replica of Audi’s R18 e-Tron quattro comes from RGB900 of Flickr, and it’s a remarkably accurate recreation. See more via the link above.

Lemon Shark

May 7, 2016, 4:50 pm

≫ Next: LEGO at Le Mans

≪ Previous: e-Tron

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This brutal-looking vintage racer was discovered by one of our Elves on Flickr. With clever side-exit exhausts, racing decals, and an angry shark mouth it’s a firm favourite here at TLCB Towers. LegoGallifrey is the builder and there’s more to see on Flickr via the link.

LEGO at Le Mans

June 21, 2016, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: Rotary Renown

≪ Previous: Lemon Shark

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It’s 50 years since Ford famously finished the Le Mans 24 Hour race with a 1-2-3, thanks to their stunning Lola-developed GT40. Half a decade later and Ford returned to Le Mans with their new GT, aiming to prove to America that big inefficient V8s really have had their day, and the future is smaller, more efficient, and turbo-charged.

This astonishing creation is the work of professional model-maker Pascal Lenhard, who was commissioned by Ford to build a replica of their 2016 GTE-competing racing car. Three weeks and 40,000 bricks later and this is the incredible result.

A full gallery of images is available to view at the Autoweek website (thanks to one of our readers for the tip!), where there are also images of an original 1960s Ford GT40 model that Pascal built to accompany his recreation of Ford’s latest Le Mans challenger.

And 50 years on, did Ford manage a Le Mans comeback worthy of their original result? They sure did, with the new Ford GT winning the GTE class and taking third place. In fact the team were only denied repeating their remarkable 1966 1-2-3 finish by some cheating Italians.

It’s good to have you back Ford!

Rotary Renown

July 11, 2016, 4:02 pm

≫ Next: Spideria Ferrari

≪ Previous: LEGO at Le Mans

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This remarkable car is Mazda’s 1991 Group C Le Mans winning 787B, to this day the only Japanese car ever to win the famous 24 hour race and the only non-reciprocating engine powered car to do so too. This stunning replica of Mazda’s greatest triumph is the work of TLCB favourite Greg998, and he’s recreated the 900bhp carbon-composite monster in jaw-dropping detail.

Underneath the brilliantly recreated bodywork – complete with Mazda’s tricky ’91 livery and period-correct decals – Greg’s 787B features working steering, all-wheel suspension, working headlights, and a Lego version of Mazda’s unique (and mental) 4-rotor engine. There’s lots more to see on Flickr, Eurobricks and MOCpages – click the links to see full details and imagery.