A roving defender of the land

Whenever LEGO releases a big set, talented builders the world over get inspired to build similar models, but better and more epic. You see it with UCS LEGO Star Wars sets, modular buildings, castles (from Helm’s Deep to Hogwarts), and Batmobiles. It also happens in the LEGO Technic world; LEGO releases a 42110 Land Rover Defender, and out of the woodwork start crawling rugged off-roaders like this one by Manuel Nascimento. Not only did Manuel build an enormous and detailed Defender, but he also built a whole display base to demonstrate its capabilities. You can sleep on a Land Rover? That’s intense (get it? in tents?). But the lights and winch work, and it has a working transmission, too, and could in theory drive. But since it weighs in at 14.33 lbs (6.5 kg) driving it is a bit out of the question. Who cares, though, since looking at it is such a treat.

LAND ROVER Defender 110

Custom stickers give this a sleek look, honoring a Camel Trophy competition team as well as the builder. It’s got all the details, too, from the cages and bars to the snorkel. The nets in the rear windows look great, and I love the huge knobby tires. My favorite parts usages are the socket wrenches for the door pulls and the DUPLO shovel mounted over the front right wheel. Droid arms serve beautifully for the hood latches, too. Now, I said this was built in response to the new LEGO Defender; that’s not properly true, since this was originally built back in 2017, but it is still an epic ride.

LAND ROVER Defender 110

And if you enjoyed this Land Rover Defender, you might also like a pair of Land Rover Defenders by Peter Carmichael.