Tag Archives: Antique Cars

These Volkswagens will leave you with the BUG to GOLF

When it comes to building classic cars out of LEGO bricks, Volkswagens have remained a popular subject. While there are plenty of great LEGO Beetles and Transporters out there, it’s nice to see something from the 1980s like Brixe63’s VW Golf Cabriolet. One of the challenges in building the Golf is capturing the subtle angles of the body. Brixe63 has managed to pull it off, right down to the tilt of the windshield. The 1×1 tiles placed within clips work well as mirrors, and the silver barbs make for nice door handles.

The builder also made a slick-looking version of the classic VW Beetle. Here, Brixe63 proves as adept at replicating the Beetle’s curves as she is with the subtle angles of the Golf.

She even built a fleet of Beetles, including a convertible and police car. With the top down and a lovely tan and green color scheme, the convertible is my favorite of the three.

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The little red Alfa that could

Back in the 1930s, Enzo Ferrari teamed up with automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo to make history on the racetrack. Ferrari wasn’t in the business of making cars yet, but their famous prancing pony emblem was used on team Ferrari cars. One of the most famous team Ferrari Alfas was a 1934 P3, which won the 1935 German Grand Prix with Tazio Nuvolari behind the wheel. Thanks to Pixeljunkie, Team Ferrari’s P3 has been brought back to life in LEGO-form. There is some excellent visual storytelling here, with an intrepid female driver making a pit stop in the woods to admire local wildlife. Both the car and surrounding landscaping look beautiful.

Like many of his other cars, Pixeljunkie places the Alfa in different scenarios. Here, we get a look under the hood at the expense of some engine trouble. Fortunately, the driver remembered to bring along her toolkit.

I particularly enjoy this playful image, which shows the driver’s reflection in the car’s rear view mirror. With the engine fixed, she’s ready to hit the road again!

The Alfa Romeo P3 is just one in a growing number of cars built by Pixeljunkie and featured on the Brothers Brick, including a Ford Model T, Mercedes Benz W196, and Type 37A Bugatti.

Series 62 Cadillac: building an American classic

When you think of the classic American car there’s a good chance you’ll be dreaming about the Series 62 Cadillac. This large scale LEGO version built by Robson M is a brick-perfect rendition of an automobile icon. As in real life it’s all about the lines, which have been perfectly formed here, with special attention being given to the emblematic fins.

Incorporating full interior, opening doors and trunk, the model is a love letter to vintage Americana, and one of the finest LEGO Cadillacs I’ve seen.

Roll in the height of luxury with the LEGO 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K

If it’s the early 20th century and you’ve got more tycoon money than you can spend, why not spend some of it on an insanely luxurious car? Vehicle master Firas Abu-Jaber brings us an amazing LEGO rendition of the 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K w29 Special Roadster, and it’s fit for a king. As Firas points out, the original car sold for over $100k in 1936 bucks (about $1.8 million today). Today, the remaining examples sell for tens of millions.

Click to see more of the Mercedes-Benz 500k

You can’t kill something that isn’t alive [Instructions]

A red 1958 Plymouth Fury triggers memories of the movie adaption of Stephen King’s book Christine, and the car has a cult following for that reason. I’m not sure you’d want to keep this tiny version around any more than you’d want the living car from the movie — you might just find it in pieces on the floor when you wake in the morning, there to torture you with the pain of stepping on LEGO pieces. We’re pretty sure that builder hachiroku24 made it safe for us by performing an exorcism in advance, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

If you’re willing to take the risk, here are the video instructions and parts list to build your very own tiny sinister vehicle.

Click here to see the parts and video instructions

Ride the roads in a really radical rat rod

In American car culture, the rat rod has come to symbolize rugged individualism. You might think of it as the automotive equivalent of a cowboy. Over the course of seven months, Manuel Nascimento built a LEGO Ford Model A rat rod. Manuel’s Model A oozes personality, with its “rust brown” patina, chrome trim and chopped, lowriding body. His model captures the subtle curves and angles of the real car. I’m particularly impressed with how the sides slightly slant upward.

Manuel’s rat rod is as impressive mechanically as it is visually. The car is equipped with power functions motors for moving, steering, and the ability to raise and lower the rear. Because the engine is exposed, you can also see it in action. Manuel chose to highlight these features in the following video.

See this gorgeous Model A rat rod in action

From restoration shop to the toy box, this ’57 Bel Air is a cruising classic

When it comes to 1950s cars, the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air is especially popular. Plenty of LEGO fans have made examples of this classic car, but few come with a personal story. Builder 1saac W. decided to build the 1957 Bel Air that his girlfriend’s father has owned since high school. The real car is being restored, so 1saac W. decided to build the car in its current state. By his own account, this is why his LEGO car lacks whitewall tires. The minfigure-scale Chevy looks superb, with curves in all the right places and some intricate-looking geometry forming the fins.

The gas pump makes for a nice prop and was inspired by an example built by Norton74. Finishing off the car is the grille’s beaming “smile.”

F is for Ford fitted with a fantastic folding top

Pixeljunkie continues to delight with his series of LEGO cars. This time, he turned to the Brass Era with a tiny 1915 Ford Model T roadster pickup. The Model T was the car that made driving more accessible to the general public, and Pixeljunkie’s model is a sharp-looking replica that conceals an amazing feature.

The thing that makes his car especially impressive is the incorporation of a working folding top. A stop-motion video showcases how smooth this feature is.

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Just like his 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, Pixeljunkie documents his Model T as if it were a restoration. Over the past few weeks, he has teased us with images leading up to the finished product. It all started with this group of mechanics carefully looking over a set of plans. Look carefully, and you’ll notice the one minifigure has a Ford tattoo on his arm. You might say it is a “FORDshadowing” of things to come!

Click to see the amazing photos documenting this car’s build in a brick-built mechanic’s shop

Ride about in this regal Royale

2018 has been a big year for the LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron. While the Chiron represents modern elegance, the Bugatti name has been associated with opulent luxury since 1909. One of the most coveted Bugatti automobiles is the Type 41 Royale, with only seven examples having been built between 1927 and 1933. ER0L has taken the Royale, shrinking it down into an adorable LEGO model. Erol has successfully captured the incredible length of the real vehicle, along with the iconic two-tone Bugatti color scheme. This particular version is the Coupe Deville with coachwork by Binder. During World War II, it was hidden in the sewers of Paris to escape confiscation by Nazi Germany.

Straight out of the ’70s, this classic wagon is “groovy.”

From 1972 through 1994, Ford marketed the Granada (not to be confused with the U.S. Granada, which is a different vehicle) as a an executive car for the British market. Mateusz Waldowski built this slick LEGO version of a 1977 Granada MK1 station wagon, and it looks well-suited for any minifigure family vacation. In terms of accuracy, Mateusz has done a great job of capturing the overall shape of the vehicle. The grille is spot-on, and the five-wide half-stud offset technique used for the upper half of the vehicle helps emulate the subtle slant of the window pillars.

Mateusz put a lot of effort into detailing his station wagon, and the end result is enjoyable. It sports windshield wipers, a top-mounted luggage rack, clever door handles, and even custom chrome trim (represented by strips of silver decals). Another enjoyable feature is the tilt to the front wheels, which helps create the impression of steering. I almost want to take this adorable wagon on an overnight camping trip!

Tinker around with this tantalizingly tiny T

In continuous production from 1909 through 1929, the Ford Model T became an automotive industry leader in the U.S. and abroad. Even LEGO’s founding father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, reportedly owned a Model T and used it to transport wooden toys to market. Building a LEGO Model T in minifigure scale can be challenging, in part because of the body’s large number of curves and angular details. These issues have been expertly overcome by builder mmurray, whose 1920 Ford pickup is one of the best renditions of the T that I have seen. The builder makes clever use of the wheelchair wheel elements, which look at home on an early automobile and allow it to be built in such a small scale.

The Model T was available in a wide variety of body styles and, in the spirit of Henry Ford, mmurray has also built a roadster version. I can’t stop drooling over the level of detail in this tiny car. The running boards are simple yet tight, and the thin windshield helps sell the front end. However, it is mmurray’s ability to capture so many subtle angles in such a small model that makes his 1920 Ford feel authentic.

If these bite-sized Ford’s were to roll off the assembly line, I would be the first in line to buy one!

Steam around the block in style

Back in the early days of motor transportation, the internal combustion engine was far from the only option. For one, electric cars were roaming city streets a century before Tesla made it “cool.” There were also plenty of steam-powered options from the likes of Stanley, White, and the aptly named Locomobile. Inspired by this era, Krzysztof Pusz built a pair of princely-looking LEGO steam cars. My personal favorite is this dark green coal-hauling machine. Clear 1×2 plates look surprisingly nice as smoke, and the wood-grain tiles are used to great effect in forming the truck’s tilted bed. Another nice touch is the absence of a steering wheel in favor of a tiller mechanism. A lot of early cars featured tillers, which were levers used for steering.

A second variation on the steam theme is Krzysztof’s appropriately named U.BER. If you were having an Edwardian night on the town and had a bit too much to drink, you’d better call an U.BER! The use of a bladed claw minifigure element for hood louvers is particularly noteworthy and makes for a “steamtastic” job well done.