While I do love me some Speed Champions, I do really enjoy seeing fan creations using techniques that trim off most of the visible studs to give a car a sleek and smooth look. This Lamborghini Countach by Simon Przepiorka is one of those tiny wonders that make my jaw drop. I’ve always been a fan of the Countach and this is one of the best representations that I’ve seen at this scale thus far.
Click to see more details of Simon’s LEGO Countach
The embodiment of a mobster character is captured perfectly by Martin Redfern. Cigar, check. Tommy Gun, check. Gangster pose, check. To top it all off, the elements used for the suit for shaping makes it look like it was tailored by a master — although I suspect that may be a Sharpie-branded tie.
The accompanying cruiser is screaming out ‘mobster vehicle’ all over too! Styled in black with red highlights and chrome headlights.
And of course, when there is bad, there must be good to balance it all out.
Nothing screams American metal and gasoline-fueled testosterone like the Dodge Viper. This remote control Technic Dodge Viper comes courtesy of MRX Lego.
Of course, a model couldn’t claim the title “Viper” without a white body and blue racing stripes. Additional stylistic details include a front air dam (made of SYSTEM plates), racing seats, a moving (but fake) shift knob, and a massive rear wing spoiler. The interior includes an actual headlight switch under the dashboard that operates the front headlights.
Learn more about this stellar LEGO Technic muscle car
Lego artist Martin Redfern has a unique signature style to his builds: they always seem to be from a bygone era, and captured beautifully. This police cruiser is loosely based on a 1950’s cruiser like it was straight out of a mobster movie. He even built an engine under the hood and loaded it with full decor on the dashboards. You’ll definitely want to check out all the details on this one.
Click to see more under the hood
Ferrari 308 GTB is one of the rarest Ferrari cars with only 800 copies produced. But Jonathan Elliott builds one more. Although, it is not of metal and not quite as large, it is just as red and looks fabulous. Even though it looks very simple and easy to build, certain parts of this tiny 308 GTB are perfectly executed for this scale. The builder admits that there some compromises, but I simply can’t imagine what can be done differently to make this car look even better.
Somewhere in the heart of America, in some tiny, rundown town, sits a gas station just like this one. Actually, there are many of them along old nearly-forgotten interstate highways. They are a staple of rural American culture. The original (non-LEGO) miniature diorama by Yasu Okugawa from Doozy! Modelworks, was built with many materials, and is quite beautiful. But this version by César Soares packs a ton of detail into a small space, using only LEGO! He does a wonderful job of capturing as many aspects of the original as possible. (Aside from the added touch of recognizable LEGO stickers instead of the originals)
The build is definitely one to zoom in on and take a while to look at every angle. From revolver gas-pump handles to green artist-pallette trees, and even spoon chair legs, it’s certainly a clever use of parts. The techniques used to achieve such an authentic look on the building, pumps, and car are truly impressive!
JamesJTechnic on YouTube brings us this classy 1961 Corvette C1, powered by a BuWizz motor and remote control.
This model demonstrates an excellent use of Technic panels for the body side panels, hood, and trunk lids. It also features a detailed front bumper. The removable hard top provides a nostalgic touch. I like how the model uses flexible hoses on the hood to add contoured ridges to the model’s hood.
Powered by the BuWizz motor and remote control, the Corvette drives and turns thanks to a Power Functions M-Motor and Servo Motor.
If you want to build this classic yourself, the building instructions begin at 2:28 in the video.
Builder Vince Toulouse calls this out as the SL20 Streamliner. I call it Tim Burton’s modified Bat-mobile. With very sleek and stud-less shaping, it looks like it could cut through almost anything at top speed. Vince’s vehicle looks great at all angles, yet an Art Deco feel is imbued into the overall colour blocking and feel. It could almost pass off as a Bat-mobile with a black paint-job with red trimmings.
Hit here to see more of this sleek mobile
Back in 1961, an American car designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur called Carroll Shelby wrote to AC Cars to ask if they would build him a car modified to take a V8 engine. Ford happened to have a new, lightweight V8 ready, and when Ford provided Shelby with two engines, the AC Shelby Cobra was born. -lichtblau- has revised his previous AC Shelby Cobra design with this fantastic black and white version. The shaping is superb, especially the use of the short mudguard at the front to depict the curved nose.
This particular model has an attractive dark orange leather interior with a chrome rollbar, held in place simply via the friction between the seatback and the trunk.
The Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1 first went on sale in Germany in June 1976 and was only available as a 3-door version. Although the Golf was meant to be a small, fuel-efficient car model, a group of VW engineers worked on the sport version in their spare time. To many, the Golf GTi Mk1 is the boy racer’s car of the 1980’s and Joe Perez has captured its distinctive form in LEGO.
Click to take a look inside Joe’s VW GTi Mk1 and under the hood
The orange and blue colour scheme of the Ford GT40 Gulf represents the corporate colours of Gulf Oil. The original race car took part in Daytona and Sebring in 1967 as an independent entry by Gulf Oil executive vice president Grady Davis. Joachim Klang has managed to accurately build a LEGO version of this famous car using both brick and sticker solutions to pick out the orange highlights. The shaping of the chassis is fantastic at this scale, the sloped hood and front bumper are particularly well constructed.
It is worth noting that everything in the image is brick-built, from the paint brushes and paint pots, to the scalpel used to cut the stickers. No detail has been missed, including the unfinished driver still on the sprue.
You may occasionally still see the unmistakable Citroën 2CV gliding along the lanes of rustic French towns, some 70 years after its first introduction. Builder Nico71 pays homage to the iconic economy car with this 1/15 scale model.
The model features independent front suspension and rear suspension, opening front and rear doors, wheel-operated steering, and an opening trunk compartment (with a surprise hidden feature inside!). It also sports many brick-built stylistic touches, from the engine under the hood to the exhaust pipe in the back.
Rather than using Technic panels, each door consists of multiple Technic beams stacked pin holes-up to form a single, solid surface. Likewise, the roof, A-, B-, and C-pillars of the 2CV combine multiple beams to create the silhouette of the vehicle. The wheel wells and mudguards, however, show the curved building technique that strings Technic 1 x 3 beam pieces along a soft axle hose, creating an elegant arch. It’s a similar technique to one the that impressed us in the recent Shanghai LEGO Architecture set, where it was used to construct the twisting Shanghai Tower.
You can read more about the design and functionality of this model from Nico71’s website.