LEGO’s Speed Champions line has done a pretty good job of covering cars from a diverse range of eras, but they’re yet to represent the really early days of the automobile. In truth it’s unlikely they ever will, but thankfully we have builders like Pixeljunkie to scratch that particular itch! Pixeljunkie is no stranger to vintage automotive builds, and his latest creation is a doozy all the way from 1905. The car in question is the Laurin & Klement (L&K) company’s first motor car, the Voiturette A, which is where the firm now known as Skoda can trace its origins to. The company originally made bicycles, which makes the use of bicycle wheels for the car’s spindly wheels rather appropriate! Nougat and .dark red pieces are good approximations of the wooden body. The lamp on the right hand side of the car is worthy of further inspection, as well. It’s very simple: two gold chrome pieces, including the One Ring, on a headlight brick. The fact this headlight brick is transparent, though, makes the gold pieces stand out, and makes the lamp seem smaller and daintier than if a solid colour had been used. Finally, take note of the umbrella used as detailing on the footplate… There’s no roof on this puppy, so if it rains, you may need it!
Tag Archives: Cars
Italian craftsmanship, German engineering, and Danish bricks
When thinking of the early development of the supercar in the 1980s, most people will probably think of the Lamborghini Countach or the Ferrari Testarossa as the poster boys of that era. One that sometimes gets overlooked — unfairly, if you ask me — is the BMW M1. It mixes the craziness of the Italian-born wedge-shape with some classic German refinement and engineering. LEGO builder Leo 1 has perfectly captured the first German supercar (I count the original Porsche 911 as a grand tourer, before you ask!) in all its orange glory. A pair of headlight bricks are the perfect choice for the BMW snout nose, as are the circular tiles for the rims.
The exquisite shaping continues around the rear of the car. Slopes and tiles at subtle angles abound to capture the sharp shape of this Bimmer, which is not easy in bright orange as the parts palette is still fairly limited. The little details, like the interior or wing mirrors, are the cherry on the cake. And we can all agree that twin-pipe exhausts just make a car look cooler, can’t we…?
If you can’t beat ’em... Re-build ’em
As much as I like LEGO’s current crop of Creator 3-in-1 sets, I have fond memories as a child of building Creator and Designer sets that sometimes had instructions for 8 or 9 different builds. I wonder if Firas Abu-Jaber has the same longing… Not content with re-shaping 10295 Creator Expert Porsche 911 into a Corvette Stingray, Lamborghini Countach and a Porsche 911 Turbo S, his latest iteration of the set has turned out a gorgeous Ford GT40 MkI.
The GT40 is famous for winning the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race four times on the bounce, and the model depicted here is the Mark I which achieved the feat in ’68 and ’69. Confusingly, those came after the MkII and MkIV victories, while the poor MkIII never got a look in as a road car! The MkI wins were closely fought with Porsche, who would go on to dominate endurance racing, so there’s a hint of irony that this Ford is repurposed from the German marque. Not that you would know it from looking at it – I did a double-take when I read the description. I mean, it’s even got a fully-fledged interior and engine!
So counting the 911 Targa, I make that a 6-in-1 set so far… Here’s hoping we get to see more re-imaginings from Firas soon!
A gangster’s roadster: please admire from a distance
A roadster too sleek for the 1930s. Open top and exposed engine. Is it some vintage Batmobile or a hot-rod noir? Jonathan Elliott presents his latest custom minifig-scale car to add to his portfolio, a roadster that could give the current Vintage Taxi GWP a run for its money. Lacking any other colour, there is just enough and barely enough chrome to break up a predominantly black visage. The owner of this vehicle must be classy and dangerous, and it definitely takes my mind to old gangster movies…
If you see this parked in front of a speakeasy of your choice, RUN!
See more of Jonathan’s wonderful creations here.
Mr Bean races to the finish on the roof of his classic Mini Cooper
Ryan McNaught has recreated this memorable scene from the Mr Bean TV series. The charming character can be seen here taking an optimal vantage point by steering his car from a chair strapped to the roof, while he uses a broom to access the pedals. The Mini Cooper has a great build, which must have taken some planning to portray the rounded angles of the vehicle. The face of the character is instantly recognizable, as Ryan included Mr. Bean’s prominent eyebrows and even the mole on his cheek. But perhaps it is actually Mr. Bean’s Teddy who is pulling the strings as the stuffed animal sits in the driver’s seat…
Take the top off and show off that old muscle
Gearheads and design fanatics will always find a way to include cars in their life. Those that share a love of LEGO (and sometimes even those that don’t) get to delight in tinkering on their own project cars. Even if they’re a fraction of the size of the original. Builder Dave J faced some extra challenges with this model of ’69 Camaro Convertible in dark azure. The limited parts available in that color forced Dave to get pretty inventive with some brackets to achieve a smooth and clean design.
Watch the fun as this LEGO car crosses increasingly wider gaps.
A lot of creating custom LEGO builds is problem solving. Will this fit here? How much weight will this connection hold? The Brick Experiment Channel lets us in on their problem-solving process in this video where they try and create a Power Functions-based car that can cross a wider and wider gap between two tables. They definitely hit on some solutions I never would have thought of. (And the failures make for some pretty entertaining crashes.)
McLaren’s GT for the win
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an automotive endurance race that tests the limits of cars and their teams. Highlighted in the film Ford v Ferrari, the race challenges teams to beat the competition by going the farthest within 24 hours instead of getting to a finish line first. Speed and reliability were crucial factors that led this notable design to victory, though Ford forcing Ken Miles to slow down helped. This model by KMP MOCs pays homage to the 1966 winner, by technicality, the Ford GT40 Mk2 driven by Bruce McLaren. The white circle and hood stripe nicely contrasts with the black body of the rest of the car. Gotta love those rounded 1×1 plates for their utility in design. The builder also makes use of new Speed Champions pieces and techniques to achieve a smooth, 8-stud wide design for this iconic car.
Bugatti blast from the past
Ye olde barn find has struck gold again! LEGO builder 1corn has discovered an automobile that today would be almost 100 years old: the Bugatti Type 41 Packard Prototype.
Originally built in 1926, this vehicle was a combination of a Bugatti chassis Packard bodywork (with a Bugatti aircraft engine), nearly unheard of for its time. 1corn manages to pull off a close replica with his build here. From the whitewall tires to the curve of the fenders, this car has it all. I can’t help but admire the dark red color scheme. It works so well with the black fenders and tan seating.
1corn is known for many builds that look extremely life-like. If you’d like to see more of his creations, check out another right here on The Brothers Brick.
Life isn’t just luxury supercars...
Sometimes you just need to hit the streets in a Japanese sports car. GSM Studio built a medium-sized Technic model of the 2006 Honda Integra, the type of sports car that you would see in street-racing scenes of the earlier Fast & Furious films. Grouped in the same category as the Honda Civic, the Integra is more of a high-performance model spanning four generations of limited release. It is regarded as one of the best front-wheel-drive cars, which GSM Studio faithfully replicated in his build, amongst other functions.
It’s not a Technic build without lots of functions. The opening doors, trunk and hood do not cut it close. The steering wheel in the cabin powers the steering, and a knob between the seats works the four-speed transmission, which is linked to the front wheels as well as the I4 inline engine under the hood. However, not all four wheels have working suspensions. There is only suspension in the rear, as the front axle has the drivetrain as well as steering.
Still, it is quite a feat packing so many functions into a compact build of a compact car. It is more than LEGO does in their official sets, such as Dom’s Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious, which this build would look amazing next to.
Lamborghini Countach: an 80s icon
The Lamborghini Countach is what I imagine when I think of Lamborghini. The trendsetter of the “Italian wedge” cars that are still the golden standard to this day, and the original 80s supercar before the 1980s. Builder Barneius Industries painstakingly recreated the Countach LP-5000, which was a popular variant produced in 1985, making it a true 80s supercar. This small, yet detailed build is in current LEGO Speed Champions scale, which is also minifigure compatible. Barneius carefully selected 325 pieces to best represent all the angles and fine details of this supercar.
A minifigure can fit in the driver seat, as configured by the windscreen piece from the Ferrari F8 Tributo set. Barneius also uses custom stickers for some of the details of the Countach, such as the iconic wheel rims. This isn’t different from official Speed Champions sets using stickers for headlights, racing decals, and everything in between. Seeing an 80s icon built from LEGO pieces makes me appreciate its more angular nature. As many curved pieces, LEGO has introduced, they can’t exactly nail some of the more recent supercars.
In other news, Lamborghini just announced a brand new iteration of the Countach to celebrate its 50th anniversary. I wonder if Barneius timed his build to coincide with the reveal…
Check out a few more builds of the Countach we have featured! If you want other Lamborghinis, we have plenty more!
One car, two car, red car, blue car!
Had 1saac W. presented us with one LEGO 1953 Hudson Hornet we’d be impressed enough, by golly! Because with copious chrome and classic curves like that, what’s not to love, really? But then he went on to show us, courtesy of digital editing, what the same car could look like in blue and now we’re all tickled pink. Or purple, rather. Because red and blue make purple, not pink. That’s just straight-up art school science 101. Plus it allowed me to think up a Dr. Suess-inspired title for this article and that’s a win/win for everybody. Speaking of win/win, hit the link to check out the other times we were totally tickled pink, or whatever color, by 1saac’s stuff.