Tag Archives: Lino Martins

Lino rounds up the classic vehicles that put him on the LEGO automotive map [Feature]

Hey there, Lino Martins,The Brothers Brick’s own writer, editor and occasional public nuisance here. I’m about to do the most self-serving thing anyone on any LEGO platform can do; show off a bunch of my own stuff. And that’s coming from someone who has given away three different versions of Adult Fan of Lino brick badges! In my defense, and if it will please the court Your Honor, it wasn’t even my idea. One of my higher-ups proposed the idea to me, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s me, so I said sure thing. Without further ado, let’s check out some of the classic vehicles that made me a mover and shaker in the LEGO automotive world. I may even include some insider info not published anywhere else.

Let’s start with the Popcorn Wagon. This over-the-top show rod, originally designed by Carl Casper, is a prime example of what you’re about to see.

The Show Rod is an automotive phenomenon that occurred in the 60s and 70s that pushed the limits of what a vehicle can be by melding art and engineering. Car legends such as George Barris, Tom Daniel and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth were on the forefront of the scene. Building these wild rides took innovation, imagination- and maybe some degree of controlled substances. One such controlled substance acted as inspiration for Tom Daniel’s famous Beer Wagon that kids in the 60’s and 70’s got to build as a Monogram model kit. I’m not to only one to have LEGO-ized the Beer Wagon. Check out this entry by my friend Andrea Lattanzio who even got to interview Tom Daniel.

Put the pedal to the metal and let the good times with Lino roll after the jump

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A 21-inch UCS-scale Geonosian Starfighter is nothing anyone asked for

In a LEGO UCS (Ultimate Collectors Series) world of X-Wings and Millenium Falcons, Lino Martins (Hey, that’s me!) builds something no one wanted or asked for. It’s a Nantex-class Geonosian Starfighter from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, also known as a beak fighter. It boasts an opening canopy and working landing gear. That is all. Oh, and it’s 21 inches long; more than 53 centimeters to the rest of the world. This marks the first time I’ve built my own LEGO creation in a couple of years, so that should suffice as chest beating and a display of dominance right up until 15 minutes from now when something bigger and better comes along.

Here it is resting on its aforementioned landing gear.

And finally, a shot showcasing the strange cockpit.

Check out official LEGO sets as well as what others have done in a formidable UCS style in our archives.

Resurrecting the Boothill Express

The Brothers Brick’s snarkiest writer and editor Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) dusts off some LEGO brick after a three-year hiatus to build the Boothill Express. Initially designed by Ray Fahrner, this radical show rod started life as an 1850s funeral coach and was outfitted with a massive Hemi and some of the sickest pipes ever. Kids in 1967 got their greasy mitts on the first model kits with a space between “Boot” and “Hill”; “Express” was spelled the same, as it turned out. This model boasts working steering and a detailed interior. This was a blast to build but the question is; has this resurrected my LEGO prowess or should I crawl back into my crypt? Let us know in the comments. In the meantime, if vehicles revitalizes your dead heart as much as it does mine, then click the little blue link to see what my like-minded friends have been up to.

With great power comes great irresponsibility

Hello, I’m Lino Martins, Brothers Brick Contributor, LEGO car builder, humorist, and occasional responsible adult. Recently I’ve taken on the decidedly irresponsible task of building the famous Hot Wheels Splittin’ Image concept car from 1969. I’ve wanted to do this for a while but fretted at the notion of building yet another car in a common LEGO color. Then LEGO had the fortitude to come out with the new Creator Fiat 500 set in light yellow. From there, I just knew this was going to be my Splittin’ Image! With two copies of this set, I had just enough sunshiny yellow goodness to construct the odd double hull. I also had just enough exhaust pipe pieces to run from the powerful engine all the way back to the rear of the car.

The canopies open to reveal a white 60’s era retro-futuristic interior. Instead of a traditional steering wheel, you get a rather spacey pilot’s yoke because…why not, right? Sometimes we just have to be irresponsible adults and build something as silly and outlandish as this Splittin’ Image. Here’s to building more irresponsible things from all of us in the near future. Cheers!

This wind-up toy robot is programmed to love you all very much

If you like retro wind-up toy robots then set your phasers to Positively Delighted. It turns out Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) has built one out of LEGO and the result is…pretty OK. It would probably be weird to label my own work as totally awesome, stupendous or earth-shattering so I’ll just go with pretty OK. He’s adorned in fabulously fifties black and sea-foam green with gray and just a touch of flashy silver. Through a series of gears, his chest plates open simultaneously and when you turn his wind-up key his head, heart and arms will rotate. Yes, he has a heart! I think it takes eight or ten or so rotations of the wind-up key to get his head, heart and arms to all settle back into their rightful positions. If I were a real engineer I’d know that for sure but… What am I, Elon Musk?

Check out this video of the wind-up action. This cheery bot is programmed to love you all very much. I’m programmed to be rather indifferent on the matter but I can create a swell playlist for any occasion so there’s that.

Ich bin ein käfer

Alright, I’ll keep this short and punchy. Speaking of short and punchy, Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) has built a car. When I ran the LUGNuts group I had built at least one car every month for ten years so I was a bit of a kingpin in the LEGO automotive world. After retiring the monthly challenges, it is understandable that I wanted to take a break from car building do some art, gaming, and blog all about your creations instead. After nearly two years, I return to car building with this Volkswagen Käfer Racer based on a Hot Wheels design.

The requisite round corner bricks are currently not available in yellow so instead of replicating the Moon Eyes design, I went with a primarily red color scheme and used stickers from the 8041 Technic Racing Truck

The shell can be removed to reveal the seats and massive V-8 engine within.

The lurker in the murky depths

Erstwhile LEGO gearhead guru Lino Martins is mixing it up, bringing us a big vignette of a haunting brackish backwater with a dark secret. This collection of treehouses forms a small bayou village, whose residents are sworn to placate a fearsome beast with blood sacrifices, often in the form of giant alligators lowered into the creature’s tentacled arms by means of a rickety contraption. The smooth dark green bricks make excellent ponds of stale water, with a smooth finish of algae broken only by a few small ripples as the monster’s arms raise.

What with the swamp being infested by an otherworldly horror, it’s best not to disturb that calm water, or indeed get anywhere near more than is absolutely necessary. That, plus the lack of land in the middle of swamp, means the townsfolk of Mangrove Swamp have all the necessities built on raised platforms, from farming to swine raising. Continue reading →

The people’s motorcycle

This month’s LUGNuts build challenge, is called “Behind The Iron Curtain!” and is all about building vehicles from (former) communist countries.

Rather than a Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, the sort of thing Lino Martins (Lino M) normally builds for these challenges, he now brings us something rather more utilitarian and military: a classic Ural motorcycle as used by the Red Army during WW-II, built in olive green and black. Not one to forego flashy colours, he presents it together with a brick-built Soviet Flag. Classy!