Aside from its charming hilarity, one of the best things about the #TimeforCrab LEGO building challenge is the huge potential for a good pun. And when it comes to brick-built puns, Maxx Davidson has form: see last year’s Bic Viper, for instance, or the Stuffed Crust-acean built for this same challenge. This one is clearly inspired by the black-and-yellow crabs – sorry, cabs – seen primarily in New York. The checkered stripes extending to the legs are a big clue for that. The ‘wheels’ in the four legs serve to drive that home, too. But the best – and cutest – detail is the flat-cap adorning that crabby taxi driver!
Tag Archives: Taxi
LEGO Gift with Purchase 40532 Vintage Taxi – Let our friendly driver take you for a ride! [Review]
LEGO recently celebrated 15 years of their City Modular Building Collection with the stunning 10297 Boutique Hotel. Now they’ve unveiled a new set that seems to slot right into that downtown area. LEGO 40532 Vintage Taxi will be available as a Gift With Purchase from LEGO Shop Online. While LEGO has yet to officially confirm the promotion details, it’s rumored to be available starting January 28th with qualifying purchases of US $200 | CAN $200 | UK £200. This 163-piece set comes with a driver, taxi stand, and a very sweet-looking ride. But is it worth the price of admission? Come along and see for yourself!
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early, non-embargoed copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Click to read the full hands-on review
Your new Uber driver has arrived
In case you’re going anywhere tonight, Jonathan Elliott has just upgraded your Uber ride. It’s no a longer a modest 17-brick-big 605 Taxi from 1971, but instead, it’s an ultra-futuristic EV vehicle. Like the emissions, the number of open LEGO studs has gone from over 30 to nearly zero. Although it took the brick-built taxis to evolve this far, let’s hope the real ones will become equally cool soon enough.
LEGO BrickHeadz, Creator, & Iconic sets revealed for 2021 [News]
LEGO has revealed a number of new sets today from the BrickHeadz, Creator, and Iconic lineups, ranging from buildable roses to a yellow taxi. The sets include two kits with buildable flowers that expand on the recently announced LEGO Botanical Collection 10282 Flower Bouquet, though unlike those flagship sets these don’t bear the new 18+ adult-focused black packaging, instead wearing LEGO’s generic “Iconic” packaging. Another pair of sets brings two of the most widely recognized for-hire vehicles, with a classic yellow New York City taxi and a Tuk Tuk, a small auto rickshaw widely used throughout the world, and especially popular in India and Southeast Asia. Several BrickHeadz also join the fray, with duos of a Dog & Puppy and Cat & Kitten, along with a trio of adorable Pandas for Chinese New Year. And finally, rounding out the crowd is a buildable teddy bear with hearts for Valentine’s Day. All of the new sets will be available starting January 1.
Don’t miss these other upcoming 2021 LEGO sets:
- LEGO Art Mosaics 31201 Harry Potter Hogwarts & 31202 Disney’s Mickey Mouse
- LEGO Botanical Collection Bonsai Tree and Flower Bouquet
- LEGO City 2021
- LEGO Creator 2021
- LEGO Dots 2021
- LEGO Friends 2021
- LEGO Harry Potter 2021
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2021
- LEGO Ninjago 2021
- LEGO Technic 2021
- LEGO Technic 42122 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon | Read the TBB Review
- LEGO Technic 42123 McLaren Senna GTR
- LEGO Technic 42125 Ferrari 488 GTE AF CORSE #51 | Read the TBB Review
- LEGO Star Wars 2021 | Read the TBB Review
- LEGO Star Wars The Mandalorian 75299 Trouble on Tatooine
- LEGO Super Mario 2021
Check out more images of the new BrickHeadz, Creator, and Iconic sets below.
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The changing faces of NYC taxis
The image that pops into my mind when I think of New York City is one of urban canyons full of yellow taxis. For decades, taxis in the city that never sleeps were large sedans with big engines. In the last ten years or so, things have been changing, though. NYC taxis are still yellow, but most are now hybrids. And most are made by Toyota, rather than by American manufacturers such as Checker, Chevrolet or Ford.
The Checker Marathon is the classic New York taxi from the sixties and seventies. It was a traditional sedan, with a heavy-duty cab-on-frame construction well-suited for New York’s famously pot-holed streets. Its design changed very little during the two decades that it was in production. It became a New York icon, comparable to London’s black cab or the Routemaster bus. Many movies and TV shows filmed in the Big Apple feature Checker cabs, including Taxi Driver and Ghostbusters, as well as the TV sitcoms Taxi and Friends.
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The typical Tokyo taxi is a Toyota
New Dehli had the Hindustan Ambassador, London the FX4 and New York the Checker Marathon and the Ford Crown Victoria. All of these taxis became instantly recognizable icons for their respective cities. What about Tokyo, you may wonder? On a visit Japan, you will occasionally see modern MPV-like vehicles, but the typical Tokyo taxi is a boxy contraption called the Toyota Comfort. They seem to be everywhere. I must have taken about ten taxi rides during my own trips to Japan and I’m pretty sure all of those were in a Toyota Comfort.
Toyota started building them specifically for use as taxis for a whopping 22 years, starting in 1995. You may expect them to be high tech, but these cars are actually fairly basic. A particularly Japanese exception is that the driver can open and shut the rear doors at the push of a button, from behind the wheel. The doors are an important part of the build, of course. On most of my LEGO cars, the rear doors cannot open without the front doors being opened first. However, I wanted this particular model to look good with the rear doors opened. They are attached to a little arm that slides in and out and I have added appropriate window frames. I also added a “Kawaii” passenger. The Comfort may not be as iconic as London black cab, but my collection of Japanese cars would be incomplete without one.
Yes, she knows it’s a multipass. Anyway, we’re in love.
When you’re having a bad day, sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and watch a fun science fiction movie like The Fifth Element. There are great characters, an engaging story, and a universe that is willing to give us flying cars. Davdup brings that love of the vehicles into LEGO form with renditions of a police cruiser and Korben Dallas’ taxi. Slightly bigger than minifgure scale, these beauties feature smooth curves, complex angles, custom stickers, and build details straight from the movie.
The police car is a solid build (I love the grille tiles in the window) that accurately captures the utilitarian vehicle. Davdup has chosen to also include a window-delivered to-go order from McDonald’s, giving us a great callback to the movie. The interior is also pretty sweet, using a Technic pilot’s yoke for the steering wheel. Continue reading
Hey pal, where ya going?
Next to towering skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty, New York City has also long been identified with streets full of yellow taxicabs. LEGO car builder Pixeljunkie chose to represent a classic Checker cab, complete with its characteristic black and white checkerboard-style trim. While the car itself looks great, it is further enhanced by the gritty scenery which includes a knocked over trash can. Meanwhile, the irritated-looking minifig driver sitting cross-legged adds an extra dash of personality.
If you love the Checker cab, you will probably also enjoy Pixeljunkie’s chopped Model A Ford hot rod. It packs some serious muscle in the engine and behind the wheel, and the whitewall tires give it a strong sense of style.
A taxi worth hailing
We’ve featured Martin Redfern‘s impressive retro-styled vehicles previously, notably this 50s Police Cruiser, and more recently a cool LEGO dispatch bike. This curvy taxi makes an excellent addition to the fleet — a delicious yellow and black colour scheme complete with checkerboard stripe, beautiful chrome trimmings, and all executed in Martin’s trademark chunky aesthetic.
The model features opening doors and trunk, a detailed interior, and an engine lurking beneath the bonnet. As well as including all this, the builder has gone to the trouble of putting together an appropriately atmospheric poster for his taxi service. I don’t care what price he’s charging, I’m a willing passenger on this ride.