Tag Archives: Vehicles

LEGO planes, trains, and automobiles! Well, maybe not trains, since they don’t like to play with the other LEGO themes, but here you’ll find all our favorite cars, buses, boats, ships, helicopters, and anything else with an engine (and some without).

Take me home, country roads

No stranger to The Brothers Brick, Andrew Tate showcases this terrific LEGO build of an old-timey truck with a vignette that is the very picture of rural life. While I don’t believe this is meant to be any specific make or model, Andrew’s use of the 2×6 train windscreen element is an absolutely perfect choice for capturing the character of a truck of this vintage. For me, the whole scene is reminiscent of the nostalgic mid-century pre-war “when and where is this exactly?” idealized look of a Studio Ghibli film, and I’m really digging it. I’d love to get a behind the scenes look at a couple areas of this build, especially the supports of those beautifully spaced fence pickets, and those lovely wheel hubs.

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Building a little help to clear up the table-scraps

A few days ago, I wrote about W.F Ikhasi’s efforts in letting an idea for a LEGO creation simmer for a while before finishing it. As I wrote that article, it’s a topic that was fresh on my mind. My desk is absolutely covered in table-scraps; little builds that never fully grew into a finished article. And when I say covered, I mean I’m starting to struggle for space! It’s about time I enlisted some help to clear them. Fortunately, one of those ideas – a frame for a folded net piece – did grow into a scavenger’s speeder. So now this guy can help me clear out things, like this old engine, that were sitting around gathering dust!

The crane/tow-rope was also lying around among the detritus and quickly became this speeder’s party piece. Of course, it folds up neatly for zipping around the mud flats, where you might spot some older builds too… This walker is an older MOC, but it’s far from being a table-scrap!

A hotrod with some hotdog parts usage

Sérgio Batista is known for his amazing trains and automobile builds. His latest is a low-sitting station wagon in a flashy lime green deco with lots of interesting parts usage, including a guide dog harness on the front grill. Sérgio says this car sits lower than a minifigure stands, so despite it being a station wagon, I’m not sure we can get the whole family inside.

Read our interview with Sérgio Batista to learn more about the builder’s journey and unorthodox building techniques.

DORA and friends explore the post-apocalyptic wastelands

At last year’s Bricks Cascade expo, Martin Hulth shared a post-apoc behemoth on treads cheekily named D.O.R.A. the Explorer (DORA as in Deep Outpost Research and Armament.) This year, with encouragement and collaboration from Mark Cruickshank, Martin returned to Cascade with two new vehicles that expand on this emerging world that rests somewhere between Mad Max and the Mortal Engines. Leading the new pack is BIG BERTHA here. It’s a kid’s dream of a mobile base fused with a monster truck, backed with sophisticated techniques. You might call it a spiritual successor to the Rock Raiders theme. And the use of color, with bold yellow and red paired with muted sand green and blue, is striking.

Explore the wasteland with us and see more of Martin’s epic builds

Ma.K.ing the most of LEGO’s wildest theme

Sometimes it pays to sit on an idea for a while. Occasional LEGO builder W.F Ikhasi tells us he had the fuselage of this Maschinen Krieger-inspired walker sitting around, unfinished, for no fewer than three years. Happily, it’s complete now – and thanks to… Galidor?! Yes, a piece from LEGO’s weirdest theme provided just the shape Ikhasi was looking for for the hind legs. So much so, in fact, that the front legs are a brick-built riff on the idea, and the end result looks great!

If you’re not familiar with the kitbashing dieselpunk world of Maschinen Krieger, why not get a taster in our archives?

A touch of old-world class with the Citroen B14

It’s easy to take Krzysztof Pusz’s LEGO Citroen B14 at face value. With its old-world charm and understated elegance, this classic European vehicle would have warranted a feature even if it were merely on a plain background. It’s our preferred photographic presentation, after all. But the location and photography elevates this car to something of a more breathtaking status. Krysztof tells us the photo was taken at the courtyard of the Brzeg Castle in Poland. The light colored tan and white stonework of the building contrast nicely against the dark blue and black of the classic Citroen. The tan wheels that match the background is an elegant touch indeed.

Cleave through the air with this clever LEGO speeder bike

Does anyone remember the LSB contests? For the uninitiated, LSB stands for LEGO Speeder Bikes. These days, it’s primarily a group over on Flickr full of wonderful speeder creations. But as Charlie Jones reminds us, there were a handful of contests run through said group, too. Charlie has been busy building a handful of speeders to remember them by – and we’re particularly taken by the Carmine Shard here!

Seeing it in such a dynamic pose is cool, but even members of the Guavian Death Gang need a rest now and then. And this shot gives us an insight into how this build started, too. It seems that a minifigure cleaver can slot through a minifigure’s legs and double as a speeder saddle! An ingenious connection, which is sure to be a boon for LSB builders everywhere. On which note – I’m going to see if I’ve got any cleavers myself…

A Schwimmwagen The Central Scrutinizer would approve of

LEGO builder Martin Spunkt presents a satisfying amphibious Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. It’s rugged features, heightened stance and oars assures us that this little beast can do some serious off-off-off roading right into the water. It’s a far better ride to haul band equipment around than the ’54 with a mashed-up door. He situates the vehicle in a grungy garage setting; a white zone, so to speak, which I presume is for loading and unloading only. My question: Is Martin even aware of the Frank Zappa reference staring us right in the face? Sound off in the comments if you’re in the know.

LEGO motorization from an era of steam mechanisation

I love seeing old ideas for things that never got beyond the prototype stage. That’s particularly true from the early age of mechanisation – crazy ideas like steam cars or balloon ships look more like steampunk fiction than reality. Take this steam tractor, built by LEGO builder Nikolaus Löwe. Nikolaus is no stranger to sci-fi creations, and indeed that’s what I figured this was. It looks very functional, and yet like nothing I’ve ever really seen… And yet, it was real! This is a model of an early Hornsby steam tractor, of which only one was ever made. The model itself was not a commercial success, by all accounts, but early prototypes did result in the tracks being dubbed ‘caterpillar’ tracks on account of their caterpillar-like motion. Indeed, the Hornsby firm would eventually morph into the company we know as Caterpillar today.

Oh, and speaking of motion – see all those functional-looking gears and Technic axles? They’re not just for show, you know! There’s a great video showing off all the tractor’s functions, including an impressive differential steering mechanism – check it out!

Warning: speed hump ahead

Camel crossing ahead. One hump means we’re in dromedary country, specifically a dustry stretch of desert highway en route to Pakistan. Dessis Bosman has built a LEGO truck that’s up for this rigorous road — a Scania LB141 in the livery of Dutch hauler Rynart. Bult at 1:13 scale, the truck is a beast. And at ~160 studs long, it also qualifies as a SHIP. Around 1000 2×4 tiles went into the tarpaulin alone.

Dennis had previously built a Scania LB141 in the yellow livery of British shipper Astran, and used the chasis as hte foundation for this new build. The truck takes advantage of an incrased range of parts in dark azure to match the Rynart livery.

Drive on for more pics of Dennis’ desert-ready truck

With great trucks come little vans

In many countries, trucks with oversize loads, like the transformer transport I built several weeks ago, are commonly accompanied by escort vehicles. They warn other road users and their drivers can help the trucks’ drivers to navigate tight curves or narrow streets.

In the UK, such escort vehicles are usually vans. Obviously, these tend to have high-visibility markings, which, to me, makes them attractive as Lego builds. My latest two models represent two rather different examples: a Ford Transit and a Mercedes Sprinter.
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A slithering throwback to a simpler time

This LEGO creation by Djokson is called Mamba Marauder Snake; three words I’d love to get on my resumé but alas my job experience is mostly Excel spreadsheet related. I’m seeing a lot of tasty parts from the DreamZzz Action Race Car set. I’m particularly loving the watchband and green canopy. The builder’s inspiration though comes from this little racer from back when Donnie Darko was seeing creepy bunnies. Darko, creepy, and bunnies are three more words I’d love to see on my resumé but my work mostly involves boring meetings.