Jordan Schwartz (Sir Nadroj) is back to his usual capers of Disney-themed models with this Disneyland Omnibus. I particularly like the incorporation of the large curved staircase at the rear, which is a notoriously annoying piece to incorporate well into a complex model, but looks great here.
Tumbler schmumbler, if you’re an old fart like me then there can be only one true batmobile, and that’s the one from the super-camp 60’s TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward! As many of you know, this year marks the 75th anniversary of Batman, and than means we’ve seen a lot of new LEGO sets and fan builds celebrating the Batman franchise. Including one rather disappointing attempting by the LEGO company to create an exclusive “chibi” batmobile for ComicCon. So many thanks to Orion Pax for rectifying the situation with this super-accurate version!
And you can check out the full gallery of images over on Mr P’s website here.
Vlad Lisin’s outrageous imagination produced this stunning motorbike, which he says was inspired in part by Treasure Planet. I can’t get over how cool that diver’s helm looks on a retro-future cyclist, and the larger-than-minifig scale is exceptionally well done here.
Lugnuts, the online club for LEGO car enthusiasts, is currently running its 83rd build challenge, called Only in America. It’s all about cars from the USA. I decided I was going to build a typical American muscle car as my entry: a Chevrolet Camaro.
Some of you may think that there is nothing particularly special about it. It looks pretty much like all of the other cars I build: it has studs on top, brick-built windows that are pretty much opaque and, while some bits of it are built sideways, the construction does not look particularly complicated. I suppose that superficially it’s a bit old-school really.
If you are a fan of Transformers you may have realised that it is in fact the Transformer Bumblebee, from one of the Michael Bay live-action films, in car mode. It serves as the latest addition to my ever-growing collection of vehicles from films and TV series. However, you may not realise that there is more to it than meets the eye.
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If you were a celebrity in England in the 80’s, you may very well have lived in a chintzy mock Tudor mansion, similar to the one recreated in amazing detail here by Joe Perez. And there would likely have been a supercar of some kind parked outside. Similar to the Ferrari that Joe has parked outside his version.
And being the 80’s, you would have definitely been sporting padded shoulders …Miami Vice style!
And decades later, long after the public has forgotten you, and you are reduced to making occasional appearances on game shows, you would probably get someone to build a complete replica of your entire home out of LEGO. Like someone apparently commissioned Joe to do right here!
This vignette by Brick Vader uses bold techniques to create an intricate scene. I’m not sure if the garage will collapse if I lay a finger on it, but it looks good in the photo.
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another round of Friday Night Fights. Tonight we’re going to do a little modding of two of the most iconic car sets to come out in recent years. Let’s go to the tale of the tape.
In the space corner we have Massimiliano Valentini (dogens) and his futuristic custom Mini Cooper:
In the sandy corner we have Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74) and his classic custom VW camper:
As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding, by way of comment, which of these Modded Model Cars will win the battle. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, Big Batman, Maddison won 6-3. Tune in next week for another action packed edition of Friday Night Fights!
As a child, I was a big fan of LEGO’s Model Team sets of highly detailed and realistic-looking vehicles. It will be no surprise then that I also liked the Classic Beetle LEGO released more than six years ago and that I also bought the Volkswagen Camper van. To my delight, LEGO has now introduced another classic car: the MINI Cooper.
The Mini started life as a humble economy car, but with a lasting legacy. To maximise passenger space within its short body, its engine was transversally mounted and drove the front wheels, which is a configuration copied in pretty much every small family hatchback built since. Sporty versions, called the Cooper and Cooper S, became successful rally racers and celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Paul McCartney, Prince Charles and even Enzo Ferrari owned Minis. From its humble origins, the Mini grew into a cult car, with a particularly British kind of cool.
The vehicle
The set represents a late-model Mini Cooper (produced in late 1997/ early 1998, judging from the license plate) in dark green, with white stripes on the bonnet (hood), white wing mirrors and a white roof. The dark green colour is a close match for traditional British racing green and the colour scheme just screams Mini. The front of the car is spot-on, with the shape of the radiator grille, front-mounted fog lights and the silver bumper pieces. The curved elements used below the windows have neatly-printed thin white lines on them, that run the length of the car. Small details such as the fuel filler cap and indicator lights are nicely represented. Remarkably, for a LEGO set, the finished model is almost completely studless, which suggests that LEGO also hopes to cater to fans of the Mini who may not necessarily be into LEGO.
The model is not without faults, however. Especially when seen from behind, it does not look quite round enough. Having built my own models of Minis, I know that both the front and rear windows ought to be curved, but on the model they are built using large flat window panels. I also don’t particularly like the way the pillars supporting the corners of the roof are built, using 75-degree slopes covered with stickers marked with a black triangle. The stickers are intended to make the pillars look narrower, but I don’t think it really works. In fairness, though, alternative solutions would either require completely new part shapes or would add greatly to the complexity, parts count and cost of the set. Despite the compromises, it definitely looks like a Mini.
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Check out this Kickstarter project by Mark Bollobas that introduces a Lego-compatible smart brick that lets you control your power-function vehicles with a smartphone via bluetooth.
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another round of Friday Night Fights. Since large parts of this blog’s ancestral homeland (Washington State) seem to be going up in smoke this week, we thought it appropriate to turn our attention to mini-fig scale fire trucks.
In the shiny red corner, we have Isaac Mazer and his super-accurate Rescue 134, inspired by an engine from an actual ladder company of the same name, in his native Toronto:
In the even shinier redder corner, Galaktek takes a step away from the real world and goes future-retro with the FutureCity Fire Engine from the planet Incendia XII (which sounds like it probably needs a lot of fire trucks).
As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding, by way of comment, which truck is destined for glory and which is destined to rust in the fire house. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, Concept Art Ships, Jake nailed it to the wall in an 11-4 showdown against Alexander. Tune in next week for another action packed edition of Friday Night Fights!
Behold the mighty Steampunk chicken walker, a foe to be reckoned with – unless you’re a monocled Ewok in a top hat, I’m guessing. Crossing Star Wars with Steampunk is nothing new, but I like Don Solo’s take on this classic vehicle, which being spindly and awkward, was perfectly primed for an old-fashioned makeover. Don built this in anticipation of FBTB’s LEGO Star Wars Steam Wars Returns contest, which is currently ongoing.
