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).

This anti-gravity Wipeout Racer has a checkered history

You may have heard the humorous adage that if you paint racing stripes on your vehicle it’ll automatically go faster. In the case of this LEGO anti-gravity Wipeout Racer by David Roberts that might actually be true. He tells us that this ship was first in its class partly due to its powerful engine pack and partly due to its color scheme distracting other pilots and causing them to crash. He goes on to explain that this led to a rule change where the team had to paint their ship in a more sober pattern and thus the success of the race sadly and predictably waned. The lesson learned here is that racing fans like crazy stuff and now we can’t have nice things. Speaking of nice things, this would not be David’s first lap with brightly-colored ships and other awesome stuff. Check out our archives to see what I mean.

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Go anywhere in the rugged Toyota FJ40

LEGO automotive enthusiasts lost our collective cookies when they came out with the 10271 Fiat 500 set in bright lemony yellow. (I think I peed a little!) It was a previously difficult color to come by but as Jonathan Elliott pointed out, even with the Fiat, there are only 352 parts available in that shade, a large chunk dedicated to minifig hairstyles. This means building your own creations in that tasty color is still somewhat difficult. Boy, don’t I know it! That didn’t stop Jonathan from building a totally awesome Toyota FJ40 though. This model is so accurate it almost feels like you can actually go off-roading in it. While he is no slouch with building LEGO cars, his automotive chops really shined with this one. Check out the archives to see what I mean.

Take the Minnie Winnie on a maxi road trip

With vaccines rolling out and COVID numbers dropping in most countries, many folks are looking to travel again. However, some areas are unfortunately spiking, so airplane travel with strangers can still feel a bit icky. That is why a road trip is a compelling option for many people right now. If you still love the folks you’ve been locked up with for the last several months to a year-and-a-half, then look no further than this neat little LEGO 1977 Minnie Winnie built by 1saac W. This builder has been on a hot streak here at The Brothers Brick lately, and it’s clever build techniques like this are the reason why. I’m loving the iconic “W” for Winnebago. Or maybe it’s an homage to the builder’s last name? Oooh, maybe his last name is Winnebago! How perfect would that be? While you’re mulling that over, check out some other cool vehicles built by 1saac and many others.

This ship is barrels of fun!

While classic greys have their place, I’m a sucker for a vibrant color scheme on my spaceships. The Blue Barrel by David Roberts certainly doesn’t disappoint in that arena, with a checkerboard pattern of red and orange that really offsets the blue bodywork to make this vessel stand out. I love the smooth lines and the Technic gears in the nose.

The real treat, though, is when this baby comes in for a landing. Dave’s focus on this build was the development of hinged hatches and extendable landing gear. Fingertip pressure is all it takes to pop open the landing struts, but apparently, you’ll “need some fingernails to get at the legs and pull them out!” Truly, one of more obvious-but-still-clever uses of Technic rods I’ve seen in a while. Also be sure to spend a moment or two examining that innovative ladder. It doesn’t use standard stud attachments to hook onto the ship but rather uses 1×1 Tooth plate to hang on the cockpit rim.

Did this whet your appetite for more space-y goodness? Take a stroll through our archives for even more great featured builds!

A small truck for mammoth tasks

Like many men my age, at heart, I don’t necessarily feel all that different from when I was six years old and playing with my LEGO train. Besides LEGO and trains, as a boy, I liked fire engines, diggers and trucks, preferably with lots of lights. My latest build still fits that pattern. It is a Mercedes Actros truck with a stepframe trailer, as operated by the Dutch company Mammoet, which is Dutch for mammoth.

They specialize in heavy lifting and transport of oversized and heavy objects. So, by their standards, this truck is actually quite small. Their vehicles have an attractive and distinctive color scheme. It uses a lot of red, but the vehicles’ cabs are usually black. The trailer, built by the Dutch company Nooteboom, has a yellow edge for increased visibility. When I started building the truck, I wasn’t sure what load I’d put on the trailer, except that I wanted it to be predominantly yellow. Ultimately I picked a Liebherr wheel-loader with nicely chunky wheels. As a display base for some future LEGO event, I also built part of a road, which I decorated with some flowers and two road signs, both of which (would you believe it?) I already had as a six-year-old.

Negative space (travel)

Two of the bigger challenges that a builder can face when creating a custom LEGO creation are angles and empty space. Blake Foster has done a great job of conquering both with his Procyon Planetary Research Hovercraft. I can only imagine the number of techniques at play in creating the craft’s hexagonal outer wall. Complicating the matter is all that empty space in the center, which gave Blake the opportunity to outfit the sides of the wall with some great greebling. But I think my favorite aspect of the whole build is one of the more subtle choices – the use of the 1×4 spring shooter launchers, added so that the notch of light bluish gray from the scaffolding cuts slightly into the dark bluish gray of the engines. It’s a great touch that helps keep anything on this craft from looking like a plain old square.

Conversion Van Conversion

Sometimes the best inspiration for a custom LEGO Creation is an official LEGO set. When 1saac W. saw the brown van in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame Final Battle set, he knew he had to have one – but in classic black with stylish pin stripes. In addition to the color swap, there’s some more subtle upgrades that make the model even more accurate to the real 1970s Ford Econoline: a round window in the back, an exhaust pipe just behind the rear wheel, and even door handles made from minifigure roller skates. I bet if we could see inside there’d be some stylish shag carpeting and a rocking 8-track player.

Stolen Spyrius Technology

Back in 1994, the LEGO Space Police had to deal with one of their most challenging foes in the form of SPYRIUS, an intergalactic band of espionage agents who specialized in stealing the technology of more peaceful citizens in the United Galaxies Space Council. Now, in 2021, Spyrius has finally gotten a taste of their own medicine thanks to builder Moppo!, who has managed to steal some technology from Spyrius and used it to create this custom LEGO creation, a modern update on the Saucer Scout.

This version of the vehicle is larger, but it hasn’t lost the feel of a smaller ship perfect for recon missions. It’s still got those perpendicular engines, ready to blast the ship off in any direction, in case it needs to make a quick getaway from Space Police patrol ships in the area. The pops of lime green near the cockpit are a great compliment to the traditional red and black color scheme. And, of course, it’s not a real Spyrius set without that trademark printed tile.

LEGO Speed Champions 76905 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Bronco R [Review]

Even if you are not a motorsport geek you may have heard about the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental race known for Ford’s 24-hour endurance win. By the way, the event was portrayed in the 2019 movie Ford v Ferrari starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon. To celebrate the 55th anniversary of the legendary achievement, last August, Ford revealed a brand new Ford GT Heritage Edition. And while car collectors are hunting down the new edition of the GT, another Ford’s icon, Bronco R, is competing in one of the most dangerous off-road races in the world, Baja 1000. Together these two very different vehicles ended up in one 660-piece LEGO Speed Champions set, 76905 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Bronco R which will be available starting June 1 for US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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Honey, I shrunk the Scania

For years I didn’t really care much for minifigures. I tend to be fussy about the scale of my models and, since minifigures are far too wide for their height, it is awkward to use them with a proper scale model. Furthermore, a larger scale makes it easier to incorporate a lot of details and functionality, which are both things that I enjoy. So, most of my builds don’t feature figures.

No job too big for the Technic Rexx

LEGO Technic builder Kirill Mazurov has graced us with a vehicle so amazing it deserves a second, third and fourth look. Kirill seems to be a builder of very few words. There are no descriptions with his photos. However, he has posted a video on YouTube that does all the talking for him. This model certainly has all the working functions you’d expect from a Technic model this size. It boasts an impressive fifteen motors and twenty huge tires!

For once I’m also going to be a writer of very few words and let the video do the talking. Give it a looksy. It does not disappoint!

Turning a classic Porsche into a modern marvel

Recently LEGO has come out with the 10295 Porsche 911 Turbo & 911 Targa set. Most builders would buy the set and display it on their shelf as is. But Firas Abu-Jaber isn’t like most builders. Not by a long shot! He has used the same parts exclusively from that set and built the stunning new 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S. It features functional elements including working steering connected to the steering wheel, opening doors, hood and engine cover, and many other amazing details we’ve come to expect from Firas.

Here is another image detailing the many working features of this model.

I’ve initially thought I’d give the set a pass for its “boring” white color but one builder had me rethinking that strategy by using the parts on a sleek futuristic Porsche and now Firas has me reconsidering as well. Even our reviewer liked it. What do you think of the set? While you’re mulling that over, check out why Firas is the automotive LEGO master.