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).

From the ashes of a Fiat 500 comes an Auburn 851

I believe “totally stoked” is the correct medical term used to describe some of us when LEGO came out with the 10271 Fiat 500 set. It’s an iconic little car, which would have been exciting enough but heart palpitations reached critical max when it was realized the set would be primarily comprised of a rare light-yellow color. This meant builders could come up with our own lemony-bright creations in due time. Australian automotive engineer Peter Blackert loves a challenge. (You have no idea!) An Instagram follower asked him to do this and he answered the call of duty using only parts from a Fiat 500 set (or two) to build this 1935 Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster. The doors open and I particularly love that the convertible top works using the same canvas part from the set.

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A tiny cyberpunk car with big style

LEGO builders frequently take inspiration from video games. This cute little car by Sheo., from the upcoming CD Projekt game Cyberpunk 2077, looks like it rolled right off the assembly line. It wouldn’t surprise me if this compact vehicle, which is probably electric, turned out to be the fastest car on the block and it’s probably packing some serious heat as well.

Burnouts in the parking lot

Living near a school that hasn’t housed actual kids in several months, I am sometimes subject to seeing or hearing vehicles doing burnouts in the school parking lot. It’s a bummer because usually, the vehicle in question is a big honkin’ pickup truck with flags supporting a certain recently ousted public figure. I’d be slightly more thrilled if the neighborhood nuisance had a vehicle that looked a bit more like this LEGO chopped drag rod by Faber Mandragore. I love the use of Modulex bricks in the building in the background. The plate-built smoke plume is so convincing, I can just about hear the squeal of burning rubber on asphalt. No, wait, that’s actual burning rubber outside. It seems our neighborhood nuisance is back! While I deal with that, go ahead and take a gander at this builder’s archives.

The Toyota Stacker does the heavy lifting so you don’t have to

For those undecided whether or not you want to see any more cool LEGO creations today, don’t worry, I just made that decision for you. André Pinto does all the heavy lifting with this stunning Toyota forklift. I would have been impressed enough with the lift’s many controls and overall look but André goes above and beyond with a simple yet detailed environment including a safety sign and fire extinguisher. While the builder doesn’t state this model actually works, it looks as if it can be rigged with power functions. Upon closer inspection, I can see that the shifter knob is an eight ball. Nice touch, André! We’ve been smitten by his detailed work before. This is probably the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve seen a small dog startled by her own farts.

Bin there, done that

I can’t help borrowing the title for this post from the description of the build by Jonathan Elliott — it’s just as good as the truck itself. Not only is the model 6-stud-wide, but it is also a very accurate copy of Phoenix dustcart, which must be familiar to our readers from the UK.

The design of the rear part is particularly impressive. The loading mechanism turned out impressively neat and compact; the design is so clean, it makes the truck a perfect example of efficient design. I wonder what the truck would look like with a massive ad on its side, but I guess like it tidy better.

Case and Bunning! They’re hard-boiled cops! Or farm equipment.

As much as I would have loved to have written an edge-of-your-seat cop action drama, this will be about farm equipment. Still, you’ve got to appreciate the love and attention Michał Skorupka gives to these LEGO creations. The red tractor is the International Harvester Case 1455 XL while the blue thingamajigger is the Bunning Lowlander 105mk4. For those of us more versed in hard-boiled cop dramas than farm equipment, the Bunning Lowlander is…a manure spreader. I’m pretty sure I can still integrate that in with some hard-hitting, no-nonsense cop drama dialogue. “My partner Bunning here has a unique set of skills, see? You don’t want to know! So lemme ask ya one more time. You feeling lucky, punk?” In case you are feeling lucky and would like to stick around for a while, why not buckle in and check out our vehicle archives featuring farming vehicles, police vehicles and everything in between.

Mr. Mercedes makes many merry motorcars

LEGO car builder Jonathan Elliott tells us that boxy small-scale saloon cars like this classic Mercedes are fiendishly difficult to build, even more so then their curvier sportscar counterparts. I’m inclined to agree. This model is chock full of tricky SNOT (Studs not on top) techniques and complex offsetting. But I love its understated elegance. We’ve enjoyed Jonathan’s small-scale vehicles before. If vehicles of any scale are your thing, then I’d advise you buckle in and check out our archives. There’s some automotive gold in there for sure.

For any load, any road the 1950 GMC has everything!

I like it when a LEGO creation has me searching retro ads for title inspiration. This retro red slice of pickup truck heaven is brought to you by Dallen Powell. All the shapes and curves of the 1950 GMC are represented nicely with this model. I particularly like the hood and the door handles. That gascan in light gray can only be found in one DUPLO set, the 18808 Little Plane.

The open hood reveals the inline six in blue. The doors and tailgate open and this model seems to have steering capabilities as well. The 1950 GMC pickup is perfect for all your fruit, vegetable, and fishing needs. That last bit was not a line stolen from retro advertising but rather thought up on my own. Brilliant, right? I’ll be expecting mail from GMC soon. Whether it be a check or a cease and desist order at least I’ll be happy to know they’re thinking of me.

The distinctive markings of British emergency vehicles

A lot of young boys want to become policemen, firefighters, or paramedics when they grow up. I, too, was fascinated by emergency vehicles. There was something about their bright markings, flashing lights, and sirens. As an adult, I realise that the work done by emergency services can be far from glamorous, but emergency vehicles do make for fun and attractive LEGO models. So, I have built models of vehicles from Tokyo, New York and the Netherlands. For years I’ve also had a collection of vehicles from the UK. In the last few weeks, I had a go at building a few newer ones to replace models of vehicles that are no longer in service. They are a long-wheelbase Ford Transit van, as used by the London metropolitan police, and a Mercedes Sprinter ambulance used by the London ambulance service.

For most builders, myself included, painting LEGO is not an option. I do use stickers, but I build most of the color scheme into the model. Because of this, it can become integral to the model’s construction, and I very much enjoy figuring out how to include a particular pattern. Given their colorful liveries, this applies to models of emergency vehicles in particular. Nowadays, most British emergency vehicles use a distinctive checkered pattern, known as “battenberg” markings, after battenberg cake. On the ambulance, I built its blocks using green and lime green parts. This was not easy. The vertical boundaries between them have to line up with features of the vehicle. Furthermore, the blocks on the side of the van body all have the same length. Due to the scale of my model, I couldn’t recreate them using the straightforward studs-up building. So, I had to get creative. I ended up building most of the blocks sideways, to make them just a plate narrower.

The London metropolitan police switched to yellow and blue battenberg markings in 2012. Older vehicles still use a livery called a “jam sandwich” though. This, too is very distinctive: it’s a gold-colored stripe with orange and blue stripes above and below it. This was a lot easier to build. Frustratingly though, I did have to contend with variations in the gold color of the various elements, including multiples that came from the same set.

A high-visibility pattern of yellow and orange chevrons covers (part of) the rear of both vehicles. As I did with most of the lettering, using stickers for those would have given me a cleaner look. However, I do like the LEGO-like look I get by building them using bricks and plates. My vehicles are unmistakably LEGO models. Yet, almost anybody who knows what the real ones look like will recognise them.

I can’t imagine that Transit vans like mine will remain in service for much longer, but that is just the excuse I will need to build a newer vehicle in a couple of years’ time.

Cruisin’ cyberpunk style

Ever wonder what the Batmobile crossed with a DeLorean would look like? I think Jerry gives us a good idea of what that thought experiment would physically yield with his LEGO cyberpunk vehicle build.

The back of this car is what really gives me the DeLorean vibes with its boxy, beefed up rear. I enjoy Jerry’s use of the red 1×2 grille pieces for backlights — this color choice really pops against the black and grey color scheme, yet also compliments the yellow that’s accented briefly throughout the work.

Jerry also utilizes different rims for the front wheels versus the back wheels which is a bit of a visual trip from the norm. Overall the work can be construed as a fusion of multiple fantasies as well as a good mix of parts from different vehicles in the LEGO Speed Champions line and perhaps some other themes, who doesn’t like a good mashup?

Cab-Over, Down Under

In other news today this LEGO render by Tauriel1 is totally something I’d be into. So much for unbiased reporting, then! With copious chrome, bitchin’ exhaust pipes, a flashy color, retro curves and mean honking’ tires, this cab-over truck checks all the boxes that makes my heart go pitter-patter. The builder, who apparently hails from Australia, tells us they were just having fun with this and keeping their mind occupied. If this is how they spend their time, then I will totally tune in to their frequency again sometime to see what they’re up to. Now that you all know what tickles my fancy, Christmas shopping for me has been made that much easier. You’re welcome, readers. You’re welcome.

An oldie but a goodie

Classic car season has just passed, and most owners of these oldies have presumably tucked them away safely into garages until summer rolls around again. Lucky for us every season is LEGO season and we can always check out some brick-built classic beauties like this 1940 Ford Coupe built by Isaac.

Isaac renders the sleek body of the Coupe using some bricks and a lot of slopes and tiling – all in black. The grill vent panels in the front of the vehicle are astutely comprised of technic gears and the windshield is minimally rendered with black antenna levers going up into the roof of the car. Isaac also cleverly uses grey minifigure hands to style the back bumper of the vehicle. Overall I would say this model is a pretty accurate recreation of the old school automobile, and it certainly gives us something to look at while indoor season in many places around the world begins.