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).

Racing for the best lap times around the block

While today’s kids have rad smartphone-controlled quadrotors to play with, there’s something nostalgic about a simple, old school R/C car. Arran Hearn induces such nostalgia with a LEGO R/C racing buggy and radio transmitter pair. Bright colors, excellent proportions, a clever parts usage for the antenna, and just the right amount of detail in the body and shock absorbers makes Arran’s R/C buggy pop.

The detail on the bulky radio transmitter is incredibly lifelike. A quick glance and one would think it could control the buggy above.

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My friends all drive Porsches, I must make a LEGO Porsche 911 Targa

When it comes to designing jaw-dropping models engineered from LEGO parts with an insane level of detail, then the Arvo Brothers should be one of the first names that comes to mind. Spanish brothers Ramon and Almador have brought us iconic LEGO models like Kaneda’s Bike, the Alien Xenomorph, and their Vespa P200, and they have just taken their latest model for a spin. The Porsche 911 Targa drives on the line between a coupé and a convertible, and this model is a fantastic LEGO rendition of the luxury sports car. The smooth curves are beautifully captured with the usual high standard we have come to expect from the Arvo Brothers.

Not content with engineering a beautifully shaped model, the Arvo Brothers have also added some functionality with doors and a rear boot that open. Check the tan leather interior, its just calling you to jump in and go for a ride.

This is not the first Porsche 911 that the brothers have built; back in 2009 we covered their version of the Porsche 911 Carrera. It is interesting to see how the introduction of new parts and techniques have allowed that earlier Porsche model to evolve into something far more beautiful. If you want to build your own copy of the Arvo Brothers’ Targa, they are making the instructions available for purchase as a PDF.

Vroom vroom chugaboom

We’ve covered our fair share of LEGO hot rods, but here’s a refreshing steampunk take on the style from Martin Redfern. The scale used allows Martin to pack loads of smart touches into this delightful dark red automobile. I particularly like the front grille, the horn, and the driver himself — his pith helmet and monocle fixed firmly in place.

The vehicle’s engine is an obvious highlight, so I was delighted at this view which allows us to take a closer look at all the details Martin has lavished on the model…

Truck will make you (sand) green with envy

Designing a large-scale heavy truck in LEGO has never been an easy task, but hardcore builder Dirk Klijn challenged himself to build an FTF Roseboom from the late 1980s — and in relatively-rare sand green bricks no less. Normally you wouldn’t describe sand green as any kind of screaming color, but mixed with dark green and those bright red wheel rims it turns this truck into genuine eye candy.

Thanks to the model’s long wheelbase and bulky body, Dirk managed to pack the truck with a full set of motors controlled via an Sbrick. This gives the model full remote control while preserving the cockpit’s interior…

Truck stands separate from the others

This orange truck by LEGO 7 is a nice little build, but perhaps unremarkable — until you spot the clever use of the orange brick separator to provide the stylish stripes of the tipper bed. This is a great example to show anyone who ever talks about “useless parts” or “specialist pieces removing the imagination from LEGO nowadays”.

You can get a better view of the truck’s rear in the image below, and see the shaping the brick separator provides to the lip of the tipper. Sometimes the deliberate use of an “unusual” piece can stick out like a sore thumb, a gimmick rather than really adding to a model. But that’s not the case here — the separator is well-integrated and genuinely enhances the creation.

One man’s window decorations are another man’s rover wheels

Serbian builder Milan Sekiz surprises us with a truly remarkable design of rims for his newest futuristic rover named Duster. Rounded 1 x 4 x 1 2/3 windows work stunningly well shaping both round and elliptic wheels. Rounded windows like these can make any building look very elegant, but coupled with Technic chain tracks, they contribute a lot to this vehicle’s somewhat militaristic look.

Chunky fire truck to the rescue

It doesn’t matter what age you are — everybody loves a LEGO fire truck. This impressive beast from S Asbury doesn’t disappoint with its beefy proportions and use of custom chromed elements.

The truck is built “seven-wide” — a relatively unusual standard in the LEGO world, but one that pays off here, giving the vehicle a real sense of heft and scale. Such a design decision makes for a more complex building experience though — LEGO tends to be better-suited for even-width building. You can see how the builder has had to use a combination of plates on the underside…

And what rescue vehicle would be complete without an extension selection of on-board gear. This model fully delivers, with a number of well-stocked compartments…

All-in-all, this is a cracking model — an air of the “official” LEGO City style letting it fit into any brick-built scene, but at a scale that creates some sense of realism. Big enough to tackle any rescue, small enough to still look kinda cute. Lovely.

LEGO Slammington can never go rusty

One of the most famous rat rods is Rusty Slammington, the Supra-powered, rust coated, slammed BMW street rod. Unlike a hot rod, a rat rod will have a tarnished, unfinished look and is made to be driven rather than simply to be a pristine reproduction. This LEGO version of Rusty Slammington by Calin Bors is not adorned with decals and decoration, but instead manages to capture the unique shape and style of Rusty. The mixed palate of browns, black and dark orange is a perfect combination to represent the destroyed look.

There’s no need to be careful going over a speed hump with Rusty; just go for speed and let the frame rails produce the some street fireworks.

LEGO on the fast track with a Nissan GT-R Nismo

With a £150,000 price tag, it’s clear the Nissan GT-R Nismo is not a car for driving to the supermarket and back quickly when you run out of milk. The fact that renowned LEGO car builder Firas Abu-Jaber built a LEGO version and said it was his favourite car, makes it even more apparent that this is a special vehicle. The name Nismo is just a contraction of Nissan Motorsport, and this supercar is all about speed, control, and performance on the track. Firas’ LEGO version is brilliantly accurate with some skilled building techniques used to get the shaping and the coloured components spot-on.

See more of this super-fast LEGO supercar

’32 Ford Deuce served in true vintage style

This classic hot rod, built by Andrea Lattanzio, doesn’t have a bright red or racing green paint job, but a rather more drab shade of tan. Officially known as Cordoba Tan, it was a colour used almost exclusively by Ford, and the actual vehicle depicted is a 1932 Ford Deuce 3 Window Coupé. The hot rod is awesome, but for me the background workshop with its vintage details draws the whole image together. I love the vintage Coca-Cola bottle vending machine, the palate with Esso oil spilling onto the floor, and the retro radio on the window sill.

This particular Deuce was built in California and shipped to Japan where its new owner lives. Takehito Yamato contacted the Walden Speed Shop in Pomona, California, to order a traditional hot rod. Andrea has also captured this hot rod’s details in LEGO as you can see from the broken-down view showing the red Chevy ZZ383 with aluminium heads in all its glory.

Vivid pink is the fastest colour there is

Mecha are a very popular subject among LEGO builders, but even after all these years, there are still very unique ones that pop up every now and then, most often due to new exotic pieces being released. Such is the case with this sleek racing mecha called the Running Flamingo, built by Bob DeQuatre, utilizing the relatively new balloon building pieces as armour plating.

The build is an interesting balance of elegance and bulk, which the builder weaves into a cohesive whole. All the technical details are so realistic (as far as science fiction goes) that I can almost hear the pistons sliding and gears turning.

Keep on truckin’ with a Peterbuilt 352 110 Cabover

If you find that the boot of your car (or trunk, for those across the pond) is not quite big enough to transport your LEGO collection, then this heavy hauler should do the trick. André Pinto has built a LEGO Peterbuilt 352 110 Cabover in its original paint scheme of blue and white with just enough glinting chrome to catch the eye of those truck admirers out there.

André’s model might not use much fuel, but the cab can tip just like the real vehicle to show off the chassis and lots more chrome, especially those exhaust pipes.