Tag Archives: Volkswagen

This Martian Botanical Unit is like, far-out, man!

We’ve seen plenty of LEGO space rovers lately but Isaac Wilder clearly has a good sense of humor about his. With its 3D-printed custom rims, it’s more of a psychedelic VW T2 campervan than a Mars rover. However, should we ever explore Mars, there is some good reasoning for having a mobile botanical unit to either analyze and collect the plant life that may be discovered there or to seed our own once we terraform the Red Planet. Along with it, you would certainly need a gentle, laidback botanical enthusiast with a knack for making plants grow. Do we know anyone like that? This dude definitely doesn’t harsh my mellow! If you’re hip to it, why not discover other reasons why we think Isaac Wilder is, like, one with the universe. While you’re at it, don’t bogart the love. Be sure to check out these space rovers built by others, brah.

Martian Botanical Unit

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Where’s Herbie these days?

It’s been a long time since everyone’s favorite love-bug hit the big screen. From 1968 to 2005, millions of hearts were warmed by the sentient VW Beetle’s escapades. But somehow, with as awesome as he is, he still winds up broken down and abandoned from time to time. (Lame humans!) But who knows where he is these days? According to Hachiroku92, he’s in a barnyard someplace, needing a little love. This sad but adorable LEGO version of Herbie makes great use of the small quarter-round curved slopes for that iconic body shape, and adds frying pans for headlights. That windmill is excellent too!

Stick around and you’ll find more Volkswagen builds and news in our archives! How do you feel about the new LEGO Volkswagen T2 Camper Van? Tell us what you think in the comments?

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Building a remote control police van [feature]

As a child I literally dreamed of having a remote control LEGO car. I’m not an experienced Technic builder, though, and the LEGO electronics I had in the eighties weren’t up to the job. So actually making this happen took a long time.

I had to combine different systems for adding electrical functions to LEGO models, but now I’ve finally done it. My new Dutch National Police Volkswagen Transporter drives and steers using IR remote control. It also has a working siren and lights. Nonetheless, it has opening doors and an interior, so it looks just like any of the other vehicles I’ve been building for years.

Continue reading →

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Who you calling’ Shorty?

Sometimes bigger projects get furloughed by a lack of parts and waiting on orders. In the meantime, Isaac W. has whipped up this LEGO Volkswagen T1 Shorty with the parts he had on hand. It reminds me a bit of the zinger custom car phenomenon of the 70’s. What’s neat is the 15-stud long kayak is just slightly longer than this Shorty T1. Cool, right?

Volkswagen T1 Shorty

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Lime Drop

LEGO car builder Tony Bovkoon has done something you don’t see much of. You take a Volkswagen lime and white T1 campervan, drop the stance, move the rear engine to about mid-chassis and give the whole shebang a dropside bed. Fenders bring some of that lime color to the rear of the build and a keg-style fuel tank in the bed finishes out the look. This is the kind of thing that only makes sense in dreams. My dreams anyway, and probably a few of Tony’s. If you’re interested in having the kind of dreams Tony and I have, here’s a thematic tie-in that might get you started.

Volkswagen T1

The doors open, it has a fully detailed interior and all the niceties you can expect from a LEGO vehicle of this scale. This photo best illustrates the engine, truck axle, and ground scraping stance.

Volkswagen T1

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Roofs? Where we’re going, we don’t need roofs [Video]

Iconic cars need no makeovers, but one way to make a car even more special is to make it topless. This is exactly what Alexey Tikhvinsky did to the famous 10187 Volkswagen Beetle set from 2008. More than a decade ago, a bulky model in a rare dark-blue color became an outstanding example of car model-making, which later resulted in a lineup of LEGO Creator Expect cars. Tan/brown pieces give the car some strong retro vibes. Although most of its body has a great resemblance to the original model, there is a fully functional chassis hidden underneath. Equipped with an independent suspension and a functioning gearbox, this Beetle has to offer much more than meets the eye.

Volkswagen Typ 1

The car is driven with three new Powered Up motors (just like the recent LEGO Technic 42099 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader set). The new powerful motors are perfect for such a heavy body. Bonus points are for a functioning gearbox. Thanks to the two sets of gears the car can be turned into a crawler, capable of conquering some of the steepest terrains outdoors. The winch in the front of the car is also functioning and can easily pull the car’s weight.

Volkswagen Typ 1

It would be unfair to leave our readers without a video of the model in action. As usual, the nearest skate park turns out to be one of the most suitable filming locations.

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Ich bin ein käfer

Alright, I’ll keep this short and punchy. Speaking of short and punchy, Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) has built a car. When I ran the LUGNuts group I had built at least one car every month for ten years so I was a bit of a kingpin in the LEGO automotive world. After retiring the monthly challenges, it is understandable that I wanted to take a break from car building do some art, gaming, and blog all about your creations instead. After nearly two years, I return to car building with this Volkswagen Käfer Racer based on a Hot Wheels design.

Volkswagen Käfer Racer

The requisite round corner bricks are currently not available in yellow so instead of replicating the Moon Eyes design, I went with a primarily red color scheme and used stickers from the 8041 Technic Racing Truck

Volkswagen Käfer Racer

The shell can be removed to reveal the seats and massive V-8 engine within.

Volkswagen Käfer Racer

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These Volkswagens will leave you with the BUG to GOLF

When it comes to building classic cars out of LEGO bricks, Volkswagens have remained a popular subject. While there are plenty of great LEGO Beetles and Transporters out there, it’s nice to see something from the 1980s like Brixe63’s VW Golf Cabriolet. One of the challenges in building the Golf is capturing the subtle angles of the body. Brixe63 has managed to pull it off, right down to the tilt of the windshield. The 1×1 tiles placed within clips work well as mirrors, and the silver barbs make for nice door handles.

VW Golf I Cabrio.01

The builder also made a slick-looking version of the classic VW Beetle. Here, Brixe63 proves as adept at replicating the Beetle’s curves as she is with the subtle angles of the Golf.

VW Beetle .01

She even built a fleet of Beetles, including a convertible and police car. With the top down and a lovely tan and green color scheme, the convertible is my favorite of the three.

3 VW Käfer

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This LEGO Volkswagen Beetle is a Bumblebee in disguise

For those of us who were in our early teens in the eighties, Michael Bay got it all wrong when he made his first Transformers movie. Listen to me, Mr. Bay: Bumblebee turns into a Volkswagen Beetle; not a Camaro. Travis Knight, the director of the new 2018 Bumblebee movie, was a teenager in the eighties and is a self-confessed Transformers fan. He nailed it.

We’ve already featured a really sweet LEGO version in Beetle mode by hachiroku24 and a screen-accurate Bumblebee robot by ekownimako. However, they don’t actually transform. I happen to think that this a pretty essential feature of any Transformer.

Making it transform is certainly not easy, but I pored over pictures of new Bumblebee toys released for the movie. I also happen to have a LEGO Beetle design that I like, which I could use as a starting point. It is quite small, though, at about 19 cm long (roughly 7 inches) and there is a lot of stuff that needs to fold into it. The end result is flimsy, it doesn’t really want to stand upright unsupported and it’s not nearly as nicely proportioned in robot mode as in the movie, but it works: the Beetle unfolds into a Bumblebee.

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LEGO Bumblebee in beetle form is one sweet ride [Instructions]

The new, much-anticipated Bumblebee movie has inspired LEGO fans to build some fantastic creations recently, from this large-scale figure by Ekow Nimako to this transforming model by Jerry Builds Bricks and this cute model in Volkswagen Beetle form by hachiroku24 is the latest. One of my favorite details is the gently curving back of the car, which very closely matches its real-life inspiration. The extra curvy front wheel well is also a very nice detail and helps to complete this iconic car profile.

Lego Bumblebee car MOC

Click through to see the parts list and instructions to build your own LEGO Bumblebee

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This mech is serious about fun at the beach

There’s one at every beach, looking just a bit decrepit, with ratty curtains in the windows and a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. The Volkswagen Van has been captured as LEGO sets a few times, including the hugely popular 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van (still available after more than 7 years). David Liu has used 31079 Sunshine Surfer Van (not officially a VW, but who is LEGO kidding?) as the basis for a rather spectacular mecha. But this mech has a very important purpose!

How to build a perfect sand castle

Find out what this mech does after the jump

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Like an elephant, the trunk’s in the front of this Volkswagen Beetle

Lennart C is no stranger to the pages of The Brothers Brick and returns with another iconic vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle Type 1! While the Beetle may have been knocked off the best-selling charts by the ubiquitous, evolving Toyota Corolla, the world’s longtime “Most Popular Automobile” can live on in our hearts with this stunning, slick black edition.

Volkswagen Beetle (1)

The model boasts some really great features for being such a compact creation, including working doors and engine lid, and teeny tiny foot pedals. Printed pieces from the official 10252 Beetle are smartly placed, and I’m pretty sure the seats have some degree of reclining action. Lennart is also already putting newer pieces to good use: the new 1×2 plate rounded with open studs is tucked away in the tail lights.

Volkswagen Beetle (3)

If you like this Beetle, check out more Volkswagen action in our archives!

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