Tag Archives: VW

What a long, strange trip it’s been for this VW T1 Kastenwagen

LEGO builder Isaac Wilder is sort of a master at creating patinaed vehicles, but he didn’t perfect the technique instantly. He tells us that way back in August of 2020, he approached legendary builder Simon Liu about patina techniques and he gave him some sage advice. This turned into a small “patina collaboration” of sorts, and, speaking from experience, it’s kind of magical when that happens. Isaac is also an admirer of VW Life on YouTube so, over time, he kept up with his inspirations and practiced the patina look and now we have this.

Volkswagen T1 Kastenwagen

In a vehicle with this much character, it makes you think of the adventures it may have had. Perhaps it had a fresh, psychedelic paint job during the Summer of Love; maybe its occupants made tofu and granola in it for years at a time; or maybe it was involved in a medium-speed chase from the fuzz in the 80s. Oh, the stories this VW could tell! Just be prepared for deep introspection and the munchies because I’m pretty sure Kastenwagen translates to “contact high”.

A sick slammed cambered Beetle

In my neighborhood, you can measure douchiness by the angle of the cambered tires. You tilt those puppies more than fifteen degrees and you know that driver has a flat-brimmed ball cap, smells of Axe bodyspray, and never uses their blinkers. But as a car enthusiast, I think I can cool my judgemental jets for this amazing slammed cambered LEGO Beetle built by Hagen Oscarson. With its black and red color scheme, flashy rims and classic air-cooled Beetle shape, this slammed bug has all the makings of something that makes my heart go pitter-patter. It seems that this may be the first time we’ve featured Hagen’s work but with LEGO automotive styling this good, I think we’ll be keeping an eye out for whatever else he might do. And Hagen, this juuuust might inspire me to camber my own snazzy Bug. But then again, maybe I won’t. My blinkers get a lot of use.

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

The bats on the bus go round and round

If any version of the Batman was going to drive a modified VW bus, it was going to be the 1960’s Adam West incarnation. 1saac W. has created the ultimate hybrid with this Bat Bus – a tricked out version of one of 1saac’s other great automotive recreations, the Volkswagen T1 Westfalla. (Westfalla. Get it?) This model uses stickers and some parts from the 76188 Classic Batmobile set to great effect – Bats is ready to hit the road in style.

The Bat Bus

Continue reading →

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

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

Iconic VW Golf GTi Mk1 in LEGO

The Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1 first went on sale in Germany in June 1976 and was only available as a 3-door version. Although the Golf was meant to be a small, fuel-efficient car model, a group of VW engineers worked on the sport version in their spare time. To many, the Golf GTi Mk1 is the boy racer’s car of the 1980’s and Joe Perez has captured its distinctive form in LEGO.

Golf GTi Mk1

Golf GTi Mk1

Click to take a look inside Joe’s VW GTi Mk1 and under the hood

LEGO doppelgänger of a VW doppel kabine

The Volkswagen Westfalia camper van is one of the best known of the VW vehicles — especially amongst LEGO fans following the release of 10220 VW T1 Camper Van. The next van was logically named the Type 2, and within the variants was one particular model known as the DOKA or doppel kabine.  Jonathan Elliott has built a great looking LEGO version of the DOKA — a flatbed truck with an extended cab and two rows of seats. The use of the 1×1 printed VW tile from 10252 VW Beetle is a nice touch and the minifigure heads as wheel rims really look the part at this scale.

Lego 1967 Volkswagen T2 Doka - 01

One variant down, several more to go Jonathan… Can we have have a Type 2 Kombi next please?