Spacehog

This is the Neo-Classic Space ‘Hedgehog’, so called because it looks almost exactly nothing like a hedgehog. But it is so cool. Built to “search for any form of life on an alien planet”, the ‘Hedgehog’ features “an array of antennas, radars, and sensors”, the most interesting of which is the enormous rear-mounted floppy-eared thingumy that rises to attention courtesy of inbuilt pneumatics.

That pneumatic system also allows the entire behemoth to rise on its suspension, much like a Citroen DS, enabling it to clear whatever the alien surface is littered with, before slinking back down when an elevated ride height is no longer required. A superbly detailed mini-figure cabin, some sort of mega propulsion system at the back, and knock-out detailing throughout make this one of our favourite Neo-Classic Space creations so far, and you can head to an alien planet in search of life courtesy of legomess of Flickr, where loads more images and video of the model in action can be found.

Flying Buttress

The Jaguar XJS is a rare sight these days (away from the banger track at least), and as a result is looking ever more beautiful, especially from this angle. Those are ‘flying buttresses’ and – as is often the way with unique designs – they weren’t appreciated in their own time. They look awesome now though, and Stefan Eekman (aka Sebeus I) has captured them beautifully in brick form as a gift for a colleague. Fly over to Flickr or Eurobricks for more.

Land Speed(er) Champions

It’s been days without a car and… um, that doesn’t change today. But today’s model is inspired by LEGO’s car-iest of themes. And it’s really good. Tim Goddard has channeled the Speed Champions line (and windshield) for his Land Speeder Champion, and you can enjoy the mash-up on Flickr via the link.

Wind & Wood

There are a lot of brick-built boats happening on Flickr for some reason. And boats are not cars. But that’s ok, we still like them, particularly when they’re pictured in a scene as lovely as this one.

Thomus Bean is the builder behind this beautiful forest lake, with the wind whipping across it to propel the regatta. Forced perspective and ingenious parts use make it worth donning your woolly hat to take a look, and you can join us on the shore being stung by the wind via the link above.

AI & 25 Million LEGO Bricks

One LEGO’s most brilliant features is that it is almost endlessly reusable. Sure if it ends up in landfill it’ll take four thousand years to degrade (and even then only into microplastics), but if it’s passed on, it could be played with for four thousand years too.

That reuse-ability means that old LEGO has value, which is probably why The LEGO Company continually proliferate the number of piece types, so there’s always more LEGO to buy.

It also means it’s worth sorting a few hundred old unused LEGO bricks, because its reuse is worth something. But what if you have 25 million pieces?

Well in an old mill in Lancashire, England, WeBuyBricks and their ‘Wallace and Gromit’-esque ‘Brick-O-Matic’ have so far sorted 25 million LEGO bricks (plus all the other crap that inevitably gets mixed in with them) for reuse.

Using cameras and AI, the company’s ‘Brick-O-Matic’ can identify two LEGO pieces a second, using jets of air to sort them by category and even reconstitute them into sets for sale.

WeBuyBricks currently have over 10 tons of bricks waiting to be sorted, and at the time of writing you can buy a literal ton of LEGO for £6,499. Which would take some explaining to family members.

You can check out WeBuyBricks’ inventory or sell your own unused pieces via the link above, whilst we award them 1,000 TLCB Points for not only enabling the reuse of an astonishing amount of LEGO (and an old mill), but also for finding something genuinely useful for AI to do.

Now where’s our box of old jumbled Space and Pirates?….

Flat Earther

What’s blue and white and flat? Well according to a particularly niche group of society, the observably spherical planet which we call home. Because conspiracy, ice-walls, domes etc. Well TLCB is jumping on the flat bandwagon today because we’re got this lovely early-’70s blue and white Ford F-250 flatbed. Built by Flickr’s Sseven Bricks it’s both assembled and presented beautifully, and you can head across the flat disc to see more via the link above. Just don’t get too near the edge or NASA will disappear you.

Fire in New York

All fire trucks are cool. But FDNY’s are particularly so, what with them having to reach the skyscrapers of Manhattan making them, well… massive. Cue Mirco Hussmann of Eurobricks, who has created three enormous trucks from FDNY, each of which is astonishingly lifelike in both looks and motion via a combination of LEGO Power Functions components, 3D-printing, BuWizz bluetooth control, vinyl decals, and Beier USM sound modules.

Working features include remote control drive and steering, turning and elevating ladders, automatically-levelling buckets, accurate lighting sequences, and even working pumps, switches and water cannons.

A host of metal parts including differentials and linear actuators replace plastic LEGO ones in order to cope with the extreme stresses, and you can find out more about it all comes together, the third-party components used, and the real FDNY trucks upon which Mirco’s incredible creations are modelled via the the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above to call 9-1-1.

Past Master

TLCB staff do not like the modern Volkswagen Golf GTI. Too heavy, too powerful, too expensive, too automatic, and with cabin controls that even VW themselves acknowledge are total crap, what with them being invisible in the dark. But hey the front grille lights up! Sigh.

Yes we’re grumpy old men today, because we much prefer this, the mid-‘80s Mark II Golf GTI. Low power, low weight, and not a touch sensitive unlit temperature slider in sight. Although they aren’t ’in sight’ in the modern Golf either, which is the problem.

This splendid Speed Champions recreation of probably the best Golf GTI of them all comes from regular bloggee SFH_Bricks, who has nailed the brief.

Just over 300 pieces, instructions are available, and you can head back to when hot hatches didn’t need three sub-menus to change the stereo volume via the link above.

Make-a-Mecha

Italian concept artist Marco Marozzi has appeared here (and better sites) numerous times with his incredible mecha creations.

Complex mechanical characters “that belong to plausible industrial, military and science-fiction worlds”, Marco’s models blend all manner of styles, themes and LEGO pieces into remarkably cohesive builds that look unnervingly real, if only such contraptions existed in full size.

Now after several years gracing the pages of sites such as this one, Marco has released design dossiers for some of his stunning concept models.

These are not instructional books (although as many of the models’ components are photographed individually they will undoubtedly give a helping hand to builders looking to recreate Marco’s works), rather they explore “the design thinking, evolution, construction choices and visual identity behind an original brick-built mecha”.

At the time of writing three are available (or will soon be), with TLCB having been given early access to the first, and you can find each – and discover more about the artist behind them – via the link below.

Click here to view the Marco Marozzi Design Dossiers

Cyberbricks

We’re often recommended models hosted on Instagram by our readers here at The Lego Car Blog. And many are awesome. However we unfortunately can’t feature them, because – in most cases – Instagram forces account creation just to view them. Not that Meta is desperate.

So we decided to create our own Instagram account, to at least start publicising the creations we write about there. And…. we can’t. Not unless we create a Facebook business account as well. Not that Meta is desperate.

So we’re still not on Insta. But one reader (and previous bloggee themselves) reached out to an Instagram-based builder and suggested that they upload their creations to a free-to-view platform too. And they have. And they’re awesome.

These are the works of mocbyendo, who’s now on Flickr, and we suspect you’ll be seeing rather more of in future…

Inspired by various Japanese car sub-cultures, concept art, and the modified car scene, Endo has created an array of outlandish creations including this cyberpunk Mazda RX-7, wide-arch Toyota Mark II, and… um, whatever the car below is. Mechanical components such as turbos, exhausts, roll cages, intercoolers and batteries are all superbly replicated in brick form, with many models further enhanced by custom decals, wheels and tyres.

Endo is still adding more creations from Instagram to Flickr and you can check out the three pictured here, plus lots more besides, via the link above.

Delivery Details

Recent bloggee Fukku Guen has appeared here a few times of late, thanks to some rather wonderful detailing. Even the most humble of vehicles, like this simple 7-wide box truck, are packed with lifelike additions, in this case including a full tank, exhaust (complete with cab cut-out), mirrors, side reflectors, and rear under-guard. Building instructions are available too and you can head to Fukku’s photostream via the link above to see more models like this one.

The Streets of San Francisco

Is there anything more 1970s than a brown police car crashing through some gratuitously placed boxes? Of course not, and Flickr’s SvenJ. takes us straight to ‘The Streets of San Francisco’ with this fabulous early-’70s Ford Galaxie as driven by Lieutenant Mike Stone and Inspector Steve Keller. Usually through some gratuitously placed boxes.

Clever building techniques and wonderful detailing match the top quality presentation, and there’s lots more of Sven’s seventies Galaxie to see via the link above. Plus you can hear tyres squealing on gravel and watch a few shots used twice in the hope TV audiences wouldn’t notice in this glorious ‘The Streets of San Francisco’ montage!

Keep on Tumblin’

The Tumbler is – and no arguments here – the best Batmobile bar far. Which is probably why it has both appeared here at The Lego Car Blog and been turned into an official LEGO set more times than any other of Batman’s rides.

Despite the proliferation however, there’s always room for more Tumblers, particularly when they are as accomplished as this.

Constructed by Eurobricks’ MAP Tec, this enormous Technic Tumbler is fully remote controlled, with twin XL-Motor drive and Servo steering, plus shooting rockets, an opening roof, and moving aero wings via an M-Motor each.

There’s also suspension from and rear, a working steering yoke linked to the aforementioned Servo, and a full suite of LED lights.

Building instructions are available, and you can head to the Eurobricks forum to find them, all the imagery, plus videos of MAP’s model in action.

Small Scenes

We like vehicular models here at The Lego Car Blog. Which might be stating the obvious somewhat. But we also like it when they’re placed in a brick-built environment to match, as both of today’s creations have been by their respective builders. Martin Spunkt has positioned his early-’70s GMC Sierra Grande (itself based on the design of another TLCB bloggee) inside a workshop, whilst Fukku Guen has created a lovely autumnal street scene for his JDM kei truck. Both vignettes include a range of details to add to the visual narrative and you can step into each via the links above.

Flipping Dominant

Le Mans is currently in a golden age, with multiple major manufacturers building wild bespoke racers for the top class. Three decades ago, things were just as good.

The top GT1 class led to the creation of some incredible cars, with one of the most famous being this, the spectacular 1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK LM.

Powered by a 5-litre 600bhp naturally-aspirated V8, the CLK LM was designed to dominate GT1. And it did, winning every single ‘98 race bar one, with only Le Mans eluding Mercedes due to a double retirement.

This superb Speed Champions recreation of the ‘98 CLK LM comes from previous bloggee SFH_Bricks, who has replicated not just the amazing proportions of Mercedes’ GT1 racer but the famous ‘D2’ livery too.

Beautifully presented, there’s lots more to see (including a link to building instructions) at SFH’s photostream, and you can dominate the ‘98 GT1 Championship via the link above.

1999 would not go so well…