It’s rare that we come across a Technic creation that genuinely surprises us. This is because a) our workforce of smelly little Elves appreciate quite a narrow range of models, mostly those with racing stripes and/or those of a transforming robotical nature, and b) because Technic builders themselves seem to mirror this approach.

It therefore makes a very welcome change to post a pair of Technic models like these, from MOCpages newcomer Desert752. Desert has built a complete mining set-up, with a huge bucket-wheel excavator and – even more unusually – a working Technic train. It’s all controlled remotely via LEGO’s Power Functions system, including the train’s movement, the emptying of the hopper cars, the rotating excavation bucket and the loading conveyer.

You can see how it all works via the link to MOCpages above where there are more images as well as a video of the set-up in action, and you can also be the first to leave Desert752 a comment welcoming him into our online Lego community.

With the Elves still moping at the cancelation of the Top Gear TV show we’re turning to you for Lego models to feature. This one was suggested by a reader, and it’s a bit of an odd creation. At first glance it looks like a neat, but straightforward, airport tug. It’s got Power Functions remote control of course, but then so do half of the Technic creations we feature these days. But it’s far more than meets the eye.

There are three XL motors for drive, plus another two servos for the front and rear steering. And then things start to get nuts:

There are eight pneumatic cylinders – powered by compressor – that extend stabilising jacks under the chassis. Why? Because this is also a crane. And a snow plough. And a bull-dozer.

Additional motors are used for power-take-offs (PTOs) at the front and rear, allowing a variety of different attachments to be connected using Thunderbirds-esque genius. Then there are another two pneumatic cylinders (taking the total to ten) that lift the two independent cabs up on arms so the driver/s can see over whatever it is they’ve attached to the front PTO. Oh, and twelve pairs of LED lights and another two motors for the winches.

We’re not sure that such an incredibly able vehicle exists in real life, but if it did it would probably be the only vehicle that would ever be needed. For anything. Ever. It’s all been brilliantly engineered by previous bloggee Desert752, and you can see more details of how it all works on MOCpages.

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The 2015 Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend (which should take the edge off the cancelation of BBC’s Top Gear*), and the big news is that Honda have decided to return to the sport after several years away. McLaren are looking to Honda to help revitalise their form (having won several world championships with them in the ’80s and ’90s), and Honda are looking for anything to make them interesting again, after spending quite some time being spectacularly boring in almost every way.

However, it was not Honda that powered McLaren’s most famous road car, but BMW, who supplied the 1995 F1 supercar with its monstrous V12 engine. MOCpages’ Paul vdB has recreated the product of that McLaren/BMW partnership with his beautiful Technic McLaren F1. His model features the huge aforementioned V12, plus a working gearbox, suspension, steering, butterfly doors, and a pneumatically operated air-brake/rear spoiler.

All of the McLaren’s details can be found on MOCpages, including digital renders of the design and close-ups of the chassis and pneumatic functions – click the link above to visit Paul’s MOCpage.

*Hopefully the return of Formula 1 will mean that the Elves’ Top Gear-related depression will disperse. We’re not really bothered about their happiness, but the news has affected their productivity somewhat. Luckily our readers have filled in the gaps; today’s creation being suggested to us via the Feedback page. You can read what we look for when blogging creations by visiting the Submission Guidelines here.

It’s Technic! It’s Power Functions! It’s Pneumatic! It can smush 17 Elves into The Lego Car Blog carpet in one go! We’re still scraping up and plumping up our flattened workers after some of their colleagues brought this giant machine into the office. It has the perfect blend of Lego features to excite our excitable workers.

Russian builder Desert752 Kirill’s land leviathan looks as though some of his countrymen have put one of their mighty ice-breaking ships onto tracks. Weighing in at 6.9kg, the handle-like gantry in the middle is actually a handle, so that the machine can be carried around. Click this link to MOCpages to see more of this beast, plus diagrams of the pneumatics and drive-train and lists of all of the PF gear that makes it function. There’s also a video of the Arctic Explorer in action.

The Ferrari LaFerrari is the stupidest name even given to a car. But what a car it is.

Powered by the combination of a 6.3 litre V12 800bhp petrol engine and a 160bhp KER system the LaFerrari could be the fastest car in the world right now – although unless Ferrari decide to let journalists test it, and until BBC’s Top Gear returns to be able to air a race between the LaFerrari, McLaren’s P1 and Porsche’s 918, we may never know.

Until then we’ll make do with this version of Ferrari’s hybrid hypercar, which was suggested to us by a reader who discovered it on Brickshelf. Brunojj1 is the builder and you can see the full gallery of his beautiful creation via the link above, including digital renders of the V12 engine, gearbox and Power Functions drivetrain.

This enormous Technic rig was discovered by an Elf on Flickr. It starts of course with the official LEGO 8258 Crane Truck set behind which Ingmar Spijkhoven has constructed a matching Power Functions controlled steered-axel trailer (complete with excavator set load). The set-up features a huge variety of working functions, both from the official LEGO sets and Ingmar’s complimenting creation – it’s definitely something we’d like to see more builders attempt.

If you own an 8258 set Ingmar has released instructions for his creation so that you can add your own trailer too – click the link above to see more.

The 2015 Formula 1 Championship kicked off in Australia last week, and with a long-absent name back on the grid. Or should we say back of the grid? Honda’s F1 return with McLaren has not been an easy one, and due to ever more ridiculous FIA rules restricting development, innovation, and fun, the once mighty engine supplier will probably be at the back for some time yet. But we like Honda here at TLCB, so we’re going to take a trip back to when they were allowed to do what they do best – innovate.

This gorgeous 1967 Honda RA300 is the work of previous bloggee Nico71, and not only does his Technic recreation of one of Honda’s finest moments look completely beautiful, it works too. There’s Power Functions controlled steering and drive, functioning suspension, and of course, a replica of Honda’s masterpiece V12 engine which powered the car to victory in its first ever race.

There’s lots more to see of Nico’s RA300 Formula 1 car on the image sharing platform Brickshelf – click here to make the jump.

I left the Jag and I took the Rolls, if they aint cutting then I put ‘em on foot patrol.
How you like me now, when my pinky’s valued over three hundred thousand,
Lets drank you the one to please, Ludacris fill cups like double D’s.
Me and Ursh once more and we leave ‘em dead, we want a lady in the street but a freak in the bed

Indeed. The sage words of Ludacris and Usher there, on why driving a Rolls Royce is a splendid thing to do. This one is a classic 1934 Phantom, built by martijnnab of Eurobricks. It’s fully remote control with a working engine, functioning rear suspension, and side-opening bonnet, suicide doors and trunk. You can see more of the Roller at the link above.

Today’s creation is one of the simpler models to appear here in recent times, but it’s no less lovely for that. Artemy Zotov makes his TLCB debut with this neat Technic Peterbilt 379. It’s got hand-of-God steering, opening doors, and – somewhat oddly – a working two cylinder engine. There’s more to see on MOCpages at the link above.

The Homeworld strategy game burst onto the scene in late 1999. It soon gained a cult following, both for its game-play and its distinctive graphic design. Many of the ships were brightly patterned, reminiscent of designs from 1970s pulp book covers by the likes of Chris Foss and Peter Elson. The designs have inspired many Lego builders, most notably TLCB bloggee Pierre E Fieschi, who has built a variety of space and ground vehicles in this style.

Flickr’s curtydc has joined in the Homeworld inspired building with a micro-scale build of massive proportions. The Baserunner is a 6×6 truck, powered by two XL motors and steered using two M motors. Neatly tucked behind X-pod lids are 6 radio control car tyres. Although they’re not Lego, were very much appreciated by our Elves for their smushing potential. The rear of the vehicle features a hangar, with space for a fleet of micro-machines. You can see these in detail by clicking this link to curtydc’s Flickr Photostream.

Getting a ticket isn’t fun, and in many cities if you’ve parked particularly poorly you might come back to find an empty space where your car used to be*.

Brickshelf’s pipasseyoyo has recreated the traffic warden’s favourite tool – the hoist truck – in Technic, and he’s included a whole host of Power Functions components too.

His build includes four motors running through three gearboxes, meaning the truck can drive, steer, tilt and lower the ramp, rotate, extend and lift the crane boom, and deploy stabilisers. Which is a lot more than most official LEGO Technic sets. You can see how it’s all packed in via the link to Brickshelf above.

*Or – if you’re an unsuspecting TLCB Elf – where your cage used to be, courtesy of a mischievous colleague.

Today we have a very special creation to share with you, one that’s had the whole office pouring over it all afternoon.

This amazing Technic model is the work of previous bloggee Lucio Switch, and it’s a sight common to all major airports, the essential Airport Crash Tender. Lucio’s creation looks – as you can see from these images – remarkably lifelike, but even more impressive is what this model can do.

Hidden inside are fourteen Power Functions motors controlled by five IR receivers and the previously blogged SBrick. These operate everything from the 8-wheel-drive, the 4-wheel-steering, the rotation, lifting and extension of the fire extinguishing arm, the emergency lights, and the direction of second extinguisher nozzle mounted on the front bumper.

Oh, and one more function… working water cannons. Yes, this Lego model really can pump water and extinguish a small fire! LEGO’s own Pneumatic System is used to pump air into the water tanks, forcing out the water for use when things are getting a bit hot. It’s probably the most amazing Lego vehicle you will see this year – you can see all the images on both MOCpages and Flickr – we can’t recommend making those clicks highly enough!

Here at TLCB we regularly mock the efforts of ambitious but rubbish millionaires who promise the arrival of a new Bugatti-beating supercar every other month. Most such companies never start production, and the few that do go bankrupt within weeks after delivering the square root of F-all. All that is, except one…

Pagani was founded in 1992 by Argentinian-Italian ex-Lamborghini engineer Horacio Pagani. Seven years later the company’s first supercar reached production, via a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, and it quickly became the new poster car of eight year olds everywhere and cemented Pagani’s membership into the premier league of supercar makers.

Fast forward thirteen years to 2012 and it was time for the risky second album. Pagani responded by launching the incredible Huayra hypercar, a car capable of pulling over 1.6 lateral G at 230mph.

A car as astonishing as the Huayra deserves an astonishing Technic Supercar build, and today’s post sure meets that criteria. Much like the Pagani company the builder of this Technic recreation is a new entrant into the premier league of supercar builders, having only been building for a few years, but with this build Francisco Hartley has made sure he’s going to get noticed.

Underneath the remarkably accurate bodywork Francisco has engineered a working V12 engine, 6-speed gearbox with clutch, independent suspension, damped gull-wing doors and – most impressively of all – the Huayra’s ingenious active aerodynamics.

All of the working features are mechanical, there’s not a Power Functions motor or pneumatic cylinder anywhere, and all are exquisitely engineered. You can see all the details of this beautiful Technic supercar on MOCpages at the link in the text above, plus you can see the features in action via the slick video below. Welcome to the premier league Francisco!

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This mighty-looking Technic LMP1 endurance racer was discovered on Eurobricks by one of our happy little helpers. It the work of bj51 and it’s packed full of Technic functions. These include all-wheel independent suspension, a working V8 engine, steering and transmission. There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum or at bj51’s website, and you can read our review of the offical Technic endurance racer set by clicking here.

Before we get called out on whether the X-Wing is going to feature in the new Star Wars movie ‘The Force Awakens’, we’ll be honest and say we have absolutely no idea – today’s title is shameless click-bait!

Anyway, whether or not the X-Wing is set for a reappearance, Flickr’s Jeroen Ottens has built it superbly from Denmark’s finest plastic bricks. His recreation isn’t simply a static model either, as he’s packed it with pneumatic functions, including moving wings, opening canopy, weapons and landing gear.

More to see at the link above there is*.

*See, we can do Star Wars too… a bit.

What could be more fun than a hoard of The Lego Car Blog Elves, balanced on top of a careering vehicle, powered by a large, metal spring? For just £17.99 for 148 pieces from our local toy shop, we decided to find out!

Opening the box revealed two bags of Lego parts and a pull-back motor plus four tyres packed loose. As usual, the tyres rolled off under the TLCB office champagne cooler and had to be retrieved by a skinny Elf. The sticker sheet was also packed loose, resulting in the usual slight crumples (come on Lego put them in a bag with some cardboard!). Lastly, came the 60 page instruction book, which thankfully no longer features the terrifying, screaming child on its back cover. Why was he so angry?

60 pages of instructions, might seem a bit over the top but remember that this model is at the “fun” end of the Technic range and aimed at builders from 7 to 14 years old. That said, some of the steps did seem a bit small, such as adding two decorative bushes to the wheel axles in the final step. If you are ever in need of a mental challenge, go and build one of the big Technic sets from the early 1980s and you’ll be thankful for Lego’s modern day approach to instructions.

Disappointingly, there is no “B” model for this set. You can buy the other “Pull-Back” model in this year’s range (42033) and combine the two sets. However, that was too much of an investment for us as we weren’t sure if this model would survive the Elves “testing” regime for long enough to be re-combined.

Having distracted all 271 Elves in the office by giving them a Smartie to fight over, we started the build. The model starts with the chassis, in short rapid steps. By step 8, the pull-back motor is already fitted. For us, the motor was the exciting, interesting bit. How powerful would it be? How long would it last? How many Elves could we smush? Just 40 more pages and we’d be there…

The build continues in, what is now, traditional Technic style, strongly embedding the motor in a frame. Disappointingly there is no gearing in this model. It’s great introduction to Technic for younger builders but perhaps some gearing would have added to the educational value and interest? Maybe the motor wasn’t up to it? Just 35 more pages to go…

The decorative “engine” of this model is a two cylinder “V”. It’s neatly made from a 57585, 3 Branch Cross Axle and a pair of wheel hubs. The stickers start to come in at this point too. Applying them looked quite fiddly. We prefer to leave our pieces clean and ready for re-use in MOCs, so fortunately we skipped that part. The instructions now moved on to make the bodywork. Lego leave adding to wheels until the end of the build. How fast would our quad bike zoom?

Page 27 has a fiddly, combined axle and peg connection, with three things to go in. It’s a bit tricky and builders at the younger end of the age range will probably need a hand here. Page 30 adds an axle to the pull-back motor and the front axle too. It turns out the at the steering handle bars are just decorative. Perhaps a simple, friction based, steering could have added to the fun by allowing the quad bike to go in straight lines or in curves? It seemed quite hard to wind the motor up. Perhaps it would be easier once the wheels were on?

A few more steps, adding familiar Technic parts and panels (there were no exciting new components hidden in this build for the collector). Then it was time to add the wheels! Even though this model is aimed at younger builders, this took three whole pages of the instructions, which seemed a little excessive. The finished article is a nicely chunky, good looking, strong toy. It easily survived being dropped 30cm onto a table, thanks to its balloon tyres.

We loaded 13 and ¾ Elves onto the quad bike in the style of the White Helmets and started to wind up its motor. After four sets of easy 30cm pull backs, which stored a lot of energy in the spring, a ratchet cut in to stop it being over-wound and broken. The model easily covered the 6 metres across the TLCB executive sun deck, spraying Elves as it went. Fortunately it is light and has a strong front bumper built into it. Parents might want to guard some of their more delicate furniture.

To sum up. Value for money: perhaps not for the parts but you can buy this model online for a couple of pounds cheaper than we bought it in a shop. The palette is just black, yellow and grey, so the parts will easily combine with parts from your other Technic sets in MOCs. There are also two pairs of useful wheels, unlike the 42033 set. The model looks good, even without the stickers and is strong, fun and fast to play with. This is the model’s best point: it’s a fun introduction to the Technic style of building and a great toy to play with once it’s built.

P.S. If you’re wondering what an Elf on a quad bike looks like, click this link.

French made, French raced, Technic LMP1 cars are like buses…

The second LMP1 car to appear here this week arrived courtesy of a reader via the Feedback and Submission Suggestions page. It comes from previous bloggee Nico71, and it is – as you can see – gorgeous. Underneath the swoopy prototype-class bodywork sits a fully functioning chassis complete with authentic double-wishbone push-rod suspension, a working V8 engine, steering, and opening doors and engine cover.

At the time of writing Nico’s Technic LMP1 racer isn’t present at any of our Elves’ usual haunts, but fortunately it is available at Nico’s own (and excellent) website, where there is also a huge gallery of detailed photos with instructions to come. For all the details click on these blue words to visit Nico’s website.

Today, like every pub in Birmingham, TLCB has three Gary’s present. These beautifully built Technic GAZ 51 trucks – in dropside, tipper and crane flavours – were discovered on Eurobricks. They’ve been built by newcomer super-jaschka and each one features a range of Technic functionality.

Our favourite is this one, the crane truck, which features a working engine, steering, stabilisers, lifting boom, winch, crane rotation and opening doors and bonnet. There’s more to see of all three of super-jaschka’s GAZ 51 trucks at the Eurobricks forum – click on the link in the text above to join the discussion.

This monster MAZ-537 logging truck was discovered not by our Elves, who are now sulking, but by one of you. It’s been built by Pavol Vanek of Flickr, and it is quite simply one of the most impressive Technic models we’ve seen this year.

The MAZ-537 was designed for the soviet military (like pretty much everything else from Communist eastern Europe) and was manufactured from 1959 until 1990. It was powered by a 39 litre 12-cylinder diesel engine coupled with a three-speed hydromechanical transmission, featured 4-wheel-steering and 4-wheel-drive, and it could carry 50 ton loads.

Pavol’s superb Lego recreation features all of this (minus the crazy gearbox), plus some clever pneumatics that allow his MAZ-537 to fulfil its post-military civilian role.

There’s lots more to see at Pavol’s photostream – join in the extreme logging here.

Bounce bounce bouncy bounce. Mahjqa has created a Technic lowrider – and it really works! Check it out at the link above, and watch it in action below.

YouTube Video: