Here at The Lego Car Blog we can be a bit guilty of leaning towards creations with twelve motors, fifteen sets of LEDs, and six programmable bluetooth controllers. Because we are (and this will no doubt come as a surprise to readers of a niche website about Lego cars), nerds at heart. Not Brothers Brick levels of nerdiness, but still.
Creations featuring the aforementioned suite of electronics are often amazing in their operation (there’s one before this post and there’ll be another after it too), but they’re also out of reach for many Lego fans due to the cost of the components within them.
Thus today we’re replacing resources with intellect, thanks to this superb fire truck by Flickr’s Jeroen Ottens.
Featuring just a single Powered-Up motor, Jeroen’s fire truck can rotate, raise, and extend its ladder, all of which can be controlled independently, plus deploy four stabiliser legs too. An ingenious gearbox – activated mechanically by levers mounted on the sides and rear of the truck – takes the motorised power to where it’s needed, whilst the model also features mechanical steering (front and rear), as well as opening doors and hatches.
It’s a brilliant example of Technic engineering ingenuity, and you can take a look at how Jeroen has done all this with just one motor at his photostream. Click the link above to get the fire brigade.
*Today’s wonderful title song, featuring equally wonderful moustaches.