Snowed In Round Up

In this month's Snowed In challenge, I wanted to see rough and tumble vehicles made to handle the snow and ice. We're talking snowplows, ice racers, snowmobiles, arctic explorers...the whole icy works! Well, it seems I got what I wanted in abundance! Early on, we've found out that some LUGNutters have been buried in three feet of the frigid stuff nearly every day since November while others have never seen even a solitary snowflake. Still, everyone stepped up to the plate with their frosty creations. So lets sit back with some hot chocolate (spiked, if you are so inclined) and see how we did, shall we?

At the first sign of frost, Dohoon Kim is the first on the icy scene with a trifecta of rugged vehicles made to tackle the snow. The first is a neat little snowmobile for those who don't mind playing in the freezing cold. The little minifig guy looks determined to wake us all up at 5 am with his revving engine.



Sometimes when there's just too much snow for even the little snowmobile guy you have to call none other than these other minifig guys and their snowplow truck...complete with plow and caterpillar traction. Sweet!



No school snow days are merely a fond fading memory when you have this rough and tumble school bus on hand to take those crying kiddies off to school. Now you can't blame failing grades on the weather. Now failing grades are because you just suck at algebra. Ah, the memories!



Then much later, Dohoon comes back with another trifecta of icy treats. Made to tackle the snow...and to belittle nerds in the school parking lot, is this Hummer H2 in bright yellow. Now the bullies who drive them are going to have to find another way to vent their 'roid rage as the entire Hummer brand came to an end in 2010.



A snowplow tractor might be just what you need to shovel away that huge mountain of snow left by the other plows at the head of your driveway. How does he make that trans-yellow flamey light thingy float like that?



Finishing off the Dohoon Kim slab is this huge GMC Topkick 4500 pickup truck in sleek black...complete with dual stack exhaust pipes. Now thats cool!



CJay reheats some old leftovers with this Izuzu Dump Truck with Snow Plow built way back in October. There's no rule saying you can't rehash old MOCs for our challenges. Oh wait, there is! We just didn't write it down anywhere. But yeah, we prefer new stuff. Its still cool though, ya gotta admit, and like most of what CJay does a marvel of techic engineering.



Sangi13 reaches for his usual red...no, wait...WHITE pieces to whip up this '89 International Plow Truck complete with all the bells and whistles including 3-way tilt play and state-of-the-art sander and salter. And a little lime green, chrome and black thrown in...with nary a red brick in sight.



Except for his second entry...predictably all red. It's an Izuzu NPR 3500. Isn't NPR a radio program for uptight intellectuals to listen to stories about patchwork quilting or wheat fields or something? I don't know...NPR seems void of good old Rock and Roll.



Dylan Denton turns off the heat and...um...cranks up the cold (is that even possible?) with this dark green and white Suzuki Samurai amped up with tank treads and working plow. Here we see it negotiating the punishing terrain of real live snow. Lets see you top that, Australia!



No stranger to real live snow is Nathan Proudlove, who lives in the Great White North called Canada. He is, however, a stranger to his own house as he's been housesitting for a few months...which is why he's been pilfering through some kid's Lego stash to build his entries. The tundra buggy is designed to observe lots of Lotso bears in their natural habitat.



New to LUGNuts but not new to Lego is Builder42 with his bright yellow, tough as nails Arctic Exploration Vehicle. According to the link to the real thing Its actually a highly customized Humvee...which makes it totally badass. I'm glad Yoder...uh, I mean Builder42 can join in our reindeer games. Finally!



The most prolific Lego automotive builder alive has a short run this time...just one car. Peter Blackert presents a 2011 Ford Fiesta WRC in as many bright colors as a kindergartner's crayon box. At first glance it just seems like some really cool rally car...which it is, but its real counterpart made its debut in the snow and ice packed Rally of Sweden this past February. Go Team Ford!



Forget snow plows, forget tank treads, forget rally racers in bright colors. Sometimes all you need to handle the snow and ice is a good reliable SUV. Speaking of good and reliable, Peteris Sprogis conjures up some LCAD wizardry and renders a very realistic looking Toyota FJ Cruiser. There is one of these parked just two apartments down from my place and this render is a spitting image of the real thing. same color and everything.



Dan has lost his poor little dog but thankfully this story and diorama built as Peteris' second entry has a happy ending. He climbs into his yellow off roader and finds his four-legged friend in the frozen forest. (You like my use of alliteration there?) The dirt trail running diagonally through the snow covered terrain makes for an interesting composition. I'm glad it all turned out well.



Oldeconoline has a little fun and takes the challenge name very literally with this Snowed In little blue car and parka wearing would be driver. For those who have never seen snow, get a good look because this is very much a reality. Snow is heavy and shoveling your vehicle out of it is an arduous chore...but this smiling little minifig takes it all in stride!



Legogil probably doesn't see much snow all the way down in Brazil...but his research has accurately portrayed the rough and tumble Pisten Bully Rescue Vehicle. The talk of the town over in Gilville had to do with all the great little details including wench, wipers and the stretcher for rescuing lost or injured people. There's lots of nice things happening here.



When thinking ice and snow, low and sleek Formula One racers don't really come to mind, but Jmaokoen seems to pride himself in never leaving his comfort zones. He finds a way to build yet another Formula One racer, but this time specially rigged with snow skis for the Grand Prix of Norway. Its innovative, I'll give him that.



When thinking ice and snow, custom motorcycles don't come to mind either, but luckily Lino Martins was the only one crazy enough this challenge to whip up an ice racer bike complete with nasty spiked teeth to bite firmly into the ice. Its odd color scheme and overall idea was loosely based on the one-of-a-kind TGS Seppster 2.



Tim Inman tears up the snow in sleek style and luxury with this Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV. Tim tells us this sweet ride started life as a German military vehicle in the late 70's/early 80's when it was known as the Geländewagen or "cross country vehicle." Everything sounds so much cooler and efficient in German. Das Geländewagen!



If you think Tim's Mercedes would be the only big black SUV this challenge you'd be dead wrong! Rolling in just behind Tim's ride is Firas Abu-Jaber's Chevy Tahoe complete with both wheeled and snow tread conversions. This brute SUV has enough bling and safety features to keep any soccer mom riding in style and as it turns out...this was a commissioned piece to be sent all the was to the US from Jordan. May it have a safe journey.



We're not done with snow treaded black Chevys yet. Jason Son chimes in with a 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo specially equipped for homies to ride low and slow across the arctic tundra. Its all about oldschool American muscle meets frigid temeratures in this wild and crazy ride. Its like something they would have done on Monster Garage.



What did old-timey dudes do when Mother Nature dumped tons of snow all up in this piece? They probably relied on this 1929 Oshkosh Dumper and Plow built by Christophbrill. It has a rugged grey color but the bright yellow plow means serious business when it comes to clearing that pesky snow outta the way!



And what did old-timey dudes do when Mother Nature dumped tons of snow all up in this piece...and they wanted to have fun? Improbcat shows us with the right tools and a lot of know-how you can turn any Model T into a snowmobile. He tells us there were at least a half dozen companies like Snow Flyer who would do conversions like this. I wonder if they'd turn a snowmobile into a Model T.



Sometimes we play in the snow, sometimes we shovel it, sometimes we make snow forts with it. But sometimes we just want it the heck out of our lives once and for all. Thats when we call upon the big guns...the really big guns...like this JBC Backhoe Loader built by Ralph Savelsberg. I'm digging the brick built digger. See what I did there?



The Big Rafalski endured one parking ticket and a land speed record in order to make it back from Buffalo, NY to photo shoot this Plow King Snowplow. Built with only parts from two sets, the creator Fire Rescue (6752) and the creator Dune Hopper (5763), this pickup was a challenge, given its limited piece selection. I'd say he stepped up to the challenge nicely.



But young Raphy stepped up to the challenge like no other. Let me explain. The plow truck itself is Raphy's usual four wide fare, but the photography is well staged. Excessive snow really brightens the night sky and the whole scene looks so real you can hardly tell those are Lego trees back there. The lens is slightly blurred, the snow is...flour and the headlight effect was done with the help of Sangi13. Nice job, boys!



And finally to clean up this snowy mess once and for all is new guy ks51455 with his Technic Big Rig Snowplow. Here we see the bright yellow truck negotiating the punishing terrain of real live snow, proving once and for all that even in late March there is still snow somewhere. Apparently they didn't get the memo wherever ks lives that in March we should be marching into spring. Maybe next month then. Next month for sure.



Speaking of next month, its here already and we've gone to the place where beer is plentiful, David Hasselhoff is king...and they make some fine automobiles. Stick around to see how we do in the challenge aptly named Autos Aus Deutschland...all about German cars. Its like the only three German words I could get together without messing it up...actually I needed to consult someone so there goes any notion that I might be good at something. So will yours be a BMW, an Audi, a Volkswagen or a cute little Smart Car? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Until then, I bid you the only other German word I know... Gesundheit!