And see what Sharpspeed did here? its a Rogue Firepower GTC convertible followed by a Rogue Firepower FCGT Roadster/Racer thingy. Forget trying to look up these vehicles on the interwebs as they're both entirely made up cars, as typical to what Sharpy does. I guess it still follows the rules of the challenge, what with the driver's head being exposed to the open sky and all.
Sharpy chimes in later in the challenge with this...uh...dragster/roadster thingy. He tells us this is the biggest engine ever put in a 4-wide LEGO car and since I'm too lazy to look it up, I'm just going to assume he's right. Anybody else wanna claim anything? I'll just take your word for it too.
Ape Fight takes a break from fighting and slinging poo with other apes just long enough to build us this Devil-may-care-all studs-showing sports car in classic Lego style. No parts or techniques date after the mid eighties or so and thus this takes us all back to a simpler time when cheese slopes and half stud offsets were just a thing of the future.
He then follows up with a classic looking technic style Buggy with V-4 engine, rack and pinion steering and adjustable seat. Ahhh just look at that oldschool Tecnic style! Its like the 90's all over again and we were all going gaga over the 8880 Supercar set. Good times.
jmaokoen builds f1 racers. Its just what he does. He even jokes about his total predictability with paraphrasing my words: "You’re encouraged to go as different as possible on this" followed by "I guess I didn't get the memo." Here is a Formula 1 racer, true to his usual form.
Later he paraphrases the same quote again but this time maybe got the memo with this rather unusual 8-wheeled configuration. I hate to spoil the plot for ya but its another F1 racer. Every build from jmaokoen had been a F1 racer and probably every entry in the future. I also hate to spoil the plot but that chick in The Crying Game is totally a dude! Yeah.
And speaking of spoiled plots, Darth Vader was Luke's father, the killer in Saw was lying in the middle of the creepy bathroom the whole movie and it turns out Bruce Willis was dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense. Sorry to spoil all that for ya but you kinda shoulda seen all those movies anyway. Matthew Maulfair builds a roadster called Caterham. We never saw that coming!
Another plot we didn't see coming was Granada Turnier and his little yellor roadster called Yellocular. I've never even heard of the dude until this month but we're glad to have him as all builders are welcome, no matter how great or small. He seems to be an enthusiast of model railroading, The Ford Granada, and an accomplished LEGO builder. Cool!
Another accomplished builder we already know is Zenn. This month he chimes in with little Throttle Hot Rod. There is some neat parts usage here including a hammer for the door handle, a LEGO backpack and a couple of weird, unidentified thingies in the engine. They say LEGO so they are official...just can't place what they are.
With a challenge that demands no roofs its no surprise there's a lot of hot roddin' going on around here. The Big Rafalski shows us all how its done with this classic '32 Ford rod called "Dogbone". Its namesake is a nice new part used for the front bumper. I've got a slew of these bones in my Queen Anne's Revenge set and I can't wait to use them in some way.
First he throws us a bone, then later in the challenge he comes back and throws us a whole 30's era Shell Service Station with too many not-to-be-missed details to mention. Its chock full of old timey goodness and just perfect for all your hot roddin' and summertime cruising. Nice job!
And speaking of old timey goodness, fe2cruz has built us a tiny motorbike with sidecar. Its so tiny, in fact, the sidecar is a minifig castle helmet. This embodies the very definition of nice parts usage and the photography is top notch. He tells us its "for that summer camping trip where you want to scare all the dirty hippies out of the forest". Ah, dirty hippies...when will they ever learn?
I'm sure dirty hippies (and anyone for that matter) would be scared silly by Sideswipe as built by NK DeSign-er. First he's a Lamborghini Countach, then he's a robot, then a car again. And how does this fit into the challenge, you might ask? Well sometimes the driver's head is also the...uh...car's head. And its exposed to the elements. Somehow. Well its all very...um...scientific. But it works!
Intrond delivers all kinds of eye candy with this curvy and unconventional futuristic hot rod. Equally curvy and unconventional is the illustrated babe superimposed into the photo. He's becoming known for these enhanced illustrations that give his LEGO vehicles a bit of extra character...some extra zip, some bang, some Va-va-va-voooom!
Lino Martins would add illustrated babes to his/my photos too if only I knew how. Is there a button on this thingamajig that makes Megan Fox appear? What about a code that superimposes Mila Kunis into these aquarium pictures? What does this thing do? Awww crap, it erased my saved fonts! Anyway, I like to keep it oldschool as evidenced by this Green Machine. Its what all the cool kids were riding in '78.
Brixe63 adds some much needed class to this joint with her Morgan Plus 8. Yep...she's a chick and one of the world's most impressive LEGO motorcycle builders. The rest of her work is pretty phenomenal as made obvious by this roadster. This proves once and for all that this isn't just a boy's car club so I'd put away that pinup poster, if I were you. And tuck in that shirt. Maybe put some tea and crackers out or something. And for the love of God, put on some pants!
And while you're at it, clean your room! Its a pigsty in there, it looks like you invited Mickey Rourke over. And would it kill you to floss for once? And stop picking at that acne...you want to grow up looking like Edward James Olmos or F. Murray Abraham? I mean if you want to look like a beige orange peel, then pick all you want. Oh and Ace is having some fun under the Tuscan sun with this teeny tiny Runabout II.
Dandyman500 is having some fun of his own with this red and white '55 Chevy. I'm seeing some good techniques throughout the build. And I'm having some fun of my own with this writing. Can't you tell? Well, its either that or be completely bored with it. I'm sure you like the weird ramblings and crass jokes. Who reads these things anyway? No seriously, who reads these? I want to know so comment if you do.
Alcak kofte makes his LUGNuts debut with this yellow Cabrio sportster and matching trailer hauling a boat. The steering wheels for the boat rollers is a good touch and I'm digging the red interior. alcak tells us he hails all the way from Turkey. Welcome aboard!
Hailing all the way from Australia but no stranger to our challenges is the ubiquitous Lego911. In fact, 911 is so ubiquitous (look it up, kids!) he usually single-handedly submits more entries than all of the others combined. This month he must be taking it slow with only four entries...the first a 1989 Mazda MX5 Miata.
Next is the 2005 Ferrari 575M Superamerica complete with a rotatable roof and "flying buttress" rear pillars. I have no idea what that means but a buttress that flies ought to be pretty impressive. My buttress just sits on the couch, drinks coffee, and watches Family Guy reruns!
Third on the 911 slab is this Ferrari F50 Barchetta. There is no references to buttresses in this write up, flying or otherwise. But the engine was hard mounted to the carbon fiber tub. Surprisingly, I have no jokes to go with that so I'll just drink some coffee. Mmmm, Trader Joe's Dark . That's good stuff. Ok, I used my 3-5 lines. Lets move on.
Lastly 911 conjures up a 1972 Dino 246 GTS Targa in lovely blue. Pftttt...only four entries! Its like he was asleep all month or something...or maybe designing real cars for Ford Australian Division. Nah, I'd rather go with the asleep theory. But four entries is still three more than I can usually pull off so that's something.
What else is something is this Tractor Puller with real remote controlled power functions as built by vmln8r. You can throw practicality out the window as its big, scary, loud, pulls wheelies, and can pull a sleigh, which happens to be hidden by all the superimposed smoke. Its like the Smart car's bigger, louder, stupider brother. That's why I love it!
If you're like me, you've stayed up all night wishing somebody would build an orange and lime pair of go-karts. Well, thankfully it seems Legogil came to the rescue to remedy all my crying and night sweats with this orange and lime pair of go-karts. Gil informs and astounds when he tells us Art Ingels is known as the father of karting and built the first kart in So-Cal in '56. Nice!
TechnicFenix13 lives up to his name somehow with this duo of Technic retro rides. The first being a totally cool hot rod with surfboard, suicide doors and great oldschool shaping.
The second is a droptop tractor with low stance, a giant exhaust pipe and white on black flames. Its like the Smart car's bigger, louder, stupider...oh wait, I already said that. My buttress just sits on the couch, drinks coffee, and watches...said that already too. Like having a shirt full of potato chips...awww crap, I got nothing. Let's move on.
Dylan says Ace beat him to the "Under the Tuscan Sun" joke, but anyway, here is more Italian topless cruising Ferrari Dino 246 GTS. Ahh to be driving along the Italian countryside with the wind in my hair...shirtless with a midget in the passenger seat. It reminds me of...wait, isn't this like the second Dino 246 GTS entered in this challenge?!
Aaron F1 gets all up in yo' face with this Alpha Romeo Spider. Actually he doesn't. He's a man of few words, Aaron is. The only word in his write up is...front. Be sure to dig through his photostream for the riveting "side" and "back" shots. They're...exactly what you'd expect them to be.
DrZapp may appear to be about 10 years old with this rather rudimentary Blue Rocket 60's era...uh...spoiler dragster thingy. But if he's a real doctor, I'm sure he's a man of advanced education and years...somebody who could operate on my pancreas with the skill of a ninja. Or maybe he's a doctor of literature and smokes a pipe in a tweed jacket with patches on the elbows.
We know for sure Tim Inman doesn't have a doctorate degree, but he's still one smart cookie when it comes to automobiles as evidenced by this 1954 Ferrari 375 Plus. Tim asks the question; What would the Lugnuts challenge "Everything Under the Sun" be without a sleek, sexy vintage Ferrari race car? it would be a lot less sleek and sexy, thats for sure.
You know who's bringing sexy back? Justin Timberlake. Oh and the Bing-Bong Brothers with this Ferrari Dino in bright yellow. What's the deal with the Bing-Bong Bros. anyway? Are they like one guy or are they really brothers? Are they the Arvo Brothers in disguise? What the hell is going on here?! Someone please shed some light on the matter before my head explodes!
Its really a shame Rolic couldn't join us for this challenge. Wait...hold the phone! Is this an impostor or does Rolic finally have some pieces other than white? It looks like he has plenty enough black and dark red to pull off a very nice Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (topless, of course) But how did the Thin White Duke get so many dark red bricks? can someone please shed some light on the matter before my head explodes?
And while you're mulling over that David Bowie reference, check out this Lamborghini Spyder built by Mad Physicist. Ralph is a real live physicist with a doctorate and when not playing with test tubes or inventing time travel...or whatever Ralph does...he builds cool cars. Upon his suggestion, I finally read "The Hunt For Zero Point", all about anti-gravity technology. I feel like I finally know some big secrets...not like movie plot secrets but secrets that could get me killed by special agents. Awesome!
No stranger to some good secrets is Tommy n, probably. Here we see an MR2 Spyder converted into a hot rod. Its tiny and just perfect for keeping in your pocket and bringing out to play with while you wait bored at the dentist office or at the supermarket. Ok, maybe not the supermarket.
Looking almost like the Speed Racer Mach 5 is this Motorama show car built by Raphy. Its no surprise the car looks a bit like the Mach 5 as it was designed in the same timeframe, in the '60's. The man in the suit looking like the long lost 5th Beatle is the car's designer.
Raphy may have been born in the 90's but he sure knows a couple of beatnik rockabilly hipsters when he sees them. Also hip and rockabilly is their '32 Ford Hi-boy hot rod. Kinda like a real '32 hot rod, the passenger sits comfortably...so long as she doesn't have any legs. The pose looks great for the photo, though, just like something out of the pages of Ol' Skool Rodz magazine...the best magazine where everything in the title is spelled wrong.
We've seen plenty of Ferraris, hot rods, go-karts...and a few really weird things thrown into this challenge, but what happens when we're asked to build a pair of things emulating the same color scheme and overall design cues? Merely building a red truck and a red speed boat to go with it is not enough to satisfy the grueling demands of this challenge, but a truck pulling a speed boat, both with matching silver rally stripes, exposed chromed out engines and bubble tops...now we're talking! What we have then is a well thought out cohesive pair...a family portrait, if you will. This is not the challenge for procrastinators or mediocre builders, but it would make a great buddy challenge with a good pair of builders. You'll just have to tune in next month to see how we do in this challenge we like to call Two Of A Kind. I'm keeping mine a total secret that I'll take to my grave...or until I post it later this month...one or the other. But look to the skies...the truth is out there. We have the technology. Bye for now.
