God Save The Queen Round Up

In this month's God Save The Queen build challenge we were tasked to build British only cars, trucks and bikes. They have a rich automotive history and I figured it would be great to tackle some very Eurocentric designs...plus listening to a bunch of British punk rock while building was an added bonus. At least that's what I did, anyway. Lets see how everyone else faired, shall we?

Normally you'd have to wait awhile to see a creation from Ralph Savelsberg, but this time he had a little advanced insider info on the challenge as his acute automotive knowledge was needed to flesh out this British only theme. The result; this stunning Jaguar Mk VII complete with a happy newlywed couple. I couldn't think of a better way to start off this jolly good challenge!



Then this happened. Asman5 had a short run with us. He sort of lived up to his name and the irony of that wasn't lost on anyone. He could barely grasp the English language, yet he insisted upon taking a leadership role by launching his own "bild chalig" and running with it. His photos were dark and grainy...like this "convertaball mini". This was actually one of the only photos our moderators could accept as the others were not even clear as to what they were.



His quality of LCAD renders were...um...slightly better but still under par from what we expect from passionate and talented automotive enthusiasts such as yourselves. Even though he was brand new, he seemed to want to take over the group from within with his odd phonetic way of writing. Even with warnings and personal counseling, he seemed unwilling to change so the other LUGNuts officers and I rightfully decided it was best to let him go sailing off into the sunset.



With that unsettling business behind us, we move on to something we prefer to see in our group...this elegant pair of LCAD Rolls Royces by Superkalle. One is a Rolls Royce 1957 Silver Cloud and the other is a 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom. Great job all around!



Our co-founder Nathan Proudlove has been keeping himself pretty busy lately but being a good sport, he found the time to squeeze in this sweet little entry, a minifig scale gray Land Rover Defender. It uses some rare retro parts underneath for the suspension and the result is rough and tumble...all British, all Land Rover action!



Great minds think alike...or at least they did almost two years ago when Bill Ward built this Land Rover...also in gray. LUGNuts challenges are generally for NEW MOCs but yanno...Bill is the founder of Bricks By The Bay and an all around stand up nice guy. With no prizes, sometimes you can just let little things slide...the fact that it's a pretty sweet Rover certainly helps. We're still onto you, Bill. ;)



Speaking of sweet, Firas Abu-Jaber drops by with this stunning Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead convertible. This car exudes elegance and class from every angle. This is what makes British automobiles...and Firas' model great. And just when we thought Firas' talent was derived from the Gods, did you see his recent pics? Both he and his girlfriend are drop dead hotties! Good fortune certainly smiles on that one and we're sure glad to have him on board.



And what drop dead hottie would be complete without this 1997 Aston Martin V-8 Vantage built by Tim Inman? Tim is already a talented builder, but we've seen some vast improvement with last month's challenge and this month proves that wasn't a fluke. Build and photo quality has been noticeably better as evidenced by that elegant roofline and front air intake. The shiny hubs, courtesy of Chromebricks finishes off this build very nicely.



Tim keeps the high photo and build quality going but switches up the color scheme with this 1976 Jensen GT. Tim tells us that only slightly more than 500 of these little British bad boys were ever made in its two year production and was powered by a snappy little Lotus 4-cylinder engine. As the British would say...smashing!



When I first wrote this challenge, I had a short list of British automobiles I'd hope to see. On it was a classic Mini Cooper so that's why I'm glad that someone as talented as Jason Son had pulled through with my telepathic request. As if reading my mind, he also made it a white rally racer complete with roll cage and fire extinguishing equipment. Jolly good!



And Speaking of Rally racing, roll cages and firefighting equipment, Lino Martins (hey, that's me!) conjures up the most underdogginest of British cars with this Hillman Imp. As mentioned before, I listened to a lot of punk rock while building so its no surprise I've also included a proud British punker fig to go with it. "Oy, bloody hell bollocks!", he would say if he wasn't made of Lego.



I wonder if his name derives from dyslexia...or perhaps I have dyslexia, because when I see this name typed out...daxolesa, I get dyslexia. Try saying that ten times fast! Anyway, dyslexia...er...um...I mean daxolesa breaks a long streak of all white cars with a tiny Rolls Royce in charming blue.



Rambunctious Raphy builds us a tiny Jaguar Series II E-type coupe. From the back it sort of looks like a Deora front but the real front is all Jaguar front. Confused yet? The back looks like a Deora front but but its a Jaguar back and the front looks like a Jaguar front...ah, never mind!



Dohoon Kim enters a McLaren F1 in red. He tells us its his first time photographing a MOC outside. Don't worry, Dohoon, we're all nervous the first time. Actually, come to think of it, I've never photographed a MOC outside. All my business is done strictly indoors. I guess that makes me a big, fat, 38 year old MOC outdoors virgin. Yep. I haven't lived.



Alexander Hoogerwerf musters up a brand new Bentley Mulsanne in sparkling red. He tells us its very British, something the Queen herself would be driven around in. With the sparkling crown as a hood ornament, we're just going to have to believe him on that one. Good show, old chap!



No stranger to outdoor MOC photography, Dylan Denton takes his 1981 Lotus Esprit Turbo outside and photographs it exposed in front of God and all the world to see. Adding to a long string of white cars. this fine auto has pop up headlights and nice green trim. Hey, Lotus, your headlights are showing!



J0n4th4n D3rk53n builds us a neat little custom Metropolitan Austin in yellow with a red and white flag on the roof. I didn't recognize the flag as being English so I looked it up. Turns out, it is very English indeed. First hoisted in 1191, the historic Flag of St. George became England's flag in 1278. It was only later when the diagonal red cross of St. Patrick (Ireland) and the diagonal white cross of St. Andrew (Scotland) was added make the iconic Union Jack we know today. Smart, Jonathan. Very smart!



Lego Guy pulls through with another very British vehicle on the short list I'd hope to see...the iconic red and yellow LDV Royal mail van. Being an American, its easy to think that all mail trucks are stubby little white and blue numbers but its great to see the world has a lot of variety to offer. Why we could do a challenge just strictly on mail delivery trucks of the world and not be bored with it. Just a thought.



sam2442 offers us a 4x4 Land Rover powered by 2 power functions xl motors, with return to centre steering (also powered by pf motor), 4 bar suspension, portal axles, working headlights, and rechargeable battery. Thats all tecno-babble for one tough and capable mamma-jamma! Brilliant!



What would LUGNuts be without our usual end of the month run from Peter Blackert? He starts us off with "not a white car, nor a Land Rover" but instead one of the most successful British Formula 1 Racers - the 1968 Lotus 49 Grand Prix racer adorned in lovely early 1968 livery, British racing green, with yellow stripe. Perfect!



Next on the slab is an Aston Martin DBR9 Gulf Racer - 2008 in traditional light blue and orange Gulf colors. The old English red and white flag adorns the side proving that the rest of the world already knows the origin of the British flag...I humbly plead ignorance. Sigh.



And "for all you eco-greenies out there" Peter whips up the 1985 Sinclair C5.Designed by ecentric technology millionaire, Sir Clive Sinclair, the C5 was designed to take advantage of Uk road rules and to not exceed 15 mph (24km/h) and was made to be driven without a driver's license. Hear that, Ralph? This could be your chance!



Peter takes requests with this new green Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe. He tells us Lego green is hard to photograph but I think he pulled it off really well. On a side note, I find that anything purple totally freaks out my camera. The purple object turns blue and a white background turns fiery yellow or orange. Has anyone else encountered that or am I the only one not bright enough to work that out? With me not knowing about the original English flag I'm willing to admit I might be the only dumbass around here.



Another British vehicle on my short list that I'd hope to see is a traditional Routemaster RM London Red Double Decker Bus and Peter pulls through with pizzazz. Peter tells me the 384 number out front is the same number as the official Lego London bus set of yore...cool! And check out the Lego Times mosaic work on the side.



Another classic car on the London scene is the Austin FX4 Classic Black Cab.The car itself is great, but I'm digging the Miniland figure to go with it...love the detailing on his jacket!



Lastly on the lego911 slab is this Ministerial Rover P5 3.5 Litre Saloon done up in dark gray. All three can be seen either alone or in a stunning diorama featuring Classic London Street life from 1965-1975.



Interspersed throughout Peter's end of the month showdown is Ricecracker's Ford Transit farmer's truck done up in lovely blue complete with oversized carrots and apples. I'd happily buy those from that little farmer!



jake shows up with a classic MG TC. He tells us its his first classic car and I'd have to say it turned out pretty well. Jake tells us cheerio, pip-pip and all that good British dialog...turns out Jake really is from England. Blimey!



LegOscar graces us with a black Rover SD1. In a build challenge filled with photographic firsts, Oscar tries placing the model on a sheet of plexiglass for the first time for that nice reflective surface effect that the likes of Firas and others use. I'd say the effect worked out pretty well. The model is great looking all around...even its undercarriage.



marioman3138 gives us his first LUGNuts entry, a Jensen Interceptor. He tells us help would be appreciated...I say welcome to the world of LUGNuts...with practice and patience your automobiles will only get better from here.



Well that was a nice end to our all British build challenge I think it turned out bloody smashing! As scary as that sounds here, its actually a major compliment in England. Incidentally, this challenge tied in with another non-car related group...there wasn't as much hubbub in that group but be sure to check out the entries in the Battle Bugs challenge also called God Save The Queen, including a hornet built by yours truly. Lets see how we do this month in Size Matters...a challenge where we build any car, truck, or bike we want...in multiple scales! See ya on the flip side, old chaps!

Kickin' It Oldschool Roundup

What happens when a bunch of LUGNuts get all nostalgic over pre-1950 cars? Well turn up your hearing aids, grandpa, cuz you're about to find out! And we'll try not to use too much hip young slang that will only confuse you and enrage you more...like "Kickin' It Oldschool" or "Fo' Shizzle". Well, there goes that promise. Lets just see how we did, shall we?

Usually you got to wait until the last minute to see Lego911's 30 or so entries. This time he jumps in right away with this Irving Napier Golden Arrow. It broke the land speed record in 1929 doing over 231 mph or 372 km/h to the rest of the world. Then the driver died the very next year trying to set the land speed record...over water. Wouldn't that be a water speed record then?



Moving from the land speed record to something much slower, 911 whips up a Renault 6CV Taxi de la Marne. He tells us it was so named due to the strategic use of ferrying French troops from Paris to Marne in September 1918 during the Great War. You oldsters remember the Great War, right?



Designed prior to the Second World War, and hidden away from the invading Germans, this little Citroen 2CV had a remarkably long production career. 1948 - 1990. Thats about how long the Simpsons have been on the air. Maybe. Probably. What do I know?



Next on the Lego911 slab is this Auburn 851 Boat-tailed Speedster from 1935. There were a couple of Auburn Boat-tails in this month's Rod and Custom magazine in the Dream Car of the Month section. Yep, so this is totally relevant then...unlike all the other times where I try to make some joke about me being pulled over in Wyoming relevant.



Far from done, in fact just warming up, 911 then conjures up this little Ford Model A Coupe from 1928. See kids, this is what they look like before they get all hot rodded out with giant Hemis, racing tires and lime green and orange flame jobs. See, this is like being in a museum except without the creepy old guard staring you down and we don't close at 4pm.



Also from 1928 is the Ford Model A roadster...its like the other one except without the roof. I bet it was a real chick magnet back then!



Speaking of chick magnet, looks like this little miniland fig nabbed himself a pretty bride with this more formal Ford Model A Town Sedan used as their wedding car. It's so much classier than driving off in wedded almost bliss in a 1970 Ford Pinto like my parents did.



Also from 1928, 911 renders this neat Duesenberg Model J Murphy bodied Convertible Coupe. I get the impression Peter just opened his 1928 CAD file already stored on his hard drive and just went completely nuts. I got to learn first hand just how extensive Peter's Lego rendered car files are. I'll give you more on that later.



But first, here is a 1932 Ford V8 Street Rod. Now this is how they look after they've been hot rodded out...fenders removed, stance lowered, racing tires, chopped off, roof exposed oversized V-8 engine and a flashy fast paint job, in this case dark blue with a bright orange racing stripe.



Next Lego911 stirs up a Duesenberg Model SJ Weyman Speedster, this time from the 1933 file. Peter tells us no cars of this magnificence survived production after WWII. Lucky for his extensive CAD files then. Wanna know just how extensive they are? You'll never believe it. I had a chance to talk to Peter face to face. Yep, he flew all the way to the Pacific Northwest from Australia to visit family, but he also took some time to visit me.



Next on the 911 slab is this Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe...with rumble seat, also from his 1928 file. By this point Peter stated he was feeling a little lonely in this challenge. Granted, this was still fairly early and still a long ways before the usual challenge end rush. But you'd feel lonely too if you were the world's most prolific Lego car builder.



Lonely or not, 911 soldiers on to build two more cars, this one a Duesenberg SJ Torpedo Sedanette by Bohman & Schwartz. Using my own lego collection, Peter schooled me on a neat little suspension system for cars. Never has anything so ingeniously engineered has ever been built with my Lego, not by my own hands anyway. It was a meeting of the minds for sure, the artist and the engineer, two vastly different builders learning a thing or three about car building.



Lastly, 911 whip up this Ford Model A Leatherback Sedan. That's all he had time for as he was then whisked off in a plane heading to the US. Ok, I've kept you in suspense long enough, wanna know how many Lego cars Peter has built in his lifetime? 18,000! I didn't stutter, I didn't mistype...18,000! Never mind car builder, that has got to make him the most prolific Lego builder on the planet. I don't think even Nathan Sawaya, as famous as he is, has anything near that kind of model building clout in his repertoire. Wow...just wow! And to think, he got to visit little ol' me!



Speaking of little ol' me, Lino Martins works double duty to submit a double entry...a 1919 Ford T-Bucket modeled after the design and color scheme of a Fokker DR1 Triplane. Heh, yeah, I still giggle every time I say it. Fokker. "I expected better things from you, Fokker!" Robert De Niro said that in some movie. If you want to see the worst people on the internet, build a plane. It wasn't so much people plural but more like one guy with some crap comments. Anyway, the black and white triplane is just like the more famous Red Baron, except this one is at the Seattle Museum of Flight. I always wanted to build it.



Stirring up much less controversy and critical distain was my second entry, a '31 Ford roadster hot rod with a green on black flaming paint job. I like to think of it as having just as much bad attitude as my other MOCs but with just a fraction of the size.



Gambort, the other Australian LUGNut...the one that didn't bother to fly out to visit me ;) has concocted a Scammell Mech Horse with an old timey speed boat. He demonstrates how you can break the rules intelligently. His boat, like my triplane, is not allowed in a automotive group such as ours...but pose them next to a car or towed by one...and its all good. You kids can learn something from that.



Much later in the challenge, Gambort gives us an old-timey 40's era racing car in bright yellow. This is how they looked before they were Formula One racers...like sleek banana shaped cars. Tasty!



Right around this time in the challenge, it seemed that if you weren't Peter, you were building black and white T-Buckets, like this 1923 black and white T-Bucket built by J0n4th4n D3rk53n. Its got a neat aggressive stance and I'm digging the pipes.



Next on the Jonathan slab is a nice restored 1929 Ford Model AA also in black and white. They didn't invent color until like the 60's right? Right? At any rate, I'm digging the custom Jonathan license plate curtsey of heather LEGOgirl. Neat!



NK Designer proves once and for all that color was invented way before the 60's with this bright yellow generic roadster from the 30's or 40's. Its sort of like an Oldsmobile, sort of like a Morgan and all alternate model for Creator Cool Cars set number 4939. I'm digging the unusual technique for the fenders.



Dohoon Kim adds a slpash of Spiderman colors to his 1922 Ford T-Bucket. Its single side pipes and its tilted windshield make it an unusual T-Bucket indeed. I'm digging the engine and aggressive stance.



You can't have a pre-1950's oldschool challenge without a woody of some kind. This is why I'm glad Tim Inman pulled it off with this stunning '48 Chevy Fleetmaster Station Wagon. War efforts made it so most steel was used towards tanks and planes so many cars of that era utilized wood for almost everything aft of the firewall. Back in my brickshelf days I built a blue woody similar to this one but mine didn't come out nearly as sweet. Awesome job, even for a heavy hitter like Tim!



Another heavy hitter on the scene, Nathan Proudlove tries something new with his 1940 Ford custom truck. Usually, he drops a final product on us like a bomb, but this time he eases us in with a slew of work in progress pics. The end result, I think, is just as amazing as if he surprised us with it. Just look at that angled lip along the edge of the bed, the swooping fenders, and be sure not to miss the gravity games skate ramp the truck can pull on his photostream. All of it signature Proudlove!



Dover sneaks in this entry from another challenge. He tells us it has more of a 50's vibe...actually, the box art tells us it has precisely a '57 Del Rojo vibe...which technically doesn't quite belong in a pre-1950's challenge. But Dover is a nice dude who works at the Lego store so you can't fault him all that much, plus he made it look almost like an official set, which is neat. If there were prizes involved we'd probably have to nix this one, but...no prizes, no harm, no foul.



Azaghal Gabilzaramul builds us a 1936 Avions Voisin straight out of the 2005 film Sahara. I didn't see the movie but I wonder if its anything like Death Proof where Stuntman Mike drove it and it was 100% Death Proof, except you had to be on the driver's side to benefit from the effects... What? No? It wasn't like that? Oh. Well...hmmmm.



"Phew, I made something!", says Ralph Savelsberg, our resident Mad Physicist. That something happens to be a pretty neat little yellow five window coupe with a red flame job. Its nice to see Ralph shed his...um...conservative roots for this wild and crazy custom ride. I think we can turn Ralph to the wild side. Maybe when he finally gets around to owning a car it might be Ed Roth's Mysterion. No? Too wild? Ok, maybe a five window coupe like this one...tan with off-white flames. ;)



Almost matching that description is Zenn's rod called Lucky Strike. Zenn tells us this little hot rod is inspired by 'Cry-Baby', 'American Graffiti', 'Deuces Wild' and our rather silent, yet highly pivotal LUGNut, Misterzumbi. Now that's hot!



Sprogis Peteris tells us that some dozens of crazy mustachioed mechanics shed some blood, sweat and tears in order to produce this "Mustache Speedster". Oh boy, the mustache jokes are just piling up here but I'll let you insert your own. This MOC produces more questions than answers. Sometimes you guys just make it too easy! Hey, at least its original.



Perterz gives us his first ever entry into a LUGNuts challenge, a hot rodded out flatbed truck. Normally I'd say the fiery yellow photography can use some brightening, but in this case it gives it a nice old fashioned sepia feel...as if this was an old photo found in the back room of some garage somewhere. I'm digging the environment, too.



The usually talkative Raphy tells us only two words, both in a foreign language. Deja vu is fitting in the sense that we've seen some nice large scale builds from him before and it looks like he ain't ready to quit yet. He reaches for his trusty tiny turbos rims and uses them for exactly what they're intended for...engine parts for larger scale models. This '49 Chevy 3100 Thriftmaster called "White Rat" has all the makings of an advanced young builder...in the making. The demure white is a decidedly grown up color while the chrome rims, courtesy of Bricksonwheel's shop adds a nice touch to this classy ride.



John conjures up this Austin 7 Pearl in striking red and black. He tells us its just meh, but I'm seeing some rather difficult build techniques here. The windshield is only 3-wide but subtly fades into a 4-wide rear and the fenders are a valiant effort. Not bad for someone's first attempt at an old fashioned car.



Dylan Denton finishes off the challenge (and this pre-1950's idea) with a fitting 1949 Kurtis kraft Sport. Only 36 of these cars were ever manufactured, each in a different color so its nice to see this black and red one. Dylan tells us he wasn't sure he liked the windshield but unanimously we all say...the windshield is most ingenious! Great job, Dylan!



So, we all got nostalgic in this very special Kickin' It Oldschool challenge. I hope you all learned something from this, and remember...you can't have a 2011 Bugatti Veyron with all its modern conveniences if the Model T wasn't manufactured first. Be sure to join in on all the jolly good fun with our new challenge called God Save The Queen...all about British autos, old chap! It would be smashing if we all build the steering wheels on the "wrong" side for once and called a hood a bonnet and a trunk a boot. Oh, and that new challenge ties in with my Battle Bugs group challenge also called God Save The Queen. Clever, ain't it?