Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Summer Of '69 Roundup

It was before my time, but the 1960’s were a tumultuous time of great political change, social revolution...and bra-burning. Yep. Women burned their bras as an act of independence and liberation from their male oppressors and us male oppressors couldn't agree more! Burn those torturous bras and let the twins hang free! Wooo-hooo! Wait, who were these male oppressors anyway? Were there actually guys in some board room somewhere stating that women's breasts needed to be bound at all times? Were they nuts? I would welcome any lady who wants to shed their undergarments...and hang around my place for a few cocktails. Maybe watch some braless movies from the 60's and 70's. And if jumping jacks on a trampoline just happen to spontaneously occur, then who am I to complain, really? Think about that, won't you? And while you're thinking about it, we have a collection of LEGO cars for you to feast your eyes on. They were built by our happy little car group for a challenge we like to call Summer of '69...all about 60's era cars. How did we do? Well, sit back, relax, unclasp your bra, and check out our entries here.

Jonathan Derksen starts us off with a boat of a car, the 1968 Chrysler New Yorker, inspired by Mad Men. Cool car, but unfortunately I've never seen the show. Were they called Mad Men cuz they were on the board that said women needed bras? I'm so glad I was able to slip a bra joke in so early after the intro. Usually you gotta wait like five entries in but not this time.

B 1968 Chrysler New Yorker 003

Next Aaden H doles out a titillating 1966 Shelby G.T. 350 in red with white rally stripes. Not only is it totally balls out awesome, but he listed all the builders who helped inspire this car. Kudos to you, Aaden!

1966 Shelby G.T. 350

You know who's a real doctor? certainly not Dr. Phil, Dr. Dre or DoktorZapp. But if our resident doctor can't perform a mammogram to save his life, he sure knows his way around an overly ornamented Vaspa scooter like the mods of England tooled around in in the 60's. It has no less than 120 headlights. Far out, man!

Mod-style Vespa

The Bing-Bong Brothers get in on a technicality with this 1972 Porsche 911 STR. While built in 1972, the Bing-Bongs tell us the Porshe's style went virtually unchanged since the 60's. So they (Maybe even he/she or it) could have just said it was from the 60's and no one would have known the difference.

Urban Outlaw 72 911 STR

Wait...is this happening already? It is, isn't it? Ok, get yourselves comfortable. get yourself come cheese and crackers. Maybe a glass of wine. Its the start of Peter Blackert's long run starting with his own personal ride throughout the 90's...a 1965 Renault 16. What some commenters thought was a stereotypical Frenchman with a striped shirt and baguette was actually Peter himself in apparently the only shirt he has ever owned...a striped rugby type polo.

Renault 16 - 1965

Did you know I have a phobia of Polo shirts? Yep, I do, and I've read online that I'm not the only one. Its called Koumpounophobia...fear of buttons, but mine is specific to polos or henleys but not dress shirts or bowling shirts. This form of the phobia is somewhat common. Pretty weird, huh? But I have no fear of this sweet pair of 1961 Dodge Polaras...Hardtop and Convertible models with their lovely...also models posed next to them.

Dodge Polara Hardtop - 1961

Dodge Polara Convertible - 1961

Onto a subject close to Peter's heart, the 1960 Ford XK Falcon Deluxe Sedan and Wagon. You see, Peter is an engineer for Ford Australia, the Falcon is arguably the most revered and important Australian vehicle out there, and Ford Australia announced that they will stop production of the Falcon by 2016. My heart goes out to you, mate. Even if you do wear polo shirts.

Ford Falcon Deluxe Sedan - XK 1960

Ford Falcon Deluxe Station Wagon - XK 1960 - Go'n Surfing

Next on the Peter slab is the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC 105-Series Cabriolet accompanied by a lovely lass in a pink swimsuit. Ah, what a cutie. She could even make my dad's rusted out Dodge Aries K wagon look good!

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC 105-Series Cabriolet

Nope, I just googled it and absolutely no one looks good next to an Aries K wagon. Care to garner some fame? I challenge you all to be the first on the internet to photoshop a sexy model next to an Aries K. I say photoshop cuz it'll never happen in real life, obviously. Trust me, it has never been done. Be sure to show it to me and I'll fave it or something. In the meantime enjoy Peter's'64 Ford Falcon 2-Door Hardtop - XM.

Ford Falcon Deluxe Two Door Hardtop - XM 1964

Ah cripes, there still like a bazillion entries for Peter. Ok, starting with this Caddy Coupe DeVille, I'll write only the punchlines. This was popular before. Here goes: Is the poop deck really what I think it is?

Cadillac 1965 Coupe DeVille

As smooth as a swede's bottom!

Lamborghini 350GT

It says here on your resume, Mr. Cheney, that you shot your 80 year old friend in the face.

Chevrolet 1965 Corvair Corsa Convertible

Father teaches his son how to fly into rage over completely inconsequential bullcrap.

Chevrolet 1965 Corvair Corsa Two-door Hardtop

And he says to the waitress...but you deep throated a hot dog in front of me. What the hell was I supposed to think?

Chrysler Turbine Car - 1963

Not so much a bellwether of the failed economy, but a bellwether of the fact that I dipped my wang in the butterscotch.

Ford Escort Mk I - Rally 1969

If I had a lawn, I'd tell you midgets to get the hell off of it.

Mercedes-Benz 600 Limousine - 1963-81

Shotgun blast to abdomen just pisses Wilfred Brimley off more.

Nissan Silvia (CSP311)

Masochist dog enjoys being walked around on a leash while naked.

Pininfarina Chevrolet Corvette Rondine 1963

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade... then try to find someone whose life had given them vodka and have one hell of a party.

Oldsmobile Toronado

Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.

Chevrolet Camaro 1969 Indianapolis Pace Car

The weather is here. Wish you were beautiful.

'Kandy-apple' - 1964 Chevrolet Impala Four-door Hardtop Lowrider

And that is how I got my head out of a peanut butter jar. How I got it stuck in there in the first place I have no idea.

Renault 4L

A swift kick to his throbbing manhood ought to keep the insurance agent at bay.


Classic 1966 Batmobile

Adam was a Canadian. Who else would stand beside a naked woman and be tempted by a fruit?

Cadillac 1960 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible

Puerto Rico is the Caribbean's number one exporter of apparel, rum, and noise complaints.

Cadillac 1960 Eldorado Seville Hardtop

Kangaroos hate rainy days because their children play inside.

Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta

I take my coffee like I take my women... alone and in front of the computer.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C Berlinetta

The theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are made entirely by lost luggage.

Ferrari 275 GTB/C Berlinetta

A child's face can say a lot... especially the mouth part of the face.

Holden 1968 Monaro HK Coupe

Is that all of them? Yep I think it is...ok, moving right along then. Ralph Savelsberg chimes in with his first entry, Eleanor, the 1967 Shelby GT500 from Gone in 60 Seconds. One time I walked by a bunch of unattended pies and ate them. They were gone in 60 seconds. I was wondering why so many people were cheering. Turns out I had unwittingly stumbled into a pie eating contest and didn't even know I had won.

Eleanor

No stranger to pie eating is Inspector Morse in Ralph's second entry. Actually I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. I've never seen or heard of the show so I don't know if he eats pies or not. Cool 1960 Jaguar Mk II though.

Inspector Morse Jaguar Mk II (1)

Isaac W. has a little Dodge Fever with this 1969 Dodge Polara California Highway Patrol vehicle. Isaac tells us it was more muscle car than a lot of muscle cars were in those days. Plus, as the old saying goes, nothing outruns a radio. So true, bro...so true.

1969 Dodge Polara CHP (Lights)

Raphy tells us he almost entirely forgot to post this '65 Mustang. Good thing he did. Otherwise the entire universe could implode due to the Butterfly Effect. You know what that is, right? Someone kills a butterfly in China and next thing you know Howie Mandel is stuck in a Texas well.

1965 Ford Mustang

No stranger to getting stuck in wells is Lino Martins. I didn't spend all that much time building this LEGO replica of Carl Casper's Popcorn Wagon, nor did I use many tricky build techniques. Yet it has become within your top 5 faved images of mine of all time. There's an unfair lesson in there somewhere about not trying hard but still coming out on top.

Popcorn Wagon

SamBoRG tries hard with his 1967 Ford Falcon XR Panel Van. The result is like mashed potatoes...white, lumpy and would taste a hell of a lot better with some butter. Nah, actually its a pretty cool MOC. It really could use some butter though. Maybe some bacon bits too.

1967 Ford Falcon XR Panel Van

NKubate does what he does best...building alternate models to official LEGO sets. F'instance if you're already bored with the totally awesome 42000 F1 racer set, you can mod it into this totally awesome Street Rod.

42000 Rod open

And his second entry is an alternate mod for his all-time favorite Creator set 5867. Oh, by the way, No Starch Press sent me a copy of his Amazing Vehicles Volume 1 book to review with the promise that I would get off my ass and actually review it. Yep. So be on the lookout for my review as soon as I get off my ass.

5867 Hot Rod

Rolands Kirpis gets off his ass and builds us something to really enjoy the summer - a '67 VW dune buggy. Neat! Although on second thought most LEGO building, and book reviewing for that matter, is done while firmly planted on one's ass. So I'll review the book as soon as I get off my ass...and then back onto it.

'67 VW dune buggy

I've never said ass so many times in one entry. Last but not least is LegoNoitallMOCs who rounds out the ass end of this roundup with this 1969 Chevy Camaro. He tells us this is part of a MOC-off with Peter Blackert. I see one entry to Peter's like 30. One thing you never want to do is get into a MOC-off with Peter. You will be humiliated like that masochistic dog who likes to be paraded around on a leash while naked.

'69 Chevy Camaro Z/28


And on that bombshell we end out roundup. How'd that go down for ya? For me it was smooth with a creamy aftertaste but I realize now is giving me a bit of indigestion. Maybe I should have left the pies well enough alone. What can I say...I can't resist a good lemon meringue. I also can't resist a chance to redo an old MOC from my shameful, dirty, sinful past. You too can make the universe right by joining us for this month's challenge called Redo and Redemption. The rules are simple. Redo an old car, truck, or bike. Make it better. And provide a link to your shameful, laughable, stupid old MOC that inspired it. Then begin the forgiveness and the healing. Its like Alcoholics Anonymous except without all the donuts and group hugs. Although I'm not opposed to either. Actually donuts and group hugs sounds like fun. Just don't get any powdered sugar on my new shirt. OK? OK. See ya next time, hug buddies!




Wednesday, July 17, 2013

A Baker's Dozen...Roundup

Bakers live the life, don't they? Theirs is a world of cookies and pies and pastry filling. They get to wear checkered pants and a white smock...and that big, puffy hat...for some reason. Its like being an international spy except instead of pens that become blowguns and Aston Martins its all about lemon meringue and fondant. They wake up at 4am so that the rest of us can stuff our pieholes with doughnuts and eclairs to go with our lattes. My big, bloated chef's hat goes off to these dedicated men and women of the rolling pin. Say, do you know why they call it A Baker's Dozen? When you bake bread, you bake 13 loaves cuz inevitably one will go sour. Pitch it and you still have 12 to send to market. Actually, the origin of the term is far more sinister than that. It dates back to the reign of Henry II when a law passed that made it so bakers had to bake an extra loaf or else lose a hand...or an ear...or something. I don't know. What am I Encyclopedia Brittanica? I'm an American so this means I barely paid attention in European History class...or any class for that matter. My talent lies in art and writing, so watch me earn my art degree with this month's roundup called A Baker's Dozen, incidentally having nothing to do with baking bread or losing an ear, but having everything to do with building from a list of 13 vastly different and balls-out awesome automotive ideas. So you can follow along at home, these were the choices:

1. Any racing vehicle...that predates 1956
2. Any vehicle for or inspired by any superhero or villain
3. 60‘s and 70‘s era Show Rods...the crazier the better
4. Mars Society needs rovers of all types
5. Any vehicle from childhood cartoons...MASK, G.I. Joe, etc.
6. Any vehicle inspired by the new Legend of Chima line
7. Any contender for the 2014 SEMA car show
8. Any vehicle you want...customized for rock crawling
9. Any emergency vehicle...police, fire, ambulance, etc.
10. Any vehicle featured on Top Gear
11. Any tractor or combine harvester
12. Any amphibious vehicle
13. Zombie Apocalypse Killfest ‘2013...‘nuff said

How did we do? Let's see, shall we?

Mr. Koenigsegg starts up this little shindig and orders us up a #9...in this case a Police Corvette Z06 inspired by Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Its...you know...black and all police-y and stuff. Oh, remember when I was joking about kumquats? Well, I bought a batch and...well...they're way more sour than you'd think. We did make kumquat bread out of it, though.

Lego Police Corvette Z06

For his second entry, Mr. Koenigsegg once again fires up his warm kitchen lights to photograph this grey Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, depicting #10. Its...you know...grey and all Murcielago-y and stuff. He tells us it comes Series 9, Episode 5 (2007). Is that the one where Hamster almost dies?

Lego Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

Next in line, TechnicNick goes with a #10, any vehicle featured on Top Gear. Its light weight and perfectly flat sides spells trouble for the beloved Citroen 2CV Charlston as we've seen one of these puppies blown over and demolished by a jet engine on that one episode of Top Gear. This is a great representation of the iconic little car.

New Citroen 2CV Charleston

Mars Society needs rovers and guess who answered the call. Agent WHO. Agent Who? WHO. No, but agent Who? Yes, Agent WHO. That's his name. Anyway, he build this ER-LS Mars Observation Rover for observing...uh...whatever shenanigans and goings on on Mars. So far nothing to report but some quick growing space fungus that wants to eat our face. Probably nothing important. Lets move on.

ER-LS

Legonoitallmocs shows that even renders can be overly exposed and superimposed onto a drab grey background with this pair of Aston Martin V8 Vantage police cars, depicting number 9: Any emergency vehicle. I have an emergency. I ran out of vodka and orange juice.

Aston Martin Vantage Police chase!

We may as well just call this roundup 9 or 10 cuz any emergency vehicle and any Top Gear vehicle are what people are picking. No exception to this people picking rule is Loek1990 with his render of 1998 BMW 528i Touring with the Top Gear Africa Special mods. Is that the one where Jeremy drives a Rolls Royce into a pool or the one where Walt cooks up his first batch of meth? I get my shows mixed up.

1998 BMW 528i Touring Top Gear Africa Special

Finally, someone orders up something not from the value menu! Ralph Savelsberg goes with a #5, the Thunderhawk Camaro from MASK and in doing so totally ruins all of his childhood memories. See, Ralph was a big fan of the show as a kid, but now as a sensible adult he realizes the show was just a weak ploy to sell toys with silly plots and implausible physics. Good thing he didn't watch Rainbow Brite then.

M.A.S.K. Thunderhawk (1)

Or My Little Pony for that matter...cuz that would make Ralph a Bronie. Speaking of bronies, his second entry features Jake and Elwood Blues with their Bluesmobile. Since its a former cop car it counts as a #9 since it still has got a cop motor, a four hundred and forty cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions and cop shocks so its all good. Remember Ralph, it is and always will be bronies before honies.

The Bluesmobile

New guy MadFirePhotographer lives up to his name somehow with this Mack CF Fire Engine, presumably depicting #9. I've checked and he really is a mad fire photographer whereas I fancy myself more of a mildly perturbed photographer of lakes. Something tells me he's a one-challenge type...or we can expect lots more mad fire photography from this one.

Mack CF Engine 12-1

Certainly no one trick pony is Peter Blackert. Yesiree, he's in LUGNuts for the long haul with practically a baker's dozen entries of his own. (what, you couldn't squeeze out one more?) His first entry is a #9 Ford Explorer Police Pursuit Vehicle.

Ford Explorer PPV

Hell yes, I remember Battle of the Planets! Any English speaking kid alive in 1978 knew full well the shenanigans of these five space-adventuring-orphan-super-hero-bird-themed...space orphan...guys. Depicted here is Jason's G2 Racer.

G2 Racer - Battle of the Planets - 1978 (Gatchaman 1972 - Japan)

The super-hero-space-orphan-bird guys also had their more subdued albeit totally mod civilian hipster counterparts. This time the civilian ride for the character, Jason, an interpreted 1967 Pontiac Firebird Coupe.

Pontiac Firebird (1967) - Battle of the Planets - 1978 (Gatchaman 1972 - Japan)
S'more #5 action from Peter, this time Princess' Civilian ride is a standard 70's era sportbike...with her flared hipster bell-bottoms flapping in the breeze there.

G3 Civilian Motorcycle - Battle of the Planets - 1978 (Gatchaman 1972- Japan)

Followed by her spaced out G3 Akira inspired motorcycle. Ahh the memories. I can still hear the opening theme music. You can hear the opening theme music too...if only they invented some sort of way to watch videos on the web. Some sort of tube site where you can watch...I don't know...shows from the 70's or maybe a monkey peeing in his own mouth.

G3 Motorcycle - Battle of the Planets - 1978 (Gatchaman 1972- Japan)

But the technology for such a website is 50 years in the future, I'm sure. Too bad, really. But for now just enjoy the timeless beauty of this MotorCity Police Department - 1951 Mercury Eight.



MotorCity Police Department - 1951 Mercury Eight

This just in! A hostile space fungus from Mars just landed in Washington DC and declared that it wants all Earth made rovers off their planet immediately! And is demanding to eat the President's face! More news at 11. Oh and Peter also built this tow truck.

Stinky Pete's Towing - MotorCity 1952 Ford F3 Towtruck

Next Peter adds some much needed Claas to this joint. (you saw that joke coming!) This time in the form of the CLAAS JAGUAR 900-Series Harvester, depicting # 11. Finally!

CLAAS Jaguar 900-Series Harvester

And another one fitted with the maize cob silage attachment for mowing down...uh...maize cob silage stuff. Peter tells us the Claas Distribution Center is on the way to work so occasionally he gets to stop in to talk to the nice friendly folks there.

CLAAS Jaguar 900-Series Harvester (Maize Cob Silage MCS)

I had a similar experience on the way to my work. While on the bus to work, I once saw a homeless guy bend over to throw up into the garbage can and he split his pants while he did it. I coulda gone my whole life without seeing that but no, I gotta live with that memory for all eternity now! Oh and Peter built an Alfa Romeo Giulia Berlina - 105 Series Italian police car.

Alfa Romeo Giulia - Type 105 Berlina - Italian Carabinieri

Finally someone orders a #2, in this case, Peter's Iron Man themed Audi R8 monster truck. The monster truck aspect of it screams inbred redneck but the Audi R8 part demurely nods to performance and luxury. Its a dichotomy like sleeveless tuxedoes or ass-less pants.

Iron Man - Audi R8 - Monster Truck

Cripes, there's that memory again! They spilt all the way from like front belt loop to back belt loop. And his ass wasn't even clean, either, but you know...what else would you expect from a hobo puking into a can. Anyway, lets rid ourselves of this vision by thinking happy thoughts. Puppies. Balloons. Kittens. A miniland scale Mercedes-Benz W196R Rennwagen 'Monza' Streamliner used in the 1954-55 Formula One World Championship.

Mercedes-Benz W196R Rennwagen - 1954-55

You know what's so sweet about this all-inclusive way of blogging? Fritz4783's mowing tractor gets equal billing. Hey, maybe I write about monkeys peeing in their own mouths and and space fungus eating your face but at least it gets you blogged, right? Try getting this over at our Big Brother's blog. Its almost cute in its naivety, this tractor.

WVDOH Mowing Tractor

And speaking of our Big Brothers, they seemed to have liked Lino Martins (hey, that's me!) Stars N'Stripes Divco depicting #7. And what's not to love about it? Patriotism and nostalgia are always big winning tickets at the SEMA show and here at LUGNuts. Its just too bad that my photo editing made it a bit too over-exposed. There were no sunny days in June here is Seattle so I had to overcompensate. I gotta get me a better photo booth!

Stars n' Stripes Divco

Last but not least, Rolic finishes us all off with a 1949 Ferrari 166MM...a contender for the old-timey races. He tells us it took so long from build to post that he forgot the car's make and year. Yeah, that'll happen.

Ferrar 166MM

That's all of them, right? So...how did we do? I wanted variety with these 13 vastly different choices and variety is what I got. Sadly, no one even touched numbers 3,6,8,12, and 13. Oh, the possibilities! But if we wanted to see Amphicars or rock crawlers, we'll just have to wait another time. And those zombies lurking about aren't going to kill themselves, you know! Great, thanks to you people we have undead zombies who need to be...um...more dead. Anyway what's in store for next month? If we don't all die from a zombie infestation, its the drug fueled psychedelic acid trip we like to call Summer of '69...all about 60's era cars, trucks, and bikes. Its all about incense, peppermints, and peace and love to your fellow man. Will yours be a 6-fo Impala lowrider or a totally groovy VW bus? We'll just have to wait and see. I for one, have something totally balls-out awesome in store for you! Yep. So tune in next month, same bat time...same bat channel! Grooooooovy man, Grooooooooovvvvvvvy!

Monday, July 1, 2013

May The Force Be With You...Roundup

I ain't going to lie to y'all. I'm quite skilled at writing good humor. Its like a special gift I have. let me show you what I mean. A duck visits a psychologist and after the session was over the doctor asks the duck " so how would you like to pay me?" The duck says "just put it on my bill." HAH! get it? Cuz he's a duck! And he has a bill! Hah! I can't believe how hilarious I am! Yes, I'm a real piece of work. But seriously, ladies and gents... please, there is no need to grovel. I put on my pants in the morning just like everyone else...one leg at a time. Except once my pants are on, I write phenomenal jokes. But can anyone do it? Do you have the creative chops to write like me, to be as funny as me? For this month's Star Wars themed build challenge called May The Force Be With You, I ask my car club to do just that...come up with their own 3-6 Star wars infused lines written with my particular brand of sardonic slander. It was supposed to be a time saving venture...you write your own write-up and I ride a Ferris wheel or kidnap an elected official or whatever it is I do in my free time. How did we do? Well, some participated, others left their write up in my hands. Which was which? You'll have to guess. Here we go.

Rolic starts us off with the notion that what if Star Wars took place on Earth? The answer, well duh, is a dual wheel, balancing gyro Darth Vader TIE-Fighter thingy. No need for wide avenues to turn this baby around. No siree, it'll do a 180 degree spin in the other direction...perfect for when you just miss your exit on the highway.

TIE-fighter?

There are two things this world needs: A video on youtube of some kid puking into a slide trombone, and F1 racers based on the X-Wing Fighter and TIE Fighter. Well, at least one of our prayers have been answered. Legonoitallmocs renders the X-Wing F1 Racer...

F1 X-wing

While his buddy Mr. Koenigsegg takes on the F1 TIE-Fighter version. We can all go home happy now. You heard me, get the hell outta here! Git! We're done here. Unless you've got some video of a kid puking into a slide trombone with all of it spilling out onto his bandmates, you can all get bent!

Lego TIE-Fighter F1 Car

...Or stick around a little longer to see what the LEGO pros are doing. Its always a pleasure when real live LEGO designers class up this otherwise lowbrow joint. In this case we have a mashup of two great designers, Craig Cellum doing the building while Mark Stafford did the photography. It is a mashup in itself of what would happen if VW teams up with whatever company makes the AT-AT.

AT-AT-VW

Two great LEGO designers aren't enough when you have yet another. NKubate joins our team to create this Naboo Starracer. In my opinion it is a textbook example of what this challenge should be like...cool Star Wars mashup rides, LEGO royalty...and maybe a kid puking into a slide trombone. Is that too much to ask?

Naboo Carfighter

We go from LEGO royalty to...well...Tim Inman. But despair not, as he is chock full of raw talent as evidenced by this Jensen Interceptor that looks a bit like an A-Wing. Even if his hobbies usually lead to restraining orders, Tim is a talented builder. And it only takes one of these to demolish two Super Star Destroyers and a Death Star.

Jensen Interceptor

And speaking of hobbies that usually lead to restraining orders, Lino Martins flubs his first day on the job at Lucas Ranch by building Obi-Wan's Jedi Starliner, instead of Starfighter. With its color scheme, blue taillights, and astromech crammed under the hood, it follows the starship's design cues nicely. Too bad Lino didn't follow Lucas' directions nicely!

Obi-Wan's Jedi Starliner

Dornbi takes on the AMC Rebel "Machine"...X-Wing edition with all of it...uh...rebel...X-Wingy red and white glory. I don't know about you, but I'm excited to get my grubby mitts on the new UCS X-Wing set. But why didn't it come with the larger scale R2 head? They already have the dark red R4-P17 dome, so why not an R2? That would be freakin' balls out awesome!

AMC Rebel Machine (1)

And speaking of freakin' balls out awesome, Dodge pays homage to the two bestest buddies a galaxy far, far away has ever known. No I don't mean Zigfried and Roy. I mean R2-D2 and C-CPO in the form of a motorcycle and sidecar. Its what the world needs more of. That and midget bowling.

Buddy bike

Wait, did Legonoitallmocs build another entry? Crap, yes he did! That ruins my X-wing and TIE-Fighter F1 joke so I'm just going to leave it here. Enjoy it in all its TIE-Fighter hot rod glory. Apparently the canopy can't open cuz the oversized engine is in the way. Nice planning. Now that is the true spirit of hot-rodding!

Tie Rod

Next up is Raphy's airport shuttle... a clever tribute to the space shuttle which the Rebels stole from the Imperials in Return of the Jedi. This totally reminds me of the van I had in college. Which would sort of explain the big hairy moaning dude in the front passenger seat. Every time we’d pass by the cops he'd be like, "RHOAAAGHH" and I'd be like "just fly casual, Chewie", hoping they wouldn't notice the purple haze milling about the inside. HAH!! I can't believe how funny I am sometimes. Moving on.

Shuttle bus

Never on time but always entertaining is Lego911. His first entry makes perfect sense considering the inspiration for this speeder was a hot rod anyway. Here is a speederrod with Lino-Wan-Kenobi and young Proudwalker trying to impress chicks with their LEGO lightsaber. C'Mon, you can't tell me you haven't tried it.

Speeder Rod - Star Wars Episode II

I pretty much can't imagine the chrome and yellow Naboo Starfighter anymore without it being first inspired by the curvy Studabaker. I also can't imagine a world without a video of some kid puking into a slide trombone but in spite of my best research efforts the world seems woefully void of it. Someone please make that happen and I'll die a happy man...in about 40 or 50 years.

Studebaker Naboo Starfighter - Star Wars Episode I

And long before you die you should pick up the Jabba's Palace set as it has been discontinued. You see, some Turkish people got offended as the palace somewhat resembles a sacred Turkish mosque and they feel Jabba is a stereotype of a fat hooka smoking Turkish crime lord. I say no to that! If they wanted him to be the stereotype of a fat hooka smoking Turkish crime lord they would have put a fez on his head! Oh and Peter built a TIE solar racer.

T.I.E. Solar Racer - Star Wars Episode IV

And speaking of hooka smoking, now it all makes sense. I imagine a bunch of smelly hippie jawas crammed into a rusted old VW bus trekking through the desert on the way to Burning Man. THAT's what the sandcrawler was all about! A minute ago the world had no meaning but now it all makes sense...plus my hand is like waaaaay huge, dude!

VW Sandcrawler Bus - Star Wars Episode IV

Does anyone else smell waffles? Anyway, never mind. My fave of the Peter bunch happens to be the penultimate entry, the General Motors Futureliner as the Slave I. The colors don't even match the ship, but in terms of purpose and Art Deco design you can't beat the shapely beauty of this Futureliner.

General Motors  Futurliner Slave I - Star Wars Episode V

Rounding up our roundup is the Buick Landspeeder Y-Job...the perfect thing for cruising for burgers and shakes under the Tatooine sun with your good buddies Ben Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2. Ah them were the days! Ben was a real stoner, you could totally turn R2 into a keg, and the less said about 3PO the better. Still, it was good times, man. Good times.

Buick Landspeeder Y-Job - Star Wars Episode IV

Like most good stories and some massages, this roundup has a happy ending. Kids, go ask your parents what I mean by that. Then they'll promptly turn on the child safety chip an you'll never be able to read this blog again. And good riddance, you little shit stains, you shouldn't be here anyway! Wait what?! Never mind. So did any of you guess who wrote their own write up and who didn't? Raphy wrote his, I wrote my own ahead of time and the rest were left to my very capable hands. Turns out the rest of youse just don't have the gift of gab. Ferris wheels and elected officials alike can take solace in knowing that it wasn't really a time saving venture after all. Probably for the best, really...we don't wanna tear a hole in the space-time continuum or anything. So, what does next month have in store? We have a little challenge we like to call A Baker's Dozen. There is a list of 13 totally balls-out awesome vehicle ideas to choose from. What you do with it is entirely up to you. Should be totally balls-out exciting! That reminds me, I gotta return these totally balls-out books to the totally balls-out library...maybe get a totally balls-out frappuccino while I'm at it. Stay tuned and we'll see ya next month. Balls!