Cars Too Roundup

With the new Cars 2 movie and LEGO sets out it's no surprise that we came up with our own tie in challenge and called it...um...Cars, Too. But true to LUGNuts form, this challenge has a few twists. Sure you can build any character from the movies Cars and Cars 2 but also acceptable are any vehicles with a face on it. What the hell does that mean, you may ask...well, cars from children's illustrated books would work but if cutesy sunshine and rainbows isn't your thing, then the snarling skull and cross bones on the Death Proof Nova would totally work as well. Lets just see how we did, shall we?

Living up to its name, Fe2Cruz is first on the slab with this cute little Speed Buggy. The expressive eyes and even the animated stance of the wheels illustrate perfectly what this challenge is all about. Way to show us all how its done!



And no slouch in the "showing us all how its done" department is of course Peter Blackert with his first of many, many entries...this one is the colorful Nigel Gearsley - Aston Martin DB9R Racer. Hope you got a snack and maybe coffee with a little extra sumpin' sumpin' in it, cuz this is going to be a long ride!



Another fine British chap is Sgt. Highgear, Buckingham Palace's stuffy regimental guard. It's only fitting that Sarge is a red Land Rover and the fat balloony tire used as a fluffy hat...too perfect!



Keeping up with the British theme is David Hobbscap, a 1963 Jaguar lightweight E-type Coupe in classic British racing forest green. It's no coincidence that he announces the races just like his namesake...David Hobbs.



Its sort of funny and fitting that Peter's first American vehicle is poor rusted old Mater the '55 Chevy tow truck. Voiced by none other than...um...Larry the Cable Guy, Mater isn't the brightest bulb in the whole chandelier but is dependable, hard working...and even gets caught up in an international spy ring. How cool is that? Git 'er done, Mater!



And speaking of gittin' things done is The King, Strip Weathers...a 1970 Plymouth Superbird who is no stranger to gittin' things done at over 200 MPH. He was voiced by none other than NASCAR Grand Poobah, Richard Petty. I mean...who else would voice such a car, really?



Jeff Gorvette is a racing Corvette C6.R done up in patriotic colors and according to Disney/Pixar he's one of the greatest American racecars alive today and a real threat at the world Grand Prix. Heh, remember when you were a kid the first time you read the words "grand prix" aloud? It was pretty funny.



Sometimes American cars have a south of the border flair as evidenced by purple Ramone. Voiced by the hilarious Cheech Maron, Ramone is a flashy Mexican lowrider who switches up his paint scheme as often as I change my underwear...which is just about daily.



This challenge suggested that we could build vehicles that look like they should be in the Cars movie but are not. Peter illustrates one such example with Ramone's more conservative older sister, Coral. She's a pristine '55 Chevy Bel Air with a black and...um...coral-ish two tone paint job. I wish such a color existed in abundance.



Another fabrication from the mind of Peter "Lego911" Blackert is Ramone's brother Nomad, the '56 Chevy Nomad. He's not as into body art as Ramone is but Nomad has a few custom fabrications of his own with his lowered stance on wide rimmed gold spoked wheels and dark red and gold color scheme. The '56 Chev Nomad just so happens to be my fave car of all time.



Playing a minor role in the Cars movie is Michael Schumacher, a Ferrari F430 Berlinetta. Toward the end of the film he shows up to pay a visit to Ferrari crazed Luigi and his tire shop at Radiator Springs. He was flanked by a pair of sleek Maseratis...a dream come true for Italian born little Luigi.



Next on the slab is Lewis Hamilton, the super fast McLaren MP4-12C supercar. He sports a striking metallic black and yellow color scheme and the flag of Grenada, home to his family who emigrated to Britain in the 1950s. The car was voiced by British racing legend Lewis Hamilton himself.



Snotrod is the only muscle car in a gang of tuner sedans. He is named for his allergy problem which results in his explosive albeit hilarious sneezing fits. However, his ability to clear the road of pesky traffic is unmatched and much appreciated by his buddies who like the road all to themselves.



Much more suave and debonair than Snotrod is Finn McMissile, who is a master British spy. Though charming and eloquent, it's his stealth maeuvering, intelligence, and years in the field that enable him to thwart unexpected attacks from bad guys. He mistakes rusty Mater for an American spy in a clever disguise and hilarity ensues.



Radiator Springs resident Luigi is a big-hearted, gregarious and excitable Italian Fiat 500. A tire virtuoso and owner of Lugi's Casa Della Tires, he is naturally a fanatic for all things Italian and is particularly enchanted by Ferrari racing cars. Cars 2 takes the Radiator Springs gang to Luigi's home village of Porto Corsa, Italy where his family greets everyone in big Italian style.



Back with a flashy peacock green paint job is Green Ramone. The cool thing about a lowrider like Ramone (what ISN"T cool about him)? is he changes his paint job daily so all kinds of neat color configurations can be made. Now if only he came in purple. Oh wait....right!



Sally Carrera is a demure baby blue Porsche 911 and the apple of Lightning McQueen's eye. Longing for Lightning's return from his latest Piston Cup race season, Sally is looking forward to a long drive with "Stickers", as she affectionately calls Lightning. While she prefers understated clean tones over gaudy flash, she is still quite fond of McQueen.



Another demure girl who likes her boyfriends flashy is Flo, Ramone's main squeeze. Flo is a sassy, no-nonsense lady with the biggest heart in Radiator Springs. She runs the local diner, Flo's V8 cafe, the only gas station for miles around, where she still serves the "finest fuel in 50 states". She was a touring Motorama girl in the '50's. Sweet!



Sheriff is a 1949 Mercury Police Cruiser and is the local law enforcement and the keeper of the peace in Radiator Springs. He does what most old men enjoy doing...telling stories and taking naps behind the Radiator Springs billboard. That's where he was when Lightning McQueen first zoomed into town years ago, which led to a messy car chase that didn't end well.



Francesco Bernoulli is Europe's number 1 racecar. He's also...um...Francesco's number 1 racecar as he is his own biggest fan. I can totally relate. I built the official LEGO set of Francesco and it was a pretty fun build. All I can say to the hot rod builders out there is...red rims, dudes! Think about it...red rims. Classic hot rod style right there!



Another figment of Peter's crazed automotive imagination is Dan "The MAN" heavy goods vehicle. It makes sense, too. Flo needs the "finest fuel in 50 states" and its up to Dan to deliver the goods. He pays homage to the good ol' Octan Racing challenge from a few months back in both color and verbage. Nice touch!



David Ludebaker is a made up character that came to Radiator Springs to pay respect for the late oldschool racing legend Doc Hudson. It's not that he was late for anything but more like dead. Why do they call dead people late anyway? David lives in Washington state and is based on an American AFOL who loves classic cars. Any guess on who that might be? Old...feisty...cantankerous...the resemblance is uncanny! ;)



Speaking of old, the senior resident of Radiator Springs is Lizzy, the Model T Ford. She's a little old lady, but still an active businesswoman who uses her moxie to sell bumper stickers, mud flaps and other Route 66 memorabilia from her curio shop. She's as feisty as she is brash. Lizzie's unswerving frankness and offbeat comments keep the townsfolk and tourists on their toes, even though she has no idea what she's just said.



And finally on the Lego911 slab is Acer, my fave outcast vehicle from Cars 2 and with that Peter says "Ok, I'm done!" I'm done too. This has been a great challenge but I've got a brand new Lego room just dying to be used, so tune in for our next challenge when we...oh wait. We still have everyone else's entries to go. 23 entries...how does he do it?! Cripes, man! Ok, lets soldier on.



LegoExotics somehow lives up to his own name with this Ferrari 360 Modena. He says his buddy Sven modified his old model to look like a Cars character in order to correspond with our challenge. We all could use a buddy Sven, even if only just to crack Scandinavian jokes with. Here's one...Ole bought Lena a piano for her birthday. A few weeks later, Lars inquired how she was doing with it. "Oh," said Ole, "I persuaded her to svitch to a clarinet." "How come?" asked Lars. "Vell," Ole answered, "because vith a clarinet, she can't sing.



Thanks, ladies and germs, I'm here all week! Be sure to tip your bartender! No really, seems like I'm here all week with this writing. But next up is Ace and his cute little Rod Steward. There is no relation to the decrepit old rocker with the Ziggy Stardust mullet...but rather Rod is a relative of Mater and more like a Spongebob on wheels. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Your mother, that's who!



If you want my body and you think I'm sexy, come on baby let me know. Sorry, I wasn't getting all saucy there. I just got that Rod Stewart song stuck in my head now. My mother thought he was the hottest thing ever, which is what made me think of that joke earlier. Anyway, she might also like this little Bat Tumbler as built by Krika99. If you're wondering what this build is doing in a face related challenge, it has a bat face...sort of. At least it does in the original blueprints anyway.



Shunazaver is back and has built Randy Vannis...an anthropomorphic garbage truck...thingy. He also tells us school has been a drag since it's the last week and all. Yeah I remember the last days of school. It's only a few short days before summer vacation starts and I forget everything I've ever learned.



Man, as I'm writing this I've made grilled cheese sandwiches for the first time in this new apartment and the smoke alarm is going off like crazy! I really ought to leave the multi-tasking to Administrative Assistants and single moms. Doing a little multi-tasking of his own is Oldeconoline with his official Ultimate Batmobile set that looks like its been defaced in garish Joker colors.



Also good at creating alternate models of official Lego sets is NK DeSign-er with this Uri Grant character...better known as Granturi, cousin to the ever popular Lighting McQueen. NK tells us this was modded from the 5867 Cteator Super Speedster set. Neat!



Not to make this build all about me, but this build is all about me. Let me explain. Thanks to the aforementioned move, this month marks the first in LUGNuts history that I had to sit out a challenge. If I had the time to build, this...uh...Fisher Price oldschool toy phone vehicle thingy was exactly what I was going to build! Yep, I even was gathering reference pics on my desktop. Luckily Nathan Proudlove pulled through with his own sweet version...and with the Santa Bikes, pair of Deoras, and nearly two evil clown trucks, this isn't the first time Nathan and I have come up with the same sick idea.



While Nathan and I have proven to share the same malformed brain, Ralph Savelsberg is surely a one-of-a-kind thinker with this fully transforming Autobot Tracks. While transformers are not a new idea, even in Lego, he has surely been unique with his ability to blur the rules of the challenge by giving this car a face...hidden within its robotic alter-ego. Difficult to build, yet flawless in its execution, this is some good stuff right there!



Dohoon Kim adds his own particular style to lovable Mack the '85 Superliner. Mack was voiced by the blue collar sounding John Ratzenberger who incidentally also voiced Hamm Truck, Abominable Snow Plow, P.T. Flea Car in the first Cars movie. Wow, now that is some great multi-tasking!



If you like all things lime green, you'll surely be tickled pink (or green) for this Giselle Grocery Getter built by Tim Inman. Don't let its understated form fool you, this build is truly complex and is currently on display at the Costa Mesa Community Window Lego Store Display. Way to go, Tim! I must admit, I do like her blue eye shadow. Classy!



Equally...um...classy is this Hot Rodded out V-12 Semi Truck built by Jonathan Derksen. What...who said blue eye shadow and hot rodded trucks aren't classy? Yeah, I guess those traits are decidedly trashy, not classy...but hey, ya gotta admit hot rods are cool and there's just something about a gal in blue eye shadow. Makes me wanna head to Walmart.



And speaking of which, it looks like Rolic's little baby girl has gotten to mom's makeup case and defiled one of his famous white cars with it. But no, that garish lipstick and blue eye shadow is brick built on purpose. This means Rolic must be acquiring at least some pieces in other colors besides white. Will we see future creations in surprising new colors any time soon? Only time will tell for sure, but I really hope so.



Star Trek, Star Wars...even Battlestar Galactica has an expanded universe for nerds to ponder over, and according to Kaitimar, so does Cars. Here we see Rudy the Riot Cop Riot Squad Police Vehicle from the Cars expanded universe suited up for when the citizens of Radiator Springs goes loco and is in need of some good old fashioned...um...riot policing. Don't taze me, bro!



While you're still figuring out that last internet meme you can quietly ponder the sound of one hand clapping...and this cute little Zen Master Pitty built by Raphy. He keeps the zen garden tranquil and all...um...zen-like with his rake. Shhhh...be quiet. You don't want to harsh his zen mellow, dudes.



Shhhhhhh. And with that, lets quietly ponder next month's challenge called Everything Under The Sun. We're not encouraged to build everything under the sun but rather everything...under the sun. Its all about vehicles where the driver's heads are exposed to the elements to enjoy the summer sun. Formula 1 racers, motorcycles, tractors and...um...topless convertibles are all the rage in this month's challenge so... SHOW US YOUR BOOBS!!! ......shhhhhhhhhh!! I mean...show us your topless summery cars. Shhhhh...I'm off to build now. Stay tuned to see how we do next month. Night night, everyone. Shhhhh.

LEGO Porsche 911 (997) Turbo Cabriolet PDK

This is un-freaking-believable. Almost makes me want to get into Technic again... almost.

via Jalopnik

Plus Or Minus Ten Round Up

Ever have one of them days where you wake up in a puddle of your own vomit only to realize later that the vomit wasn't your own after all? I never did but I figured it would be a hilarious and irrelevant segue into this month's round up for a challenge called...Plus or Minus Ten...where we take the year we were born, then add plus or minus ten years, then build accordingly. This challenge best portrayed a generational divide between the youngsters and their super modern rides and the oldsters who preferred to keep them the hell off their lawn. And we all overlapped somewhere in the 80's. Lets see how we did, shall we?

Born in '98, Dohoon Kim goes plus ten with this 2008 KTM X-Bow. I had to look it up but its a real car that seems to be a cross between a go-kart and a formula 1 racer. I woke up today (not in a puddle of vomit) not knowing what an X-Bow is and now I want one!



And speaking of things I want, Legogil goes minus ten with this flashy red '67 'Stang Shelby GT500. That grille, those headlights, the white rally stripes, the big engine, the aggressive stance, the roulette wheel rims, even the corrugated seats are all Mustang, baby!



Its been awhile but Lego Guy graces us again and goes minus ten with this 1982 Series 3 Land Rover. The blue light on the roof denotes that its some kind of emergency vehicle....exactly what is the emergency at hand is a little unclear. Maybe someone ran out of hot sauce at a chili cook-off. That's a major emergency, for sure!



And speaking of hot sauce emergencies, something else that raises my core temperature is this '81 Harley Davidson FLH 1340 as built by the chrome master himself, Bricksonwheels. He went plus ten with this chrome-laden marvel making Mr. 'Wheels and I the exact same age. Now why didn't we do a buddy challenge on this one? Oh right, too busy doing our own thing.



Speaking of my own thing, Lino Martins goes minus ten with this wild custom '61 Dodge Polara called Aztec Gold. Chopped, lowered, with a ruby dazzled grille and a fiery lowrider paint job, this doozie ought to stand out at any car show or brick convention.



Born in '72, Lego911 shows the young whooper-snappers and grumpy old men alike how its done with his first of many entries, this one being an '82 Porsche 944 Coupe rendered in luxurious, yet demure grey.



If demure luxury is not your thing and you'd rather let your mullet flap in the breeze while rockin' out to Led Zeppelin, Lego911 conjures up what the cool teens were driving with this '82 Chevy Camaro. Bitchin' Dude!



Just to show off his versatility with the rendered bricks, Peter shows us what the more forward thinking sportier types were driving in '82...the Ford Sierra XR4Ti.



Europeans and sensible types were driving the BMW E30 3-Series M-3 back in '82. Undoubtedly they wore skinny piano ties and listened to Human League's "Don't You Want Me" on their tape decks. CD's didn't come out until '85, kids. Just thought you'd like to know that.



And what were Europeans and sensible types doing twenty years prior? Turns out they were driving the '62 1500 BMW Saloon. This car defined the iconic BMW DNA (and incidentally their financial security) for the next 50 years. And what were they grooving to on the radio back then? Probably "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MG's.



Penguins aren't just arctic birds and Batman villains anymore. And it isn't just youngsters who make up their own cars. Peter was a youngster once and back then he made up the boxy '82 Penguin. This car may seem uneventful, but it marked the beginning of a looooong prolific career of both LEGO car design and real car design. Good to see he stuck to his roots!



And back in '62 when suave and debonair men were drinking their martinis shaken, not stirred, they were doing it in the stylish
Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico. It was a different time back then...you could drink behind the wheel so long as you were classy about it.



In '82 Sweden introduced the Volvo 740 Estate wagon and the 760 Saloon. Even though it was more of a 70's Disco thing Sweden was still listening to Abba in '82. In fact, Abba is still a national treasure there and its against the law to badmouth them...its an enforced arrest-able offense. Go ahead, look it up, its all true!





And in '82 when cruel and ignorant men were taking over major corporations, they were doing it in style with this Ferrari 512 BBi - Boxer Berlinetta. Also they had sultry nearly naked women strewn across the hood as evidenced by all the Ferrari posters in the 80's.



And when you want to leave the 80's behind you would be Gillies Villeneuve and you would do it in your '82 Ferrari 126 C2. Peter tells us '82 was a dark year for the entire Scuderia Ferrari team as not only did they lose their popular Villeneuve but another driver was involved in a career ending accident. Yowza!



Now this is just the kind of buddy challenge you want to see. Nathan and Ralph were both born in '75 so the Jack of All Trades and the Maestro of the Studs collaborated to come up with this neat pair of brown Caddies, Nathan with the '85 and Ralph taking on the 20 year older '65. Both are using Ralph's Devil May Care Lettin' All The Studs Show style. Ya gotta love it!





It was a different time when I was born, way back in '71. Smoking a lot and putting out a cigarette on your kid's arm was considered good parenting. But being born in '93, thankfully Aaron F1 knows nothing about that world as evidenced by this sweet little '83 Lamborghini Countach LP500 QV.



I bet that cruel little segue surprised ya, didn't it? What can I say, I was bored and wanted to see if you were paying attention. What didn't surprise any of us though is the fact that Jmaokoen has built yet another F1 racer. This one is a 1985 Brabham BT54.



Krika99 tells us the Bat-Pod ejected from the bat Tumbler in 2008. Its true, too. I've got the Dark Knight DVD right here to prove it. It seems like just yesterday I was watching that and thinking Sweet Baby Jeebus, how cool is that!? And in the whole scheme of things it seems like just yesterday that Krika99 was born. In '98 I graduated from college.



Rolic breaks all the rules with this '99 SAAB 9-5 wagon first manufactured 10 years before the birth of...his baby daughter. He tells us the rule breaking would offer some irony for the round up but I think the irony started right in the opening paragraph and just got way more twisted from there. Here's to a bright future for his little girl...and the SAAB is pretty sweet too.



And speaking of a young man with a bright future, Raphy chimes in with this 1987 Chevrolet Camaro in Gumball livery. I wonder if that's the same as gum ball livery? 'Cuz gum balls can be pretty colorful, right? No? Anyway, sweet Camaro. It just needs a high school dropout with a mullet and a black led Zeppelin T-shirt...and maybe a thin mustache. Chicks dig the 'stash!



Chicks might also dig this '67 Chevy truck as built by Tim Inman and best known for the fuel heist scene at the beginning of Fast and Furious 4. Then he goes on to tell us he was born, in '81, not '77 but the '67 shares a body style with the '71. Now I'm all sorts of confused but that must be all the chrome. You see, I'm like a goldfish, as soon as I see something shiny I forget all that I know.



Ok, what was I doing here? Oh right! Wrapping up this round up and talking about the next challenge. This one is called Cars, Too and is sort of a Cars 2 tie in with any other car with a face. The skull and cross bones blazoned across the hood of the Death Proof Nova would totally work for this challenge or anything from children's illustration book would work as well. How will we...um...Face off in this challenge? You'll just have to stay tuned next time to see! Get it? Face off. Hah! I can't believe how funny I am! Can I get a hell yeah all up in here?! C'mon, who's with me?! Ahh forget it then! See ya next time.