Renault may be better known for things like this and this, but it’s a little-known fact that they’re also the inventors of the modern tank. The tank was first used by the British Army in the First World War, but it was horrendously slow, unreliable and a magnet for unwanted attention. Renault took the idea and simplified it, creating a vehicle that was much lighter, more reliable, and featured a fully-armoured 360-degree rotating turret.

The Renault FT-17 could also be operated by a few of just two, and it thus became a phenomenally successful design. Around 3,000 units were produced in France (mostly in 1918), whilst another 950 were built under license in the United States. Twenty-seven countries/revolutionary armies used the FT-17 over the next thirty years and the design fought in almost a dozen separate wars, which probably says as much about mankind’s propensity for war as it does the brilliance of the FT-17.

This beautiful Lego replica of the Renault FT-17 has been built by TLCB regular Sariel, who has recreated the world’s first light tank in glorious detail. Inside the stunningly accurate shell are three Power Functions motors, a Micro Motor, and a third-party SBrick programmable bluetooth control brick. Each track is suspended via oscillating bogies and powered by an individual Medium Motor, a third Medium Motor rotates the gun turret, whilst the Micro Motor powers the gun barrel elevation.

It all works perfectly, as demonstrated in the excellent video below, and you can see all the photos and read more about the build at the Eurobricks discussion forum and via Sariel’s Renault FT-17 Flickr album by clicking here.

YouTube Video

This is the Mercedes-Benz Zetros, the brand’s ultra-heavy duty off-road truck. Normally found in use by the military, utilities companies, or carrying weighty things to the middle-of-nowhere, it’s a truck that has a sort-of-adventurous life preforming fairly mundane jobs. Not this one though.

Built by Samolot of Eurobricks this Zetros pays homage to a one-off expedition adventure vehicle created a few years ago which looks like something from The Wild Thornberrys and is possibly the coolest way ever to cross a continent.

YouTube Video

Based on the chassis found within the official LEGO Technic 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog set, Samolot’s Zetros forgoes the now-commonplace remote control drive and steering for a host of mechanical and powered functions.

A single Medium Motor and gearbox drive three powered features; the winch, lowering rear tail-lift platform, and the side ladder, plus there’s a piston engine up front, working all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-suspension (as per the Unimog set) and a very nice-looking cab interior.

There’s more to see of Samalot’s superb Zetros Expedition at the Eurobricks discussion forum – click here to join the adventure!

Sometimes you don’t need a million-horsepower hypercar as inspiration for a brilliant Technic build. This is a humble skid-steer compact tracked loader, and it is one of the most fun-looking Technic models TLCB Elves have discovered in ages.

Built by Nico71 of Brickshelf this tiny Technic toy is packed with working remote control functions, which – thanks to a third-party BuWizz bluetooth battery/controller – are super-powered too.

Two Medium Motors power the tracks, providing both drive and skid-steering, whilst a further pair of motors linked to linear actuators operate the bucket arm and tilt-mechanism.

Thanks to its small size and the extra power from the BuWizz battery Nico’s loader is a riot to chase Elves down the corridor with, er… we mean rigorously test, so whilst we do that you can see more by clicking the link above, and you can read our review of the BuWizz bluetooth battery that powers it by clicking here.

Take that Audi Q7! We hate the Audi Q7, and the other pointlessly-enormous, overly-aggressive, status-symbols-on-wheels in the segment in which it occupies. We’ll happily take one of these though, as if you’re going to have a vehicle that’s impossible to park, won’t fit down a country lane, and drinks fuel, it may as well do all of those things to absolute excess!

This is an articulated 8×8 off-road truck, loosely based on those by companies such as Foremost, and resembling some of the Soviet Union’s more impressively weird machinery. It’s been built by previous bloggee and Technic-building genius Nico71, and it’s an astonishing piece of engineering.

Using eight wheels and tyres from the brilliant LEGO Technic Claas Xerion 5000 set, Nico’s truck features all-wheel-drive, with one XL Motor driving the front two axles, and another the rear. None of the axles are steered as the entire truck articulates in the middle thanks to an L Motor and a pair of linear actuators.

Each axle is suspended by an ingenious leaf-spring system, there’s an inline-6 engine next to the asymmetrical cab, and a set of four outriggers stabilise the truck for when it’s using the neat folding crane mounted over the articulation point. Powered by another two Power Functions motors this can extend, rotate and winch (see the image below), and like the drive and steering is operable remotely via bluetooth thanks to two third-party SBrick bluetooth bricks.

There’s loads more to see of Nico’s ridiculously impressive build at his website, where full technical details and instructions (yes really, so please don’t message us!) are available, plus the complete gallery of images is available to view via Brickshelf.

Nico has also become the sixteenth Master MOCer to be awarded such status here at The Lego Car Blog, joining an impressive roster of builders including Sariel, Crowkillers, Bricksonwheels and Firas Abu Jaber amongst others.

Read Nico’s Lego-building story and and find out how he created his amazing Technic vehicles such as this one via the link to his Master MOCers interview below!

Master MOCers Season 2, Episode 5

Nico71

Truck racing is one of motorsport’s weirder classes, taking vehicles that are the least suitable for any form of speed and cornering, and making them corner at speed. Mostly.

Still, the resultant vehicles are immensely impressive, and it’s one of these, the Mercedes-Benz Tankpool racing truck, that Technic-building legend Sariel has chosen to recreate in his latest model.

Driven by four LEGO Buggy Motors, Sariel’s racing truck harnesses the power of two BuWizz bluetooth bricks, delivering up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions battery. That gives Sariel’s 1.5kg model a top speed approaching 20km/h, and makes it massive fun to pilot down the halls of TLCB Towers.

Besides BuWizz power, RC tyres and custom stickers, Sariel’s creation is all LEGO, and really showcases how far the little Danish bricks can be pushed. Watch the video below to see Sariel’s Mercedes-Benz Tankpool truck in action, and you can read all the details on Flickr, the Eurobricks forum, and at Sariel’s website.

YouTube Video

‘Supercar’ is something of a blurry definition in the real world. With cars becoming ever quicker, what was once supercar-performance can now be had in a hatchback. And then there are hypercars, which make supercar-performance look like it belongs in a hatchback anyway.

In the LEGO Technic world things are simpler. Here a ‘supercar’ can be any car, fast or slow, provided it has a minimum set of features. These models can of course be, er… supercars, like the Technic sets 8880, 8448, or the latest Porsche and Bugatti licensed models, but they could also be far more humdrum.

Previous bloggee Thirdwigg (aka Wigboldy) has pitched his Technic Supercar somewhere in the middle, being a 6-cylinder sports sedan. Thirdwigg’s creation meets all of the Technic Supercar pre-requisites, with a complete drivetrain made up of a 6-cylinder boxer engine, a working gearbox and rear wheel drive, plus fully independent suspension on all wheels and working steering.

There’s much more to see of Thirdwigg’s Technic Sports Sedan on Brickshelf, Flickr, and at his website, where there are instructions available too. Take a look via the links.

You wait all day for an autonomous Volvo concept loader, and then two come along at once. Or so the saying goes. Following the 42081 Volvo Concept set, LEGO and Volvo have teamed up to run a competition to design the Volvo construction vehicle of the future.

Here are two entries, each packed with Power Functions motors and remote control functionality, and each looking quietly terrifying to boot.

First up (above) is R. Skittle‘s ‘Volvo Proteus’, a fully autonomous self-loading hauler. Many many motors power the loader’s drive, all-wheel-steering, the huge swivelling bucket arm, and the sliding and tipping bucket, and there’s much more to see at Skittle’s photostream. Click the link above to view the full gallery of this superbly engineered creation.

Today’s second concept (below) sends Volvo into space, with this enormous ‘Mars Mission’ loader/dozer/tunneller/excavator, all the things required for some Mars-based construction. Built by Desert Eagle (aka Desert752) of Eurobricks this metre-long monster is powered by sixteen motors, with all-track drive, crab steering, a self-levelling superstructure via linear actuators, 360 degree excavator boom rotation with elevation, extension and a synchronised counterweight, 360 degree tunneller boom rotation and elevation, and a drill head that looks like something from your Mom’s Ann Summers chest.

There’s a whole lot more to see of both of today’s Volvo concepts via the links above, and you can enter the competition yourself via LEGO Ideas by clicking here.

Having already posted one awesome Mercedes-Benz Zetros expedition truck earlier in the year we didn’t expect to find another. But like feet, Noah’s animals, and your Mom’s chin, Zetroses it seems, come in twos.

This spectacularly well-engineered Zetros expedition truck comes from previous bloggee jrx and it’s packed with brilliant Technic functionally, with seven Power Functions motors fitted inside, controlled via two SBricks and a LEGO IR Receiver.

Each wheel is driven by an XL motor, a Servo controls the steering, and two further Medium motors power the winch and a retractable awning.

Fourteen sets of LEDs give jrx’s Zetros working head and tail lights, flashing turn signals, roof-mounted floodlights, and even interior lighting. The model also includes functioning suspension on all four wheels, a fully fitted interior, and an ATV stored on-board.

There’s much more to see of jrx’s excellent expedition Zetros at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum – click on the links to join the journey, and you can watch the truck in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Take four of the most inventive Lego builders (including one TLCB Master MOCer), twenty-five 42082 Technic Rough Terrain Crane sets, and inspiration from Honda’s ‘Cog’, one of the greatest car commercials of all time, and you get one heck of a cool video.

One of the four builders behind LEGO’s brilliant piece of marketing is Nico71, who has also taken 42082 and repurposed it to create an excellent telehandler/wheel-loader ‘C-Model’ using only pieces found within the set. Nico’s model features a motorised tilting and raising fork via LEGO’s Power Functions system, mechanical steering, rear suspension, and all-wheel-drive linked to a V6 piston engine.

There’s more to see of Nico’s brilliant telehandler at his website, where if you own a 42082 Rough Terrain Crane set and fancy building this C-Model for yourself you can, as Nico has made instructions available too. You can read full details of the model, view the complete gallery of images, and find building instructions via the link above.

Even for Soviet Russia, this vehicle is weird. This a BWSM 80, which sounds perilously close to something your Mom would be into, but was in fact a prototype Soviet design that fused a GAZ 53 truck with a DT 75 bulldozer to create… whatever the hell this is.

In normal use the BWSM 80 operated as per a regular truck, albeit one with a track system suspended between the wheels. However in extreme conditions the BWSM could lower the track system thus raising its wheels off the ground, and thereby becoming a skid-steer tracked vehicle in the process. If, as we were, you’re struggling to figure that out, take a look at the video below!

That video, and the creation within it, comes from previous bloggee (and apparent Technic wizard) Samolot of Eurobricks, who has recreated the Russian prototype in brilliantly-functional remote control Technic form.

Two Power Functions L Motors drive both the wheels and the tracks, with some ingenious decoupling mechanism we’re struggling to fathom dividing the power appropriately between the two. A Medium Motor drives the lifting mechanism to deploy the tracks, which also feature suspension, and there are LED headlights up front too.

There’s much more of Samolot’s wonderfully odd creation to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum via the link above, or you could just watch that amazing video again!

It’s that time of year again! No, not the fast approaching scourge of Black Friday, but the time when a crack team of TLCB Elves are dispatched on a dangerous mission to The LEGO Company’s HQ, tasked with uncovering the brand new Technic sets.

Those that make it back (there are guard dogs…) are hailed as heroes – at least for a couple of days until everyone forgets about them again – and we get to bring you LEGO’s new releases in detail. Today we’re delighted to reveal the first new Technic set for 2019, and it’s an absolute cracker!

Continuing LEGO’s brilliant line of officially licensed sets is 42096, Porsche’s mad 911 RSR racer. Noticeably smaller than LEGO’s previous Technic 911 effort, 42096 brings the previous Speed Champions 911 RSR from set 75888 into the Technic range. Aimed at ages 10+ 42096 contains 1,580 pieces (a few of which are new) and features a flat-6 engine, working steering, a detailed cockpit, and a wealth of authentic decals.

42096 is perhaps a bit short on technical functions when compared to past sets of a similar size, and instead continues Technic’s push towards increased visual realism. It’s largely successful too, with the 911 RSR’s difficult shape and unique racing aerodynamic additions pretty well replicated in LEGO form, although the headlights do look a little odd to this writer.

On looks alone 42096 seems to be winner, and with a few working features too it could do rather well. LEGO’s new Technic Porsche 911 RSR set will reach stores early next year and is expected to cost around £120/$140/$170 depending on the market. Until then we’ll continue to bring you LEGO’s new 2019 releases as our Elves return to TLCB Towers with them, and remember that you can read our reviews of the current Technic and past line-ups via the Review Library.

It’s only one sleep until very probably our least favourite day of the year. Yes Black Friday is on the horizon once again, when the customers of Walmart will likely knife one another over a half-price toastie maker. TLCB’s home nation, copying everything that America does, seems to have gone equally nuts this year, and if you think the British are more civilised and will queue quietly for a discounted television, you are very much mistaken.

As has become customary, we won’t be partaking in the madness, but if you do choose to join the mindless zombie hoards you could do worse than pick a vehicle like this to assist you. It’s called a ‘wheel dozer’, being half wheel-loader, half bull-dozer, and it would be perfect for getting to the front of the Black Friday riots.

This excellent remote controlled Technic version comes from Superkoala and features 4×4 drive, articulated steering, pendular suspension, an inline-6 piston engine, and a hefty raising/lowering front blade. It also includes third-party BuWizz brick providing bluetooth control and – more handily – up to eight times the power of LEGO’s own Power Functions set-up. This means it should have no problem pushing rival shoppers out of the way or, in our case, TLCB Elves on whom we’ve been ‘testing’ it.

Whilst we avoid the ridiculous greed, fights, and soul-destroying consumerism of Black Friday by seeing how many Elves we can push simultaneously into the cleaning cupboard, you can see more of Superkoala’s superb Technic wheel dozer at both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum, plus you can watch the model in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, defeating the Death Star, rescuing Princess Leia, defeating the Death Star again… the Millennium Falcon has done many things worthy of Star Wars fandom, but the ship has never appeared in Technic form, which is – frankly – all that matters.

Until now that is. Jeroen Ottens received a commission to build a Technic Falcon and he’s done just that, immortalising the modified YT-1300 Corellian light freighter (we Wikipedia-ed it!) in Technic form. There’s a working access ramp, a fully articulated gun turret, and – to the joys of those here at TLCB who have to respond to our mailbox – there are even instructions available too!

There’s more to see of Jeroen’s super starship at both the Eurobricks forum and on Flickr, where a link to building instructions can also be found. Make the jump (in less than twelve parsecs) via the links above.

LEGO’s 6668 Recycling Truck from 1994 is one of this writer’s favourite ever sets. Released during the golden age for LEGO Town it looked great, featured the clear everlasting decals that we constantly wish that LEGO still used, and included a neat rubber-band powered container-hook mechanism controlled via a little wheel on the side.

Flickr’s Krzysztof Cytacki (aka Dirtzone) has channeled this high-point of the Town range and supersized that humble truck, building a remarkably similar-looking MAN F90 hook truck in Model Team scale. Being a big bit for rubber band power, Krzysztof has chosen LEGO’s Power Functions motors and Technic pneumatics to control his hook mechanism, plus his creation features remote control drive and steering, a raising/lowering third axle, and working suspension on all wheels.

It’s a treat to watch in action and you can do just that via the YouTube video below, plus you can check out all of the images of Krzysztof’s MAN F90 truck at his Flickr album by clicking the link above.

YouTube Video

Pantera might a word better associated with an Italian-American sports car or a 1980s heavy metal band*, but it’s also apparently a self-propelled 4500-litre crop sprayer from 130-year-old German agricultural manufacturer Amazone. An unusual choice for a LEGO creation then, but perhaps an inspired one too, as this enormous Model Team replica of the Pantera 4502 by previous bloggee Eric Trax is a work of engineering genius.

Like the real vehicle, Eric’s Pantera is all-wheel-drive, all-wheel-steering (with three steering modes), and includes the crucial adjustable height system that allows these machines to raise themselves above the crops beneath them.

It also of course features the huge folding arms that deploy to spray crops; in Eric’s model extending to an impressive 1.4 meters in width! In all there are seven LEGO Technic motors powering the drive, multi-mode steering, adjustable ground clearance, and both the spraying arm extension and height.

It’s a spectacularly well-engineered build and one that’s well worth a closer look. A large gallery of images is available to view at Eric’s Flickr photostream by clicking here, you can read further details and join the discussion at the Eurobricks forum by clicking here, and you can watch this amazing machine in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

*Today’s title track. Turn it up!

Lego mining excavators usually appear here in huge fully remote controlled form. Not so today, as Michael A’s mining excavator is – being mini-figure scale – rather smaller. Surprisingly though, Michael’s build still features a fully functional arm and bucket, thanks to the inclusion of several mini linear actuators from the Technic range that can be hand-cranked via the wheels hidden throughout the build. It’s a neat trick and one we’d like to see more of in Town scale creations. There’s more to see of Michael’s working Town-scale mining excavator at his photostream – click here to take a look!

Every so often a creation comes along that shifts what we thought possible from LEGO bricks. This is one such creation. Created over the course of a year by Technic-building legend Sariel this is a fully working replica of JCB’s 5CX Wastemaster backhoe, powered by pneumatics, eleven Power Functions motors, and two third-party SBricks.

Underneath the brilliant Technic exterior are nine motors that drive all four wheels, the three-mode steering (two-wheel, all-wheel and crab), backhoe arm rotation and traverse, and powering a combination of pneumatic cylinders and linear actuators to control both the front and rear arms and their respective buckets. A further two motors power the pneumatic ‘remote control’, compressing the air which travels down twelve separate hoses to the model itself.

A motorised remotely rotating driver’s seat and a suite of LED lights from third-party lighting specialists Brickstuff complete the electronics, making this 2.4kg, 75 stud-long masterpiece one of the most technically advanced Technic creations to date. There is much more to see of Sariel’s amazing remote control JCB at the Eurobricks forum, on Flickr, and at Sariel’s excellent website, you can watch it in action via the video below, and if you’d like to build your own model with many of the features of this one we highly recommend LEGO’s own 42054 Claas Xerion 5000 set, which share its wheels and amazing three-mode steering with Sariel’s fantastic creation.

YouTube Video

It’s nearly Relationship Transfer Deadline Day, the last day before the holidays when a relationship can terminated as ‘no-one likes a Christmas dumping’. Failure to meet this deadline means that you have to stay with your partner until early January so as not to ruin the festive period.

To mark the approach of this infamous day Damian Plesniak has constructed a vehicle capable of a sizeable dumping, a whole 2.5kgs of dumping in fact, thanks to its XL driven linear-actuator tipping bed. Said dump can also be triggered remotely* thanks to LEGO’s infrared system, which also controls the Power Functions 8×4 drive and steering.

There’s more to see of Damian’s excellent RC Technic 8×4 dump truck on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, where you can also find a video of the truck in action. Click the links above to take a pre-Christmas dump.

*Do not use this method in real life. You’re better than that.

Hot on the heels of our 2019 Speed Champions line-up preview and the awesome looking Technic 42096 Porsche 911 RSR set scooped here last month, it’s time to reveal the rest of what our Elves found during their traditional Christmastime sneak around The LEGO Company’s HQ. Yup, today we can share the complete H1 2019 LEGO Technic range!

42088 Inspection Lift

The entry point to the Technic range for 2019, 42088 is aimed at builders aged just 7+, with 155 pieces and a sub-£10 price tag. As has become the norm for Technic sets even at this scale, 42088 features a bit more visual detail than the range has historically used, but pleasingly it still features a lovely crane boom mechanism that utilises a worm gear to provide elevation. A tow truck B-model deploys the parts to achieve the same function and we think either build is a fine way to kick-off Technic for a younger builder.

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42091 Police Pursuit & 42090 Getaway Truck

Unlike these two…

42091 and 42090 are the usual two pull-back motor powered sets that join the Technic range each year. Like past years they feature absolutely nothing beyond their pull-back motorisation and, like past years, they are somewhat aesthetically challenged, despite the inclusion of a wealth of colourful stickers. Each set contains around 120 pieces and the two models can be combined to create something even more hideous should you feel the need to. 42091 and 42090 will sell very well we suspect, but if you’re going to buy a child an entry point into Technic, you could do so much better…

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42089 Power Boat

For less money than either of the two monstrosities above you could have this; a rather excellent looking power boat, complete with a working single cylinder engine that spins the propellor as the boat is pushed along. 174 pieces, some neat stickers, and a hydroplane B-model complete the reasons why 42089 is vastly better than the Getaway Truck and whatever that police thing is supposed to be, and it’ll reach stores in January.

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42092 Rescue Helicopter

Arriving just in time to rescue countless amateur snowboarders this ski season comes 42092, the only aircraft in the 2019 Technic line-up. With just over 300 pieces, 42092 increases the number of working functions whilst retaining an 8+ target age, with working main and tail rotors, a functioning winch, opening side and tail doors, and featuring the usual colourful stickers. 42092 is also sort-of-mini-figure-scale, and includes a stretcher piece originally found in the Town range with which to evacuate broken snowboarders. A slightly odd jet plane B-model can also be built, but that can’t rescue anyone. Get your hands on 42092 when it lands in January.

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42093 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Continuing LEGO’s genius decision to partner with real-world auto-makers comes 42093, a 579-piece Technic version of Chevrolet’s mighty Corvette ZR1. Working steering and a miniature V8 engine make appearances, and 42093 uses bricks to replicate the Corvette’s shape rather than just stickers (although these are present) which we rather like too. A hot rod forms the B-model and we expect 42093 to cost around £35/$40 when it reaches stores next year.

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42095 RC Stunt Racer

Dropping two-hundred pieces but adding Power Functions motors, an IR receiver, and a controller is 42095, a very weird (but probably very fun) ‘Stunt Racer’. Each of the two large motors separately powers one of 42095’s tracks, giving the model skid-steering and likely excellent cat/Elf chasing ability. A B-model so similar we wonder why LEGO bothered can also be built, and you’ll be able to terrorise your pets for around £75/$80 from January 2019.

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42094 Tracked Loader

And now for our favourite; 42094 Tracked Loader. With 827 pieces but no motors, 42094 should be good value at around £65/$70 and it includes the most technical sophistication of the H1 2019 line-up. Linear actuators are driven via hand-powered wheels mounted at the rear of the loader, controlling the boom elevation and grabby claw up front. 42094 also includes suspended tracks, a rear winch, a rotating cabin, and a B-model that looks very nearly as good as the main vehicle. 42094 looks to be great addition to the 2019 Technic line-up and may even give that Porsche 911 RSR a run for our money.

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Which is your favourite new Technic set of 2019? Let us know in the comments, and you can read our reviews of dozens of LEGO’s past Technic sets via the Set Review Library here.

Here at TLCB we’re yet to be convinced by any of the multitude of supercar start-ups founded upon the dreams (and little else) of millionaires.

Routinely released in ‘digital concept form’ (i.e. they don’t exist), these affronts to engineering are invariably touted to have somewhere near a zillion horsepower and a 300mph top speed, despite being based upon bits of old Lotus and someone else’s engine, and are usually named by someone with a mental age of four.

Today’s start-up supercar manages a clean sweep of the above, being based on the Lotus Elise or Ariel Atom, using a Honda or Cosworth engine, and bearing the name ‘Rezvani Beast Alpha’. TLCB’s scepticism remains undimmed…

Still, this Technic recreation of the $200K re-bodied Ariel Atom is something to behold. Built by previous bloggee Lachlan Cameron (who also built the cars found in the two links above) this Lego Rezvani Beast Alpha is a properly fine Technic Supercar, featuring remotely controlled steering and drive, working suspension, opening doors, and front and rear LED lights, amongst a host of other functions.

There’s more to see of Lachlan’s Rezvani Beast via both Flickr and the Eurobricks forum – click the links to jump to the complete gallery of images and build specs.