Nerdy About The Bricks
I have yet to figure out what's going on with this month's LUGnuts challenge, it might as well have been called "build what you want and mention elves". Regardless, I'm totally digging this slammed '37 Chevy by rabidnovaracer. I don't know how good I look in orange, but I would totally drive this beast.
Car builder extraordinaire Lino M is back with another stunning MOC. This time it's based on another Tom Daniel classic over-the-top hotrod, Beer Wagon. I remember building a Monogram model of this one as a kid, and I remember my mom being not so sure about the subject matter. Then she saw Mr. "Gasser" and suddenly this one wasn't so bad.
Sprint car racing is pretty impressive to watch. They actually race them in a nearby town and I've been a couple times. The speed is fast, the track is small, the smell is pungent, the sound is loud and the crashes are spectacular. They are small too, you don't so much get in them as much as you "put them on". Speaking of small, check out these two in bricks by Lino M...perfect.
I'm not much of a car guy, but I do love a vintage roadster, and in the 50's Jaguar was one of the car makers doing it right. They were also big in the racing scene, and this 1957 beauty by rabidnovaracer was the combination of the two. When several unsold race cars were left over at the end of the race season, Jaguar converted them to street use. They must have been a thrill.
Let's face it, Vader has style. Sure he's a bit asthmatic, and perhaps a poor judge on where you should take on your rival in a lightsaber duel, but he's got style. Check out his ride for instance, expertly crafted by Lino M. This isn't a simple passenger van with a huge sticker on the side (yeah, that's what we called Star Wars vehicles back when I was a kid, it was disappointing then too) no, it's a sleek car with body styling reminiscent of his famous helmet, and an aggressive stance that says he means business.
This month's LUGnuts challenge is Anger Management, and is there anything more angry than the Angry Birds? Proudlove brings us this fine example of what happens when you combine poultry with power, and add a pinch of unbridled fury.
Growing up in the 70's I saw plenty of AMC cars around. The Pacer was always amusing, the only car build with zero blind spots. The Eagle looked like a sedan that longed to be a station wagon, a "sedagon" if you will. But by far the most tragic was the Gremlin. Perhaps if they were fitted with chrome engines, scissor doors and lemonade dispensers like this one from Lino M they wouldn't have been quite so laughable...who am I kidding? Nothing would have helped.
Here's a fun fact, my first car was a Beetle (well technically, it was a Chevy Luv, but that broke immediately, so I don't count it) and parked outside the studio right now is my convertible Beetle. I've always loved classic VW, and I think I could find a place in my heart for even this beast by Lino M. Yes, it's ugly in a beautiful way, but that's sort of the point of rat rods. Although I do have to take issue with the engine placement...
What's more insane than a 1956 Ford funny car? One with twin engines fore and aft! Car builder extraordinaire LinoM is back with another mind blowing vehicle, Double-Trouble. This month's LUGnuts challenge is A Tale Of Two Rivals, and this beast should have no trouble at all vanquishing his rival.
The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, for as much promise it seemed to have, was an epic disappointment. I had a tangential connection with it, helping solve some of the compositing challenges, and I had high hopes for it. But alas, I was let down. But there are a few shining gems in there, and one of them is this, Nemo's car, the Nautilus. The version by Mad physicist is as jaw dropping as the real one. Just look at that lovely detailing on the front, scrumptious.
When I was a kid, there was a time when the driveway was occupied by a classic beetle, and a Ford Pinto. That car was a piece of junk and the whole family pretty much dreaded going anywhere in it. Now if had been even remotely as cool as this awesome MOC by Proudlove, I'm sure we would have been trying to think of excuses to go for a ride all the time. Well, the kids maybe, I couldn't see my mom wanting to go anywhere near this car.
Any fan of hot rods or 60's-70's counterculture knows this face, it's Big Daddy Roth's Rat Fink! I built a lot of Revell model kits when I was a kid, and my favorites were Big Daddy Roth kits. This version by rabidnovaracer pretty much nails him, I especially love the inclusion of his ever-present swarm of flies, brilliant!
This, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Of course it's a product of the 1920's and of Rolls Royce, and between the aesthetics of the period, and the famous attention to detail of RR, how could it not be utterly stunning. Builder Lino M does it justice in this MOC. Or as the Sultan famously said in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...
“Rolls-Royce Phantom Two. 4.3 litre, 30 horsepower, six cylinder engine, with Stromberg Downdraft carburetor. Can go from zero to 100 kilometers an hour in 12.5 seconds...And I even like the color.”
The latest LUGnuts challenge is all about secret agents, and Lino M delivers quite an entry with this ultra custom spy car of the future. It features a extendable rotating weapons rack, missiles, a buzz saw, and can deploy a motorcycle from the passenger side! And all in a totally badass looking package.
Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, and across the Pacific. My Hawaiian vacation is coming to an end and it's been lovely. I didn't get to see any cool Hawaiian style customs while I was here, but I seriously doubt I'd see anything as cool as this classic beetle from Lino M. Surf's up dude!
It's always been my assumption that the original designers of cars have to be continually shocked and amused at what customizers do to what they almost certainly thought was a vehicle that was just perfect. But that doesn't stop the customizers, and it doesn't stop radical car builder Lino M either, as is illustrated here in this absurd, but wonderful MOC.
The cars of the 30's 40' and 50's were so damn cool. Design back then was just different, builders were craftsmen, and manufacturing focused on beauty and quality, not just sales. It seeped into all aspects of design, from architecture to kitchen appliances. But cars were particularly well designed. This version of the Hollywood by Rabidnovaracer is as beautiful as the car that inspired it.
LUGNuts gearhead LinoM is back with another jaw-dropper. Behold the Ralston Rhino. The fictional Ralston family approached the fine builders of LUGNuts to create the next thing in highway hauling and Lino has delivered. I can just imagine the driver climbing through the suicide doors into the crazy forward leaning cab, initializing the anti-grav capabilities and firing up the turbine...then hauling 22.6 tons of Vienna sausages or something to Toledo.
When I was a kid I had a Great American Popcorn Machine. I also had a fascination for show rods. This makes me reminisce about both. Lino Martins has done it again, dropping my jaw and making me smile with his mad car building skills. Anyone else smell hot butter?
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