Fendt F231 GT

November 23, 2017, 4:00 am

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This charming little tractor was spotted by the Elves in the LUGNuts group on Flickr. Stefan‘s Fendt F231 GT is the type of machine that is gradually vanishing from farms as people invest in bigger, heavier more capable vehicles. We couldn’t find out much about this particular model and wondered if its “GT” designation actually meant that it was aimed at the Grand Tour of Europe’s roads, given its 35PS/bhp, 3 cylinder engine. Click this link to see more of Stefan’s models and click this link to see more Fendt F231 photos, including one with a caravan in tow.

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Ursus 912 | Picture Special

December 1, 2017, 3:16 am

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Founded in 1893 by a team of seven engineers and businessmen the Ursus factory began producing exhaust engines and trucks. In 1930 the company was nationalised during the Great Depression and Ursus switched to making vehicles, machinery and arms for the Polish military. Not enough of them sadly as Germany (and the Soviet Union weirdly) successfully invaded and then annexed Poland in 1939, triggering the start of the Second World War.

The Ursus factory, now under German control, was forced into producing arms for the German military, building Panzer II and Wespe tanks. Following the Allied victory in 1945 Ursus returned to making tractors, copying designs from Germany and working with Zetor of Czechoslovakia to dramatically increase tractor production in Eastern Europe.

It worked too, with a combined 120,000 units produced across both brands annually at the firms’ peak. However, the Cold War loomed, and an over-ambitious state-sponsored expansion programme in the late ’70s and 1980s led to Ursus (and many other Polish businesses) incurring massive amounts of debt in the push for modernisation. Although up to 80% of these loans were eventually written off Ursus production was crippled, and now numbers around just 1,500 units a year.

Builder Marek Markiewicz (aka M-longer) remembers happier times at Ursus when orders were c60,000 a year with his gloriously accurate 1980s Ursus 912 4-cylinder tractor. Using the wheels from the LEGO Technic 42054 Claas Xerion set has enabled Marek to build his Ursus big and as such it’s absolutely packed with detail. An opening ventilated roof and a pendular front axle also feature and there’s a whole lot more to see courtesy of Marek’s Flickr photostream and via the Eurobricks discussion forum. Follow the links in the text above for the full set of images of Marek’s brilliant Ursus 912.

Party Animals!

December 5, 2017, 8:41 am

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Things are getting wild down on the farm! This menagerie of drunken farm animals doesn’t look dissimilar to the last party we had here at TLCB Towers. If you replace the Ford Model T with a wheelie chair. And the farm animals with a near-comatose TLCB staff writer. And the riotous abandon with remorseful crying. And ‘party’ with ‘drinking alone’.

Anyway, enough about this blogger’s Friday night, this wonderful scene comes from Paul (aka Brick Baron) of Flickr and it was built for this year’s BrickCon Lego convention. There’s more to see of his colourful party animals at his photostream – click the link above to make the jump!

The Other Challenger

April 20, 2018, 4:01 pm

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The Dodge Challenger has appeared here numerous times over the years. This isn’t that Challenger. Nope, this one is made by Caterpillar, and it comes from a series of tractors that were the first to be specifically designed to run on tracks.

This brilliant Model Team recreation of the latest Challenger MT865C comes from the appropriately-named Eric Trax, who has done a simply astonishing job replicating the Caterpillar in Lego form. And Eric’s creation is far from a static model…

Inside the beautifully constructed exterior are a wealth of electronic and pneumatic components, allowing Eric’s Challenger to drive, skid-steer, and power both an on-board compressor and power-take-off.

Hooked up to the back of the MT865 is a Kinze 1050 grain trailer, complete with its own Medium motor and pneumatics to control the unloading auger.

All of these functions can be controlled remotely via bluetooth, thanks to the third-party SBrick concealed within the build. This enables the models to be controlled by a phone or, as Eric has done, by a Playstation 4 controller!

There’s much more to see of this amazing Caterpillar Challenger MT865C tractor and Kinze 1050 grain trailer at both Brickshelf and the Eurobricks forum – click the link to see all of the images and to read complete build details.

Spray Pattern

May 15, 2018, 1:04 pm

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It’s weird animal-related vehicle day here at The Lego Car Blog. First we post a flying crab, and now we’ve got some sort of tracked locust. Ironically, considering its resemblance to the winged eater of crops, this Goldacres G8CT is employed to protect the bounty of the fields.

Built by BrickbyBrickTechnic this impressive Technic crop sprayer is one of the most intricately engineered creations we’ve found in a while, with independently suspended all-track-drive linked to a four-cylinder piston engine, Hand-of-God steering, and a pair of huge motorised spraying arms that can both unfold and lower electrically.

There’s much more to see of BrickbyBrick’s Goldacres G8CT at both Eurobricks (where there is a video showing the 1 metre wide arms in action) and Flickr – take a closer look via the links.

500 Tools

May 31, 2018, 2:43 am

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We round out a small-scale day here at The Lego Car Blog (don’t worry, we’ll be back soon with something much bigger) with this neat Fendt 500 Vario. Built by Flickr’s Stefan it’s an excellent recreation of the German manufacturer’s infinitely variable transmission tractor, but as with real tractors it’s what attached to it that’s cool.

Stefan has built a variety of tools for his Fendt, including a Polterschild & Forstseilwinde forest blade and winch (shown above) allowing the tractor to handle some hefty wood,* and what is apparently a Mulchfräse forestry mulcher** (below) for… er, mulching it?

There’s more to see of Stefan’s Fendt 500 Vario and the various implements it can deploy at his photostream – click the link above and get mulching!

*Just like your Mom.

**Again, just like…

The Old Workhorse

June 29, 2018, 7:37 am

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The Lego Car Blog is normally full of Porsches, hot rods and fighter jets, but not today! Today we’re bringing you something much classier. And much older too…

Traction engines were the tractors of the late 1800s-early 1900s, effectively self-propelled steam engines for the roads that could pull immense loads. Very slowly, but immense loads nonetheless. The arrival of the internal combustion-engined tractor saw traction engine use decline massively, but many do still survive to this day. In fact this TLCB writer passed one close by to TLCB Towers recently that was comfortably towing both an enormous wooden caravan trailer and a Land Rover Defender behind that. Very slowly.

This superbly rendered turn-of-the-century traction engine comes from newcomer Bricked1980, and whilst it’s not our normal fodder we absolutely love it! Constructed in LEGO’s newer hues of dark green and gold, Bricked’s model features authentic chain steering, a spinning flywheel, much plumbing accoutrement, and a drawbar trailer full of assorted old-timey stuff. Which it will pull, very slowly.

Suggested to us by a reader there’s much more to see of Bricked1980s brilliant mini-figure scale traction engine design at both Eurobricks and Flickr, where you’ll also find a link to the model on the LEGO Ideas platform.

 

Green Party

July 6, 2018, 10:22 am

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TLCB regular de-marco is back, and this time he’s brought more green than Amsterdam! His lovely Town-scale tractor is available to view on Flickr, complete with a trailer load of unlabelled greeness, and he’s made instructions accessible too. Click the link above to light up.

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Got Your Number

July 9, 2018, 2:13 am

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Apart from a certain McLaren, the creation in this post has probably the most uninspiring vehicular name of all time. The DAF FT 85.360 ATI sounds like a mobile phone specification, but we suppose at the end of the day it is simply a tool for pulling things.

This top quality Model Team recreation of the ’90s DAF truck comes from DAF-building specialist Arian Janssens of Flickr, and he’s built a 24 ton animal feed tanker to go with it. Both are spectacularly well detailed builds and you can see more of each at Arian’s snappily titled DAF FT 85.360 ATI Flickr album via the link above.

FarmVille

September 26, 2018, 4:00 pm

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No! Not that hateful game that annoyed everyone on Facebook for about 5 years. Don’t worry, we’re not inviting you to grow carrots or whatever bullcrap that pointless procrastination aid was peddling. Instead we have these two excellent farming machines to show you, both of which come from Kreso007 of Flickr. On the left is a Massey Ferguson 7345 combine harvester whilst on the right is a John Deere 9460RT, and there’s more to see of each by clicking here.

Cemetery Gates*

November 30, 2018, 4:00 pm

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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!

Making Hay

March 25, 2019, 4:51 am

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It’s a gloriously sunny spring day here at TLCB Towers, and whilst it’s nowhere near hay season yet we’re looking forward thanks to Eric Trax and this spectacular New Holland TM140 and Claas Quadrant 2200 baler combo.

Eric’s superb New Holland tractor not only looks fantastic, it’s packed with remote control functionality all of which can be controlled remotely via bluetooth thanks to a third-party SBrick. The drive and steering are driven by Power Functions motors, as are the front and rear hitches and power-take-off.

That PTO sends drive to the Claas Quadrant baler, powering a variety of complicated-looking mechanisms which ultimately culminates in the machine excreting a block of tan pieces (hay) in a manner similar to a horse doing its business. It’s a mighty clever build and one that you can recreate for yourself as Eric has made instructions available too!

There’s much more to see of both the New Holland TM140 tractor and Claas Quadrant 2200 baler at both the Eurobricks forum and via Eric’s Flickr photostream, plus you can watch the models in action via the video below. Click the links above to make hay, whilst we await the outcome of the office sweepstake betting on how long it’ll be before we have to extract a TLCB Elf from the inner workings of that baler…

YouTube Video

Meat Wagon

May 6, 2019, 4:55 am

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The animals are finally leaving the farm! We’re not sure it’s for a holiday though…

Still, this is the 1960s, so at least cruel and intensive meat production isn’t really a thing yet. Arian Janssens is the builder behind this rather lovely DAF A 1900 DS truck and trailer combo and there more to see on Flickr. Click the link above to join us for a medium sirloin.

Lamborghini Centenario (I)

May 26, 2019, 3:23 am

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Lamborghini are best known these days for their wildly-styled V12-engined supercars, but they actually started in far more humble fashion as a tractor manufacturer. Flickr’s Yvan Bourdeau pays homage to their beginnings with this marvellous recreation of one of their earliest vehicles… yet has fitted it with one of Lamborghini’s enormous V12 engines. It’s almost as if he were a TLCB Elf… Head to Yvan’s photostream via the link above and see how quickly you can plow that field….

FarmVille

June 12, 2019, 4:03 pm

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Is FarmVille still a thing? We hope not. Anyway, let’s move on from today’s title to this incredible pair of farming vehicles, each built by Eric Trax of Flickr. We’ve been awaiting for further details of these builds for a few days but as these don’t appear to be forthcoming and the Elf that found this is getting increasingly irate we’ll post this now…

These two almost unfathomably detailed Lego creations are a Holmer Terra Dos T3 and a Fendt Favorit 514c tractor complete with a Krampe Big Body 550 trailer in tow. Underneath the remarkably life-life exteriors Eric has engineered some quite spectacular realism, with a multitude of Power Functions components giving each model a plethora of working functionality.

As for what that functionality is you’ll have to wait until Eric posts further details, but until then you can see this incredible image above in closer detail via the link above. And if your Aunt is still inviting you to play FarmVille every few weeks, tell her to move on…

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Green Machine

August 26, 2019, 4:02 pm

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We like a good tractor here at The Lego Car Blog. After all, they’re responsible for the production of the tasty vegetables and even tastier meats that reside in TLCB Fridge. This excellent Technic tractor comes from previous bloggee Thirdwigg and it’s a John Deere 6130R, complete with a working piston engine, front and rear power take-offs, steering and drawbars. There’s more to see of Thirdwigg’s build on Flickr, Brickshelf, and at the Eurobricks discussion forum – head to the farm via the links above.

Tractor Trailer Trailer

September 9, 2019, 4:01 pm

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Flickr’s Jakeof_ is back, with this beautifully constructed MTZ-82.1 tractor – complete with hot dogs for wheel arches – towing a pair of Autosan D-732 trailers. Lovely detailing is visible throughout and there’s much more to see of this superb threesome at his MTZ-82.1 / Austin D-732 Flickr album. Click the link above to visit Jakeof_’s farm.

 

Ursus C330

October 7, 2019, 1:38 pm

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This beautiful little Ursus C330 tractor was found by one of our Elves on Flickr today. Built by Thietmaier aka Damian Z it deploys a brilliantly chosen array of tiny pieces to give a wealth of detail to the build. See more on Flickr at the link.

Ein Mann Ging Mähen…

December 18, 2019, 9:17 am

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Thanks to Google for what is no doubt a seamless translation of the well known nursery rhyme…

Whatever that title actually says, we do have a mower to share with you today, which will indeed allow one man to mow his meadow. It’s been affixed to a vintage German Eicher EKL 15 tractor as built (rather beautifully) by Flickr’s Damian Z aka Thietmaier.

Damian’s Eicher tractor is packed with lovely building techniques, including a fantastic set of mudguards, front drawbar steering, a wonderfully detailed engine and a side-mounted mower attachment constructed from many mini-figure hands.

There’s more to see of Damian’s brilliant build at his Eicher EKL 15 Flickr album; head to the meadow via the link in the text above.

Farmville

March 15, 2020, 7:44 pm

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We like a good tractor here at TLCB. We even like a not very good tractor, which – knowing little about this Ursus C-360 from 1970s Poland – today’s one may well be. It is a lovely build though, coming from Flickr’s Thietmaier (aka Damian Z) who has recently updated his previously blogged design with LEGO’s latest parts. He’s also built a plethora of farming equipment to accompany it, including whatever that green thing is above. See more of it and the fabulous tractor pulling it at Thietmaier’s Ursus C-360 album by clicking here.