Monday, March 2, 2009

What A Concept round-up

This challenge turned out to be one of the more conceptually difficult challenges we've had but the results were predictably...unpredictable! lets check out the round up, shall we?

Kwycstix races out of the starting line in probably the slowest concept car in the whole lot...an old timey Model A concept. He knows that concepts don't have to be all about in-dash GPS and cameras for rear view mirrors. A tilted windshield and a two tone paint job would have freaked out auto buyers back in the day.


Speaking of retro freak outs, Kwycstix comes back later in the challenge with this awesome Futurliner bus. Faithful to its original, this Art Deco ride was a sleek vision of the future and stands out as an instant crowd pleaser!



Our own Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne catches the four wide bug from Raphy with these cute little future concept cars. The first entry is in iconic yellow and black followed later by a yellow, a blue and a long and low red and white car. Neat!






Fe2cruz feels the fuel crunch and the struggling economy with this great entry. His character, Brick Reynolds (a salute to the mustachioed Burt Reynolds) is a struggling underpaid physics teacher that recruits the kids from detention to construct this electric concept. His socio-political commentary is well worth the read.


Proving that flattery gets you everywhere, fe2cruz submits this micro scaled salute to me with his version of the concept Hyanide snowmobile. High five, Mr. Cruz...we're the only two people on the planet to ever build a Lego Hyanide! Yeah!


But that's not all, he also combines fisher-price and lego elements to create this hybrid love child bike. Your weird secret is safe with us...we won't tell!



Raphy shows some enthusiasm in this challenge with this uncanny trio of trucks called Rocky, YellowTruck and...wait for it...The Obliterator Of Hell! Hmmmm...I wonder which one wins the arm wrestling match.


Proving he's not just all about trucks, Raphy races in at 200mph with this Orchid GT7. That's a lot of horsepower for such a little car!


But wait there's more! Just a hair behind the the GT7 comes this blue Flare RR. its super fast but it handles like a shopping cart...yanno, one stuck wobbly wheel...the kind of cart that'll tip all your groceries and your little brother out of it when you try to take a corner too fast. Boy did I get grounded for that!


And that's not all! Raphy ups the ante...and the scale with this GTTM R-450! You have to say it with an exclamation point. It also helps if you're yelling...like from a speeding car. Try it with me...GTTM R-450!! See what I mean? I'm digging the two tone black and white!
GTTM R-450


Rabidnovaracer
shows us that if we weren't in such a financial crunch we'd have the Pontiac G8 Sport Truck Concept. Unfortunately Pontiac had to re-prioritize their new line up and the G8 project was ditched. I wonder if I can build a real one out of a mattress, a lawn mower and a pile of wood. Probably not. We'll just have to live with this nice Lego replica.


He also shows us this sleek Cadillac Cien Concept Super Car. Leave it to Cadillac to install increasingly bigger motors into their cars, in this case a 750 HP V-12. Cadillac...and incidentally Rabidnovaracer combines a design philosophy of "Art and Science" into their work. I dig it!


Lino Martins wanted to build a super sleek spy snowmobile for Agent Janus but time restraints didn't allow for it. With icy tundra still on the brain, he goes way outside his comfort zone (and to the nearest pub!) with this single tread Hyanide concept snowmobile. lets have drinks...I'll provide the ice!


They must have been doing controlled substances of a different verity back in the 60's when they came up with the Deora. You chop a Dodge A-100 van and add parts from a Ford wagon and Ford sedan to get this concoction. But this sleek SNOT riddled ride is much more within what is expected from Lino's comfort zones. Maybe that's why Nathan built one too!
Its A Deora!


Newbie _nash (say that 10 times fast!) shows us that he fits well within our fine group with this stunning, wild concept inspired by the Bat Tumbler. As I recall, I gave nash no choice but to join our group and submit this ride to this challenge. I think we're all quite happy with the results!


Proving my instincts (and bullying) was spot on, Nash shows us all he isn't a one trick pony with this fabulous Roadster Venia Coupe & Convertible pair...one in red, the other yellow. Each is chock full of stunning detail. nash quickly proves to be a great new asset to our team. We welcome you!
Coupe or Convertible


To compliment the new green creator set, J4ke submits this LDD concept Viper in eight wide. What's great about this...it's fully buyable! The high piece count just about doubles the price of it's green counterpart but fully worth it in my opinion. Way to go, Jake!


NK DeSign-er says "its all about the big wheels" with this wild concept ride that is sure not to set foot (or tire) in the carpool lane. Extra seats...kinda like vegetables are just empty calories anyway! he calls this ride...The Bug.


Me Proudlove. Me build Original Concept Car. Me call it Wheel! Chicks like Wheel! Especially Pam Anderson and Tawny Katain. They sprawl over top of Wheel in pictures. Look sexy on Wheel! Og like chicks on Wheel!
og

Every car enthusiast must know the name Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. If you don't, I urge you all to make it right with the world and look him up right away! Look down at the t-shirt you're wearing. Does it say something? Does it have a picture on it? That is because of "Big Daddy" Roth. He was also a world famous car builder. Car shows would try to ban him because it was guaranteed he'd take the top prize. Nathan knows all about him as evidenced by his Roth inspired Sidewinder. You should too.
Sidewinder

No concept car build challenge would be complete without a Deora...and it's more modern and rounded Chip Foose designed Deora II. That's why its such a thrill that Nathan built one. This was pretty uncanny, folks! I can't stress enough that this was not planned. Also our Santa bikes were unplanned. Ever since the very first challenge, Nathan and I have been on the same astral wavelength. There are several more times that we almost built nearly identical ideas but decided against it mod-production. Its getting pretty spooky, even to us...but all we can do is laugh our asses off about it.
deoraii4

Thankfully, Gambort doesn't exist on any astral plain with anyone else as evidenced by this wild concept bike in 'ever awesome' lime green. With cheese slopes and a cheese grater, what's not to love? See what I did there? Actually I stole that joke. hey, it least it wasn't a joke about my dad's Aries K wagon.



It turns out MetalGearAddict has a vision for the year 2025 and its a lot like that 60's era Hanna Barbera cartoon about drag racing called Wacky Races. When driving this bad boy you don't look directly at the road but rather you lie down and see the road on a video screen. Let's hope the driver doesn't fall asleep while watching 2001 like I did. That's another fanciful retro vision of the future that didn't quite pan out.



Mad Physicist feared that dreaming up his own concept car would turn out hideous (I hear that!)so instead opted for an already existing concept, the 2003 Chrysler Airflite. Its subtle shape looked to be a challenging build, but Ralph pulled it off nicely with this build that he can only describe as "gangster cool"! I'll have to agree on that one. The grille has to be my fave feature!



Dave Shaddix concocts a wild black and white space age ride called the Vindicator Convertible. Dave doesn't say much in his write up, but this sleek car most certainly screams..."What a Concept!"



What would a challenge be without Firas Abu-Jaber? It was only a few short months ago that the flickr world had no idea who he was but has quickly become a perfect LUGNuts staple and this time with a stunning Audi R8 TDI Le Mans Concept. The intersecting rings of the Audi sign are simple yet brilliant. I think Raphy is now technically obligated to marry Firas as he built an Audi, his fave automaker. Yeah, yeah, I know...one is a kid and they're both male but I don't make the rules around here...I only enforce them...especially if the end result is hilarious! Now get to the holy matrimony, you two! I take it your gift registry will be at the Lego store.



Proving that all concept cars don't have to be red (what's with that this month?!)Dylan Denton submits this decidedly neat (and yellow) 1997 Volkswagen W12 Syncro Concept. A car not to be missed, this MOC has sleek styling all around. And check out the racing style suspension! I'm luvin' the gull wing doors on this one!
Volkswagen W12 Syncro


New guy Alexander Hoogerwerf shows us what he's made of. It turns out he's made of six wheels and a lot of black bricks! Oh and a 6.5 litre turbo V-8 engine. The truck bed under the cover is shaped like a coffin. Pretty convenient if you happen to be in the body transport biz. Or the mob.
Ute 1


thepaleman9 (because there are 8 other pale men before him?)submits this decidedly flashy concept car in red and lime green called the Zelyor. I'm digging the unusual shape and odd color combo on this one. Also paleman teaches us a new word with this MOC...can you all say Yumtown? I knew you could!
Zelyor_4

And just when we thought the most prolific car builder in the history of the world ever was going to take an oath of silence on this challenge, Lego911 squeaks in just before the deadline with not one, but two awesome entries! One being the Peugeot 507CC Retrofuturismo...well done in two versions, one with the roof on and the other retracted, it is a faithful representation of the original. Great color scheme also!


911 told us there would be only one entry...but as he still had a few seconds left to the challenge deadline, this gave him more than enough time to whip up the Peugeot 507 Cote d'Azure Luxury Cabriolet Retrofuturismo. This one also has a stunning color scheme. 911 apologizes profusely for being so slack on this challenge...but what he probably doesn't know is two awesome entries in one challenge is more than some people produce all year. I think we can find it in our hearts to forgive him.


Wow..."What a Concept"...what a great challenge indeed! Now we rock and roll with our all music inspired challenge called "Play That Funky Music!" Its already panning out to be a pretty good challenge so far...stay tuned to see how it all turns out.