This is my bricked version of the often-MOCed Volkswagen T1 transporter/camper/vanagon/bus/bulli/kombi, in a scale in between the official Lego sets 10220 and 40079. These and other toy remakes (e.g. here), as well as prints on T-shirts and posters contributed to the van's status as a popcultural icon. And, of course, the #vanlife style of living of hippies in the 1960s and 1970s, and hipsters today did its part. What I found intriguing, reading about the van recently, was that the van had originally been the idea of Dutch VW importer Ben Pon Sr., rather than the company’s own engineers, who in 1947 drew up a front-seated rear-engined van based on the beetle. Later, they named a Hannover street in honour of him, where the van and its successors haven been produced. Intriguing this story is moreover, because PON Holdings today not only sells cars and trucks on an international level, but owns a number of bicycle brands, including Cervélo, Cannondale, Gazelle and Santa Cruz. As I have noted elsewhere (Peugeot 504 Tour de France), cars and bikes should, as they have before, go together well ...
The bricked MOC of the van uses similar techniques as my VW T2, such as SNOT in all directions, hidden clips for a curved shape of the nose, as well as a half-step positioning of the roof to create the characteristic roof overhang in front. The camper version features a pop-up roof, kitchen cabinets and storage options in the side doors. The ideas of leveling the mid-section of the roof with brackets as well as of using an upside down 1x4 panel as a rear fender have been adapted from Brian Williams. The triangular tiles and cut-corner 1x2 slopes as the iconic nose design have been adapted from BlueBrixx-Special 102544, hachiroku24, and legocampervans at Rebrickable, but placed over angled 2x2 plates mounted on clips, which I developed for my T2 and which make the front more realistic and round looking. To be sure, not as round as 1ssac W.‘s T1, but maybe a little more stable and closer to TLG production type cars.

Tags:   10220 40079 Lego minifig scale Volkswagen T1 #vanlife 6-wide vintage van camper split-screen

© All Rights Reserved

When I saw this car parked on the street some time ago it was not mundane at all, as it is a rare sight these days, and I did have to look twice. Through some online research I learned that today the International Harvester Scout (here version 2 or II of the 1970s up to 1980) is considered an offroad classic, often tuned up with big wheels, winch, bumper, extra lights, flashy color schemes etc. However, you can also find the original advertisements of the time when this car was new, and you realize that back in the day this was one of the most mundane vehicles around. It was targeted at families and/or people with a dog, like these two minifigs, who wanted to go on weekend trips or just use the rig to haul groceries, the most mundane thing to do on four wheels... I find it curious that International Harvester had once turned from manufacturing farm equipment to practically inventing the SUV and the mundane lifestyle associated with it. The mundane look of my bricked MOC version of the IH Scout results from a lot of SNOT-, hinge-, jumper- and bracket use. It fits two minifigures side-by-side in front, as well as a dog (or groceries) in the back.
I had wanted to realize this classic in Lego bricks ever since I had seen the one on the street but I had never been sure of its modest looks which make it so inconspicuous as a MOC. Now, exactly these characteristics of the IH Scout 2 stock version in an advertisement style setting make it apt as an entry to the Festival of Mundanity, I hope.
#FestivalofMundanity, #BrickNerd and #TheLEGOCarBlog

Tags:   LEGO FestivalofMundanity BrickNerd TheLEGOCarBlog International Harvester Scout II Scout 2 1970s IH Scout dog offroad

© All Rights Reserved

As another entry to the Festival of Mundanity, I decided to post my 6-wide Lego MOC VW T2 Transporter. The Bulli has developed a cult following since its introduction in 1967, like its older sibling T1. Nevertheless it had originally been designed as the most mundane means of transport for craftspeople and farmers. The different versions buyers could chose from, with and without windows, standard or high roof, closed or open bed etc. were advertised with the slogan "Die Zunft der Vernunft," something like "the guild of rationality" or mundanity (?!), alluding to carpenters', roofers' and others' membership in traditional trade guilds. The camper version which today is the icon of #vanlife was just one of a number of options back in the day. Check out this excellent collection of historical ads for more Bulli mundanity: www.vw-t2-bulli.de/de-promotion-vw.html.
My MOC features front doors, a sliding side door, as well as lots of clip, SNOT and bracket work to achieve the proper shaping and proportions. I studied many of the excellent T2 MOCs out there and worked long on refining the shape as close to scale as possible while retaining minifig playbility. Middle roof section adapted from www.flickr.com/photos/brian_williams/14152867703/in/photo...
#FestivalofMundanity, #BrickNerd and #TheLEGOCarBlog

Tags:   6-wide Lego car van minifig-scale Volkswagen Transporter T2 Bulli MOC Furgoneta Kombi Combi Camper Bus Microbus

© All Rights Reserved

Worked very long on these proportions, which now are really close to scale: overhangs, angles, wheels, windows, etc. Seats two minifigures side-by-side in front. Pop-up roof working with tent insertion. Camper guy in front represents Johannes Büchs of the German television show "Kann es Johannes?" (WDR), in which he drives around in this van. kinder.wdr.de/tv/kann-es-johannes/index.html
Blogged by the Lego Car Blog under "#vanlife" here.
#TheLEGOCarBlog

Tags:   vw volkswagen t3 westfalia camper legominifigscalesidebysideseating surfer pop-up roof lego moc 6-wide TLCB vanlife westy vanagon bulli bus

© All Rights Reserved

УАЗ-452, nickname "Bukhanka" [bread loaf] -- This tough as simple van has been produced with minor modifications since 1965. It is used as a transporter, ambulance, military vehicle -- a typical multifunctional utility van. Recently it has been promoted as a lifestyle van for camping and offroad adventures. I modelled it in its simple stock design, using a record number of 1x1 SNOT bricks. I chose to design the front with different kinds of slopes set off just a bit to get both a horizontal and a vertical shaping. The roof is made from 1x2 panels representing the grooves and a slight bow, the tiles in front allow for a slight overhang of the roof over the windshield.

Tags:   Lego 6-wide MOC car Bukhanka Buchanka Soviet van UAZ-452 offroad utility vintage military Russian socialist industry

© All Rights Reserved