VW Bug - The Official Set

Created by the LEGO company

Available sometime in the next month

Details: Yes, dear Google searchers, we hear your failed requests. Over the past few months, people looking for (and not finding) info on this set have been visiting this blog with alarming regularity (mostly because I've featured both of the Arvo brother's VW Beetle designs). Well, now I have some info: the set is licensed through Volkswagen, but will only be available at LEGO stores and through LEGO Shop at Home. The official release will be within the next month - I don't have an exact date. You can watch for info on it at its Brickset page. There are over 1500 pieces included and the set will sell for over $100. This design is noteworthy partially because it was one of the first to be voted on by LEGO fans at a fan event in Germany, but also because this final version features hundreds of parts in fairly rare colors. The scale is also interesting - it's big enough to provide some great details, Ultimate Collector Series-style, but it's also perfect for Technic and Belville figures. Some leaked publicity shots have appeared on Brickshelf. Also, there might be a few exclusive detail shots in my Brickshelf folder, thanks to my well-connected friend (and BrickJournal's editor) Joe Meno (and if you haven't subscribed to BrickJournal yet, I highly recommend doing that while you wait for this set to release). Searchers, is there anything else you want to know? Also, do you want to stick around? Although most models featured here aren't available for sale, there is a new model every day and most of them are just as amazing as this set.

Volkswagen Beetle

Name of Model: Volkswagen Beetle - Original Lego design by Arvo

Created by: arvo

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=299656

Details: The Arvo Brothers have taken on the Volkswagen Beetle, and as with all of their cars, it looks excellent. Most notable about this one, though, is that it provides a bit of a contrast with the set that will be coming out later this year (I'm having trouble finding a link right now but there is definitely an official Volkswagen Beetle set coming up soon). This one makes use of a wide variety of sloped parts - in the typical Arvo style - whereas the official model has more of a sculpted look with a variety of LEGO® plates. I'm also digging the more modern look of the yellow parts here compared to the special shades of blue on the official one (it's always great to get hard-to-find colors in a set, but it's not exactly a must when designing your own model).

Iron Man

Name of Model: Iron Man

Created by: The Arvo Brothers

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2864105, http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2864279, and http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2864292

Details: The famous comic book hero Iron Man has been done at a fairly sizeable scale by the Arvo Brothers. You may recall that we've featured their incredible models cars before, but this is really the first major fictional character they've done (they have done some smaller characters that I haven't featured yet, though - you can check those out in their Brickshelf gallery.) So far there are only those three photos of this one online, and they're all in the same pose (so we don't know yet if this Iron Man is moveable or not yet.)

Ford GT40

Name of Model: Ford GT40

Created by: arvo

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=256810

Details: This is yet another amazing car made by the amazing Arvo. This time, he tackles Ford's GT40 - and it's another phenomenal success. The clever use of various slopes to get just the right shape works as well as always, and if I'm seeing this correctly, there's also a classy (but non-moving) rear engine on this. No write-up is available for this model yet, but if you've been following along here you should already know that Arvo is a sort of God when it comes to making cars. There may be a write-up (in Spanish, of course) at some point in the future, and I'll post it here if I find out about it.

This is Sunday's model of the day

New Beetle

Name of Model: New Beetle

Created by: arvo

Found at: http://www.ladrillitos.com/zmf/viewnews.php?storyid=145 and http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=246343

Details: This splendid car features many studs-not-on-top details and hinged features. The headlight detailing is a hoot! The original page uses a number of pictures to describe the details of the model, so you may find it of interest even if you don't understand the Spanish-language text. There is also a brickshelf page for this model.

(This is Thursday's model of the day)

Fiat 131

Name of Model: Fiat Seat 131

Created by: arvo

Found at: http://www.ladrillitos.com/libom/viewnews.php?storyid=118 and http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=219773

Details: If you clicked the link for today's model, you may have noticed that that page is written in Spanish. For those of you who can't read Spanish (or don't want to deal with an online translator), this summary will cover the basics. This car is modeled after an old family car - specifically, a Fiat 131. After the color was chosen, measurements were taken to properly build the car to scale. The chassis and steering system were built first with a good deal of detail, and the rest of the model was assembled little-by-little from there. The chassis has a combination of traditional LEGO bricks, Technic beams, and Technic bricks. The original page uses a number of pictures to describe the details of the model, so you may find it of interest even if you don't understand the text. There is also a brickshelf page for this model.