By Random Appointment Roundup

This has been an interesting month...our active LUGNuts members asked for assignments and our admins randomly appointed them in return. Admins asked for random assignments from the members at large and they randomly appointed them to us. This is the first time in LUGNuts history that we all had to be made accountable for what we said we were going to do. The end result...we've learned some folks are chock full of moxie, others are accountable most of the time and others...um...not at all. We've waited around an extra week or two for any late promised entries but the LUGNuts Blog is a harsh mistress so we must move on. There has been more than a few blowouts but lets see how the ones that actually participated pulled it off, shall we?

First on the random appointment slab Gambort rushes in with his assigned Russian Zaz Zaporozhets 966. See what I did there? Rush in...Russian. Anyway, I figured since he's totally into Soviet vehicles he'd go completely bolshevik over the little 966. The end result...a little...um...966, just as expected. it comes complete with a little Russian fur hat guy. Well done, comrade!



We go from something Russian to something more like what my grandma would drive, a 1979 Oldsmobile Toronado built by Peteris Sprogis. Ralph had a truly random way of delegating assignments...a numbered list and a random number generator. The result paired up Peteris with the rather cool retro Olds.



Later in the challenge, Peteris was assigned the 1965 Sunbeam Alpine Tiger by our admin Tim and the result...this slick little render of the classic retro ride. The design team led by famed Cobra racer Ken Miles crammed a beefy V8 into a space meant for a little four banger. Neat!



Sangi13 proves he likes his drinks shaken, not stirred...and slightly blurred with this Aston Martin DB7 Zagato. It has a great rack of headlights and a nice curvy rear end. I'm talking about the car, not... ...Never mind.



Legowink chimes in with a wink and a nod with this Honda Insight. He wasn't told specifically what year to do so he went with the sleek new 2011. Good choice. (wink wink)



My affinity for wagons has mercilessly assigned jmoakoen with the Dodge Magnum and for the love of God, it had better be custom! The result...a fiery red Magnum dragster rocket car. As they don't factory equip those beasts with drag tires and rocket engines, I'd say this entry is pretty custom indeed.



The Lord summoned improbcat and said unto he... build an ark of 300 cubits in length and 50 cubits in width and thou shall rescue two of every animal and thee shall be saved. Or build us a totally pimped out Chevy Astro Van convertible with TVs in the headrests and humungous bitchin' sub-woofers in the rear doors. That would also be freakin' rad!



Later in the challenge, improbcat answered the Car Gods ramblings once again with a Ford Model T. A standard traditional build you'd think, but true to improbcat's style, there is nothing standard or traditional about this hot rodded out Model T roadster pickup. The American legend gets a totally un-American Jaguar inline-six engine three carbs on one side and five exhaust pipes out the other.



Then finally the three time Random Appointment champ blows the roof off this dump with his assigned 1987 Buick GNX in sleek gangsta black...except for the dark grey fender flares, which were not available in black in inprob's Lego collection. I like the slanty grille and the yellow headlights/ fog lamps.



When Ralph randomly assigned Legogil the tricky Renault Avantime, I did not envy our resident Brazilian builder...at first. I was wondering how he would tackle its complex shape and tricky curves and angles. It turns out Gil has masterfully replicated this difficult ride and the lego world is that much better for it. Gil tells us he loved this challenge and it really shows in this stunning labor of love.



Ralph once again fired up his random number generator and Jonathan Derksen answered the call of duty with this 1962 Ford Galaxie Sunliner. It wouldn't be a Jonathan build unless it was as bright as the sun and this Sunliner is no exception. I'm digging the huge woofers where the back seat should be.



After weeks of hemming and hawing and shuffling his feet, Jason H. finally pulls through with this little Dodge Charger Police Interceptor Tiny Turbo. There was a lot of big discussion for such a tiny car but in the end it went down rich and smooth, like a finely poured Guinness. I guess now the driver of this little car should give me a breathalyzer test for such bad writing.



Later Jason H. pulls through with his assigned 1964 Ford Econoline...this one converted into a pickup. Jason tells us photos for this little red number was delayed due to an unexpected snow storm that blew through his area. Yeah, just like the real Econoline, I'd imagine this one would be rather useless in the snow.



When Raphy asked for an assignment, I had a special plan for him...to build any car from 1977 but give it a Star Wars theme. I imagined a lot of things but had no idea he'd convert a '77 Audi 80 into an Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle. I literally laughed out loud when I saw this one...the oversized wings and fins makes the Audi completely impractical...just like the Imperial Shuttle.



What do shallow, fake douchebags drive? Turns out its the 2008 Scion xA custom hatchback. No seriously, check out Raphy's photostream, he says it all. This little number comes with a trillion intakes, half working neon panels, fake-fancy paintjob and blacked-out spray-painted rims. Judging by the Scion xA drivers I've seen and the smell of Drakkar Noir, I'd have to suspect Raphy is right about that whole douchebag thing.



Right after the Scion xA, Raphy adds some much needed class to this joint with his assigned 1937 Bugatti Tipo Cinquantesette Atalante. I had the little HotWheels car of this thing when I was a kid. I liked to drive it around on my carpet and pretend the occupants inside were in a Gray Poupon commercial. Now THATS classy!

Proving he has a wicked imagination, ChargerHornet chimes in with this 1909 Cadillac Hot Rod. Nathan wanted a hodge-podge Caddy to go with the great Johnny Cash's song "One Piece At A Time", but even Nathan...or Johnny Cash for that matter could not have seen this hot rod Caddy coming!

GeekyTom takes a break from being a geek to build this decidedly hip and cool 1947 Ford COE custom surf truck. I can just imagine the convo going on between the two surfer figs. "Dude, my muscles are like totally gnarly, babe." And she's like..."pffft whatever!" Totally denied, little surfer dude! Bummer, man. Bummer.

Someone else with surfing on the brain is lego911. As he has built nearly 20,000 cars in his time, he was handled like a caged tiger and asked to build something we know he has never done...Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Surfite. With all that experience backing him up, I'd say he did the wild 60's era custom ride lots of justice. Totally radical, dude!

Later, 911 pulls up to the crime scene in this unique 1998 Ford Crown Victoria Police Cruiser made into a donut shop. The original ride was customized by Jesse James and his Monster Garage crew. Like the real thing, this one has passenger side presentation doors that showcase sweet donuts and a coffee maker while the driver's side sports a checkered racing seat.

Lastly, the Master Engineer for Ford was assigned to build...get this... a signature 1955 Chevy Cameo Pickup in factory color scheme only. Peter does this classic Ford rival justice with its iconic white and red colors and "luxury truck" design. This Chevy is bound to make even the most avid Ford fan gasp...even just a little.

NK DeSign-er asked for an easy car and got the Mazda RX-8. Easy to some maybe, but a bear for NK. Still he pulled it off pretty well with this LCAD render all done up in electric blue with white striping. he managed to pull off its subtle shape that is distinctly Mazda.

The biggest benefit to this random appointment challenge is to pull off a car you'd never otherwise think about and to learn something new while doing it. LegOscar demonstrates this best with the Dutch designed Spyker C8. Be sure not to miss the Youtube vid showcasing this sporty little number from every angle.

Taken from my own "to do" list, I assigned the Green Hornet movie car to Jason Son, knowing full well he could pull it off probably better than I can. He did not disappoint with this customized 1966 Chrysler Imperial chock full of hidden weapons and other badass features no superhero should be without. With the movie coming out this month, this build ought to prove to be a timely success.

Speaking of timely success, how does our usual resident big rig builder handle a random appointment thats not a big rig? Quite nicely, it turns out. He takes his assigned 90's era GMC Sierra and turns it into one of the most tricked out sports trucks imaginable. With airtanks in the dumping bed, lambo doors and flip open hood, this custom ride also features Bricksonwheel's signature chrome bits. Tasty!

Shunik chimes in on a LUGNuts challenge for the first time ever with this Jeep Grand Cherokee. He doesn't have anything to say about this ride leaving this writer...a little short on words myself. Ah, its ok, Shunik, we were all a little nervous our first time too. It only gets better from here. And yes, I was talking about posting to the LUGNuts challenges so keep your minds out of the gutter!

A seasoned pro at posting to the LUGNuts group (and I imagine a few other things as well) is Firas Abu-Jaber. Our resident Middle Eastern builder has made quite a name for himself conjuring up Italian supercars...but how does he handle the quaint little Morris Minor? With all the same sleek styling as his usual stuff...and totally hot rodded out. This assignment brought Firas out of a little bit of a dark age and we're all exceptionally happy to see him back.

For nearly forty challenges now, Lino Martins has pretty much told all y'all what to do. But in this uncanny random appointment challenge, LegoJunkie stepped up to the plate and told the big boss man he wanted him to build a 1960 Flatbed truck...make and model up to me. I took his suggestion and went with the '60 Ford F-250 flatbed in striking yellow and black. The little 60's era bubble top rod was just bonus Lino goodness!

Another big boss man, Ralph Savelsberg also puts his short term fate in the hands of the LUGNuts members at large and the end result...is this nifty little Citroen DS assigned to him by Duq. This classic French car has tricky curves and distinctly European design but Ralph pulls it off in typical Mad Physicist style.

Silcantar reminds us all of 90's era Technic sets with this Audi Quattro. The technic beams merely suggest the shape of the car. Ah those were the days of the Lego 8880 Supercar! It was a much more innocent time back then. Look it up, kids! Also did you know Lego is coming out with a new Technic supercar in 2011? Look that up too.

Nolnet received two Air Blast racers for Christmas and they are apparently more fun than they should be. The first resulted in this Ferrari 250 GTO. It looks totally fun to blast across the floor! What was the result of his second Air Blast set, you may ask? Well, you're going to have to wait for next month to learn of that little doozie. Or just check out his photostream.

And speaking of next month, we are there already with our new build challenge called Octan Racing. We have been hired as designers and engineers for the Octan Marketing Division so build whatever you want, but do it in Octan colors with logos and graphics. Unusual entries are highly encouraged. As Octan is a fictional fuel company thought up by The Lego Group, your pay is also fictional. But feel free to come up with lofty job titles for yourself to feel uppity and important. For example, I am Octan's new Executive Director In Charge Of Total Awesomeness. It has a nice ring to it, I think. Until next time...happy building, everyone!

The Food We Eat Round Up

Welcome to the only vehicle challenge round up based on...of all things...The Food We Eat. When considering food from the source, then transport and delivery...not to mention custom cars with food names and you have a wide selection of specialized vehicles to choose from. So sit back, grab a snack and enjoy this array of culinary delights cooked up by our talented automotive chefs and served up hot and smothered in gravy just for you. Lets strap on the feed bag and get it on! Uh, that came out weird. Well, it sets the mood for this challenge, at least. Lets just move on.

First in the chow line, Gambort whips up a neat little David Brown 780 tractor. Stir in some greebles, a hay trailer and a windmill for some Australianized flair, serve hot and you have a decidedly savory appetizer from Down Under and a good start to this challenge!



Take a classic '68 Dodge Charger chock full of oldschool muscle and attitude, serve icy cool with a twist of lime and you have...Lime Twist, the newest culinary delight cooked up by Legogil. There's just too many flavorful details to name, but be sure not to miss the taillights wrapped in small tires. Great solution to that problem! This is why we build, folks.



Bill Ward reheats some leftovers from the All But Four build challenge way back in '08 with this delivery truck. Just like the barbecue sauce in my fridge, this truck repeats on ya years past the expiration date, but he does have a point. You can't have a food based challenge without delivery trucks. But delivered so late, I wonder if this means the pizza is free.



Speaking of delivery trucks, you can't have a food based vehicle challenge without the iconic Divco milk truck. We may as well have just packed up this whole shindig and went home hungry and unsatisfied. Luckily for us, Improbcat delivers the goods with this classy retro ride...pleasing to the palate and it goes down smooth. Like Butter!



Sometimes its not always about the food we eat, but rather the places where we eat. My case in point, Improbcat's second course, this full classic diner being lugged by an equally classic COE truck. COE means Cab Over Engine in case you didn't know. Flo, make mine over easy and throw in a slice of pie while you're at it. And some coffee. Go easy on the spit, this time!



In case Bill's reheated leftovers doesn't do it for ya, Marioman3138 whips up a newer, more modern version of the quintessential white all purpose delivery truck complete with refrigeration to keep those Coors Lites as cold as the rockies. I used that joke before, didn't I? Oh well, lets move on.



What's more fun than a shopping cart with a super huge blown V8 in it? Nothing, that's what! No seriously, I want you to try to think up anything more irresponsibly cool and fun than a shopping cart with a blown V8 in it...you just can't do it. Just ask Nathan Proudlove, he knows. This delicious morsel is called Express lane and is based on one of the wildest Hot Wheels cars in existence. We need a clean up in aisle 3...4...5...6...awww crap!



If Nathan is frivolous and irresponsible, then our other admin Ralph Savelsberg is here to knock some sense back into us with this DAF XF105 truck complete with reefer container. Dude, my hand is like totally huge, man! Settle down, Cheech, we're not talking that kind of reefer but the kind that keeps our food cold and fresh while in transport. The truck is chock full of not to be missed details and the excellent Maersk mosaic work on the side reminds us that there isn't anything the mega shipping company can't transport! Even the food we eat.



Sangi13 was miffed about a food related challenge at first, but saw good opportunity to build outside of his comfort zones. He reaches for his trusty red and black bricks and this time cooks up a 1976 Peterbilt rig complete with a side dish of real chrome detailing. As my truck driver friend likes to say..."If you've got it, a truck brought it." Truer words were never spoken.



Dohoon Kim's first tasty morsel is a little big rig. Little big rig...thats sort of an oxymoron. Billy Mays used to endorse Oxy Clean. Does that make him an Oxy Moron? Think about that and get back to me on it, won't you?



For Dohoon's main course he stirred in some neat styling, added a dash of exhaust pipe with a pinch of innovative tire-within bigger tire technique, let cool at room temperature and you have this neat little tractor.



Then for dessert, Dohoon cleanses our palette with this sweet little Toyundra 4x4 pickup...the ultimate farmer's truck for transporting crops and livestock.



From one pickup artist to another, Lino Martins stirs up a refreshing low slung 1980 Chevy C10 showtruck called Limelight complete with opening engine cowl and dumping bed. As the name implies, two things had to happen; there had to be some tangy lime green, as evidenced by the flames and accents and a light source, made doable via two red light bricks.



It seems pickups were all the rage mid-challenge as Dylan Denton serves up a flavorful dish with some Nebraska flair. He tells us this sight is all too common in Nebraska; Farmers selling fresh fruits and veggies from the back of their monstrous custom pickups...in this case a '79 Ford F-250.



Scary monsters cooking up stomach wrenching human dishes...you can expect no less from a guy named lego Monster! It turns out monsters enjoy their meals from traveling food coaches too. Each disgusting detail, from the fried arms and blood-head stew to the candied human heads is chock full of not to be missed dark humor. This is a collaboration project with Mrs. Monster, whom it turns out is quite twisted in her own right. Thatta girl! My fave detail...the pink seats!



Jonathan Derksen shows us the right way to serve up leftovers...completely reworked and revamped! He takes his Blueberry Cheesecake rat rod from last month, cuts out the roof, reworks some details and like magic, fresh Blueberry Cheesecake Delivery Truck! It even tastes good the second time around.



Later in the challenge, Jonathan stirs up an odd concoction called...what else...Strawberry Banana! This strange concept/ muscle car/ hot rod was inspired by the completely studly work of brickshelf user tabmodels, proving you can still make things look great with all of your studs showing.



What happens when you take Tiny Turbos and make them...even smaller? Why you get Pacific Highway LUG founder Geeky Tom's trio of stubby little racer morsels with flavorful names! First up is Tom's tart little Key Lime Ride.



Followed by his sweet little black and white tidbit called Double Stuff. I'm willing to bet its about the size of an actual Oreo cookie.



Followed lastly by his refreshing little treat called Creamsicle! Cool Baby! They're part of a neat series of mini advent calendar builds each with less than 20 pieces. Collect them all!



Jason Son takes us to a nostalgic time when nice men in white uniforms and black bow ties delivered fresh milk to your door with this classic American Divco called simply...The Milkman. Unknown to him, this was also a precursor to next month's build challenge where others suggest MOCs to be built. I suggested it, he built it. In my old brickshelf days, I once built a Divco but it didn't look nearly this good.



Ricecracker is a food some of us eat with peanut butter. Its also the name of the builder of this sweet Freightliner FL60 Pepsi Truck. The tricky shapes of the Pepsi logo was masterfully done using some of the trickiest SNOT techniques around, proving once and for all that anything can be built with some patience and know how. It kind of makes all those other guys that whine about not being able to build this or that seem all the more annoying now, doesn't it?



What does a Rabidnovaracer do when faced with a food inspired challenge? Why he whips up a tasty pimped out Cadillac Escalade called Blue Kamikaze, that's what. This sick custom ride features suicide and Lamborghini style doors, slammed adjustable pneumatic suspension, spinners, and killer sound system that even features TVs in the front headrests. Now that is tricked out!



A guy named glaz pimpur presents to us Old Fergie. What is Old Fergie, you might ask? Why it's a red tractor in the snow with an M-Tron logo and a Mexican wrestler minifig driving it for some reason. I mean...c,mon, what else would it be? Duh! You must feel pretty stupid for asking.



Ever wake up one morning thinking your life was incomplete without a Claas AXOS Compact Tractor with Furrowing Tool? I have. Lucky for me Peter Blackert delivers the goods with this well detailed model in lovely Claas lime green.



Peter then gets into more Claas action (see what I did there?) with this Claas AXION Tractor with Claas QUANTUM Foraging Trailor for all your high tech foraging needs. Look at all those happy foraging cows!



Just when you think this place could use a little more Claas, Peter broils up the Claas ARION 600 Tractor. Wow, almost no tractors in all of our LUGNuts history now so many in one challenge. They are fun to build.



Next on the Lego911 slab is the Claas ELIOS Compact Tractor.



Followed closely with the Claas AXOS with Digger. I'm digging the red counterweight up front there.



Next is the Claas...er...I mean Ford 2011 Global Ranger. This challenge has been all about tractors and pickup trucks, it seems.



And what farmer would be complete without the 2011 Ford F-350 HD Trayback Pickup?



Finally Peter really Claases up the joint with the entire Claas 2010 line, all of them graduating top in their claas. Are you tired of Claas puns yet?



Good, because Lego Junkie proves he isn't all about Claas with this generic green tractor complete with farmer. Ah thats a tasty little morsel.



Speaking of tasty, get a load of this classic stock 1957 Chevy pickup built by Rolic. I always wonder how he's going to configure his white pieces and this time he's worked his magic with a nostalgic American Chevy. The wheelbarrow, fruit crates and other things give us a clue that he has at least some pieces other than white. Maybe someday he'll totally freak us out with something black.



Just like spoiled milk, Raphy chimes in several days past the due date. I know, I've used that joke twice in a row now but its the second time in a row Raphy clocks in late. I imagine he has the same problems that plague the rest of us...you know, cranky boss, taxes, sore back, credit card companies, hangovers, and always being hassled by The Man. Anyway, you've seen the Pizza Planet truck on Toy Story, you've seen it as an official Lego set, now see it as a Tiny Turbo.



Well, I'd say that all went down smooth. So what happens if you're really into say...big rig trucks? Or Italian Supercars? What if you've built nothing but American classics? Or formula 1 racers? Well, too bad! None of that matters in this month's challenge called By Random Appointment. The admins have created random lists of vehicles from all car cultures both in and out of our own comfort zones. We will delegate random assignments to only the brave souls who ask for them. In turn, us admins will put our fate in the hands of the LUGNuts members at large. Will we be cruel and merciless or strive to get you to build the coolest cars on the planet? Stay tuned for what is already shaping up to be a very juicy build challenge. Nothing is predictable when its all done...By Random Appointment!