Lego Carbon Racers: Dark Brown Turbo Turbine

Here's one model that's near, dear and weird to me: The Dark Brown Turbo Turbine (so named because it's hard to make an alliterative name out of "Dark Brown")! As far as I know, Lego never made a steampunk Tiny Turbo, so I had to fill in the gap.

OK, to be brutally honest, the main reason this car exists is because I don't have a lot of dark brown parts. When I happened across that barrel, I took one look at it, and the car's aesthetics basically determined themselves.

That said, once the car's aesthetics were determined, there was no way I was going to make a steampunk vehicle without rocket booster thingies. They really make this antiquated crate look like it can keep up with its modern relatives!

One thing that weirds me out about Bricklink's Studio program if that, for some reason, it doesn't include the grooves that real Lego barrel pieces have. Oh well.

This car also represents a departure from the standard Tiny Turbo base I usually use. Of course, I can also say that about the Dark Grey Defender. What can I say? Limited bricks equals unlimited possibilities. Don't ask me to explain that paradoxical statement.

First, feel free to replace those 1x1 round studded plates with 1x1 round flat plates. I probably would've gone with that option, but I didn't have enough in the right color. Second, this is also one of the few models I've made with two different types of wheel chassis pieces. I'd say this is another example of my brick limitations but, as you'll see in the next step...

...It was so the wheels could fit behind those brackets. Also, yes, I have brick limitations. What's this blog's name again?

I know most Lego instruction books don't add the wheels until the last step, but thanks to the way those middle wheels are stuck in there, I was forced to take care of all the wheels now. Just don't press down on the bricks too hard if you're building this on a hard surface.

Should I have put some sort of arches over the rear wheels too? Hmm...nah.

Ah yes, the coup de grace, the turbine itself, the element that makes this vehicle an absolute pedestrian nightmare even when the car's just idling.

You should've seen the way Lego Digital Designer tried coming to grips making up blueprint steps for the turbine build. Poor program.

It kind of annoys me that those sloped bricks are on top of non-stud bricks. It just feels wrong. But hey, it can't feel that wrong if I'm telling y'all to build like this.

Wait a minute! Rods! I probably could've used long rods to serve as "arches" over the back four wheels! Maybe I'll try that someday. Maybe you'll try it. I don't know.

Ah, here we go. The trusty thrusters, otherwise known as "Don't tailgate me if you don't want your engine melted."

Add a roof with a little flamboyant shark's fin, and we're good to go! Hit them 19th-Century streets and outrun some horses! (Word of advice: Avoid cobblestones if you don't want to shake the whole vehicle apart.)

That's it for today's foray into steampunk! See you later for a more normal racer, the...um...*checks release schedule*...doggone it, that's not even a car!