Bentley 4.5 Litre "Blower" @scale 1:8,5

[Bricksonwheels]

My second project for this year is one that has been on my to do list for a long time: The 1930 Bentley 4.5 liter Le Mans car, driven by Sir Henry Birkin. I love the story of this car:
For many, the impressive “Blower” Bentley is the most iconic racing Bentley, forever linked to its driver, Sir Henry Birkin, a talented race driver at the time. Ironically, the 4 ½ Litre Supercharged Bentley was the least successful of all the Bentleys in competition; and founder W.O. Bentley bitterly opposed the development. But while it lasted, the 4 ½ Litre Supercharged went like a rocket, earning this Bentley many fans, including me.  

Bentley managed to win the famous Le Mans 24 hour race in 1927 and 1928. At that time the 4.5 litre car (without supercharger) from 1928 was not up to the task for the 1929 event anymore, as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti and Mercedes were getting faster and faster. Bentley had a simple solution: more displacement, and the official team was equipped with the famous Speed Six 6.5 litre cars. Birkin believed in a different solution based on the rise of the Mercedes SSK which was equipped with a supercharger. He hired an engineer and developed the “Blower”, funded by Dorothy Paget, a very rich and eccentric woman who was famous for racing horses. Paget who was interested in everything speedy was given a few driving lessons by Birkin, and got so enthusiastic she decided to sponsor the efforts of Birkin to achieve a secondary Bentley team. Without her this would never have happened.

Despite the funding, the fabulous driving and the sheer speed and power of the “Blower” it was not successful enough. It had more horsepower then the official Speed Six cars, but was not reliable. The “Blower” had a few successes but after Bentley sold his company to Rolls Royce, the racing activities were stopped, and also Dorothy Paget stopped funding the secondary team. Birkin continued racing and won Le Mans in 1931 for Alfa Romeo. In 1933 he died in a London hospital after getting complications caused by an injury from a hot exhaust, aged 36.

My Lego model of this fantastic car is scaled 1:8,5 and about 50 cm. It consists of around 4000 parts.
It was a bit of a challenge to do everything in the official dark green, as this Lego color is not available for many parts I would have liked to use. Nevertheless, during the process it all fell together and has been very nice to build.

The model is build-up like the real car with chassis riggers and body. The engine, gearbox, fuel tank and drivetrain are modeled accurately, and the hood can be removed. The passenger door can be opened. The driver side has no door, as the driver jumped in. Some parts are chromed, like the grille and I made a custom cover from a rubber sheet over the rear seats, as was also used during racing.

Hope you like it!

More here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bricksonwheels/

 

[Johnny1360]

Very nice, I have always wanted to do a car like this, I think yours has turned out really good. I need more motorcycle wheels. I can tell you put much planning into this build and the backstory makes it that much better. 

[Edwin Korstanje]

Absolute mind blowing good model, with so many details that you got lost in here.

[WvG_853]

My jaw has hit the floor! I’m a big fan of your creations, having discovered your work through your American locomotives, but this creation is equally impressive. At first sight I did not realise it was Lego. Then when I look at the details, I admire the creative use of Lego pieces including Lego Technic, for instance the “wieldop” on the wheels. Impressive!

[grum64]

Oh my Lord! That's beautiful. Great, great job 

[power1369]

amazing job !

[gyorgyz98]

I am not a big fan of cars, but this car caches the eye. Very good.

[andrepinto]

ALWAYS THE BEST, CONGRATS

 

[Bricksonwheels]

Thnx all!

[Cylo]

Impressive build! Really like the hood and the engine underneath!

[GiantAmbushBeetle]

This is impressive, the details are utterly amazing! Also using the pipe as steering wheel is a clever solution  

Edited August 1, 2018 by GiantAmbushBeetle

[KD123]

Amazing!  Love those fenders!

[Boulderer]

This is breathtakingly good. Absolutely love the build and the era. 

[dikkie klijn]

Looking good again! i wasn't sure about the hood when I saw in the inprogress pictures, but it looks much better finished :)

[Seasider]

How comes I've only just seen this !

I hope you don't mind but I'll share it with a few people at work ;)

 

[Corrado]

Looks absolutly perfect. I dont have words. 

[Magical Duck]

This is a spectacular model . The whole thing flows beautifully! Did you use a sticker for the grille, or did you use some other technique?

[peedeejay]

As everyone else already said: This model is spectacular and the amount of detail is just plain amazing!

[mike_ribeiro]

Fantastic work.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I can't handle such a beauty!

Fabulous masterpiece!

[LucyCol]

A truly brilliant rendition of an all time classic.

[roadstermatt]

fantastic just fantastic

[jono rocky]

Wow, Its simply a masterpiece.

[Stimy]

the attention to detail is truly awesome!!! I really like your work, any other old car projects for the future?

[Bricksonwheels]

Maybe a Delta S4, not that old... but a classic