Our story about Lego craftsman Carl Greatrix and his bid to have his Caterham turned into an official kit obviously struck a bit of a chord, with several in the thread keen to know more. Comments like "I do wonder though how much of the kit is 'real' Lego (as I remember it) and how much bespoke parts just for this kit?" by PHer Cybersimon and "When is it a Lego kit, and when is it just a self-assembly plastic car kit?" from Mr GrimNasty have been handily answered in an email from Carl himself.
Two stages in evolution of the 312 T4 model
An established reputation as a car caricaturist via his work for
CartoonCars
has brought Carl's work to the attention of many but his Lego fixation started from a young age and his first model - a Ferrari 312 T4 built while watching F1 races on the TV. A more serious build followed, a Tamiya kit used for reference for building components like the engine/gearbox. "Pictures are good to a point but nothing beats having a 3D object in terms of a quick visual assessment for how it really needs to look," says Carl.
"I always aim with my personal Lego models to try to get them as 'model realistic' as possible, i.e. no studs, smooth curves and the rest. Reactions like 'that's not Lego' are a double-edged sword but a huge compliment to what I want to achieve. This 'standard' and style of building has opened eyes to what can be done with the medium and it's got a lot people back into the hobby."
Soon joined by a Renault RE20
So how does he actually do it? "The scale is very much dependent on the wheel/tyre combinations available in Lego so with any car build they are pretty much the first 'essentials' you have to pick," he explains. It was Tamiya's Caterham model that inspired him to have a crack with Lego. "Their model is superb, with so much detail I thought it would be brilliant if I could do it some justice in Lego and try and get somewhere near that benchmark. Tubular internal chassis, could I get that in? Could I crack the shaping, could I overcome the problem of the wraparound front arches? I've been out in several track Caterhams, I love them and they are brutal, so temptation got the better of me. If I could find a Lego wheel/tyre combo that would proportionally work, then game on."
Seemingly it was! "Cracking the shape was difficult, the main front and nose cone being very problematic, but they were easy compared to the front steering and wheel arch arrangement. With personal models I nearly always build them 'legit' first - if angling sections using Lego hinges to do so and not stressing elements and connections. Once I have a legit model I look at ways to bring it to the 'model quality look' I want to see. So I remove legit connections and use the play and tolerances within Lego. This stresses connections and parts more than would ever be allowed if it were an official set, but this is 'my' model so it doesn't matter, I build what I want to see from it."
Carl reckons it could be turned into a proper kit
In answer to those PHer comments, could it really be made into a mainstream kit using regular Lego parts though? "I'm quite confident of knowing the backsteps that would probably have to be taken if this model were to ever get through to be a 'real' set," says Carl. "I aim for perfection with what I do, if the perfection has to be dumbed down slightly for mass production I know and understand the limitations of the medium. It would still be a very cool set. Over the next few months I will start re-working sections to make it 'legal' and posting them as updates."
Keep those votes flowing in the meantime!
One of the cars based on PHer's real Seven
Original story, as reported 12/12/2014:
Some people equate this time of the year as a season of goodwill, dietary excess and rubbish television. Or perhaps all of the above. For those of us seeking to regress a little while visiting the parental home it can also be the season for something else - Lego.
Making this a timely appeal by a particularly gifted artist in the medium to have his self-built Lego Caterham made into an official kit. No, we didn't know you could do this either but via the ideas.lego.com website you can apparently submit your suggestion for the next big kit and if you get 10,000 votes Lego will take a look and investigate viability for a commercially available product. See here for how it works.
Describing the builder Carl Greatrix as an 'artist' might initially seem an extravagant boast, until you take a look at his Flickr account and admire some his other creations, like his F4 Phantom or 70s F1 cars. Carl's work with the Caterham and the campaign to get it sufficient votes for consideration by Lego was brought to our attention by a couple of PHers, one of whose Sevens (the yellow Roadsport) 'modelled' for the two cars built by Carl. Caterham itself is obviously fully behind the idea and drumming up support via its Facebook page, Top Gear has featured it on its website too. Getting a few PH votes Carl's way can't do any harm either so sign up to the site and do your bit.
And if it happens we'll all know what we want for next Christmas!
[Sources: Carl Greatrix, via Flickr; Lego.com; Caterham Cars, via Facebook; Top Gear]