Cobra Roadster

Built for the TLCB Lock-down competition.

After my two previous alternate models from the 10265 Ford Mustang, a pickup truck inspired by the F100 and the GT04 Sportscar inspired by the legendary GT40, there was one more iconic car from this era that I wanted to replicate which also has a strong connection to Ford; the classic AC Cobra, better known as Shelby Cobra. After the square and boxy pickup and the more aerodynamic GT04, this car is the ultimate challenge to render in bricks, because it consists exclusively of intricate curves and has absolutely no straight surfaces. My part usage is proof of this; even though the 10265 set comes with many dark blue 2×4 tiles, I ended up using none of them, an absolute first I believe.

This curvy shape led to another unique aspect; I normally start with a solid chassis to work from, but in this case I went for the outer contours first instead, trying to replicate the subtle curves of the body. The reason for this was to plan and position the limited curved pieces that the set offers at the exact right location before moving on. Once I had a rough idea and knew where the wheel wells were positioned, a chassis with the correct wheelbase could be created. Furthermore I wanted to give the car a more dynamic look and decided for a slight slanted stance in which the rear of the car is positioned a subtle one plate lower than the front. To accomplish this and still create a rigid chassis I used a similar trick as with my 10248 F1 alternate.

Another aspect that was of support to create an aerodynamic shape was to put both the front and rear central white stripe under an angle creating a nice continuous curve from front to rear. The angled front further helped me to replicate the iconic shape of the front air intake, which is one of the main features that makes this car so recognizable. But also the rear end ended up being a challenge, because it is has a rather long overhang which curves inwards at the same time, making this car look much shorter than it actually is. Limiting myself to just the bricks from one set made this extra tricky, especially when the set only includes a few wedged pieces.

Next challenge that presented itself was the position of the seats which are close to the rear axle. As a consequence the doors are also moved far back, limiting the distance between the door and rear wheel.This required some other unconventional thinking to come up with suitable solutions. Still as with all my recent work I do not want to compromise on structural integrity, but neither on buildability nor functionality. If possible I also try to avoid any questionable “illegal” building techniques. Oh and of course everything still has to be limited to the parts that come exclusive to the set. It might sound ridiculous, but the more restrictions I give myself the more creative I become. As always, creating a model like this was a fun challenge which kept me occupied for a little over a week in my spare evening hours. Afterwards I still occasionally spent some time on minor improvements and smaller, nitpicking details.

The model contains a little over 1000 pieces from the original set and of course no extra pieces were added. As for the functions, the model includes working steering connected to steering wheel, and all the usual opening features, like doors, bonnet, and hood. It’s solid and in my opinion is one of the prettiest models I have done, capturing the spirit of the real car. In comparison, the F100 looks great from the front, but the side profile is a little boring, the GT04 on the other hand has a pretty good looking side profile, but the front and rear are less attractive. This model looks good from pretty much any angle. Still it is not only a nice display piece, but it can be shown and played with without feeling flimsy!

Together with the GT04 alternative created from the same set.

Want to build your own copy of the Roadster? Instructions are available on Rebrickable. Here are some sample pages from the instructions.

 

11 thoughts on “Cobra Roadster

  1. Elta says:

    Your MOCs are incredible… this could not be less. I’ve already enjoyed putting together your 10242 F1 Racer… I’m sure this will be just as fun. Thank you !

    • NKubate says:

      Thank you for your kind words! If you enjoyed the 10242 F1 racer, then you’ll certainly love my latest models. They should provide an even better overall experience.

      • Gavin says:

        The moc’s are beautiful, but the the Shelby ac cobra has a few things that do bother me for looks. i know you are just making models for people to have fun to build and not one hundred percent correct but, there are two things that really point out to me. one on the original Shelby ac cobra the doors don’t open they are bolted to the body. two the hood to the engine bay. in the original Shelby cobra the hood either comes fully off or goes back to front.and the hood extends through the entire engine bay almost the entire front of the car. like i said earlier i am not trying to say that it is a bad build, i realize the amount of time that you put into this build. i have put multiple hours into a build and it is not fully right because of structure, and people wanting more features, i understand this. i am not trying to take away from your build, it is BEAUTIFUL. i would one hundred percent prefer this model over others.

  2. Pingback: GT04 Sportscar | NKubate

  3. Turner.H says:

    I really enjoyed building this set and it has many great features but it was kinda hard to build because you have to open all the bags at once.

    • NKubate says:

      Thank you, glad to read you enjoyed it. Regarding the bags, it’s one of these things that is sheer impossible to take in consideration as well when building alternates. It would also limit the possibilities drastically.

  4. Turner.H says:

    this is an amazing alternate build and a great use of a spare mustang lego set, I loved building it and I even converted it to a right hand drive AC cobra, and I hope you make more muscle car alternate builds.

    • NKubate says:

      The width is about the same as the Mustang, approximately 15 cm. However this model is shorter (under 32 cm) as well as lower at around 10 cm.

  5. Sascha Huß says:

    Hey there! Im new here on this side and i would like to know of it is possible to buy this set. Would be a great present for my father!!!

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