The Bluesmobile from the original 1980 'Blues Brothers' film - MOD of a MOC (finished 12/28/22)

[Murdoch17]

"We're on a mission from God." - The Blues Brothers

I built this 1974 Dodge Monaco ex-cop car (AKA The Bluesmobile from the 1980 film "The Blues Brothers") from these free Rebrickable instructions by user @brickhead_07, but modified by me to fit two figures. (among other changes)

I changed the inside details from tan to light bluish gray, and I had to raise the roof by a two plates to get the figures to fit. I also modified the bull-bar on the front of the car to be stronger.

Sadly the Blues Brothers can't sit side by side, but the can fit one per row due to how the sides are built.

Of course, what use is the Bluesmobile without a couple of Soul Men sitting inside?   Now that I've covered the car and figures, Jake and Elwood have something to say in closing:

"It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.... HIT IT!

EDIT 12/28/22: real life photos added

Edited January 20, 2023 by Murdoch17

[Portal Out]

Love it, all you need now is the speaker on top! A Bluesmobile set has been on my wishlist ever since Speed Champions started doing movie cars, and this comes pretty close to what an official set would probably look like.

[Murdoch17]

2 hours ago, Portal Out said:

Love it, all you need now is the speaker on top! A Bluesmobile set has been on my wishlist ever since Speed Champions started doing movie cars, and this comes pretty close to what an official set would probably look like.

Thanks @Portal Out. Sorry, but the speaker isn't happening as it's only on the car for maybe 15-20 minutes. I'm not saying it's not a good idea, but as it isn't there the whole film (and it's not in the most memorable scenes), it's not going on my MOC.

Also, looking at the prices of the CMF S11 figures (even parted out it was serious $), it occurred to me to make my own Blues Brothers figs to save money. It just makes more sense than spending more on the figs than the car. ($14 for the car, $24 for the two figs is ridiculous!)

Edited December 14, 2022 by Murdoch17

[Moon_Knight]

On 12/13/2022 at 4:59 PM, Murdoch17 said:

Thanks @Portal Out. Sorry, but the speaker isn't happening as it's only on the car for maybe 15-20 minutes. I'm not saying it's not a good idea, but as it isn't there the whole film (and it's not in the most memorable scenes), it's not going on my MOC.

Also, looking at the prices of the CMF S11 figures (even parted out it was serious $), it occurred to me to make my own Blues Brothers figs to save money. It just makes more sense than spending more on the figs than the car. ($14 for the car, $24 for the two figs is ridiculous!)

While I agree that the speaker wasn't in the movie for very long, in my opinion, it's what makes the Bluesmobile so iconic and recognizable. I don't think most general people would recognize the car without the speaker. The speaker on the Bluesmobile is like the ghost gadgets on top of the Ecto-1 or the lime green, red and yellow paint on the Jurassic Park Explorer. Without the ghost gadgets it's just a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex Ambulance and without the lime green, red and yellow paint it's just a 1993 Ford Explorer XLT. 

[Murdoch17]

On 12/14/2022 at 6:54 PM, Moon_Knight said:

While I agree that the speaker wasn't in the movie for very long, in my opinion, it's what makes the Bluesmobile so iconic and recognizable. I don't think most general people would recognize the car without the speaker. The speaker on the Bluesmobile is like the ghost gadgets on top of the Ecto-1 or the lime green, red and yellow paint on the Jurassic Park Explorer. Without the ghost gadgets it's just a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex Ambulance and without the lime green, red and yellow paint it's just a 1993 Ford Explorer XLT. 

Ok, you convinced me @Moon_Knight. I added one to the car, but it's missing a bunch of parts from LDD. So, no pictures until it's built in real bricks.

[Murdoch17]

Okay, I lied. Here's a real world WIP shot:

One ex-cop 1974 Dodge Monaco LEGO MOC: $18
Two Jazz Musician CMF mini-figures: $12 a piece
One epic film to build the Bluesmobile by: Priceless

Some things money can't buy, but for everything there's Bricklink.

(Yes, I'm missing a bunch of parts still and the Brothers are going to be fig-barfs, not the $$ CMF ones. But the basic sentiment stands!)

[Moon_Knight]

On 12/16/2022 at 1:15 PM, Murdoch17 said:

Ok, you convinced me @Moon_Knight. I added one to the car, but it's missing a bunch of parts from LDD. So, no pictures until it's built in real bricks.

Glad you changed your mind and can't wait to see the final product! Been thinking about adding the Bluesmobile to my most-iconic-vehicles-in-pop-culture collection:

 

[Murdoch17]

Jingle Bells, prison smells,
Chicago laid an egg,
the Bluesmobile lost a wheel,
yet the Blues Bros. got away!

Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings everybody!

(The car STILL isn't done, but it's done enough to take a picture for this card! Also, @Moon_Knight you can kinda see how the air-raid siren is coming together above. It's not totally done, but getting closer...)

[Murdoch17]

@Moon_Knight @Portal Out

"We're on a mission from God." - The Blues Brothers

The car / figures are finished, and real world photos have been added to the first post!

[Lemerbrix]

Now just recreate the iconic Dixie square mall chase and I’m sold 

[brickhead_07]

Cool that you built my model! I appreciate it!

[Murdoch17]

On 12/28/2022 at 7:15 PM, Lemerbrix said:

Now just recreate the iconic Dixie square mall chase and I’m sold 

I wish I could!

2 minutes ago, brickhead_07 said:

Cool that you built my model! I appreciate it!

No problem! I didn't know you were on EB, so I'll edit the main post to tag you.