Classic Land Rover Defender 90 Ownership Seem Elusive? This LEGO Set Can Help

The iconic Defender is recreated in plastic bricks—and goes on sale for an attainable sum.

Andrew BeckfordWriterManufacturerPhotographer

There's no mistaking that the Land Rover Defender 90 is a major favorite among classic 4x4 enthusiasts. Defender's unmistakable boxy design is iconic, so much so that even today's Land Rover Defender leans heavily on the original silhouette for inspiration. (Check out our visual history of the Land Rover Defender to see how it's evolved over it's decades of history.) Unfortunately, if you want to own a classic Defender 90, you're going to spend quite a bit of cash. In good condition, these rugged SUVs aren't cheap.

Luckily for us there is now a much easier—and cheaper—way to own a Land Rover Defender 90 as long as you don't mind it being made from plastic and building it yourself. Yes, we're talking about a LEGO set. We have an addiction and we're no longer interested in hiding it! The new Land Rover Classic Defender 90 kit comes as part of the model's 75th anniversary and it's just too cool for us to pass up. Made up of 2,336 pieces, the completed model is about 13 inches long, 7 inches wide, and its height can vary a bit but we'll get to that later. For those curious, yes, there already is a LEGO Defender kit—but that one's a model of the new Defender .

Like most larger LEGO automotive kits, the Land Rover Classic Defender 90 model has working steering and suspension. The doors open to reveal an interior that has a fair amount of detail considering the plastic blocky medium. What really has us hyped are the additional accessories like the roof rack, snorkel air intake, the working winch on the front bumper, and traction plates. It even comes with a little LEGO tool kit complete with a floor jack, pick, shovel, and fire extinguisher. You can run the model with or without the roof rack which is why the height is variable. While we appreciate the choice, the model looks so cool geared up that we'd probably just leave it in that configuration.

If this model needs to join your collection as much as it needs to join ours, be prepared to pony up $239.99 plus tax and shipping. Also, be prepared with any applicable excuses to give your spouse, parents, or roommates when they ask why you bought yet another grown-up LEGO set . If you come up with something good, let us know! We're still working on ours...

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Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.

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