Tag Archives: The Netherlands

Mine’s Longer Than Yours

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No really, it is. Because unless yours is a supertanker, today ours is bigger. This spectacularly long DAF and Nooteboom Telestep trailer combination comes from Ralph Savelsberg of Flickr, and replicates the real wind-turbine transporting trucks operated by Van der Vlist of the Netherlands. Because the Dutch love a windmill.

So do we as it happens, what with them providing endlessly renewable energy and still allowing sheep and whatnot to graze underneath. Anyway, Ralph’s creation can elongate to a quite unbelievable length, and like the real rig cunningly includes five axles with four that operate consecutively greater steering angles, presumably so it doesn’t require all of Belgium or another neighbouring country to turn around.

There’s much more to see at Ralph’s Flickr album and you can take a look at the longest erection on Flickr via the link above.

Going Dutch

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The Dutch get erroneously associated with quite a lot in our home nation. English slang includes ‘going dutch’ (everyone pays), ‘double dutch’ (unintelligible gibberish), dutch oven (farting under the bedcovers before sealing your partner inside), and ‘dutch rudder’ (which we can’t write here)).

Whilst we can’t take responsibility for decades of English verbal tomfoolery, we can ensure the Dutch are adequately represented here at The Lego Car Blog, which we’re doing today via the medium of SFH_Bricks‘ excellent Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulance in funky Dutch emergency services livery.

With a complete interior accessed via the twin rear and side sliding doors, SFH’s Sprinter is as detailed inside as out, and you can go Dutch via the link to Flickr above.

Botlek Bricks

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We like bridges here at The Lego Car Blog, because… well, we’re a bit tragic. But tough – we’re the ones writing this nonsense, so now you have to like them too.

This is the Botlek Bridge, a vertical lifting bridge over the Oude Maas in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with two spans each as large as a football field. Which it needs to allow Rotterdam’s enormous cargo ships to pass beneath it.

This brick-built microscale replica of the Botlek Bridge – complete with enormous cargo ship – comes from Flickr’s Bas van Houwelingen, and demonstrates the vertical lift mechanism in action. Previously on display at both LEGOLAND Billund and The LEGO House, you can now check it out at Bas’s photostream. Click the link above to sail underneath it.

Advanced Turbo Intercooling

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It’s the ’80s, and everything has a ‘Turbo’ badge, because turbos are cool. But you know what’s cooler than a turbo? Advanced Turbo Intercooling, that’s what. And it wasn’t a European sports car or Japanese techno-fest that pioneered it, but Dutch truck-maker DAF.

The DAF 3600 FTG ATi was one of the first to feature an intercooled turbocharged diesel engine, which – in top trim – made a hefty 370bhp. And it had a hypoid drive axle, which sounds nearly as cool as Advanced Turbo Intercooling.

This incredible Model Team example comes from previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and it is stunning in its realism. Based on a real DAF 3600 FTG ATi operated by ‘G.J. van Die’, Nanko has replicated every detail, including applying excellent custom decals to recreate the livery worn by its life-size counterpart.

Just one image is available at the time of writing but it’s well worth checking out, showing both this astonishing creation as well as the real truck it replicates so beautifully. Click the link above to visit Nanko’s photostream and spool up your turbo.

Is It a Train? Is It a Tram?

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No, it’s an NS omC! OK, that’s maybe not as catchy as the famous Superman musical lyrics, but we have at least learned something here at The Lego Car Blog, having had no idea what an ‘omC’ was before today.

What it is, is an ‘Oilmotor Vehicle’, a combustion-engined carriage used by the Dutch Railways during the 1920s as a cheaper, easier-to-run alternative to steam locomotives.

This one – being a ‘C’ designation – is for third-class passengers, which is where you’d probably find TLCB staff. There were ‘BC’ versions too, where first-class passengers such as The Brothers Brick’s Contributors could luxuriate away from the peasants.

Constructed by TLCB debutant Malik Geldermans, this 1:45th scale replica of the NS omC beautifully captures the real ‘Oilmotor Vehicle’ thanks to some truly fantastic building techniques.

Presented perfectly, there’s more of Malik’s model to see at his ‘NS omC’ album, and you can take a closer look on Flickr via the link in the text above.

I’m on a Boat

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The more eagle-eyed reader will have spotted his post is not, in fact, a car. But it is absolutely lovely. Built by Jonas Kramm of Flickr, this beautiful Town-scale houseboat captures all that is wonderful about boat-based living, with a superbly detailed interior and one of the cleverest brick-built hulls we’ve found yet. There’s more of the model to see at Jonas’ photostream, where a link to all of the imagery hosted via LEGO Ideas can also be found.

*Today’s title (parody) song. Caution; there is maybe one subtle F-bomb if you listen very carefully.

Big Green Boxes

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This is a Tatra PR3333 6×6 truck, outfitted with a hook-lift system and depicted in Dutch Army specification by Flickr’s Arian Janssens.

We’re not sure what’s in the big green box it’s carrying, nor the second one towed behind via the neat drawbar trailer, but as we assume it’s army stuff we probably wouldn’t understand anyway.

The truck, trailer, and boxes are all superbly built, and there’s more to see of all components at Arian’s photostream. Click the link to take a look.

*Points for us for not going down the ‘Dutch Hooker’ route with this post! Until now. Damn.

Sprinting to Save

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The world’s emergency services battle to save us every single day, with the current Coronavirus pandemic highlighting in particular what an incredible job they do. Of course they need the tools to do the job, and that’s what they’ve got in the Netherlands with their Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ambulances. Flickr’s Ralph Savelsberg is the builder behind this one, recreating both the converted van and its complicated Dutch chevrons over EU-mandated yellow paint job with brilliant accuracy. Opening doors reveal a life-like interior too, and there’s more of Ralph’s Sprinter to see at his photostream – click here to call an ambulance.

Do Not Point at Ukrainian Airliner

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We round out today’s posts with a DAF truck towing a giant implement of death. Thanks Ralph Savelsberg. It is a brilliant model though, recently updated with a newly built terrain base upon which the Dutch military’s missile launcher is firing at… er, we have no idea. Have the Dutch ever fired at anything?

Which is unlike Iran of course, who last week fired upon an airliner full of their own citizens thanks to a twitchy trigger finger mistake. Iran’s accidental downing of flight PS752 takes the number of deaths following the murder of Qasem Soleimani by American drone from ten to almost two hundred, with another fifty killed during a stampede at his funeral.

Well this has all got a bit bleak. You can see more of Ralph’s superb Dutch Patriot Missile Launcher at his photostream via the link above, we’ll return soon with something a bit chirpier, and until then here’s that video of a woman in a Wookie mask.

Bomb Disposal: If You See Me Running Try To Keep Up!

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Lego VW Crafter Bomb Disposal

A staple fixture in ‘funny’ t-shirts, today’s blog title is probably a bit too close for comfort these days. Bomb disposal engineers have always done incredible work, but in Europe for the past few decades their main job has been to take unexploded World War 2 bombs down to the dump and claim the scrap metal value.

Not anymore though. Thanks to the utter shitbags in ISIS and their like, sadly it’s all getting a lot more serious. The heroes depicted in bricks above belong to the Dutch Ministry of Defence Bomb Disposal Division, and with their rather cute looking robot they’re ready to keep the streets of Holland shrapnel and body-part free.

TLCB regular Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad Physicist is the builder, and you can see more of his Bomb Disposal Team and their Volkswagen Crafter long-wheelbase van on Flickr – cut the blue wire at the link above.

Lego Volkswagen Crafter Van