You may wonder, what is a Sennebogen? Well, I did not know what it was either, until I started searching for a suitable new model to add to my collection of minifigure-scale Lego trucks. All I wanted was to rebuild my Mercedes Actros tractor in a new livery, when I found that Kuiphuis, a Dutch crane rental company, one of whose cranes I built a few years ago, uses one to pull trailers carrying telescopic handlers. This would make for a neat combination.

A telescopic handler (or telehandler) is a multifunctional construction vehicle. It has a telescopic arm and combines the functions of a forklift, crane or cherry picker, depending on the attachment mounted on the end. Sennebogen is the German manufacturer of one of the types that Kuiphuis operates. It is an odd-looking contraption, but perfect for minifigures who need to work in high places.

Because the Actros is based on my existing model, building it was straightforward. The trailer, however, was a bit more complicated. To lower the overall height when it carries the Sennebogen, the trailer has lowered wells for the handler’s wheels to sit in.

I explored a few options when designing these. As usual, I did this by drawing on graph paper. Any solution I could think of that involved cheese slopes did not leave enough room for the trailer’s wheels. Therefore, I opted to build them using tiles and half-stud offsets instead.

Building the Sennebogen was not straightforward either, also because I wanted it to have some functionality. Obviously, the boom is telescopic and can be raised and lowered. It would not be much of a telescopic handler without this! The vehicle also has four-wheel steering. Building the operator’s cab was the biggest challenge, though, because I wanted it to fit a minifigure. I managed to find enough space by using panels for the cab’s sides. A cool feature of the Sennebogen is that the operator’s cab can be raised and lowered. I wanted mine to have this as well. The cab is not very heavy, fortunately, so this turned out to be quite easy.

I also built a work platform and a forklift attachment for the arm. With the arm and cab folded down, it is quite compact and fits the trailer nicely, as do the attachments.