Two enthusiastic model builders are building Kässbohrer’s legendary scheduled-service bus from LEGO® bricks at a scale of 1:8. It's a task that required time, patience, imagination, and a well-organised stock of LEGO® bricks.

“Patience is my middle name”, says 67-year-old Burkhard Siemoneit with a laugh. A retired civil servant for Wiblingen police in the metropolitan region of Ulm, he is now working with engineer Saher Elsheikh to build a model of the famous and one-of-a-kind "Wiblinger Auto". The vehicle was first developed in 1911 and was the first Kässbohrer scheduled-service bus. It was built on a truck chassis and operated between Ulm and Wiblingen to the south. The model is being built on a scale of 1:8 with around 15,000 bricks – and every single one of them is a LEGO® brick.

Burkhard Siemoneit and Saher Elsheikh began the project in summer 2023. The impetus for the project was the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Wiblingen into Ulm in 2027. The completion is set for the end of 2024. In the meantime, the two LEGO® builders expect to dedicate around 2.500 hours to building their LEGO® scheduled-service bus. Both model builders have many years of experience in building LEGO® models. Spectacular LEGO® models, such as the replica of the Wiblingen monastery (2.7 metres by 3.5 metres) and its main organ in the basilica, as well as an autonomous driving Lamborghini, have already caused a stir. And this experience is now serving them well.

There were no blueprints of the original vehicle. So the first stop in the planning process was the Setra Customer Centre in Neu-Ulm, where the original replica of this first Kässbohrer bus is located. Here, they took photos and measured the vehicle so that everything could be built to scale. Based on the photos, the model builders then created their own construction plans for the "Wiblinger Auto" model. In doing so, they converted the original dimensions to the LEGO® format, because after all, "every last nub on every single LEGO® brick has to be right", says Siemoneit with a laugh.

Once the plans were drawn up, the next challenge followed: to find the right LEGO® bricks at the right scale – in exactly the right size, quantity and colour. This was a lengthy process, as Saher Elsheikh had to search on a global scale in order to find the correct components. Many of these pieces are very special parts that are being used specially for this model. This is another phase in which the model builders benefited from their many years of experience, because for projects such as this, a well-sorted stock is an absolute must. Now the model is growing steadily. As it takes shape one LEGO® brick at a time, the stock of LEGO® bricks is getting ever smaller. But until the model is complete, Burkhard Siemoneit and Saher Elsheikh will be following the principle of all model builders: “Always have one more brick than you need on hand.”