WSI Models: Brand, Numbering System & Heavy Haulage in 1:50

WSI Models is the Dutch specialist for collector's models of trucks, heavy haulage and cranes in 1:50 scale. Conrad comes from the building site, WSI comes from the road: tractor unit, semitrailer, low loader, escort vehicle — and usually in the livery of a real haulage company. This guide explains the brand, the numbering system and what sets the 1:87 line apart from the big range.

The brand behind WSI

WSI Models is based in Nieuwegein in the Netherlands and describes itself as an international authority for premium models in 1:50 scale. The range covers trucks, semitrailers and trailers, cranes, vans and earthmoving machines. By its own account, more than 50 manufacturers worldwide trust WSI with their licences — and then there is the company model business: haulage firms and machine builders have their own vehicles made as models, as promotional items and customer gifts.

That is exactly where the character of the brand comes from. A WSI model is rarely "a truck" — it is the truck of one particular company, often with the matching semitrailer and in a modest production run.

What WSI covers in the range

In the shop (as of October 2026) the focus is on road vehicles: tractor-trailers, flatbed and box trucks, loader crane trucks and above all heavy haulage combinations with Nooteboom low loaders. Then there are mobile cranes, mining excavators and two VW Transporter vans as escort vehicles — the small vehicles that drive ahead on a real heavy haulage move.

Among the prototype brands Liebherr comes first (mostly cranes and mining machines), then Volvo and Scania, followed by Mercedes-Benz, DAF, Renault, MAN and Volkswagen. Among the body builders and attachment makers you find Nooteboom, Palfinger, Fassi and Knapen — a sign of how often WSI shows the complete rig and not just the tractor unit.

You will find all the models in the WSI overview, sorted by theme under Heavy Haulage & Low Loaders, Loader Crane Trucks and Mobile Cranes.

Understanding the WSI numbering system

WSI item numbers are made up of two groups of digits separated by a hyphen — for example 01-5265. The first two digits are not a serial number but a category prefix. What the range itself bears out:

• 01- and 04- (occasionally 02-) — road vehicles. Tractor units, flatbeds, tippers, vans. The largest block.
• 51- and 54- — cranes. The 51s are mobile and truck-mounted cranes, the 54s crawler cranes.
• 61- and 64- — construction machines. Excavators, mining machines, bulldozers.
• 71- — the 1:87 line. Without exception: every 71 model in the range is 1:87, every other one 1:50.

The prefix follows the category, not the manufacturer. That is why the Liebherr LTF 1060-4.1 — a telescopic crane on a truck chassis — carries a 51 crane number even though it looks like a truck. And the same Liebherr crane turns up on different chassis: 51-2152 on a Volvo FMX, 51-2181 on a Scania P Low.

1:50 or 1:87 — the second size

Alongside the big range WSI runs a line in 1:87 (H0 gauge). In the shop these are mobile cranes of the LTM series, recognisable by the 71 number. The practical difference: a mobile crane in 1:50 needs display case space and costs several times as much, a 1:87 model fits on a model railway layout and on any shelf. Anyone mixing the two should do it on purpose — side by side the sizes look out of place.

Limited Edition — what that means

Some of the WSI models in the shop are marked as Limited Edition. That comes with the nature of haulier and company models: they are made on behalf of a company, the production run follows that company's needs and not demand in the shops — once it is sold out, it is usually not made again. For collectors that means a model on the shop shelf today is not necessarily still there next year.

Prices and spread

The WSI models in the shop run from around €60 for an escort vehicle to just under €900 for a crawler crane; the average price is about €185. Heavy haulage combinations with tractor unit and low loader mostly sit between €200 and €300.

WSI, Conrad or NZG — what is the difference?

• WSI Models — road and heavy haulage, Dutch, a great many haulier models, its own 1:87 line. See this page.
• Conrad Models — German production, focus on construction machines and cranes, the widest range in the shop.
• NZG — promotional model specialist from Nürnberg, small range with a focus on mining and concrete logistics.

Common questions about WSI Models

Where does WSI Models come from?

From the Netherlands; the company is based in Nieuwegein.

Which scales does WSI build in?

Mainly 1:50. There is also a line in 1:87, which you can spot in the range by the item number prefix 71-.

What does the first group of digits in the item number mean?

It marks the vehicle category: 01-/04- road vehicles, 51-/54- cranes, 61-/64- construction machines, 71- the 1:87 models.

What does "Limited Edition" mean at WSI?

A limited production run. Haulier and company models are made for one company and, once they are sold out, they are usually not made again.

Do WSI and Conrad models go together in one display case?

Yes, as long as both are 1:50 — which is the normal case at WSI and almost throughout at Conrad. The 1:87 models belong in a display of their own.

All company, brand and model names mentioned are the property of their respective owners and are used solely for description and identification.