page_title: Wiking Modellbau
section_title: Wiking Post-war
hierarchical_section_title: Wiking Modellbau / Wiking Post-war
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Wiking Modellauto
context_page_description: Wiking Modellbau is a German manufacturer of scale models in H0 scale and N scale originally made as accessories for model train sets. Founded in 1932, traditionally the company was based post-World War II in West Berlin. Later factories were also used in Buer and Kiel. Now owned by German Siku Toys, in Ludenscheid, the company specializes in models of cars and trucks dating from the 1950s to the present day. Almost invariably models are produced in 1:87 "HO" scale.
context_section_description: After World War II, but before starting production of model cars, Wiking experimented with a variety of plastics such as for a Noah's ark model and for the molding of plastic combs and buttons. Some clay was also used in production. There was a small series of the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) that consisted of five planes and two car models in 1:400 scale. At this time, Wiking opened several workshops, including those in Buer and Kiel.
  In 1947, Wiking started to produce simple car models that usually consisted of a single part - with no windows or chassis. These were made of plastic in roughly 1:100 scale. Vehicle axles were made of wire with flat pinched ends, that when squeezed into the still warm plastic wheels, could not rotate - thus the axles rolled with the wheels. Later models included chassis bases. The scale was eventually changed to 1:90.
  Wiking began to expand its line of vehicles during the 1950s, offering both trucks and cars. Some offerings were Henschel stake and cement trucks, Magirus trucks, the Borgward Arabella, and DKW two door sedan. Many of these were offered in packs of five trucks or ten cars (Model Descriptions 2000-2013).    
  In the early 1960s, Volkswagen's Wolfsburg plant commissioned vehicles in a larger 1:40 scale with unique company designed packaging. These are rather rare today - and often worth more than $100, though some of these larger scaled models have been reissued by the company (Doty 1996, p. 88-89). Particularly interesting was a Wiking Beetle promotional molded in a clear plastic body. It was labeled "Das Gläserne Auto" and available in a special red and blue display box with body, wheels, interior and seats displayed apart from each other (Wiking No date). The presentation with clear plastic body hit a chord and the idea was copied by several other manufacturers - even in Britain where one manufacturer produced its own 'glass' car (Ralston 2007, p. 15). 
  Around the early 1960s, transparent windows were added to models. Interiors were added in the 1970s. For some models even the original paint from the car manufacturers is used. Today, the scale has been changed to the more uniform 1:87 (HO). Though this scale matches HO train scale (van de Beck 2010), various scales have been produced and Wiking models today are collected in their own right. The company website refers to "the delightful yet robust toy cars [that] fit in a trouser pocket" indicating their play value independent of other toys (All about No date).
  Since 1969 Wiking has produced car models in 1:160 (N) scale - mostly for N-Scale model train sets. Between 1949/50 and 1974/75 Wiking again produced ship models. The company also tried to sell plane models again in the 1960s but this effort was cancelled. Some of these models were made for Ferrero, the Italian chocolate company, scaled down from 1:87 scale to fit inside Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs. Most of these vehicles, though nicely done like the VW bug convertible and the NSU Ro80, were made in Hong Kong. Some were apparently original models, not copies of previously existing Wiking cars.
  Today old Wiking models are often collector items which can be very expensive. The most expensive Wiking model ever sold is a Mercedes tank truck from 1962 which was produced as an advertising article for the Thyssen company. In June 2006 one of these tank truck models (shown above) sold for €10,100 at an auction in Cologne.
caption: A post war Opel Kapitän.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A710 IS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2010:10:30 12:33:16", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5108", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2234", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/80", "EXIF FNumber": "16/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:10:30 12:33:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:10:30 12:33:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "101/16", "EXIF ApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "107/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "1042/125", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1748", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1014", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "3072", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "2304", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3080", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "40960/3", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2304000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}