Schuco Toys

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Schuco is a German toy maker founded in 1912 by Heinrich Müller and the businessman Heinrich Schreyer. Originally this company was named as Spielzeugfirma Schreyer & Co, but in 1921 the company changed the name to Schuco.

The company made a series of successful tin toys after World War 2, primarily for the USA market. In the late 1960's and early 1970's there was a shift to plastic toys, which also was the time which there was a significant downturn for the company.

The company went bankrupt in 1976. An English company Dunbee-Combex-Marx (DCM) acquired Schuco (or large parts of it), but it too went bankrupt in 1980. Eventually a rival German toymaker, Gama, acquired the rights in the mid 1990's. In 1996 Schuco became an independent company again, and has seen a revival of its fortunes with it producing collectible models. Many of the collectibles are exact replicas of there famous 1930-1960 tin toys.

Today the company makes Schuco model toys (mainly street vehicles) in different scales, there are old and new models and both are very beloved by collectors. The quality of the models are superior to the average toy model vehicles, therefore the unitary prices are higher too.

Contents

[edit] Schuco Toys

Some of the popular Schuco toy lines are: (taken from ref 2):

  • Command Car.
  • Magico Series.
  • Radio Series.
  • Patent Series.
  • Fex 1111.
  • Mirako Series.
  • Telesteering cars.
  • Examinco Series.
  • Akustico Series.
  • Ingenico Series.
  • Elektro Phanomenal.
  • Dally cars.
  • Grand Prix Racers.
  • Studio series.
  • Varianto System.

Example of a Varianto truck


  • Old Timers.
  • Micro Racers.
  • Piccolo Range.
  • Motorcyle range.
  • Elektro Radiant Airplanes.

[edit] History

1912: Heinrich Müller and Heinrich Schreyer form the company Schreyer & Co.
1921: Company becomes known as Schuco.
1920's: Famous Pick-Pick bird first starts production. (over 20 million made up until the 1960's) (2).
1935: Schuco-Patent-Motor-Car introduced.
WWII: Halted production.
1946: Focus on American market.
1940-1960: Golden years of Schuco.
Mid 1960: Slump in diecast metal and tin plate toys.
Early 1970's: Started producing plastic toys.
1976: Went bankrupt.
1976: Acquired by Dunbee-Combex-Marx (DCM).
1980: Dunbee-Combex-Marx (DCM) went bankrupt.
1980: Gama, another German toymaker, bought the Schuco name and started reproductions.
1993: Gama and Schuco combined with Trix.
1996: Schuco became a independent company again.
1999: Schuco sold to Simba-Dickie Group.

[edit] References

(1) Schuco - Prototypes, Rarities and Vehicles from 1967-1976, (2007), 147 pages, Ulrich Schweizer, ISBN 9783000202872.
(2) Schuco Classic Tin Toys, (2003), 127 pages, Chris Knox, ISBN 9780873495455.

[edit] External links

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