Schuco is a German toy maker founded in 1912 by Heinrich Müller and the businessman Heinrich Schreyer in Nuremberg, since early days, Germany's toy capital. Its specialty was usually cars and trucks in both tin and diecast. The company went bankrupt in 1976 but was reorganized in 1993 and then totally independent again by 1996.
Contents |
Originally named Spielzeugfirma Schreyer & Co, the company changed its name to the more succinct Schuco in 1921 (Rixon 2005, p. 64). When the company started in 1912, it made unique clockwork tin toys (Johnson 1998, p. 210). In the 1920s it introduced its famous Pick-Pick bird (over 20 million were made up until the 1960s). In 1935 one of the first Schuco patent motor cars was produced, starting a legacy of producing toy motor vehicles that have always been the company's main offering. Around 1938, production was begun on tin cars that were made either with clockwork motors or 'telesteering' where the toy could be steered through a small steering wheel attached to the car with a wire (Schuco 3000 No date). Wooden pegs were actually provided with the toy so the car could be driven around them. Production was halted during World War II and in the late 1940s production began again with tin toys, this time focused more on the American market.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a shift to plastic and then diecast metal toys of various scales including remote control and wind-up toys. Toy scales were always widely varied from HO (1:87) scale up to a foot long or larger.
Schuco toy lines always had some special quality to attract collectors as well as children. For example, Edward Force discusses that Schuco's first real foray into diecast toys was in 1958 when the 'Piccolo' series of 1:90 scale cars was introduced (Force 1990, pp. 216, 219). These solid metal (and heavy) cars were clever and cartoonish at the same time and are highly collectible today, whether originals or later reproductions. More than 100 different Piccolos have been produced, some in many liveries, like the VW transporter van (Lilliput 2009).
With a windup key, the 1:45 scale Micro Racer cars would zip around, yet could also be pushed forward or backward without harming the wind-up mechanism. The "micro" name came from the "micro"-threaded steering which could be precisely adjusted. (Lilliput 2009) 'Old Timers' had specialized clock-work motors. When wound up and in neutral the cars, like a Ford Model T, a Mercedes Simplex, or a Mercer 35J, would shake and vibrate. Shift the car into gear and off they roll - the direction chosen by how the steering wheel was turned (Sinclair's 1983). Remote, drive-by-wire "telesteering" was seen on earlier, larger scale cars.
Larger cars made during the 1970s were equally impressive and tended to focus on German products (Rixon 2005, p. 76). The 1:12 scale BMW 3.0 CSL Coupe in racing colors had switches to turn on and off head, tail and hazard lamps. A lever on the steering column operated the turn signals. The instrument panel was illuminated. The model had working steering (Sinclair's 1976). A 1:16 scale Porsche 911 was cleverly equipped with an electric horn that sounded with two tones and a set of studded rally tires that could be placed on the vehicle after raising it with a functioning jack. The car, like the BMW, ran with a smooth electric motor forward and reverse and had working steering (Sinclair's 1976). Schuco's 1:16 scale Formula 2 Brabham Ford BT33 and Formula 2 Ferrari were made in the early 1970s and very nicely detailed with many pressed metal pieces including very authentic looking wheels. They had electric motors for propulsion and steering.
Models in 1:43 scale (the 1000 series) were introduced in 1960. In 1971 and 1972, a new 1:43 scale was introduced (the 600 line) and the first 1:66 Matchbox-sized 300 series appeared. The smaller cars were called "Super Schnell" (Super Fast), essentially very similar to Matchbox wording. As seen, other diecast and remote control vehicles were sometimes much larger.
Schuco's diecast 1:43 scale line in the 1970s was extremely precise in detail with near perfect proportion to the real cars. Usually all features opened. Paint application seemed more refined and not as thick as with British Corgis and Dinkys.
Accurate replication was as good as Solido and the earlier Politoys M series, and better than most Gamas or Conrads. Precision was perhaps on par with later NZG Mercedes and Porsche promotionals. Also, similar to Solido, Schuco avoided the attractive but less realistic jewels for head and tail lights. Alas, when the company comes up with near-perfect models - financial troubles arrive (Force 1990, p. 210).
Schuco 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, rival German toymaker Gama Toys, acquired the rights to Schuco in the mid 1980s, and, for a time, new Gama Toys were 1:43 scale Schucos put directly into Gama boxes - with no name change on the base of the vehicle. In the U.S. during the 1980s, Schucos were marketed by the Lilliput Motor Company of Yerington, Nevada, with Lilliput name appearing right on the colorful boxes (Johnson 1998, p. 210).
Force (1990, pp. 218–219) writes that about the time of the Gama purchase, Schuco dies were sold off to many other companies in different countries. Some appeared with "Made in Russia" on their bases. The MIR Toy factory in Mir, Bulgaria (later to become Mikro'67 (see website link below), reproduced at least 16 different Schuco vehicles through the 1990s, in several colors. Sometimes they were packaged with "Made in Germany" still marked on their bases - but after a time this was removed. Some Schuco model castings then appeared as Gamas; some went to France and became Norevs, and some went to Brazil and were sold by Rei (Force 1990, p. 218).
In 1993 Gama-Schuco combined with Trix, a maker of small ('N') scale trains, and a company previously associated with Marklin. In 1996, Schuco became independent again and saw a revival, producing a wide variety of collectible models, with many newly designed castings, but many being exact replicas of earlier lines.
In 1999, Schuco was acquired by the Simba Dickie Group and model boxes were labeled with stickers saying "Dickie Schuco" even if it was old inventory. Simba Dickie had previously absorbed Smoby which had previously purchased French Majorette which in turn had acquired Solido. Majorette and Solido were apparently spun off, but by 2009, Schuco was healthy enough to acquire Schabak.
Today the company makes Schuco model toys (mainly street vehicles) in different scales. There are classic and newer lines, all beloved by collectors. The company also became involved, in the early 2000s, in the production of promotional models for GM (Opel and Vauxhall) in 1:43 scale. These were done in authentic GM colors and interior styles with authentic dark flat gray window trim (Rixon 2005, p. 64). The quality of the models is superior to the average toy model vehicles, therefore unit prices are higher too, but with the conglomeration of so many venerable marques in one company the final outcome of brand differentiation may be an issue.
Some of the popular Schuco toy lines are: Command Car, Magico Series, Radio Series, Patent Series, Piccolo Series, Fex 1111, Mirako Series, Telesteering cars, Examinco Series, Akustico Series, Ingenico Series, Elektro Phanomenal, Dally cars, Grand Prix Racers, Studio series, Varianto System, Old Timers, Micro Racers, Motorcycle range, Elektro Radiant Airplanes.