VEB Plasticart

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Mastermodell GmbH
Formerly
  • Kunststoff-Verarbeitung Zschopau (1958–69)
  • Modell-und Plastspielwaren Kombinat Annaberg-Buchholz (1969–73)
  • VEB Plasticart Zschopau (1973–89)
Company typePrivate
IndustryToy, collecting
Founded1958
Defunct1993; 31 years ago (1993)
FateFell from bankruptcy in 1993, sold to Manfred Wader which moved the factory to Elterlein, Saxony
HeadquartersZschopau, East Germany
ProductsScale model aircraft, cars. spacecraft

Mastermodell GmbH (also known as VEB Plasticart) was a

plastic model and toy manufacturer established in 1958 in Zschopau, East Germany
.

VEB Plasticart produced around 40 different kits and a few games (e.g. the

Vostok (scaled 1/25) and the Energia rocket with the Soviet space shuttle Buran (1/288). Many of them are today valued collector items.[citation needed
]

History

VEB Plasticart was established in 1958 in Zschopau, East Germany. VEB (

Treuhand (an organization which privatized state owned enterprises of the GDR) to Manfred Wader. It is today called Plasticart. In 1993 the company had only 37 workers left. A new factory was constructed in Elterlein, Saxony, and now[when?
] the company counts over 70 workers. They no longer make kits, but playthings for toddlers. In late 2012 German company Reifra has resumed production of the some former Plasticalt model kits.

The "VEB" title was applied to a range of small semi-autonomous businesses in the GDR that made goods especially for export. The GDR needed to export as much as possible to earn foreign "hard" currency as its own "soft" Ostmark was not freely convertible and could only be obtained and used within the GDR. Consequently, VEB Plasticart was able to sell cheap, but well designed, plastic construction kits to the Western countries in exchange for much-needed Western currencies.

The factory was located in August-Bebel Strasse 2, 936 Zschopau,

German Democratic Republic
.

For a long time the name "VEB" has stood with modelers for plastic construction kits from East Germany. The company changed its name several times.

KVZ ("VEB Kunststoff-Verarbeitung Zschopau")
This name lasted until 1969 and is translated as "Plastic Processing Zschopau". The kits had very nice packaging, usually made of thicker cardboard and a great cover image. The company logo was at that time the snake.
MPKAB ("VEB Modell -und Plastspielwaren Kombinat Annaberg-Buchholz")
This very long name was used from 1969-1973 and stands for "VEB model and plastic toys combine Annaberg-Buchholz". The kits of this period, were packed in the classic familiar blue standard boxes, but, no company logo.
In this era the combined company released 1:87 scale die-cast car and military vehicle models. "ESPEWE MODELLE" logo was used on the package.[1]
VEB Kombinat Plasticart Annaberg-Buchholz
This name was used for die-cast vehicle models. "PLASTICART modelle" logo was used on the package.
VEB Plasticart Zschopau
That was the last name as "VEB" from 1973 to 1989, the packaging was the same as from 1969/70 but from 1973 they then received a company logo. From 1987, some kits appeared in a very novel black box, with a picture of a constructed model on the cover.
Mastermodell GmbH
From 1989 to 1991 they were produced as a limited company under that name.

In addition to these company names, two more brand names were used by UK importers: "Playfix" from the mid-1980s and "Nu-Bee" from the early 1990s.[2]

Product lines

Metal wind-up bird

Starting with an

Ilyushin IL-18
turboprop.

The first of the famous Soviet airliner series to appear, in 1963, was the Tupolev Tu-104, the first medium haul jet aircraft to go into regular sustained airline service. The early Plasticart Tu-104 set the standard for all the kits that followed. It was scaled at 1:100 which whilst not common for aircraft kits at the time, was close to FROG models' 1:96 scale and matched contemporary East German TT trains such as Berliner Bahn. In addition, the kit set a standard for being simple to assemble, with a minimal number of parts, sturdy landing gear and a full decal sheet. Instructions, often printed in German, Russian, Polish and Czech, were aimed squarely at consumers in the Comecon countries, where Plasticart kits were both affordable and plentiful. They included exploded diagrams, but no English instructions.

Because the drawings were easy to obtain, Plasticart began to introduce a comprehensive range of detailed models of Soviet airliners and other Warsaw Pact aircraft. Whilst the Tu-104 had only been available with Aeroflot markings, the new introductions mostly came with Interflug decals – markings of the state airline of the GDR.

Ehri Kombi

The latest airliners soon made it into the range, including the

MiG-21 "Fishbed" (1/100) and Sukhoi Su-7
"Fitter" fighters (1/72 scale).

But it is the Western airliners that are most sought after by collectors today. The eclectic choice commenced with a very large kit of the

Pan-Am colours. Plasticart then added the Hawker Siddeley Trident initially in British European Airways colours, but later in British Airways livery, and then the unsuccessful Dassault Mercure of which only 11 units were built, all going to French domestic airline Air Inter
.

Later models, such as the 1/72 scale

Vostok 3KA (1/25) and the Soviet Energia rocket with Buran (1/288). The Vostok kit is almost the same size as Revell's Vostok, and the box artwork is also very similar, but the two are completely different. Revell's Vostok is actually 1/24 scale and it was initially released in the late 1960s.[3]

List of Plastic Models

Civil aircraft (Eastern)

Tupolev TU-114

Civil aircraft (Western)

  • Douglas DC-8-54 (1/100) 1963
  • Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle (1/100) 1963
  • de Havilland DH106 Comet-4 (1/100) 1964
  • Boeing 727-100 (1/100) 1968
  • Hawker-Siddeley HS121 Trident 2 (1/100) 1973
  • Dassault Mercure (1/100) 1975
  • Junkers G23/24 (1/72) 1987

Military aircraft

Helicopters

Spacecraft

  • Vostok 3KA (1/25)
  • Energia/Buran (1/288) 1988

References

  1. ^ Small Scale World, March 11, 2009
  2. ^ John W. Burns, The Collectors Value Guide for Scale Model Plastic Kits, Sixth Edition, 1994, P.134 and P.142
  3. ^ Revell Catalog 1969

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to VEB Plasticart.
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