Wiking Ships – Accuracy

Introduction

For most manufacturers of models, and Wiking was no exception, accuracy is an important objective. But there are always limits to this, as we have seen in other stories on this website. So, how far did Wiking go in this regard?

Wiking Ships – Relaunch

After the War

Following the dislocation and destruction of WW2, the German economy and Wiking itself slowly recovered. The moulds for most of the pre-war ships seem to have survived the war, and some were made available again. However, the real profits were made from new ventures making plastic models of aircraft and vehicles, and in fact it is the range of 1/87 vehicles for which Wiking became famous in post-war Germany.

Wiking Ships – Harbours

Harbours

Ships spend a lot of time docked in harbours loading and unloading, and a dockside diorama is a great way to display a collection, so it’s only natural that Wiking should have produced a range of harbours. As we have already seen in Fighting Toy Stories, Minic did the same and took the opportunity of presenting their harbours with modular components, that could be assembled and reassembled in various configurations. How did Wiking, some 20 years earlier, approach the subject?

Wiking Ships – Finishes

Introduction

Cruise ships are repainted many times during their lives, and sometimes this is more than a fresh coat of the same paint. New ownership will usually require an entirely new livery, and of course a changed colour scheme can breathe new life into a jaded liner. Modelmakers will sometimes follow suit, updating the colours on their models to keep them up to date – but they will also sometimes change the colour schemes for other reasons. Wiking were no exception in this, and we can see how they rang the changes by taking as an example their model of a relatively humble yet long-lived ship, that began life as the SS Sierra Salvada.

Wiking Ships – Auxiliaries

Introduction

In general, the focus of any range of military models tends to be on the items that actually do the fighting. But, as any military historian knows, the fighting units depend heavily on the vital, and often more numerous support services that command, administer, train and supply them. They may not be sexy, but they are essential!

Wiking Ships – Production

Introduction

It’s easy to think of the ship range created by Wiking in the 1930s as being old-fashioned, since post-war developments have enabled more complex, more detailed models to become the norm. However, at the time the models set new standards of accuracy and robustness, which were achieved by the application of novel production methods and materials. To appreciate the range properly, you have to understand how innovative they were in the context of the 1930s. To help us on our journey, let’s use as an example an unusual warship which was one of the earliest produced by Wiking.

Wiking Ships – Introduction

Wiking

The German firm of Wiking (pronounced ‘veeking’, and meaning “Viking”) are nowadays known for their range of detailed plastic 1:87 vehicles. However, they first made their name as a pre-war pioneer of metal waterline ship model production, in 1:1250 scale.