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.

Minic Ships – Revivals

New Edition

Usually, when a classic toy range ceases production, it has gone for good. Occasionally however a range is revived, and in the case of Minic this happened not once, but twice! The 1970s Rovex Hornby revival mainly involved reuse of the 1960s moulds, with only a handful of new items. The revival was not a success, and most observers would no doubt have assumed that this was the last we would see of Minic Ships.

It was something of a surprise therefore, when the range was revived again in the first years of this century by Charles Shave, a private owner based in Hong Kong (though production took place in mainland China). The audience this time round most certainly includes adult collectors, people who are excited at the nostalgic thought of once again acquiring some of the toys of their childhood.