Schuco 1:600 Scale Model Airliners of the 1960s/70s
During the 1980s and 90s Schabak was a big name in the production of small scale die-cast model airliners (as discussed in my history of Schabak here), however although Schabak did a huge amount to popularise and expand 1:600 scale they actually inherited their first moulds and models from the company that had created the scale itself - Schuco. In many ways Schuco are the direct descendants of all die-cast airliners that have come since.
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Background
Note: I do not own any original Schuco models. Photos in this piece have been taken from the internet and various collectors over the years. I apologise I have not been able to credit people as I don't have the information to do so any longer.
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Schuco as an organisation dates back to 1912 and was formed in Nuremberg, Germany. Schuco has over the years been famous for making a wide range of toys and models and its full history is outside of the remit of this piece and outside of my capability to deliver. The Schuco Modelle Wikipedia page on the brands is a good place to start looking at that. Nowadays the Schuco brand has been reborn, however the current organisation is a revival of the brand rather than the original organisation.
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Schuco was probably best known for making cars and trucks, however at some point in the late 1960s they branched out to produce small diecast model airliners in the novel new 1:600 scale. They also appear to have made a series of much larger 1:250 scale 747s and 707s, which can be seen here, but these are out of the scope of this article. As with the later Schabaks the Schucos were decaled rather than printed. Typically they can be easily distinguished from later Schabaks due to the more primitive nature of the castings and decals (especially the cockpits).
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All models came with large rollable silver metal wheels that gave them a toy-like but rugged profile. The boxes were made of cardboard and the aircraft wrapped in paper. All of these features would carry over to the early Schabak lines, however Schuco models do tend to look a lot more primitive with some, perhaps early examples, lacking cabin windows or tail logos - thus appearing incomplete.
Range
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The range of models produced remained relatively small, compared to the vastly larger number of later Schabaks, but grew to feature just over 100 unique models on 11 different moulds representing 11 airliner types. The part numbers for the models appear to use two different formats. Earlier releases seem to have a 3 section part number such as 784/3/2. The 784 was perhaps associated only to airliners as all early moulds use it, with the middle number being the mould and the latter the airline company number. Later models had a more familiar two section part number such as 335787/1. In this sequence the latter part is certainly the airline and the former probably the mould type.
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Unfortunately Schuco itself was in financial trouble and in 1976 it went bankrupt. It appears that the production of model airliners ceased at this time but it may have continued under the new owners. Schuco was acquired by a British company, Dunbee-Combex-Marx (DCM) but they too went bankrupt in 1980.
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The airliner side of the business was of course acquired by Schabak and production restarted under their name in 1982. Schabak utilised several of the existing castings (Airbus A300, Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde, Boeing 747-100 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30) but none of the other moulds were ever used by the new company.
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Production
During the production period Schuco made the following aircraft types:
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Boeing 707
The Boeing 707-320 mould is quite nice and has rather attractive lines, including the HF antenna on the tail. Unlike some of the later moulds all the wheels are the same size. It seems at least 13 versions were made although many of the Lufthansa versions below may be just variants of each other with decals missing. Although Schabak later had a 707 mould it shares no heritage with this one.
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Boeing 727-100
The 727-100 shares the same nose shape as the 707 but has a complicated two part rear where the side engines, no 2 engine and tail are all a single piece that connects to the rest of the fuselage. This mould did not transfer over to Schabak and they never had a series 100 727. Note that an Iraqi example was also made!
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Boeing 737-100
Possibly the first Schuco mould featured the baby Boeing for which of course Lufthansa was launch customer. Several shots here appear to show no provision for a nosewheel and instead just a metal spike. Possibly this was the first attempt prior to the addition of a wheel? These models often seem the least complete of all Schucos.
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One version was made for a travel company called Erba. This mould did not transfer over to Schabak and they never had a series 100 737.
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Boeing 747-100
Probably the most famous and recognisable Schuco mould was of the Boeing 747-100, although it would be used regularly in the early years of Schabak also and so the mould alone itself doesn't identify a Schuco release. Compared to later Schabak 747 mould versions it had a much pointier (arguably more accurate) nose shape.
For many years Schuco, and later Schabak, was the only company with a license to make Iraqi Airways models but this Schuco version is the only 600 scale 747 release ever made. It is surprising Schabak never made a version in that scale (they did make a larger scale Iraqi 747).
For many years Schuco, and later Schabak, was the only company with a license to make Iraqi Airways models but this Schuco version is the only 600 scale 747 release ever made. It is surprising Schabak never made a version in that scale (they did make a larger scale Iraqi 747).
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Douglas DC-8-33 & DC-8-63
These moulds both appear to be a two part cradle-mounts with the series 60s being basically just a longer version of the series 30. It appears that some of the series 60s were advertised as series 62s but use the longer mould still. Schabak would have its own DC-8-70 (and later series 61) moulds but I don't believe they share any heritage with these versions.
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Douglas DC-9-32
The DC-9 mould is a two part mould with separate tail and engines much like the 727-100. However, it does show a sensibly smaller sized nosegear than most other Schuco moulds.
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McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
The DC-10 mould was one of three ex-Schuco moulds that continued to see use with Schabak, albeit in modified form, right up until the end of Schabak's existence as an independent company. Several of the Schuco DC-10s had very unusual cockpit decals and some of the KLM version got as far as being reproduced as Schabak stock. I have covered Schabak's usage of the DC-10 here.
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Aerospatiale / BAC Concorde
The Concorde mould was highly unusual among Schuco's production in that not only was it wildly not to scale (it is too large to be 1:600) but the undercarriage legs are plastic additions rather than metal. Despite its rather weak overall form it was promoted into the Schabak line and used in modified form right until the end of Schabak production. The post-2006 Schuco Schabak line finally replaced it with a more accurately sized version.
Several of the models were unsurprisingly fantasy renditions for business customers.
Several of the models were unsurprisingly fantasy renditions for business customers.
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Airbus A300
The A300 mould was one of Schuco's later efforts but that didn't stop it being rather poor. The tail on this first version was a separate piece attached at the forward root. Nonetheless, like the DC-10 and Concorde it moved to Schabak and in modified form (with shortened undercarriage and remoulded as a single piece) was even being used as late as 2006 for a Schuco-Schabak tampo printed Tunisair example. I have covered the Schabak A300 here.
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Ilyushin Il-62
Probably the most interesting and unusual model made by Schuco was a single Il-62. Schabak later had their own Il-62 mould but it didn't share any history with this one. Despite its weak shape it is a model that has a huge amount of appeal.
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