The traditional toy factories in Brandenburg and Thuringia were gradually nationalized after the creation of the German Democratic Republic in 1949. They made model cars of wood, Bakelite, tin and mainly plastic in rather big scales (Anker, Plasticart, Ehri, Lineol, PreSu) copying domestic cars as well as - for the export market - Western cars. Prefo from Dresden did not only release 1/32nd scale slot cars, but also conventional plastic model cars in this scale. Like in Western Germany, model cars in 1/87th scale were very popular; the most important brand name was Espewe, but 1/87th scale model vehicles were also made by Herr, Permot, MAB mobile and other companies. After 1989, s.e.s from Berlin continued to produce some of these models. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 also induced several Western model car manufacturers to copy the most popular East German car, the Trabant, in various scales. The models made by Vitesse in Portugal are very nice, but they aren't made of plastic like the real cars, but of diecast metal. After the year 2000, Revell (in 1/18th scale), Minichamps (in 1/43rd scale) and Brekina (in 1/87th scale) show their interest in the motoring history of the GDR by their models of early 1960s Wartburg saloons and coupés. Minichamps have also released a model of the East German sports car Melkus, IST Models have introduced various 1/43rd scale models of GDR vehicles originally made for a partwork series of the publishing house Atlas, and Easter43, a small German company, has specialized in handbuilt models of racing cars from the former GDR. Finally, there are several models of East German cars in the ranges of companies such as Grell and Hümmer producing promotional models for breweries.
GDR