Schabaks: A short history

Schabak took over the assets of Schuco and began to produce their first 1:600 scale die-cast model airliners in the early 1980s. They were based in Nuremberg, Germany and utilised an army of grannies to apply decals to the metal bodies of the models. This led to a high variability in the quality of models produced but nevertheless the model range increased dramatically as new airlines were added and new moulds created. During the 1980s it was common to see Schabaks sold in airports, on board airliners or in model shops.

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My Schabak Collecting

I've collected Schabaks since I was a kid. My sister bought me my first, a Swissair A310, from Zurich airport in about 1986 and subsequent trips to the Biggin Hill airshow and Heathrow started my collection. About 1990 I saw Schabaks for sale at the Buchair shop located in the Beehive at Gatwick Airport. This moved to the observation viewing area at Gatwick and my collecting really took off.

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My Schabak Collection

As of 2008 I have over 1650 Schabak models and over 100 of the new Schuco Schabaks covering 63 different types of aircraft and all the differing moulds that have been used.


My Schabak collection list
My Schuco Schabak collection list

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated room for storage of my models and Imogenia itself.

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How to create custom models

Schabak produced a wide range of models however they tended towards the larger airlines and aircraft types. In particular Schabak's exposure to Chinese airlines was very limited (Schabak had only produced 5 models).

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My custom models

Below are my custom models. They mainly represent regional far-eastern airlines that serve Imogenia during 1997.