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Siku Selbstbau Flugzeug
(Build Yourself Aircraft )


This is one of the toy aeroplanes which never got out of my mind beside the model kits proper I remember to have had in my youth. The other toy aeroplanes were the plastic mini planes from Manurba and the plastic catapult flyers from Geobra.

Then German manufacturer Siku  issued a series of build yourself plastic toy model kits in the mid 1950's [ 1 ]. They could easily be assembled and dissassembled, the parts were not glued but simply snapped together.

The first of this series was the Selbstbau Flugzeug (Build Yourself Aircraft). This could certainly not considered as a realistic model, which resembles only remotedly of a P-51 Mustang but it ranks high in my memory and I simply had to add it to my collection.

When in 2003 I started recollecting my memories of modelling in the 1950's and 60's I new exactly how this toy aircraft looked like: silver plastic, generic WW 2 low wing fighter with separately moulded inline engine. But I did not know for which manufacturer I should search for in auctions to "buy back" this keepsake.

But as so often I found it just by chance. There was offered a Siku Selbstbau car  together with a photocopy of a 1956 catalogue, where the seller diplayed a page showing a so called SIKU Selbstbau Flugzeug. And I immediately recognized that that was exactly the kit I had as a child (see picture below).



Though I knew now I had to use the brand name Siku in my searches  I  found my first Selbstbau Flugzeug proper by chance again. In October 2010  there was offered a Lindberg F-86D in Germany with was offered as: F-86 VINTAGE KIT LINDBERG LINE ORIGINAL BOX with the following picture:



It was desciribed as  not complete, but with instructions and nice origial box. In fact it showed very few Lindberg parts,  most parts were of a Siku Selbstbau Flugzeug. Engine, cowling, cockpit interior, and one landing gear were missing. Naturally I bought it for the Siku parts, though the immaculate Lindberg box was a welcome bonus.

Only at the end of 2012 did I manage to find a complete Siku Selbstbau Flugzeug, see picture 3, right.

______________________________

[ 1 ] A quick research in US and UK eBay reveals the following expressions are used for various toy kits.

build it yourself
do it yourself
make it yourself
build yourself
Siku Selbstbau Flugzeug (build yourself aircraft )



Picture 1 :Siku Selbstbau-Flugzeug packaged in bag. Text translated literally says "build yourself your Siku aircraft"
To the courtesy of  Matthias Schafhauser © http://www.toycar-shop.de/



Picture 2 : Siku Selbstbau-Flugzeug. Rear of card insert. Bag removed to show parts more sharply. © cjk



Picture 3 : Siku Selbstbau-Flugzeug. Fully asembled.© cjk


          back to Siku Selbstbau         
Home How it All Began Plastic Kits
50´s & 60´s
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1970 up
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Started: ? Revised last: November 2015 Author: cjk  © cjk