Siku Toys

A Siku Super Series car from the 1980s

For other uses of Siku, please refer to Siku (disambiguation).

SIKU is the range of toy vehicles and related products produced by the German company Sieper Lüdenscheid GmbH & Co. KG in Lüdenscheid, Germany. The company manufactures many vehicles, but the Super Series 1:55 scale die-cast vehicles are the core product.

History

Sieper-Werke (The Sieper company) was founded in 1921 (Wagner 2002-2007). It was originally a manufacturer of metal tools and cutlery in zamac and aluminum and, later on, ashtrays, badges, medals, belt buckles, and buttons (Wagner 2002-2007). The company also experimented with early plastics. In 1943 the company expanded to a facility in Hilchenbach, about 30 miles away, which today is the headquarters for Sieper-Werke. Consumer products like plastics, furniture, mirrors and cabinets have been developed and manufactured in Hilchenbach. Nevertheless, Lüdenscheid focused on promotional items for major brands, such as the 'elephant shoe' and 'Zeller black cat'. These were produced by injection molding.

It was not until 1950 that the company started producing toys in Ludensheid registering the trademark SIKU for the new products. SIKU originates from abbreviating the name of the founder of the company, Richard Sieper, and the German word for plastic, Kunststoffe (Sieper Plastics). Originally, there was a broad variety of SIKU toys which at first were plastic, including figures and animals. The first vehicles were produced in 1951 (Wagner, 2002-2007).

Model Range

The Original Few

Starting in 1955, a dedicated line of car models were produced, and subsequently in 1958, SIKU dropped figures to focus exclusively on plastic vehicles. The first vehicles were of larger scales and were generic.

V-Series

The 1955 line, the V-Series (the 'V' stood for 'Vehrkehrs'modelle or Traffic Models), were produced as replicas of actual vehicles. These models were in a uniform 1/60th scale. Then in 1963, new models produced in zinc alloy were introduced, and these were spray painted by hand. Between 1963 and 1969, new releases were made in both plastic and metal, but there was a gradual shift to metal with fewer plastic models. The last plastic model was issued in 1969, and since that time all new models have been die-cast zamac.

In 1973, the letter V was removed from the numbering system, and new models came packaged in coloured cardboard boxes with names and pictures of the vehicles contained within, which seems rather rustic compared to the use of blister packages that were becoming dominant at this time. Even most Matchbox Toys were abandoning their 'Matchboxes' by this time. The V Series came to an end in 1975. On the main continent of Europe, Siku did battle with French Majorette and Dutch Efsi, but became the diecast kings in this scale in Germany. Siku models have never been popular in the United States, and only sometimes found at specialty hobby shops, and rarely at large department stores like WalMart, Hills, or Target. This is despite offering American cars like the Buick Wildcat, Oldsmobile Toronado, and various American Fords (Ragan 2000, 36).

Super Series

The Super Series came out in 1975 and replaced the V series. Although some V series models were transferred to the Super Series and were re-numbered, there were two differences between this newer series and the older V series. First, the models were no longer spray painted by hand. Second, the new models were made in a slightly bigger scale of 1:55. Models are numbered by a four digit system. The first two digits designate the price range. Small cars traditionally have numbers that start in 10 or 13, but later on 08 and 14 were added. Larger vehicles including helicopters have various price range designation from 16 and on. The second two digits are the model numbers within each price range. This unifying numbering system has since been used for all new product ranges as well as gift sets. Small cars were at first packaged in both picture boxes and blister packages but were only in blister packages of various styles since the 1980s. Large models are almost always packaged in window boxes although some came in blister package in the past. This series is still produced today, and since the incorporation of the Club Series (see below) in the early 1990s, large trucks as well as military tanks and a few aircraft have been made in the small car size and put in blister packages. Of course, their scale varied greatly too. Hence, a unified scale of 1:55 (or 1:60 for cars from the V series) is no longer true. The Super Series is the major model range.

Club Series

Club Series was introduced in 1990. It consisted of die-cast trucks and farm vehicles made in smaller scale (usually 1:87). They were very similar to the Super Series in that the blister packages were the same size and shape as those of small cars. The only difference was that the original package had a different printing design and read "Siku Club." However, after the first few years of production, this series was fully incorporated into the Super Series and used the same packaging design. Interestingly, a few 1:55 models from the Super Series in the 08 price range were also packaged in the "Siku Club" package for a short period of time in 1992, when production switched from Germany to China. (The Club Series vehicles have always been produced in China since their beginning in 1990.)

Super Classic

This range of classic old-timer fire engines in 1:50 was added in 2005 to complement the contemporary models in the Super Series. This was done following the success of the Farmer Classic line (see below).

M87

With scale of the models becoming variable in the Super Series, Siku released the M87 series in 2003. All of the models are faithfully reproduced in 1:87. The range of models is limited but consists of semi-trailers, cranes, farm tractors, and cars. The trucks, cranes, and farm tractors are very similar to those made in smaller size in the Super Series (i.e., those that have their roots in the Club Series). The difference is that the M87 series vehicles are more detailed and are packaged in small window boxes versus blister card. They are in the price range 18.

Farmer, Farmer Classic, Farmer +, and Farmer Classic + Series

These are all 1:32 farm equipments, although there is also a Land Rover in the Farmer Series (It was used as a farm vehicle!). The Farmer Series was introduced in 1983. Farmer Classic line was added in 2002, to include old-timer tractors. Subsequently, Farmer + and Farmer Classic + consisted of farm vehicles that are more refined in details.

SIKU Control

In 2004, radio-controlled tractor was introduced in the all new SIKU Control line. It has added play value compared to the similar SIKU Farmer Series vehicles. Newer models have since been added to this series. They have working acceleration, steering, headlights and indicators.

SIKU Junior

This lineup launched in 1998. It consist of large, quality plastic truck and farm vehicles. They are aimed primarily to attract smaller children playing outdoors, and feature durability.

Siku Aeroplanes

Siku first built 20 plane models in scale 1:250 in 1959. Despite good sales the company was forced to stop producing this range in 1964 due to the lack of a sufficient work-force. In the early 1990s, aeroplane models of this size reappeared. They were boxed and were in the price range 19.de

Collection and Vintage Value

The V-Series and the Super Series have always been the highlights among collectors. Old Siku models are very sought after by the collectors. The manufacturing quality of the models is significantly higher than average. However, the price of individual model is higher as well. Today, the new models still retain the quality of older matchbox, dinky and corgi of decades past. For example, their wheels are more detailed, with sculpted details. Tires are separated from wheels and made of rubber. The other manufacturers build their wheels in a single plastic cast.

See also

• Die-cast toy
• Matchbox
• Hot Wheels
• Tomica
• Majorette

References

• SIKU homepage
• Natrop, Remco. 1998-2002. The Siku Super Site. [1]
• Ragan, Mac. 2000. Diecast Cars of the 1960s. Osceola, Wisconsin: MBI Publishing. ISBN 0760307199.
• Wagner, F. 2002-2007. The Siku Story (Die SIKU Geschichte). Model Cars (Modellautos) website. [2]

External links

• Siku official homepage--available in several languages
• SikuWiki--Wikipedia styled Siku information page in Dutch
• The Siku Super Site--A collector's page with Siku model history and database
• Sikumodels.com, a Siku Database with pictures and details per model
• Siku-digitaal.nl, Official website of the independent dutch Siku-newsletter 'Siku in de 12 provincies'
• A Siku gallery