"HO Scale German Half-Timbered Plastic Model Kits" Topic

Some years ago I purchased a discontinued plastic model of a German house that was supposed to be in HO scale. The seller had warned me that the model was not "true" HO. I was actually happy to hear this. I was hoping that small HO might be quite compatible to the 15mm/18mm figures that I collect. I received the plastic kit and after making a few modifications was pleased that the result was a large house that was to scale with 15/18mm and could pass for a 16th or 17th century structure. If anyone else here has had a similar experience, I would be keenly interested in finding out more about these older German models. The house I purchased and put together was made by Kibri.

Cheers!

Gallo

Yes,

I too had some Kibri kits back in the 1970s.
There seemed to be no attempt for exact scaling. The larger the subject the smaller the scale, or so it seamed.
They made a castle kit I recall that would have worked well with 10mm figures. I believe the company was trying to use the art concept of foreshortening, Making items in the background smaller to create an illusion of greater depth of field.
Too bad I was using HO/OO figures at the time, so way too small for my use back then.

Remember that castle. I was so excited to get it for Christmas 1969 but then perplexed and disappointed when my Minitanks vehicles and figures were just far too big. Fun putting it together though.

I eyed that castle for many years but never brought myself to buy a copy.
link

Interesting about the lack of exact scaling. I think it is my standards that are maybe a bit too exacting, but that's just the way I roll.

The house model I put together is labeled Kibri HO 8465. I thought it worked well for 15mm with only a few minor adjustments. I believe the model is meant to represent a German renaissance house or building that has been updated for the modern world. Skylights and other non-renaissance features can be eliminated with a little modeling and sculpting. I bought another couple row buildings that look like old renaissance shops, this time from Vollmer (HO 3740). I've yet to put these together but It is pretty obvious to me that they are much closer to true HO scale. I will have to make some minor modifications to compensate. I wouldn't mind getting another German model or two but I would prefer the modifications to be minimal.

Cheers!

Gallo

Yeah bob, that castle is pretty awesome. I was toying with the idea of buying a smaller castle, Grafeneck, but I have a feeling that the HO scale would be too much for the tabletop. I've decided to scratch build a small German castle or fortified manor.

Cheers!

Gallo

On a positive point I make a lot of use of German model railway company buildings. Old farm buildings and those representing an 'Alt Stadt' are ideal for Napoleonic campaigns in Germany. As my 28mm armies are based on 1:20 their ground scale is representative. Therefore, the buildings in the smaller scale fit in with this ethos perfectly as representing an area of buildings without taking up too much table space. As we all know if we put 28mm scale buildings on the table they tend to be just too big. The models can also see some service in my 20mm WW2 battles as the scale there is 1:1 and they fit in well for the 'final battles'. Most of my battles require French buildings and other sources have to be tapped.

Here is a post that I placed here at TMP a few years ago.

TMP link

This shows the German house (Kibri) that I finished along with an old 15mm windmill.

I recently found an old book "The Wargame" edited by Peter Young at a book sale. It is a copy of the same book I used to salivate over when I was a young teen. I noticed that in the section about the battle of Blenheim by David Chandler there is a photograph of the wargame that features the same Kibri model. I'm thinking that Chandler wasn't too concerned about building scale, as his figures definitely look larger than 15mm and are probably 20 or 25mm.

Cheers!

Gallo

Faller kits from Germany are still available in HO scale online. I have a lot of these pre-coloured plastic buildings from the 70s, which were used for Napoleonics and later periods.

I will have to look for Faller online. I am mostly interested in the "smaller" HO scale of yesteryear. Late 16th or 17th century potential (I often modify) is a plus.

Cheers!

Gallo

Kibri are available in the UK via Model Masters:
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