100 years of Haribo
Andrew Ralston unwraps more sweet diecasts.
The Haribo confectionery company has always appreciated the value of putting the company’s logo on model vehicles. Last month we examined the scarce and desirable Tekno Taunus van and some of the more recent Siku issues, but these are by no means the only diecasts on the Haribo theme.
There are also numerous unbranded promotional issues, available as on-pack offers or sold cheaply in packaging with colourful seasonal backing cards, a popular collecting theme in Germany where they are known as ‘Werbemodelle’. Huge numbers of these exist carrying the logos of food and drink brands and many other products. One of the best is a model of the classic 1950sVolkswagen T1 delivery van, first examined in Diecast Collector back in 2007, when several different coloured finishes were issued to promote the German supermarket chain REWE.
Since then, other promotional versions have been made, including a twin-pack containing a blue van with Haribo markings, accompanied by an orange one marked “Maoam”, another of the company’s confectionery trademarks. Made to approximately 1/43 scale, this captures the distinctive shape of the van well even though it is clearly made to a budget, with the decorations being applied as self-adhesive stickers.The maker is a bit of a mystery, though. The underside carries the name Pro-Innovation and an address in the town of Fürth in Northern Bavaria that, together with the adjacent town of Nuremberg, has a long history of toy manufacture and distribution. Pro-Innovation, however, is not a manufacturer, but a specialist in the distribution of promotional items, so manufacture will have been sub-contracted elsewhere.
A rather different take on this idea comes from Schuco Piccolo, which are small (1/90 scale) but heavy, thanks to being cast in one solid piece. First seen in 1957, these saw a revival in the 1990s and the range soon developed beyond remakes of earlier subjects to include many new ones. Like Tekno, Märklin,Vitesse and others, Schuco used a VW TI van as the base of multiple liveries, using modern printing techniques to achieve a high level of detail in spite of the small dimensions of the models. Schuco goes in for limited editions in a big way, often packed in imaginative ways such as gift tins. In 2002, an edition of 2,222 examples, in Haribo livery, was produced in a picture box accompanied by a small bag of Haribo sweets. The sell-by date of the sweets was April 2003, so presumably the unopened bag is now a collector’s item as well as the van! The following year there was a further issue of 2000 Mercedes LP911 articulated Haribo trucks, supplied with a tube of sweets, in a hinged wooden box.
In the 1980s, Norev’s budget Jet Car toys were brightened up with paper stickers and, among others, there’s a Renault 4 van in pink with Haribo markings. Norev now focuses mostly on the adult collecting market and frequently exploits a favourite French theme, the advertising vehicles associated with the Tour de France cycle race. About ten years ago a Nissan Navara pick-up was made in Tagada and Dragibus colours - other types of Haribo sweets. For those who like larger scales, there is also a 1/18 Norev Simca 1000 rally car in metallic blue with Haribo markings. It seems that Haribo models come in almost as many different varieties as the sweets themselves! DC