Herpa Wings is a brand that identifies the die-castmodel aircraft line of German company Herpa. The collection includes 250 airlines under 17 different aircraft manufacturers in 1:200 scale. The mainstay of Herpa Wings is in the 1:500 scale, while model airliners are also produced in the 1:400, 1:200, 1:1000, and 1:160 scales. Herpa Wings model airliners may also be used in conjunction with Herpa's SCENIX series, which includes model diorama airports and airport accessories.
Herpa Wings has also produced model aircraft for many of the world's international airlines, which include Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and others. These model aircraft are then sold exclusively by the airlines on board and are not included in the regular retail collection.
The company Hergenröther Patente was founded in Nuremberg by inventor and patent holder Wilhelm Hergenrother to produce accessories for model trains. The initials of the company's name make up the word Herpa.
From 1949 to 1987, Herpa had been focusing exclusively on its Cars & Trucks range. However, the first plastic samples of Boeing 747-200s in the 1:00 scale were produced for Lufthansa at an initiation ceremony for a Boeing 737-300 at Nuremberg Airport. Lufthansa then orders the production of the Lufthansa Model-Edition in the 1:200 scale exclusively for the airline.
In 1988, Herpa launched the Lufthansa Model-Edition with a highly detailed replica of the Boeing 737-300. Plans for historical models like the Junkers Ju 52 were also in development. With the advent of computer technology, in 1989 a partner company in Asia developed a new concept that would be able to create the same detail and precision available to the smaller 1:500 airplane models.
In 1990, the model airplanes sported authentic miniaturizations of the engines and rolling landing gear from the various manufacturers. By 1992, Herpa Wings is established. The first 1:500 scale plane miniatures are presented to the public at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and several airlines place orders for planes in their respective liveries.
A licensing contract with aircraft manufacturer Boeing was signed in 1995. In 1996, Herpa Wings offered propeller driven planes for the first time with the release of an ATR-72 model. Also, Herpa Wings produced for Condor the replica of their anniversary plane, the "Rizzi Bird", which is still one of the most difficult models in the Herpa Wings range. The first set of airport accessories was also produced.
In 1997, issue 1 of the magazine for collectors of airplane models, WingsWorld, is released in June. A new range of airplane replicas in the 1:200 scale are released. In 1999, the Herpa Wings Club and the first models of airport buildings in the 1:500 scale are produced. Herpa also celebrates its 50th anniversary in 1999.
In 2005, Herpa Wings introduced the MAGIC Collection featuring model aircraft in the scale 1:600, aiming to directly contend with at the time direct competitor Schabak. In September, a 1:1000 scale Airbus A380 model was also released. In 2006, the 1:1000 scale series of models were officially launched. The SCENIX range of airport accessories and dioramas were also introduced.
Today, Herpa Wings has been surpassed in terms of quality by a few other, newer competitors, it also competes with Phoenix Models, NG Models, Geminijets, and, JC Wings (the latter of which also makes moulds for Geminijets)
Hogan Wings
Hogan started as a separate brand formed in Hong Kong, but were bought by Herpa as a cheap option. Hogan models are made in 1:200, 1:400, 1:500 and 1:1000 scale. All Hogan 1:200 Models are snap-fit but detailed down to the landing gear.
Herpa Wings Club
The Herpa Wings Club was established in 1999 in conjunction with Herpa's 50th anniversary. Currently, members receive WingsWorld, a magazine for collectors of Herpa Wings. A free annual model in the 1:500 scale is also given, with options to purchase 4 exclusive models from the Club Edition. Members to the Club also enjoy discounts at the Herpa museum shop in Dietenhofen, Germany. The annual Herpa Wings folders are given free to members as well.
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet 2+1⁄2 times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the 737 development program to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and in late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the world's largest building by volume. The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December of that year. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane called a "Jumbo Jet" as the first wide-body airliner.
The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial 707-120 first flew on December 20, 1957. Pan Am began regular 707 service on October 26, 1958. With versions produced until 1979, the 707 was a swept wing quadjet with podded engines. Its larger fuselage cross-section allowed six-abreast economy seating, retained in the later 720, 727, 737, and 757 models.
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. The jetliner was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing's other wide body airplanes, the twin-engined 767 and quad-engined 747, and to replace aging DC-10 and L-1011 trijets. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 program was launched in October 1990, with an order from United Airlines. The prototype was rolled out in April 1994, and first flew in June. The 777 entered service with the launch operator United Airlines in June 1995. Longer-range variants were launched in 2000, and first delivered in 2004.
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body commercial aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating but with two underwing turbofans instead of four. Envisioned in 1964, the initial 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967 and entered service in February 1968 with Lufthansa. The lengthened 737-200 entered service in April 1968, and evolved through four generations, offering several variants for 85 to 215 passengers.
The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with the A330 twinjet. In June 1987, Airbus launched both designs with their first orders and the A340-300 took its maiden flight on 25 October 1991. It was certified along with the A340-200 on 22 December 1992 and both versions entered service in March 1993 with launch customers Lufthansa and Air France. The larger A340-500/600 were launched on 8 December 1997; the A340-600 flew for the first time on 23 April 2001 and entered service on 1 August 2002.
A model airport is a scale model of an airport. While airport models have been around, in a way, since airfields were open to the public, early model airports were basically restricted to public showcases about the airport and its surroundings to the public; these were usually located inside the airport themselves.
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines. Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly classified as either the large wide-body aircraft, medium narrow-body aircraft and smaller regional jet.
Luxair, legally Luxair S.A., Société Luxembourgeoise de Navigation Aérienne, is the flag carrier of Luxembourg with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Middle East with additional charter and seasonal services. It is Luxembourg's only passenger-carrying airline offering regular, non-charter service.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of the first prototype began on March 9, 1988. Its maiden flight occurred on January 10, 1990, and it achieved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification on November 8. The first delivery was to Finnair on December 7 and it entered service on December 20, 1990.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of The Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells jet airliners and business jets, and also provides product-related maintenance and training to customers worldwide. BCA operates out of its division headquarters in Renton, Washington, and has more than a dozen engineering, manufacturing, and assembly facilities located throughout the United States and internationally. It includes the assets of the Douglas Aircraft division of the former McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which merged with Boeing in 1997. As of the end of 2021, BCA employed about 35,926 people.
A unit load device (ULD) is a container used to load luggage, freight, and mail on wide-body aircraft and specific narrow-body aircraft. It allows preloading of cargo, confidence the containerised load will fit in the aircraft and efficient planning of aircraft weight and balance and reduced labour and time in loading aircraft holds compared with 'bulk-loading' single items of cargo or luggage by hand. Each ULD has its own packing list or manifest so that its contents can be tracked. A loaded aircraft cargo pallet secured with a cargo net also forms a ULD, but its load must be gauged for size in addition to being weighed to ensure aircraft door and hold clearances.
Lufthansa Cargo AG is a German cargo airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa. It operates worldwide air freight and logistics services and is headquartered at Frankfurt Airport, the main hub of Lufthansa. Besides operating dedicated cargo planes, the company also has access to cargo capacities of 350 passenger aircraft of the Lufthansa Group.
1:144 scale is a scale used for some scale models such as micro/mini armor. 1:144 means that the dimensions of the model are 1/144 (0.00694) the dimensions of the original life-sized object; this equates to a scale of 1/2 inch per 6 feet of original dimension. For instance, an airplane 30 feet (9.14 m) in length would be a mere 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) long as a 1:144 scale model.
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian or AUA, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub. As of July 2016, the airline flew to six domestic and more than 120 international year-round and seasonal destinations in 55 countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.
Herpa Miniaturmodelle GMBH, is a German manufacturing company that produces die-cast scale model aircraft and plastic model cars and trucks under the "Herpa Cars & Trucks" trademark. The mainstay of the Herpa Wings range is in the 1/500 scale, although models have also been produced in the 1/400, 1/200, and 1/1000 scales as well.
The Hasegawa Corporation is a Japanese company that manufactures plastic model kits of a variety of vehicles, including aircraft, cars, ships, military vehicles, model armor, model space craft, and science fiction kits.
Schabak is a die-cast toy producer based in Nuremberg, Germany. The company is well known for its line of German cars and commercial airline models. The company's on and off relation with German Schuco Modell is particularly notable.
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in February 1984 and entered service that December. The stretched 737-400 first flew in February 1988 and entered service later that year. The shortest variant, the 737-500, first flew in June 1989 and entered service in 1990.
1:500 scale is a scale mainly used by Europeans for pre-finished die-cast airliner models, such as German manufacturer Herpa. This scale is also used by Japanese model kit manufacturer Bandai, Nichimo Company Ltd. and Fujimi Mokei for ship and science fiction model kits.
The Boeing 777X is the latest series of the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jetliners in the Boeing 777 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777X features new GE9X engines, new composite wings with folding wingtips, greater cabin width and seating capacity, and technologies from the Boeing 787. The 777X was launched in November 2013 with two variants: the 777-8 and the 777-9. The 777-8 provides seating for 384 passengers and has a range of 8,745 nautical miles [nmi] while the 777-9 has seating for 426 passengers and a range of over 7,285 nmi.
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