V201 1963 1968 Fiat 1800 |
A History of Siku Cars - Part II by: Remco Natrop images by: Remo Natrop and Doug Breithaupt Note: This is the second installment in the story of Siku. Click
here for Part I. Sieper started reconfiguring their casting-moulds that were installed in 1949 and used for making Mercedes' star-shaped hood ornament. The factory in Ludenscheid was outfitted with installations for grating, sandblasting and painting the zinc cast models. Sieper concentrated on the production so hard that they even discontinued their successful 'F' series of 1:250 plastic aircraft. The first four die cast 'V' series Siku models were presented in January 1963, another four on the 'Nurnberger Spielwarenmesse' in March, the next four in August and finally the last four in November. (Sieper still maintains the tradition of distributing their new models in four separate waves a year.) In 1968 there were 68 die cast 'V' models, more being added every year. The plastic gradually disappeared. 1969 brought the next foreign competitor to Germany. Mattel introduced their 'Hot Wheels'. Sieper immediately responded by improving the rolling abilities of their passenger cars and calling them 'Siku Flitzern'. All models now had new axles, suspension and bearings and were packaged in special boxes between 1970 and 1972. Sieper started to export their own models abroad to build up a reputation that would grow till the end of the 70's. The factory in Ludenscheid stopped producing anything other than diecast models and the other activities were relocated to different factories. The name changed to 'Sieper Werke' (which indicates the company owns more than one factory). The various price ranges were easy to spot because the boxes the models were in had a color according to price range (blue, green, yellow, red etc.). In 1973 Sieper dropped the 'V' from their identification system thus, 17 models exist which only have a three-digit number. By 1975 the complete administration of Sieper was no longer done by hand, but electronically. The result of this was that the various price ranges were no longer identified by the color on the packaging, but by their number. This brings the birth of the 1000's series where the number is made up out of a two-digit price range number and a two-digit model number (I.e. price range 10 and model number 11 make model 1011). The 1000's series will be discussed in the next and final part of this story. The metal 'V' series often have gem-cut glass-, or clear plastic headlights
in the early years which are later integrated in the chassis. In the early
70's Sieper started to experiment with wheels and windows. Many variations
are possible in wheel types and window colors. Windows can either be clear,
transparent- brown, yellow, green or blue. Most of these variations are
only interesting for people who collect Siku. Prices range from $ 15 to
$ 200 (mint with box). V258 1965 1972 Liebherr AK 50 B mbl. crane V259 1966 1972 trailer V260 1966 1973 Klaus Autoshovel V261 1966 1974 Mercedes Metz DL 30 H fire  V262 1966 1971 Pontiac Bonneville Cabriolet V263 1966 1968 Wood transport trailer V264 1966 1971 Tempo Matador with canoe V264 1972 1974 Ford Transit with canoe  V265 1966 1971 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 V266 1967 1974 BMW 2000 CS  V267 1967 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado V268 1967 1974 Ford Transit minivan |
 V269 1967 1974 Ferrari Berlinetta 275 GTB V270 1967 1974 Zettelmeyer Europ L 2000 ldr. V271 1967 1974 Opel Rekord Coupe V272 1967 1972 Opel Rekord Caravan w/ski's V273 1967 1969 Ford Taunus 15 M V274 1967 1974 Magirus M250 refuse truck V275 1967 1973 Magirus M250 car transporter V276 1968 1972 Ford OSI 20 M TS  V277 1967 1972 Pontiac GTO Cabriolet V278 1967 1969 Tipper trailer V279 1968 1971 V252/V283 with caravan V280 1968 1972 Euclid S7/E 915R Athey tip. V281 1968 1969 Magirus M250 tipper tipper V282 1968 1974 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray  V283 1968 1974 Ford 20 M V284 1968 1970 Ford 17 M Turnier (st. wagon) V285 1968 1974 Porsche Carrera 906 V286 1968 1969 Opel Olympia V287 1969 1974 Hanomag Robust 900 V288 1968 1974 Hanomag F 201S-2A tank trk. V289 1968 1972 Magirus construction transport V290 1968 1974 Citroen DS 21 V291 1969 1974 Magirus M250 cement mixer V292 1969 1974 Mercedes 406D emgncy. van V293 1969 1974 Mercedes DL 30 H crane V294 1968 1974 Jaguar E 2 + 2 V295 1968 1974 Maserati Mistral V296 1969 1974 Ford GT 40 V297 1969 1974 Oldsmobile Toronado w/boat  V298 1969 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark III V299 1969 1974 Zettelmeyer Europ S12 3-whl. V300 1969 VW 411 V301 1969 1972 Fiat 850 Sport coupe V302 1969 1974 Mercedes 280 SL V303 1969 1973 V287 + V263 V304 1970 1974 Opel GT 1900 V305 1970 1974 Mercedes 406 D mail van V306 1970 1974 Binz Europ 1200 L ambulance V307 1971 1974 Hanomag Henschel garage tpt. V308 1970 1974 Audi 100 LS V309 1970 1974 Mercedes 250/8 V310 1970 1974 Ford Capri 1700 GT V311 1970 1974 VW 1300 V312 1970 1974 Porsche 914/6 V313 1970 1974 Ford 17M Turnier brk.dwn.sr. V314 1970 1972 V222 + V225 V315 1970 1972 V222 + V278 V316 1971 1973 Toyota 2000 GT V317 1971 1974 Lamborghini Espada 400 GT V318 1971 1974 Hanomag Henschel cont. tptr. V319 1971 1974 Mercedes LP 608 br.dwn trk. V320 1970 1972 VW Transporter T1 detect. van V320 1973 1974 VW Transporter T2 detect. van V321 1971 1974 Alfa Romeo Montreal V322 1971 1974 Citroen SM V323 1971 1974 Ford Transit rd. maint. truck V324 1971 1974 Ford Transit police van V325 1971 1974 Menck crane grabber V326 1971 1974 Michigan 180 planing tractor V327 1972 1974 Pontiac GTO 'The Judge' V328 1972 1974 Hanomag Robust 900 w/trailer V330 1972 1974 Ford T5 Mustang Mach 1 V331 1971 1974 M.A.N. 8.156 F racecar tanker V332 1972 1974 Faun Metz airport water can. V333 1972 1974 Lamborghini Espada w/trailer V334 1972 1974 Ford Transit schoolbus V335 1972 1974 Mercedes LP 608 D truck V336 1972 1974 Mercedes LP 608 D silo trans. V337 1972 1974 Faun snowplough V338 1972 1974 Hanomag Henschel small trk. V339 1972 1974 Mercedes 406 D water res. van V341 1972 1974 BMW 2000 CS police car V342 1973 1974 Ford 17 M Kombi fire brig.car 343 1973 1974 Hanomag Henschel brake fac. 344 1973 1974 Lamborghini Espada 400GT fire 345 1973 1974 VW Transporter T2 radar van 346 1973 1974 Porsche 914/6 ADAC pace car 347 1973 1974 Magirus M250 tipper truck 348 1973 1974 M.A.N. 8.156 F container truck 349 1973 1974 M.A.N. 8,156 F truck w/rail sec. 350 1973 1974 Hanomag Henschel w/crane 351 1974 Maserati Boomerang 352 1973 1974 V289 + V218 + V238 + V239 353 1973 1974 Audi 100 LS emergency doctor 354 1973 1974 V338 + matching trailer 355 1974 Hanomag Henschel gas station transpt 356 1974 VW Transporter T2 ambulance 357 1974 Mercedes 406 D fire brigade rescue van 360 1974 Hanomag Henschel small truck/oil tank 361 1974 Unimog mail truck with lifting hold 362 1974 Magirus M250 skip loader |
