Maker record

Kibri

Kibri is a German maker of toys and model railway accessories, founded in 1895 as Kindler & Briel. Its early products were metal toys; from the 1930s it increasingly made railway accessories, especially stations and other buildings. The range later included buildings, vehicles, scenery and trackside equipment in several model railway scales. Kibri introduced plastic model kits and developed vehicle kits and powered mobile models, while its building kits used moulded parts and, in some ranges, two-colour injection moulding.

Founded: 1895

The story of Kibri

Kindler & Briel, known as Kibri, was founded in Germany in 1895. The company initially made metal toys. In 1935 it began to concentrate increasingly on model railway accessories, particularly stations and buildings. After the Second World War it restarted production; its 1948 catalogue chronology records improvised production using a used tin can to make a model filling station. By 1960, model railway accessories were the main focus, alongside wooden toys and seasonal goods.

A fire destroyed Kibri’s factory in Böblingen in 1973. Production resumed in a new facility in Schopfloch in 1975 under company manager Rudolf Gußmann, with updated machinery and a narrower range focused on railway accessories. Kibri introduced vehicle model kits in 1978. In 2007 the company passed to RIRE Maschinen GmbH, and the product range expanded to include fully functional mobile models. The 2009 catalogue shows a broad programme of buildings, vehicles, scenery and railway accessories in H0, N and Z, including kits using two-colour injection moulding. Viessmann acquired the Kibri brand in 2010; Kibri products became part of its model railway and functional modelling range.