Maker record
Habi
HaBi was the prewar mark of Johann (Hans) Biller’s metal-toy business in Nuremberg, Germany. The firm made mechanical tin toys before the Second World War and, after rebuilding, developed a broad range of toys that included its Billerbahn narrow-gauge train, railway accessories, cars, trucks, cranes and moving aircraft models. The Billerbahn was produced in clockwork and battery-powered versions, with a patented mechanism enclosing the running gear. HaBi marked the company’s prewar products; after the war, its toys generally appeared under Biller branding.
- Founded
- 1978
- Final year
- 1977
- Countries
- Japan
- Locations
- Nuremberg, Germany · 1935
- Founders
- Johann (Hans) Biller
The story of Habi
Johann Biller, known as Hans, registered a metal-toy business in Nuremberg in 1935 with his wife. Before the Second World War, the firm specialized in mechanical toys. Its factory buildings were destroyed during the war. After rebuilding, Biller changed the product range, and the Billerbahn toy railway began production in 1948. In 1948 Biller received a patent for a covering over the running gear of toys, particularly toy vehicles. The firm presented the Billerbahn at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1950. It made the railway in approximately 1:40 scale, in clockwork and battery-powered versions.
The railway was one part of a wider programme. Biller made signals, level crossings, figures, cars, model layouts, racing tracks, cranes, trucks and functional aircraft toys, including helicopter and Apollo capsule models. The company moved within Nuremberg in 1952 and again in 1976. The prewar products carried the HaBi mark; after the war, Biller used its B logo and name. The firm filed for bankruptcy in April 1977 and was removed from the local business register in January 1978. The later use of the Billerbahn name by another company referred to products from other manufacturers and did not continue Biller’s original production.