Maker record
Schuco
Schuco is a German toy maker founded in Nuremberg as Schreyer & Co. in 1912. It became known for lithographed tin toys with clockwork mechanisms, including moving animals and cars with working steering and multiple gears. Its best-known products include the Pick-Pick bird, Examico cars and the Varianto wire-guided vehicle system. Schuco’s range later included die-cast models, while its early mechanical toys reflect the company’s roots in Nuremberg’s toy-making industry.
- Founded
- 1912
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Fürth, Bavaria, Germany
- Founders
- Heinrich Müller · Heinrich Schreyer
The story of Schuco
Schreyer & Co. was founded in Nuremberg in 1912 by Heinrich Schreyer and Heinrich Müller. The Schuco name derives from Schreyer & Co. The company became known for mechanical toys made from lithographed steel sheet. Its clockwork products included the Pick-Pick bird, whose mechanism made it peck repeatedly, and toy cars with working steering and multiple gears.
In the 1930s Schuco developed tin toy cars, including the Examico. After the Second World War, production resumed, and the 1950s brought products such as Varianto, a system in which small vehicles followed a wire on a play surface. As plastic toys and die-cast models gained ground in the 1960s, traditional tin-toy makers faced economic pressure. Schuco entered insolvency proceedings in the 1970s. Historical Schuco toys and models remain represented in museum collections.
Shop pieces
All shop pieces
In the digital museum
Explore the museum
Schuco BMW Turbo in OB, approx. 25 cm long, 1970sView in the museum
Schuco felt-covered clockwork Charlie Chaplin, approx. 15 cm high, 1930sView in the museum
Schuco Girato Mercedes-Benz 250 SE Convertible Tin Toy Car #4000 White/Cream with Box and KeyView in the museum
Schuco Girato Mercedes-Benz 250 SE Convertible Tin Toy Car #4000 Red with BoxView in the museum