Karl Arnold GmbH & Co. KG

Trademark: Arnold

Initially was specialized in traditional tinplate and lithographed metal toys. By the 1930s, under the management of Max Ernst, the company expanded heavily into high-quality mechanical toys and model ships. World War II brought complete devastation, leaving all three of Arnold's Nuremberg factories in ruins in 1942. The company survived by relocating its immediate postwar manufacturing to an uninjured branch facility in Mühlhausen. As the Nuremberg factories were rebuilt, the brand enjoyed a massive resurgence in the late 1940s and 1950s with highly complex, battery-operated tin vehicles. However, as traditional tinplate toys began falling out of fashion in the late 1950s, Arnold made a legendary pivot. At the 1960 Nuremberg Toy Fair, they introduced "Arnold Rapido 200", a highly innovative model train line built to an incredibly small 8mm track width (originally 1:200 scale, later adjusted to 1:160). This system effectively launched the global N scale model railroad industry, making Arnold the market leader for decades. In 1995 tThe brand assets were sold first to Rivarossi (Italy), and after Rivarossi's insolvency in 2003, the Arnold trademark was purchased by the British manufacturer Hornby

Country: Germany
Address: Nuremberg
Active: 1906 – 1995
Founder: Karl Arnold

Types of toys made

Model Ships and Boats (Pre-War), Postwar Military & Civilian Vehicles, Postwar Military & Civilian Vehicles, Mechanical Figurines and Novelties, Model Trains (1960–Present)

Karl Arnold GmbH & Co. KG

Types of toys made

Sources

Toys by Karl Arnold GmbH & Co. KG