About us

History of the Blechfabrik - International wholesale for mechnichal Tin Toys

Tin toys are around since the 1800s and were sold all over the world by millions, until plastic materials became more and more popular and eventually replaced tin in the toy industry.
Today there are only a few manufacturers left that still produce these charming little gems.

At the age of 12 the founder of our company Hans-Heinrich Mückenheim had his first contact with the world of tin toys: in 1973 he helped his brother-in-law to stock the very first Christmas market in Düsseldorf with tin toys. Colorful, enchanting tin toys as far as the eye could see.
Even back then it was the only Christmas stall with tin toys on the market.

Ten years later, Hans took over the Christmas market business and with a friend, he ran up to eight Christmas markets in the region. Well-known manufacturers such as Schuco, Lorenz Bolz, Tucher + Walther, Wagner and Lehmann were still producing in and around Nuremberg at that time.

Then in 1991, again with his brother-in-law, DBS- Blechspielwaren GmbH was founded, our very own brand. With the help of molds that were bought at an auction, they became manufacturers almost overnight and started to produce their own tin toys. Since then, the spirit of Ernst Paul Lehmann, an icon in the tin toy industry, has accompanied them, who had a very beautiful motto:

“Give your tin toy a name and it'll get a soul.”

After a few years, the brother-in-law devoted himself 100% to his art and Hans took over the whole business. Production, a wholesale, as well as import and export of tin toys had to be brought under one roof. This is how today's Blechfabrik e.K. was established in 2004. Today production sites near Nuremberg, New Dehli and Shanghai manufacture the popular tin toys of the DBS-Düsseldorfer Blechspielwaren tin toy brand. At the same time, we have all tin toys that are manufactured worldwide in our program. Our mission is to preserve this historical gem and continue to reproduce new (old) models.