ABOUT US.

Who We Are 

We are one of the leading and globally active manufacturers for high quality scale models out of zinc diecast. Since we were founded in 1968 in Nürnberg, Germany, we are constantly developing our products, processes and services to fulfill and exceed our customers’ expectations.

As a family business in its third generation, we are constantly challenging the status quo to become better every day while keeping our successful traditions alive. This mindset is also shown in our slogan "Tradition in every detail", which sets the basis of our daily work and decisions. The combination of our long lasting tradition, extensive know-how and continuous will to grow and innovate makes us to what we are today and plays an important role in our ongoing success story.

We are proud on what we have already achieved and eager to further shape the scale model market in the future. To do so, we rely on our dedicated and skilled team, our loyal and satisfied customers and our strong and reliable partners. Together, we create and share the joy of scale models.


We are one of the leading and globally active manufacturers for high quality scale models out of zinc diecast. Since we were founded in 1968 in Nürnberg, Germany, we are constantly developing our products, processes and services to fulfill and exceed our customers’ expectations.

As a family business in its third generation, we are constantly challenging the status quo to become better every day while keeping our successful traditions alive. This mindset is also shown in our slogan "Tradition in every detail", which sets the basis of our daily work and decisions. The combination of our long lasting tradition, extensive know-how and continuous will to grow and innovate makes us to what we are today and plays an important role in our ongoing success story.

We are proud on what we have already achieved and eager to further shape the scale model market in the future. To do so, we rely on our dedicated and skilled team, our loyal and satisfied customers and our strong and reliable partners. Together, we create and share the joy of scale models.

VISION, MISSION & VALUES.

  • Our Vision

    Our vision is to be the leading scale model manufacturer whose products capture the essence and emotion of our customers' brands and products and to share them with the world.

  • Our Mission

    Our mission is to create fascinating and captivating scale models that reflect the identity and emotion of our customers' brands and products. We achieve this by adhering to the highest standards of quality and innovation and by constantly challenging ourselves to improve. We are not just scale model makers, we are brand ambassadors who bring our customers' ideas and emotions to life in a smaller scale.

  • Our Values

    Passion: We are passionate about our craft and our customers' visions. We put our heart and soul into every model we create to deliver the best possible results.

    Excellence: We uphold the highest standards of quality and innovation in our work. We use the latest technology and methods to produce scale models that are realistic, accurate and detailed. We are never satisfied with just the standard.
Collaboration: We work as a team with our customers, suppliers and colleagues. We value diversity, respect and trust in our relationships. We listen to each other's ideas and feedback and we support each other's growth and development.

Creativity: We embrace creativity and originality in our scale models. We seek to capture the essence and emotion of our customers' brands and products in unique and captivating ways. We are not afraid to experiment and try new things. 

Integrity: We act with honesty, professionalism and responsibility in everything we do. We honor our commitments and deliver on our promises. We adhere to ethical and legal principles and protect the intellectual property of our customers and ourselves.

OUR HISTORY.

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Founding NZG

On October 1st, 1968, Betty Hauer and Gerhard Schmid founded the NZG-Nürnberger Zinkdruckguss Modelle GmbH (NZG) in Nuremberg, Germany. Since then, high-quality model miniatures have been produced in close cooperation with a wide range of industrial partners and customers. In the beginning, the company mostly produced 1:50 scale models of construction machinery. In the course of time, however, the product portfolio expanded to include different scales as well as product groups.
1968
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First toy fair

NZG took part in the Nuremberg Toy Fair for the first time in 1969. Since then, the Nuremberg Toy Fair has been an important annual event and an essential meeting place for our customers and partners.
1969
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First Caterpillar model

In close cooperation with the Zeppelin company, the first Caterpillar model was produced in 1969. The expansion of the Caterpillar series was an important cornerstone for the rapid rise of NZG.
1969
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Own tooling shop

Since the development of the molds was still outsourced at the beginning, it was only natural for Gerhard Schmid, as a trained master toolmaker, to bring the mold construction for the model molds under his own roof as quickly as possible. For this reason, Formenbau Schmid-Hauer was founded in 1972.
1972
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New headquarters

As the company was quickly bursting at the seams, a new location had to be found. With the move to the company's own premises in Sigmundstraße in Nuremberg, all parts of the business were brought together for the first time.
1976
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First 1:43 model

In cooperation with Porsche, the 1:43 scale was added to the NZG product portfolio in 1983, laying another important building block in the success story of NZG.
1983
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Upscaling

Since the success and growth of NZG continued, the existing business premises slowly reached their limits. In order to meet the demand for models, the company doubled its floor space by building an extension to the existing production site. The company also invested heavily in new production techniques and set up a dust-free paint shop.
1985
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Second generation

In 1986, the next generation is ready to continue the family business. Inge Ludwig, daughter of Gerhard Schmid, and Hannelore Hauer, daughter of Betty Hauer, join the management team.
1986
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First Liebherr model

In addition to the close cooperation with Caterpillar, another global player was acquired as a customer in 1994. Liebherr commissioned the first model from NZG and established itself as a long-standing customer and partner to this day.
1994
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First model „Made in China”

As cost pressure in Germany continues to rise, a series of historical construction machines, the Kaelble KDV22/E8, is produced in China in 1994 as a first attempt at a possible relocation of production capacity to the Far East.
1994
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Moving production to China

In order to meet the company's own demands and the demands of its customers for high-quality yet affordable scale models, the groundbreaking strategic decision was made in 2000 to relocate production entirely to China. The headquarters with management, technical model development as well as sales and shipping remained in Germany and are still there today.
2000

One partner for the future

Based on the experience gained in China, it was decided in 2013 to focus the collaboration on a single supplier and to build this up with the corresponding expertise. This established a strong bond between the two partners, which continues to this day.
2013
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Large scales

In the spirit of “NZG goes big”, another and now significantly larger scale than previously in the portfolio was developed in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz and launched in 2016. With the Actros in scale 1:18, NZG entered into new territory, which quickly proved to be a great success.
2016
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Even bigger scales

In 2021, it got even bigger and NZG launched the first 1:12 scale model, the Mercedes-AMG G 63 4x4²
2021

Third generation

After Inge and Michael Ludwig had successfully managed the NZG business for over 20 years, their son Mark Ludwig joined the company in 2021, bringing the third generation into the business.
2021