Model of the month May 2026
Heavenly Workshop:
The Model Workshop at the Aviation Museum
From Original to Model
A distinct part of the collections at the Hannover-Laatzen Aviation Museum comprises more than 1,000 scale models, primarily in the international standard scales of 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32.
Such true to original miniatures allow visitors to the museum’s history of technology to gain an ‘overview’ – not only of individual exhibits (sometimes even offering the only opportunity for a real three-dimensional view when no original remains), but also of the development of aircraft construction through the sequencing and comparison made possible here. Their craftsmanship alone is a delight to behold.
Today, in our ‘Model of the Month’ section, instead of an exhibit, we are presenting the ‘heart’ of the company’s model collections – naturally with examples of the work…
Crafts
Our model-making workshop is set up in Hall 2 of the museum, where it also serves as an exhibition space for visitors. There, miniatures and dioramas – alongside those built at home by club members for display – are created, repaired and maintained (and at least dusted off from time to time…).
At the same time, the workshop’s equipment – including workstations, tools, paints, kits and models at various stages of construction – gives visitors an impression of the craftsmanship behind the museum’s miniature collections.
Model-making trains an understanding of technical relationships and the historical conditions of the prototypes, alongside fine motor skills; and it is certainly not wrong to observe, in the face of ever-increasing digitalisation, a growing alienation – particularly among young people – from a tactile and craft-based understanding.
Accompanying Model Exhibition
The concept for the exhibition of the collections of the museum’s founder, Günter Leonhardt, already included plans for an accompanying model exhibition; as a result, we are now able to present a collection that is remarkable in terms of both quantity and quality, even by international standards, alongside the originals and faithful replicas.
Alongside a few ready-made models – that is, aircraft and equipment replicas that are true to the original and to scale, already assembled by the manufacturer – most of the model miniatures on display have been constructed, painted and, for the most part, customised by experienced model-makers from the museum association using plastic kits from various suppliers. Some of these have been placed in dioramas. Such scenic settings present the model – often with figures – in its historically accurate context.
Cockpit and air intake between the fuselage halves and wings. No, the ten-Pfennig coin for size comparison was not included…Primed (the original remained mostly metallically shiny).
A dual history
The museum team is keen to create miniatures from LuMu’s extensive collection of ‘historical’ model kits, thereby presenting a dual history – that of the original alongside that of the model. Often, the time span from the original to the first model kit is only half as long as that from such a kit – long since out of stock – to the far more detailed high-tech kits of today… Sometimes, however, the kits are almost forgotten along with the original: it’s wonderful when you then come across them in the museum’s storeroom!
And with the scientific analysis, e.g. the measurement of our originals by model kit manufacturers such as the German firm Revell GmbH for the development of new injection moulds, we’ve come full circle: in some cases, the models in the aviation museum are actually ‘our’ scaled-down originals…
Fancy finding out more?
We hope that this glimpse into our workshop, alongside the miniatures, has sparked your curiosity, dear readers, about our originals and replicas, our collection of engines and turbines, and the hundreds of items of equipment – including vehicles – and we look forward to welcoming you to Ulmer Str. at the Hanover Exhibition Centre!
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You can contact the author of the Model of the Month series here: Autor-MdM