A look through the Iron Curtain

Tomorrow is 9 November. 25 years ago on that date the borders opened, and European communism quickly collapsed.

On to the diecasts.

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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain

This is a pullback brand and scale unknown. Low quality but presents nicely.

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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain

This is a Maisto model of the Trabant 601s. Very nice little model. But as much as I like my Trabis these western toys aren't the reason I'm writing this.

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No, the reason I'm writing this are my models from East Germany. They are TT scale trains. This was a popular scale that fell out of favor as did many of the things of the Communist East. The models were made by Berliner TT Bahnen.

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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain

Here are my freight rolling stock. In boxes for storage. On the white box two things to point out; the LPH logo is for the Czech/Polish affiliate, and the slogan "Die Ideale Spur" The ideal scale.

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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain

Here they are free of confinement.

Next is my main piece. A set to celebrate the 750th anniversary of Berlin.

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The cover flap showing the Hauptbahnhof.

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How the set presents itself. The flap has info about the locomotive and cars.

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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain
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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain
Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain
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Illustration for article titled A look through the Iron Curtain

As you all can see the set as a whole they did a good job on the small details. The steam engine is loaded with intricate detailing.

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One last photo.

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This is showing how TT compares to several popular scales. Dwarfed by O. Smaller than the most popular scale HO. But bigger than N scale, which was popular in West Germany (still very popular in Germany).