Hans Beck

Hans Beck ( born May 6, 1929 in Greiz, † 30 January 2009 in the village of Mark ) was the inventor of the toy Playmobil, so he was often called the "Father of Playmobil " or will.

Life

Beck grew up in Greiz in Thuringia, the son of a self -employed salesman, and tinkered already ten years old, small vehicles and characters for his younger siblings. He began an apprenticeship as a carpenter with an acquaintance of his father. Then he fled the Soviet occupation zone in the west and finished his apprenticeship as a carpenter at a company in Bamberg.

Through his hobby - model planes - was Horst Brandstätter, company owner Geobra in Fuerth, attentive to him. He spoke about it in 1958 as a developer.

1971/72 Beck was Head of Development at geobra. By Beck Brandstätter a toy system with small plastic figures before: a construction worker, a knight and an Indian. Brandstätter allowed him to develop the product. Beck's figures were movable ( unlike, for example, tin soldiers ), straightforward, fit into a child's hand and face resembled that of a child's drawing ( big head, smile, no nose ).

Due to the 1973 oil crisis plastics had become much more expensive. Therefore Brandstätter changed the end of 1973 its product range ( hula -hoops and large plastic toys ) in favor of small plastic figures. Beck built a pattern set for the Nuremberg Toy Fair in February 1974; in the fall of 1974 geobra had already reacted for 3 million marks it.

They hired Beck to develop a complete series. A system of adaptable toy with interchangeable parts opened unlimited possibilities for combinations and extensions. In 1975, started exporting to other countries. Beck's motto was " no horror, no violence, no short-term trends ." His announcement, jumbo jets, aliens and dinosaurs would never be Playmobil themes was fulfilled not - these are now available.

1998 Beck retired, shortly before the 25th anniversary of its invention. He lived until his death in 2009 Mark village on Lake Constance. His obituary graced a Playmobil knight figure.

At the Expo 2000 in Hanover, Beck was one of those 100 Germans who were honored with a statue in the German pavilion. Until his death in about 1.5 billion Playmobil figures were produced.