06-05-2025
Is it the end of the line for ‘sexy' German model railway figurines?
Model railway enthusiasts such as Sir Rod Stewart will tell you that when it comes to creating the perfect mise-en-scène, everything matters. From the colour of the peeling paint of a clock tower to the gait of the rosy-cheeked villager waving at a loco as it whizzes past.
Yet in their pursuit for art to imitate life in all possible ways, it appears German model-makers have gone a little too far.
The country that is the home of perhaps the world's most ardent model rail enthusiasts, including the Miniatur Wunderland, which has more than 15km of model railway track and more than 1,000 miniature trains, has been seeking figurines that represent the darker side of life.
Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg
ALAMY
One retailer, the Müller chain, which caters to
