In 1910, the company began producing parlour games and mass-produced figures. These mostly represented soldiers and other war toys and were made from a pulp consisting of sawdust, casein, glue and kaolin with wire frames in tin moulds. First the mush was put into pewter moulds, which were then joined together and pressed under heat. After deburring, the figures were painted. The brand name "Elastolin" used by Hausser was soon used colloquially beyond Germany as a generic name for mass-produced figures by other manufacturers. At the beginning of the 1930s, the annual production of figurines was around 500,000; by the end of the decade it had risen to over 3 million. Hausser employed up to 1000 people in Neustadt bei Coburg in Franconia and was the town's largest employer. In 1943, toy production had to be stopped, and it was not resumed until 1946/47.
After Hausser had already increasingly produced figures from easier-to-process and more stable plastics, the company discontinued the production of traditional mass-produced figures altogether in 1969.
After many successful years, sales declined and O. & M. Hausser KG had to file for bankruptcy on 29 June 1983 due to financial difficulties. Rising raw material prices, customers turning away from war toys and competition from the more versatile products of Playmobil had all contributed to the decline. Brand rights and figure moulds were taken over by the company Paul M. Preiser GmbH from Steinsfeld near Rothenburg ob der Tauber. The hard plastic figures in 1:25 scale are still produced by this company today. (Wikipedia)
A business trip now took me for the first time to the town where the figures were made, which I collected with so much joy and enthusiasm. So I was able to take a look at the closed factory. Seeing it abandoned like this was sad but also a bit romantic.
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