Trabant: 24 days of pre-Christmas joy 🎥
NEW AS AN ADVENT CALENDAR Model building specialist Franzis has launched the Trabant 601 as an Advent calendar kit with two-stroke sound. It sweetened the pre-Christmas period with 24 components without the calories. The video briefly and concisely shows what the Trabi Advent calendar is all about. Some loved it, for others it was a pestilence, and not just olfactorily. Nevertheless, the Trabant [...]
The video briefly and succinctly shows what the Trabi Advent calendar is all about.
Some loved it, for others it was a pestilence, and not just olfactorily. Nevertheless, there was hardly any way around the Trabant 601. With its cardboard body and two-stroke engine, the GDR citizens' mobilizer rattled incessantly over the bad roads between the Baltic Sea and the Ore Mountains.
Calorie-free Advent treat
To mark the 30th anniversary of German reunification this year, model-making specialist Franzis has produced an Advent calendar kit of the Trabi.
Assembly is easy, the parts are manufactured to fit precisely. There is no need for glue, the body and the interior are joined together with screws using click fasteners.
Small surprises
There are little surprises in between. On December 6, for example, Santa Claus does not bring another Trabi component, but an admission ticket to the August Horch Museum in Zwickau, the former home of the Trabant.
In the past, Horch, Wanderer and DKW models were built here; today, Volkswagen manufactures in the neighborhood. The Trabant, often referred to as a racing car because of its plastic body, rolled off the production line here for the first time on September 10, 1958.
With two-stroke sound
The Trabi was recognizable as a two-stroke not only by its smell, but also by its characteristic engine sound. The two-cylinder engine, which was increased to around 600 cubic capacity and 23 hp as part of the first model upgrade in 1962, has always been considered uncharming but indestructible. Damage could be easily repaired with the simplest of tools.
A screwdriver is also provided with the kit. It helps with screwing the sound generator and battery compartment under the platform on which the racing cardboard stands. The Trabi rattles away through a loudspeaker for all it's worth. It may be a bit narrow-chested, but it is certainly authentic and recognizable.
Also good reading material
The 52-page manual, sensitively and competently written by author and East German vehicle expert Frank Rönicke, not only explains how to assemble the vehicle, but also provides a fairly complete overview of the automotive history of the GDR.
The brochure is bilingual in German and English, making the Advent calendar a perfect pre-Christmas gift for the international Trabant fan community.
Easy to order online
The Trabant Advent calendar with accompanying brochures, published by Franzis Verlag in Haar near Munich, is offered by several dealers in Switzerland. At ex libris it is currently available with a 20 % discount at a price of 68 francs under this Link to order.
There are also other Advent calendars of this type for the Porsche 911 or Carrera RS, VW Bulli T1 or VW Beetle, Land Rover Defender and many more.
