Every year it is one of the special attractions at INTERMODELLBAU. The size alone is impressive: The water basin in Hall 3 is around 500 square meters in size and is filled with water to a height of around 40 cm. With around 180.000 liters, to be precise. Construction and filling can take up to three days. As large as the basin is, some of the ships that set sail on it are just as small. From 10 to 13 April, model ship builders will once again be showcasing the countless facets of their creations in Dortmund. From ferries to workboats, from sailing ships to research vessels. Submarines, platforms, docks - there are no limits to the maritime imagination in model making. Visitors can therefore already look forward to plenty of variety.



Dortmund, 27 March 2025 – Exhibitors, clubs and associations from all over Germany and countries such as Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands will be represented in Dortmund. And they will be bringing many very special highlights with them - Dieter Matysik, long-standing President of the World Association of Model Shipbuilders and the German umbrella organization ‚nauticus e.V.‘ as well as a member of SMC Oberhausen, already reveals this a few weeks before INTERMODELLBAU. ‚From the Titanic on a scale of 1:1250, which fits in the palm of my hand, to a seven-meter-long navy ship, everything is included‘, he promises. ‚There are no limits in terms of size or theme. Everyone brings their own preference and passion to the trade fair.‘

Models so big that they have to stay ‘on land’

The ‘Mini Marine Internationaal’ association from the Netherlands will be arriving with a large repertoire of naval vessels. The association is mainly made up of former members of the navy, who incorporate their passion and expertise in this field into their work. Their model of the ‘Admiral Graf Spee’ is particularly spectacular: it measures around seven meters and can therefore only be admired ‘on land’. A Roman galley by Gunter Müller from Brühl will also stand out. At more than five meters, it too has impressive dimensions.

The demonstrations in the water basin are characterized by variety: While visitors have just seen a submarine gliding by under water, the next model building enthusiasts are showing ships that can be assigned to inland shipping - passenger ships, for example, or corresponding freighters. The Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger (German Maritime Search and Rescue Service), on the other hand, will have a rescue vessel on the water, while students from the vocational school for technology at the Berufskolleg Neandertal in Mettmann will be launching a Titanic on a scale of 1:100 or a ‘Hanseatic’. The school has been represented at INTERMODELLBAU for several years now.

The model steam engines from Dampfstammtisch Essen will bring other facets to the table as well as the ‘European Offshore Scale Modells’ association from the Netherlands: in 2023, the association christened the imposing, two-metre-high offshore wind park ‘Victoria Mathias’ at INTERMODELLBAU, so of course it cannot be missing on its return visit to Dortmund. MBV Hofstade from Belgium, on the other hand, will be bringing along a special diorama: It is seven meters long and shows the war events of 6 June 1944, the day of the Allied landings on the Normandy coast, with several floating models. Gabriele Glücks from SMC Oberhausen - a permanent fixture at the trade fair and one of the few women in ship model making - will be bringing her model of a pipe layer on a scale of 1:400.

The ‘captain's license’ is waiting for children

SMC Oberhausen, Dieter Matysik's home club, will also be represented with its usual large team and, accordingly, a wide range of models. As will SMC Gelsenkirchen, which will be hosting the shows in the water basin. Information and exciting stories about the models and originals will make Showtime on the water a spectator magnet. Particularly exciting for the little INTERMODELLBAU visitors: the time slots in which they can try their hand at small remote-controlled models in order to acquire the coveted ‘captain's license’. ‘But that's not all. Children can once again look forward to many craft and hands-on activities’, adds Dieter Matysik.

And of course, he himself will also be bringing a very special collection to the Dortmund exhibition halls. It's for a good reason that many call him the ‘lighthouse keeper’: his passion is for the models he makes out of cardboard and in a wide variety of scales. The lighthouse collection includes everything from 4.5 to 50 centimetres in size. He also hopes to complete another project in time for the trade fair: ‘For some time now, once a week I've been working with children from my granddaughter's elementary school on a 1:200 scale model of the Titanic’, he explains. ‘If everything goes smoothly, we'll be presenting it at INTERMODELLBAU. It's a spectacular project that promotes the children's social skills and fine motor development.’

INTERMODELLBAU brings together all aspects of model making and model sport in the Dortmund exhibition halls - from ships to aircrafts, from cars to drones, from trucks to model railways. So anyone who has been impressed by the detailed models on water should also dare to look beyond the horizon. There is, for example, plenty to marvel at among the model railway makers. Clubs, associations and enthusiasts from this sector will once again be travelling to this year's event with numerous impressive display layouts to present to the public. For example, the Federal Association of German Railway Friends (Bundesverband Deutscher Eisenbahn-Freunde, BDEF) and the ‘De Bimmlbahner’ association have confirmed their participation.

Even scholars will be there

Several members of the BDEF will be showing their varied layouts. For example, the ‘Winter landscape with carnival procession’ from IG Modellbahn Essen will be presented to the public for the first time. The interest group will also be bringing the H0f diorama ‘Mine railway with tunnels’ to Dortmund, as well as other dioramas without driving operation. The ‘Spur 0 Switzerland’ association, on the other hand, is bringing along the ‘Matzingen and Holzverlad’ layout. It measures 8 by 3 metres and shows the Swiss municipality of Matzingen with the station building and surrounding area. The next generation of modellers will also be there: the model railway team from Maria-Ward-Gymnasium in Günzburg will be presenting their display layout. It measures an impressive 12 by 13 metres and shows the railway stations of Augsburg, Ulm and Günzburg, among others. Some parts of the layout are even accessible to visitors.

The model building team ‘De Bimmelbahner’ from Saxony specialises in H0e gauge and is bringing five clubs with layouts to Dortmund. The layouts are called ‘Wysoka Gorzowska’, ‘Bahnhof Dorfchemnitz b. Sayda’, ‘Bahnhof Straßberg’, ‘Unteres Preßnitztal Streckewalde/Großrückerswalde’ and ‘Bahnhof Wiesenberg’. The ‘Wiesenberg’ layout is being shown for the first time in Germany. The largest of the layouts is the ‘Wysoka Gorzowska’, which comes from Poland, measuring 15 by 3 metres. On the ‘Unteres Preßnitztal’ layout, for example, the Großrückerswalde and Streckewalde stations of the former 750 mm narrow-gauge railway in the Preßnitz Valley in Saxony can be seen as original replicas - on a scale of 1:87. As in the original, only class IV K locomotives operate here.

The stand of Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH, on the other hand, will also be historic: Märklin is not only bringing along exciting new products such as the AC/DC Rock n Roll Train, but also highlights from the company's history. Visitors will be able to experience a journey through 165 years of Märklin history: Parts of the ‘Märklineum’, the company's own museum in Göppingen, will be moving to Dortmund from 10 to 13 April - and thus make the myth of Märklin and the fascinating development from a small factory for tin toys for girls to a world-famous producer of high-quality metal toys comprehensible. A treat for all fans.