Aircraft also revolutionised Herpa, the Franconian manufacturer of model vehicles. There is hardly a model aircraft that Herpa does not reproduce in small scale. The model range has been continuously expanded to include aircraft types from civil and military aviation, as well as accessories for airport dioramas, miniature worlds or model railways. In 1:500 scale alone, more than 3,500 model aircraft of over 100 different aircraft types and almost 600 airlines, from Lufthansa, Ryanair, Eurowings, Air France to Emirates, have been created. The permanent increase in the quality of the aircraft models and the increasing level of detail also speak for themselves. In 1990, a Boeing B-52 was launched for the first time. In 1932, exactly 90 years ago, the Junkers Ju-52/3m, the three-engined and by far the most important version of the legendary Auntie Ju, took off on its maiden flight. The Lufthansa Ju-52 is a classic and an unbroken favourite in the Herpa range, virtually since the early days of the Wings series (item no. 019040). Less well known is that British European Airways operated ten Ju-52s between 1946 and 1948. The UK government established BEA in 1946, initially for European flights, but from 1947 also for domestic flights. In order to comply, BEA flew a motley fleet, including ten Ju-52s captured from defeated Germany. Since "Junkers" sounds like "junk" in English, BEA renamed the aircraft "Jupiter" without further ado. They were used exclusively on domestic routes. Although they were quite popular with flight crews, the lack of spare parts for the BMW engines caused a quick end of service after just two years.