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Home > Hummel Figurine Factory
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M. I. Hummel Figurine Factory
Suzanne and I are in front of the Goebel M. I. Hummel Factory. We are met outside by Mr. William Nelson for a photo.
Mr. Nelson is welcoming the group to the Goebel Hummel Factory. Suzanne is in the Goebel Factory Showroom.
Ms. Ulrike Goetz our factory tour guide greets us in the lobby. Mr. Gerhard Skrobek greets Mr. and Mrs. Miller to wish Mrs. Miller a Happy Birthday.
Mr. Wahner presents Mrs. Miller with an 80th Birthday Hummel. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Wahner.
Entering the Goebel Hummel Factory, there is a display that shows how the figurines are dismanteled. The showcase has a model of the molds used to make the figurines.
Master Sculptor Helmut Fisher is explaining to the M. I. Humml Club members how a two dimensional picture is transformed into a three dimensional model. The three dimensional model is used to make the molds to produce the Hummel Figurines.
Assisting Master Sculptor Helmut Fisher are two other sculptors at the Goebel Factory.
After visiting the Master Sculptor, we went inot the factory were the Hummel Figuirne molds were produced and stored. Each mold is cleaned, numbered and stacked in the factory warehouse.
Ms. Ulrike Goetz is explaining to the group the reason for some many molds. The molds can only be used 14 times before eroding starts to occur and new molds have to be produced.
Once the each section of the figurine is removed from the mold, it is sent to the assembly room where the figurines are cleaned of excess plaster and assembled.
After the figurines are assembled and placed on a rack, they sent to the Firing room where the figurines will be heated to a temperature of 2100°F. The firing will turn the moist figurine into a figurine with a powdery white finish.
After the firing, the figurines are placed into an area to cool.
After cooling, the figurines are sent to the glazing room where a green glaze is applied. The glazing is done by a machine now but at one time each figurine was hand dipped. Please see the picture below. The glaze seals the figurine.
The green glaze has been applied to the Hummel Figurine April Showers. Once the glase has been applied the figurine is then sent to the firing room where it is heated to a temperature of 1870°F. The green glaze becomes a transparent skin of glass and is ready to ge sent to the artist for painting.
The left picture is the container where the figurines can be hand-dipped into the green glaze. The right pictures shows a hole in the bottom of a figurine. Why is there a hole in the figurine? Each figurine has a hole somewhere. The hole allows gas to escape from the inside of the figurine. Without the hole, the figurine would burst breaking other figurines in the rack. The pictures below show the figurines being painted by hand one figurine at a time.
Once the figurines have been painted, the figurine is fired for the third and final time at a temperture of 1407°F. The figurine is sent to the shipping area where is package and sent to a new home. Hopefully to your home.
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