Friedrich Karl Peltzer was born on 5th February 1903 in Berlin. As a son of an officer of the German Imperial Navy, he came into contact with seafaring from a very early age. As early as 1930, he had the business idea of casting model ships in moulds. To start with this is just a side-line because he is actually the publisher of “Das Tier” (The Animal”) magazine. 1932 marks a change in his career. This is the year in which, in his own words, the professional model making begins. Shortly thereafter, Peltzer sells his magazine and book publishing company to concentrate on his model making. It is to be his route to success. The hobby of Friedrich Karl Peltzer, who usually signs his name “Fritz Peltzer”, turns into a profession and Wiking-Modellbau starts to produce its first model ships on the self-selected scale of 1:1250 from its first moulds.