Kubasta, Vojtech. Drakkar Oseberg – Pop-Up Ship Model with Diorama. Prague: Smer, ca. 1985–1989. First edition. Square box format (17 × 17 × 4 cm). Complete in original packaging: cardboard pop-up scene, unused plastic model kit (16 parts), fold-out stand, illustrated background, and instruction sheet. Publisher’s printed box with Kubasta’s distinctive line art.
Condition: Fine. All components complete and in unused condition. Pop-up diorama crisp and fully functional with intact fold-outs. Plastic ship model unassembled. Instruction sheet present. Box has light edge wear and creasing, but remains bright and structurally sound.
Issued by Smer in the late 1980s, this highly uncommon interactive model set features a fold-out Viking sea scene designed by Vojtech Kubasta. The 3D pop-up background accommodates a plastic model of the famed Oseberg Viking ship, included unassembled in original form. Only three such boxed diorama models by Kubasta are known to exist—Drakkar Oseberg, Bon Homme Richard, and Santa Maria. Each combines Kubasta’s hallmark paper engineering with historical model design.
Collector’s Corner:
The Oseberg ship (Osebergskipet) was discovered in 1904 in a Viking burial mound near Tønsberg, Norway. Dated to the early 9th century, it is one of the most ornate Viking longships ever found. Today, the ship is preserved and displayed at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. Kubasta’s tribute captures this maritime icon in pop-up form, complete with illustrative text and visual depth.
These hybrid pop-up/model kits were never widely distributed outside Eastern Europe and are rarely found in complete condition today. The Drakkar Oseberg was featured in Ellen G. K. Rubin’s Grolier Club exhibition Pop-Ups from Prague (2013) and is also archived digitally by the Broward County Libraries.
About Směr (Smer v.d.)
Směr is a Prague-based model manufacturer established in 1952 and known for producing plastic and die-cast kits, including ships, aircraft, and vehicles. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the company shifted focus to plastic snap-together kits, often in popular scales like 1:72. The Drakkar Oseberg kit, released in the late 1980s, is part of a unique series of three pop-up model kits designed by Vojtech Kubasta for Směr—combining paper-engineered scenery with injection-molded model ships.
References:
Broward Digital Archives. “Kubasta Collection.” [Accessed July 1, 2025]. https://digitalarchives.broward.org/digital/colle...
Rubin, Ellen G. K. Pop-Ups from Prague: A Centennial Celebration of the Graphic Artistry of Vojtěch Kubašta (1914–1992). Grolier Club, 2013.
Wikipedia. “Oseberg Ship.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oseberg_Ship
“Směr.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Last modified 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smer.
“Kubasta—Ship Models and Dioramas.” Broward Digital Archives. Accessed July 1, 2025. http://digitalarchives.broward.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/kubasta/id/4246/rec/3.