In 1906, Karl Arnold establishes the company for metal toys in Nuremberg. With its beautiful ships, its drive models for steam engines and its accessories for doll houses, the Arnold company grows to one of the largest and most important toy manufacturers in the Nuremberg area by the end of the thirties. The laborious new beginning in 1945 is headed by the son of the family, Ernst Arnold. All three Nuremberg plants are completely destroyed by heavy bombing. The first especially difficult years following the war can be survived through the production of window fittings at a branch plant in the Upper Pfalz. From 1948, tin toy models are again produced in very modest amounts. The 1950's allow Arnold to blossom again.

Legendary toys such as the motorcycle driver "MAC 700" and the automobiles "Primat" and "Candidate" are developed and distributed in large numbers all over the world. After this boom period, however, at the beginning of the sixties, the demand falls so drastically that company management decides to discontinue tin toy production. Moulds and tools are sold abroad (Arnold France). Instead, resources are invested in a fully new development - a model railroad with a track width of 9 mm - the so called N-Gauge. The Arnold "Rapido" introduced in 1960 becomes a great commercial success, which enables Arnold to survive until the middle of the nineties. In cooperation with the Rex Company, some plastic models are still developed and brought to market. Most Arnold products produced after the war feature the company logo and as such are very easy to identify.