COBI & Naval Museum in Gdynia launch strategic partnership — WWII naval history at the heart of new product line

graf. Natalia Królak / Gazeta Morska

As Łukasz Kowalczyk, marketing manager at COBI, explained:

- In 2026, COBI will explore naval themes from WWII more frequently than before. As a Polish company, we especially care about commemorating the service of Polish sailors. When designing historical sets, we collaborate with museums in Poland and abroad — including The Tank Museum in the UK, Deutsches Marinemuseum Wilhelmshaven, and the Museum of the Polish Army. Naturally, the Naval Museum in Gdynia has become our partner for maritime topics.

First outputs: ORP Orzeł & ORP Sęp

The first tangible results of this partnership are two 1:300 scale submarine models — ORP Orzeł and ORP Sęp — both iconic units in the history of the Polish Navy and well-recognized by WWII enthusiasts.

- Thanks to the consistent scale, ORP Orzeł and ORP Sęp complement our collection of large German, British, and American battleships, a COBI representative notes, highlighting that a unified scale enables coherent product lines, dioramas, and display sets — increasing appeal among mature collectors who treat COBI bricks as a form of historical modelling.

Both new models received official approval from the Naval Museum in Gdynia, reflected in COBI’s communications:

- The Museum’s logo will appear on packaging, promoting Polish history internationally.

Museums as quality and credibility partners

COBI’s longstanding strategy includes partnerships with museum institutions for content expertise, archive access, and expert support — ensuring high-fidelity historical sets. In the maritime domain, the role of the Naval Museum in Gdynia is especially significant, given its mission to document Polish naval history and actively promote maritime knowledge.

Further naval models in development

COBI confirms that the current submarine sets are just the beginning of its expanded naval range. Future releases may include some of Poland’s most emblematic warships.

- In the near future, we will certainly encourage the Naval Museum to help create models of Poland’s most famous destroyer and submarines such as ORP Sokół and ORP Dzik, Kowalczyk announced, while also noting plans to grow the international character of the naval line with German and British units — appealing to naval and brick-model fans worldwide.

Made in Poland with broad appeal

The expansion of COBI’s naval historical line also means increased production activities in Poland. COBI’s factory in Mielec (Podkarpackie) will operate at full capacity to support the new product pipeline.

Kowalczyk adds:

- We are excited about this direction and confident in a positive response from fans of historical modelling with bricks, which allows everyone — regardless of age — to take history into their own hands. At COBI we have a saying: ‘We make bricks for adults that kids can play with.

A partnership with long-term potential

The COBI–Naval Museum partnership demonstrates how business, culture, and education can combine to build meaningful brands and modern historical storytelling. For COBI, it reinforces its position among Europe’s leading historical brick producers, while offering the museum new avenues to share the story of the Polish Navy with a global audience.