Mastermodell GmbH (also known as VEB Plasticart) was a plastic model and toy manufacturer established in 1958 in Zschopau, East Germany.

After a two-years break the company was sold in 1993 by the German Treuhand (an organization which privatized state owned enterprises of the GDR) to Manfred Wader.

The "VEB" title was applied to a range of small semi-autonomous businesses in the GDR that made goods especially for export.

For a long time the name "VEB" has stood with modelers for plastic construction kits from East Germany.

In addition, the kit set a standard for being simple to assemble, with a minimal number of parts, sturdy landing gear and a full decal sheet.

Instructions, often printed in German, Russian, Polish and Czech, were aimed squarely at consumers in the Comecon countries, where Plasticart kits were both affordable and plentiful.

Because the drawings were easy to obtain, Plasticart began to introduce a comprehensive range of detailed models of Soviet airliners and other Warsaw Pact aircraft.

The latest airliners soon made it into the range, including the Tupolev Tu-134, Tu-154, Ilyushin's Il-62 long range airliner, the Antonov design bureau's An-24 twin engine short hauled feeder-liner and the Czech-built Let L-410 Turbolet twin prop commuter aircraft.

The box art for the De Havilland DH106 Comet 4 airliner depicted it departing from Hong Kong Kai Tak airport.

Along with the aircraft and helicopter kits, VEB Plasticart also produced a model of the first crewed spaceship Vostok 3KA (1/25) and the Soviet Energia rocket with Buran (1/288).