Britains

[Madman]

While cleaning out some of Uncle Frank`s stuff.  No he`s still with us, thank God.  We came across a couple of cigar boxes with these figures stored in them.  They originally belonged to my aunt`s brother, who was an avid model railroader back in the forties and fifties.  I`ve never seen figures like these.  Some of them have moving arms.  I want to add that these appear more to "O" scale.

 

[maxi-model]

I have some of Britains replica ('80's) metal soldiers (US marines band) and other figures and they were made to a nominal 1:32 scale. So I'm not sure what your uncle's stuff is if 1:48. Interesting none the less. Time for a bit of Google-Fu ?

All the other stuff they did since the 1950's/60's, "Eye's Righ"t soldiers, farm and garden sets and accessoriese, both plastic and diecast, were done to the same scale. Not forgetting their trees, I've still got a mostly pristine forest of them, oak, poplar, apple, willow, birch, beech, cedar, scotts pine............. they used to populate my big old scenic Scalextric layout (equally at home with 1:43 stuff). All collectors stuff now.
Max. Oh, the nostalgia of it all.

 

[KandNWLR]

The guardsmen look familiar. And in very good condition too

 

[playmofire]

These look like pre-war or early post-war figures. I can remember the mounted lifeguard as I had at least one, and I had the tramp also. They were described as 54mm at one time.

 

[maxi-model]

Example of modern "replica" Britains figures and an unknown make RAC combo` rep`

Max.

 

[Tony]

A lot of what you have are from the "Britains" home Farm series they are to big for O gauge yet not big enough for G....and were made before model railways became popular so arnt of any set scale but more made for play handling if you know what i mean..There are a lot of different "series" and we have quite a bit of Zoo, Home farm, milatery, cowboys and Indians and Garden.... Britains did make a series of figs for Hornby O gauge trains i will try and take some pictures of the size difference later by the way these ARE lead hollow cast so dont go sucking any lol if you want to repair any its quite easy using solder

 

[Tony]

The little lady in green is a Britains O gauge fig made for the Hornby range of trains, the brown soldier is a Britains stretcher bearer.and the tall one is LGB....note the Britains Tiger from the Zoo range is massive compared to the soldier...In the background is a milkman and maid from the same Home Farm range you have the milk man has a swinging arm....Some might be marked JoHill which is an earlier name for Britains

 

[Madman]

These are indeed too large for "O" scale.  And given what I know about my aunt`s brother, the are most likely the time period you described, pre-or early post war.  What impresses me is the delicateness with which they are made.  Also the moving arms.  Here are a few more photos;

 

[Granitechops]

...........Some might be marked JoHill which is an earlier name for Britains
[/quote ]

I think youll find Johill,, Jollico, John hill & Co were a separate firm that did similar hollow ware castings

Used to deal in collectors toys many years ago

Some of the plastic Herald range they took over used to be much sought after

In fact I think that somewhere I have still got a photocopy of a 1930ish Britains catalogue

 

[dunnyrail]

Too large for 0 Gauge, to small for G Gauge. That sounds like Scale 1 to me at around 1:32. Ignoring the LGB Flexible Ruler and Figures that are around 1:24 - and a bit sometimes.
JonD

 

[cbeckett]

I#ve used Britains animals from several of their ranges, where size is not important - so an "adult" pig from a smaller range becomes a piglet, and a "piglet" from another larger range becomes the adult!

Quite effective, especially if you have a mixed flock oops herd of them

Goats vary in real life enormously, so the same trick works. But doesn't for cows, horses - they just don't look right if too small!

Cheers, Chris

 

[Lobethalbahn2]

William Britain and Company began making toy soldiers in the 1890s, and most are to 54mm height. This is approximately 1/32 scale. While not intended to be used as a model railway accesory initially, this did scale out nicely for the gauge 1 trains that dominated the toy train market before WW1. The Home Farm and Zoo series began after the Great War when people were not so keen on militaristic toys. There are some specific railway figure sets. In the interwar period Britains did make some railway figures to 0 scale sizing (40mm IIRC), other figures to this size were made by Meccano Ltd as part of their "Modelled Miniatures" range - the precursor of Dinky Toys. At some point in the '30s, the figures were absorbed as Hornby Series accessories.

Britains did make toy soldiers in different sizes and quality of finish for different price points/markets, but the primary range with the movable arms were to 54mm height. As for Johillco, (John Hill & Company) they were a long standing rival of Britains.

 

[trammayo]

I took a chance on scale when I bought some Britain`s hens for a cottage scene on my trailer layout. I was quite pleased by the size. As said, other farm animals might not look right.