Britains, earlier known by the founder's name W. Britain, is a British

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

and former manufacturing company known for its die-cast

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

s of

agricultural machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the machine (mechanical), mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are list of agricultural machinery, many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractor ...

, and

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

s. The company was established in 1893 as a

toy soldier A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, Native Americans in the United States, American Indians, pirates, samu ...

s manufacturer. With its factory set in London, Britains then diversified into other associated toys such as die-cast zamac military trucks, commercial vehicles, and toy cars. Today, the ''Britains'' brand is owned by

Tomy (trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...

since 2011, and the ''W. Britain'' brand by First Gear, Inc.

History

The "W. Britain" brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British

manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of

toy soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve c ...

. The company quickly became the industry leader, and was imitated by many other companies, such as Hanks Bros. and John Hill and Co. The style and scale of Britain's figures became the industry standard for toy soldiers for many years. In 1907 the family proprietorship, William Britain & Sons, incorporated as "Britains, Ltd". The Britain family controlled the firm until 1984 when it was sold to a British conglomerate, Dobson Park Industries. They combined the operations with an existing line of toys and renamed the company Britains Petite, Ltd. During the first half of the 20th century, Britains expanded its range and market. By 1931 the firm employed 450 at its London factory. The catalogue had expanded to 435 sets and twenty million models a year were being produced. In the early 1950s Britains was associated with W. Horton Toys and Games which made the die-cast Lilliput ranges of small-scale, rather generic, cars and trucks and other vehicles. In 1959, Britains acquired Herald Miniatures which produced plastic figures designed by Roy Selwyn-Smith. The company was also known for its

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

soldiers. In the 1950s, besides soldiers, a variety of vehicles began to appear, mostly in the military field. One such detailed die-cast vehicle was a Royal Artillery 4.5" howitzer towable cannon that fired toy shells. For a toy, it was intricately designed, with a special threaded post with rotating knob to raise and lower the cannon. Also in early 1950s, one of the first Britains vehicles was a Bluebird land speed record car of famed driver Malcolm Campbell. It had a removable body and the box showed a detailed cut-away illustration of the car.

Land Rover Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...

s, and later

Range Rover The Land Rover Range Rover, generally shortened to Range Rover, is a Sport utility vehicle, 4x4 Luxury car, luxury SUV produced by Land Rover, a marque and sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors. The Range Rover line was launched ...

s and various commercial lorries, such as a milk tanker, flat bed, tipper, cement mixer, also appeared. In 1966 safety regulations in the United Kingdom combined with rising costs halted the production of lead toy soldiers. Britains shifted most production of Herald plastic to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

from 1966. In 1971 Britains started Deetail plastic figures with metal bases that were initially manufactured in England but later outsourced to China. When production stopped, the range of catalogued lead sets exceeded 2200. In 1973 Britains introduced New Metal models, which are

die cast Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to ...

in a durable alloy. Initially these sets were aimed at the British souvenir market. In 1983 Britains responded to a growing collectors' market by introducing additional models and limited edition sets. This range was greatly expanded over the next 20 years and included die-cast versions of their old toy soldiers, some made from original moulds. These, as well as the lines of

Britains Deetail ''Britains' Deetail'' toy soldiers were a popular product in the 1970s and 1980s. Manufactured in England by W. Britain, the 1/32 (54mm) scale plastic figures were finished with hand painted details and came with sturdy Zamak metal bases. In the e ...

plastic figures and accessories, and their older sets have become highly collectable.

Britains in the 21st Century

In 1997, Britains Petite, Ltd was bought by

Ertl Company Ertl (formerly, the Ertl Company) is a former American manufacturing company and current brand of toys, best known for its die-cast toy, die-cast alloy, metal alloy collectible replicas (or scale models) of agricultural machinery. Other products ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, a maker of die-cast toys. Ertl was subsequently bought by RC2 LLC, another American die-cast miniature and plastic kit maker. At this time, production of toy soldiers was moved to China. In 2011, Japanese-headquartered toy company

acquired RC2 which included the Britains die-cast farm miniatures range. In 2021, Tomy celebrated 100 years of the Britains farm miniatures range.

W. Britains in the 21st Century

In 2005, the W. Britains brand was acquired by First Gear, an American maker of die-cast collectibles. This firm produces and sells mostly contemporary matte-style figures to the collectors market under the W. Britain brand. Kenneth A. Osen was the master sculptor for W. Britain until June 2013 when he was appointed General Manager & Creative Director. Sculpting continues to be done by Ken Osen, Alan Ball and Graham Scollick. All figures are sculpted by hand, to scale, before duplication. First Gear sold W.Britain to The Good Soldier, LLC in 2016. In May of 2020 W.Britain was sold to On The Mantle, LLC of Chillicothe, Ohio. On The Mantle, LLC retained all employees and moved all operations to Chillicothe. On 30 January 2012 Bachmann Europe Plc became the sole distributor of all W. Britain figures in the UK and Continental Europe until 2023 when all distribution reverted back to the world headquarters in Chillicothe, Ohio, USA.

Britains Farm

In 1921, the Britains "Model Home Farm" was launched, including 30 farm figures and animals as well as the first farm vehicle, a tumbrel cart. The first tractor model was the Fordson Major, introduced in 1948, three years after the real tractor. In 1968, the Massey Ferguson 135 became the first non- Ford tractor in the range. The

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved to Beauvais in 2003 when ...

760

combine harvester The modern combine harvester, also called a combine, is a machine designed to harvest a variety of cultivated seeds. Combine harvesters are one of the most economically important labour-saving inventions, significantly reducing the fraction of ...

was voted UK Toy of the Year in 1978. In the 1980s more than 120 new models were produced for the Britains Farm. 2007 saw the first vintage model, the Ford 5000 tractor. In 2021 Britains celebrated 100 years as Europe’s oldest specialist in farm toys with a limited edition of the Fordson Major tractor.

References

External links