Britains Toy Soldiers

Every serious collector of toy lead soldier must be familiar with the hollow cast soldiers that William Britain Sr. is famous for. Until 1893, German toy soldier makers have dominated the industry. This dominance ended when William Britain introduced his first hollow cast miniatures. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Hollow casting is the process where molten lead is poured into a figure mold. Before the whole figure starts to set, some of the molten metal is poured out again. This achieves the result where the lead would form a skin on the inside of the mold while leaving the figure hollow in the center. With the miniatures containing less metal, Britain achieved a lower retail price for his toy lead soldiers. This discovery insured the success of his toy lead soldiers.

The company, Britains Ltd., produced these miniatures until late 1950 when they shifted to the production of other plastic toys. Changing trends in the toy industry in the 1960’s made the firm concentrate on producing toy plastic soldiers. Production of the toy lead soldiers eventually stopped in 1966.
The 1980’s brought about a revival of the Britain toy lead soldiers. There seemed to be a growing nostalgia for the pre-1950 models among the baby boomers. Production of the Life Guards, Camerons, Black Watch and Yeoman and Metal Models toy soldiers began in 1984. It was also the year when the company passed ownership to the Dobson Park Group and became known as Britain Petite Ltd.
The popularity of the Britain metal toy soldiers continued to grow until the W. Britain Centenary and the W. Britain Collectors Club were launched in 1987. These groups of collectors attract members from all over the world and are still active up to the present time.
Changing ownership again to Ertl Company, Britain toy soldiers continued to sell with its new matte/connoisseur type action figures. These toy lead soldiers that were introduced in the late 90’s were altered from the traditional gloss figure that Britain is known for in the last one hundred years. Racing Champs eventually bought Britain and transferred production to the Far East in 2001.
Finally, in 2005, the company was again sold to First Gear. It has been said that Britain has gone a full circle since what was once established as a small family business, is now once again owned by a small family business. First Gear has earned the reputation as the makers of some of the most detailed die cast miniatures in the market. In 2006, under the new owners, W. Britain launched half a dozen new lines.
The recent Britain toy soldiers have greatly improved sculpting and painting details. They come in authentic and historically accurate figures because First Gear has gone into partnership with world renowned military museums and historians. What was started by William Britain Sr., over a hundred years ago, has endured until today. One can be sure that these toy lead soldiers can be counted among the best in the world.

 


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