Rogerpgvg's Britains collection: a beautiful lot of early farm animals

Britains is the core of my collection and for several years, I only collected Britains, looking down on any other brand because they didn’t make animal figures to scale. While that has changed (a bit ), Britains animals are still particularly close to my heart. I haven’t shown you much of my collection in the Britains section, so let’s try to change that with this topic.

I don’t collect so many Britains these days, as I have most of them, but now and again, I see a figure or a version that I don’t have yet or just one that is in a better condition. Or sometimes I collect Britains without any good reason at all. An example is this lot from the late 1970s/early 1980s that I found on Ebay:

Nothing I didn’t have yet, but lots like these usually lead to a few interesting discoveries. If you look around and are patient, you can still find Britains cheaply in the UK: I bought it for the price of about 3 standard-sized animal figures by modern major brands.

Let’s have a look at a few animals in more detail. I have to start with the polar bears:


Two of the most common Britains wildlife animals, but I still enjoy it when I get another one, or even better, two. The walking polar bear was my favourite animal toy as a child. I used to think he was my favourite because he had a very interesting personality, but I suppose the question is why he had such an interesting personality. There are several things that make him stand out: He has a striking colour that contrasts with most other wildlife animals, sizewise he fits perfectly in a child’s hand, very little paint that can come off and make him look tatty, no thin legs, horns or tail that require careful handling, and he doesn’t fall over easily. The ideal toy animal!

I didn’t have the sitting polar bear as a child, so I was very happy to find it as an adult.

Also a brown bear, which is even more common. One joy of collecting Britains is that most animals were produced in many paint and colour versions over time. The brown bear is a good example of that, as it was made in many plastic colours. This one is particularly interesting and quite uncommon, because its body is partly painted. It’s my favourite version of the brown bear.


Not surprisingly, the most common animals are the lions. I “only” have 28 Britains lions and 37 lionesses, not even counting the similar earlier sculpts.


These lions are in a good condition, though I had to remove quite a bit of excess paint that was smudged all over the body of the lioness. I normally spend quite a bit of time cleaning Britains figures: Dirt sticks easily to the PVC and most animals need a wash. (Be careful when cleaning the earlier polythene figures, because the paint can come off very easily. Fortunately, they tend not get as dirty.)

Another three that bring back memories from my childhood:


Actually, not good memories. The reason is that my brother and I lost all three of them! When we realised we had lost them, we looked everywhere of course. The vacuum cleaner was always a good place to find things, but we never found them. We were quite upset, because they were literally irreplaceable. After around 1980, the shops where we lived no longer sold the Britains wildlife animals. Back then, you couldn’t just order things over the internet.

Britains animals are frequently found in a poor condition. The later model of the walking tiger is particularly notorious. During its first years (1972-79), the stripes were painted by putting a mould over the model and then spraying it. But the mould doesn’t seem to have fit well, resulting in washed-out stripes. In addition, when played with, the paint smudged out and came off easily, making it look very messy:


This one isn’t even in the worst condition. From around 1980, Britains stamped the stripes onto the model and generally these stripes didn’t come off as easily.

This orangutan is also not in a perfect condition, but it’s probably the rarest in the lot. Britains orangutans are easy to find, but this one has a painted body. It was probably made for only one or two years before Britains switched to an orange-red plastic where the body was left unpainted.


Second part tomorrow.

I am so happy you opened this topic about an iconic brand that promoted the animal theme among many generations of kids.
It is all so interesting to read your stories around each figure and about their variations.
Recovering an old tradition on forum, I think that wolf should have been released as a jackal but that's debatable.

Britains Ltd doesn't evoke anything from my childhood of course, but I measure how much this brand has marked generations of children in the United Kingdom and in many other countries.
At one time or another, they all passed through my hands, except for the first red deer I believe.
In my childhood, the only thing that came close to the Britains were the Prior copies. So much so that when I first started collecting I thought the aardvark and the pangolin were Britains. 
About the tiger I prefer the one you are showing, even the painting is more fragile, it is far more beautiful than the last one. I even think this version enhance the sculpt and the later one ruin it.
I have a special link with the Britains Ltd Orangutan, it is the first animal toy I collected. I remember seeing one on eBay and thinking "what's that ?". I still enjoy mine a lot. 
I also have a particular and funny relationship with the brown bear. At the beginning of my collection I bought the panda family in hollowcast lead from Britains, the mother used the same mould. When I discovered the brown bear, I first thought "hey the plastic panda is brown" 
I would be happy to readthis topic and your relationship with all these animals.

About deciding what is a jackal or a dog, I don't like too much this tradition  It is only a "Foxes" Crocllector bad habit. 

The Britains is a Wolf because Britains Ltd named it a Wolf in its catalogue and the Pfeiffer Jackal is a Jackal because Pfeiffer named it Jackal in its catalogue.  

Since my childhood i love the crocodile. It was a Christmas gift for me from from the BRD.

A fascinating read, I really like seeing more of the Britains wildlife cos they have that combintion of collectability and nostalgia, as well as being pretty appealing little sculpts in their own right. Look forward to more!

Kikimalou wrote:

About deciding what is a jackal or a dog, I don't like too much this tradition  It is only a "Foxes" Crocllector bad habit. 

The Britains is a Wolf because Britains Ltd named it a Wolf in its catalogue and the Pfeiffer Jackal is a Jackal because Pfeiffer named it Jackal in its catalogue.  

You're right, Since Roger puts a lot of effort to find figures as accurate as possible for 1/32 scale, I thought the Britains wolf could work as a jackal. I hardly can tell a real golden jackal from a grey wolf, unless the colors are unusual for a wolf, thus, identification is often debatable for me. Britains figure is a wolf, their range is mostly about common species.

Thankyou, thankyou for this topic ! I can't wait to see the continuation

(Even if I get a tiny bit miffed when I see how far my Britains collection is from anything special )

This is a wonderful idea for a topic from a Britains expert like you! Can't wait to see it progress, they were also a big part of my younger childhood and very special, timeless animal figures! Looking forward to the dogs especially!

The “wolf” indeed looks quite like a jackal, but it would be a bit too large for that. It has the right size for an Italian wolf. Or it could be a coyote .

Christophe, I can see why you prefer the early paint style for the walking tiger, but I prefer the crisper later “stamp” style. I like the mould-sprayed sitting tiger and the earlier walking tiger, but I am not so keen on the later tiger when it is mould sprayed. Perhaps it reminds me too much of my brother's tiger, which was in a very bad state and always had to play the bad guy.

My brother and I had two crocodiles with snapping jaws as a child. They made me believe that Nile crocodiles are much larger than they really are. When I saw crocodiles in zoos, I thought they must be young ones; I just couldn’t imagine that Britains could get the scale wrong .

I am sure your Britains collection is special too, Susanne. Why do you think it isn’t?

Lilias (or is it Lillias?), I am still looking for the Britains dog from the Floral Garden set. Hopefully, I’ll find one so I can present them all together here.

Let’s continue with the second (and last) part of this lot. The springbok and anteater often have a lot of paint loss, but these two are both in a great condition:


Because the Britains animals were hand painted, because the workers seemed to have had quite a bit of artistic freedom and the painting styles changed over time, you can find the springbok and anteater in many different paint versions. This anteater is particularly nice because its nose has both white and grey paint (not so clear in the photo).

And another one in a great condition, the seal (although it’s really a sea lion): It has painted whiskers on both sides . I know, I know, only hard-core Britains collectors get excited about this.


The scary-looking bison is also good. Usually, the paint on their horns is scuffed off, but because the grey on the horns of this one was only on the front, not on the side, all the paint is still on them .


This is the early-version bison (made until 1979). The later version looks less frightening.

The lot also has two wild boar:


The one on the right is the Britains, the one on the left is a Hong Kong copy. I don’t usually collect Hong Kong copies because they tend to be of much lower quality, but this copy looks good. Not quite realistic, but I like the pink ears, red eyes and mouth. The Britains is in a good condition too, with two well-painted tusks , quite a rarity.

My excuse for buying this lot was the moose:


Alain/Caracal was looking for one, so I waited until I found one in a well-priced lot. They aren’t so common, it took me quite a while to find one. Britains didn’t glue the antlers well or not at all, so they often got lost, and other times they are broken.

Another cervid, the red deer stag. I had it as a child, but I didn’t appreciate it much, perhaps because it is “just” Western European wildlife. It deserves more attention as it’s a beautiful sculpt. European vintage companies made quite a lot of red deer, but I believe the Britains is the best. Unfortunately, they didn’t make a hind.


The PVC didn’t always come out of the mould in the right way (unlike the earlier polythene), resulting in bent legs and unstable figures. The four figures in this photo are particularly notorious for falling over:


The sable antelope and gnu were OK in this particular lot, but the gaur and llama couldn’t stand up at all. I put them into hot water to move their legs outwards and then put a stick between their legs, because otherwise they will bend back over time.

And finally, the animal that led to the biggest discovery, the African rhinoceros (a black rhino).


As you can see, it has lost almost all its paint on its eyes, horns and nails. I had noticed before that some African rhinos lose their paint very easily, whereas others don’t. I was quite sure that this was related to a difference in the plastic that Britains used, but I couldn’t prove it. Then when I was washing this one, I realised that it was very light. So I weighed it and compared it to the weight of one of my African rhinos without paint loss. And indeed, this rhino is much lighter (45 g) than the rhino without paint loss (75 g). Britains must have changed the plastic for the rhino at some point, perhaps because they realised the paint didn’t attach well. I haven’t noticed a change from light to heavier PVC in other animals, but I should investigate this in more detail.
 
I’ve mentioned before that this rhino was literally the animal figure of my dreams. My collecting hobby is the result of a childhood “trauma”, which I suffered when the shops where I lived as a child (The Netherlands) stopped selling Britains animals. My brother and I found shops in Belgium where they still sold some farm animals, but no wildlife figures. To make the trauma worse, we had catalogues that showed all the animals that we really wanted but couldn’t get. For many years, it led to a recurrent dream in which I found a shop that had all the wildlife animals. The African rhino always featured in these dreams because it was the animal I wanted most. The dreams became less frequent over the years, but they only stopped when I finally managed to find the rhino in my mid-40s.

Lovely models again! It's spelt with one L
That's interesting, hadn't heard of that Britains dog before, hope you will find it one day!

Nice trauma! I love those stories!
OK, so the wolf is a coyote now.
Nile crocodiles are really large, I believe they average 4 metters but they can reach 6, if I am not wrong.
Often, in Zoos, we see many other smaller species. I remember seeing very close, a 2 metters croc in Lisbon Zoo and it seemed huge to me.
That's the most colorful Britains anteater I've ever seen.
Also, springboks have many different colors in real, at least 3 big variations, Britains released a black springbok, I guess.
I have a moose too, it is very beautiful and
It is a red deer stag like Britains I want to see being released by major brands.
Its doe is the old model without horns.
I've red often on forum about changes in material regarding Britains figures. I think @Chris Sweetman knows everything aboutt it and he is visiting the forum.
I have a few models, let me know if you need the exact weights but I am convinced my African rhino is heavy. The difference in weight you mentioned is huge, probably your ligter rhino floats.

rogerpgvg wrote:

I’ve mentioned before that this rhino was literally the animal figure of my dreams. My collecting hobby is the result of a childhood “trauma”, which I suffered when the shops where I lived as a child (The Netherlands) stopped selling Britains animals. My brother and I found shops in Belgium where they still sold some farm animals, but no wildlife figures. To make the trauma worse, we had catalogues that showed all the animals that we really wanted but couldn’t get. For many years, it led to a recurrent dream in which I found a shop that had all the wildlife animals. The African rhino always featured in these dreams because it was the animal I wanted most. The dreams became less frequent over the years, but they only stopped when I finally managed to find the rhino in my mid-40s.

gosh that was some trauma for a very young collector to go thru!
and I bet every time you visited the well stocked shop in your dream you felt absolutely amazing ?
I too have had many similar dreams, especially when in real life I didn't have the figure/s I was looking for. I would discover them in my dreams! and then I would be so excited and thrilled. Often there were many more surprises awaiting me too:) Like many xmases at once :D They were amazing dreams The type of dreams you wish that lasted for ever

Roger - what does the garden dog look like ? that you are searching for ?

Another fascinating tour, I'm learning figures as I go along - I was only at all familiar with Britains horses, and to a lesser extent their farm animals, before joining here, so a lot of this is still new to me, and I'm finding it much more interesting to be introduced via people's collections, photos, and childhood stories, than it would be to just take a quick scroll through Toy Animal Wiki and seeing what the company made. I'm sure the information 'sticks' far better if we've read someone's thoughts and knowledge on a model, compared to just seeing it in a list of photos.

Thanks, everyone!

Rogério, thanks for the information about the springbok. The Britains indeed looks much more like a black springbok than a common springbok. I didn't know about black springboks! 

Wikipedia has an excellent summary of Nile crocodile sizes. It now says that the largest ever had a length of 6.45 m. I don't think they were so large the previous time I checked Wikipedia . The Britains is 6.08 m, but it is very uncommon for Nile crocs to get any larger than 5 m; the size of dangerous animals is often exaggerated, so I am a bit sceptical towards the reported 6.45 m.

Of the 5 African rhinos I have here, 2 are light and have lost nearly all their paint and 3 are heavy and have very little paint loss, so that's stronger evidence that the paint loss is related to the type of plastic. You are right, the light rhino floats, which is very uncommon for a Britains PVC figure.

The best-known change in the plastic that Britains used was in 1968. Prior to that, they used polythene; from 1968, they used PVC. In his book "An unauthorised history of Herald and Britains plastic figures", Peter Cole says that around 1993, Britains started using an "improved, slightly more translucent and alive PVC plastic" for their zoo range, He says that this gives "a much greater depth and range of tone to the figures." 

It is true that the very late zoo animals had a subtly different plastic, though I don't agree that it was improved and more alive. I'd say it looks cheaper, but I suppose that's a matter of taste. Cole doesn't mention it, but Britains also changed the plastic of their farm animals range, though my guess is that this happened a couple of years earlier. It's often more noticeable in the white farm animals: the later plastic is shinier. From 1993, several different plastics were used for the farm animals. Some had a more rubbery plastic, others a very hard plastic that yellowed easily and yet others had a very shiny plastic. There may have been other changes in the plastic as well, but as far as I am aware, the PVC was always reasonably heavy, not so light that it could float. My impression is that the light plastic might only have been used for the African rhino, or perhaps only for the larger animals. I'd have to do a more careful investigation for that, but my collection is currently spread out over three different places in the country, so extensive comparisons are difficult to do.

Annette, here is a photo of the Floral gardens dog. Sometimes the colour is lighter, I think:


And George, I'll occasionally post other things from my collection here. To get an impression of what Britains made, it is interesting to have a look at their catalogues. The animal range was only a small part of their range, they were mainly known for their toy soldiers and later their farm vehicles. When I was a child in the 1970s, Britains was one of the main toy manufacturers.

https://www.conradantiquario.de/content/britains-katalogservice.html

Lovely seeing all the Britains!!Like Roger says they were a big toy maker in the 1970s and I grew up with them and I had many of their non animal models.The only other ones available were the Hong Kong knockoffs of other models.Timpo was around then as well but I remember them more for their Vikings/Eskimos/Cowboys and Indians/Arabs and French Foreign legion/Forts/Stagecoaches and other wagons and their train sets!

thanks Roger, I don't think I've ever seen that dog before! (not that I can remember, and definitely not on a base) but I shall keep an eye out for it

Britains lighter colour Floral Garden dog:

https://www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=com_hwdphotoshare&task=viewphoto&photo_id=77928&Itemid=504

rogerpgvg wrote:

When I was a child in the 1970s, Britains was one of the main toy manufacturers.

Curiously I wasn't far behind you, a child of the 80s - but raised entirely on second hand clothes and toys, so I didn't really go in shops much. I can only remember going inside the toy shop in town once as a child, and that was when I was having a day with my cousins!
None of the brand new up-to-date electrical/gadgety/fad stuff was ever remotely within budget, and birthday presents from better-off family were mostly books and drawing supplies, or chocolate, rather than toys. So I only had what was already being got rid of, at village car boot sales and jumble sales - I wouldn't be at all surprised if all the toys I owned were outgrown stuff from 70s children.
It might sound a bit impossible these days, but I just wasn't aware of what was out there being made and sold new when I was a child

I did have a bucket of second hand and rather tatty Britains animals for a while, they got played with on the back lawn a lot, but either got donated back to a jumble sale or to a charity shop when my mum thought I was too old for them. Toys seemed to be on an endless cycle of hand-me-downs back then, owner after owner - I know we have ebay and online selling now, so some outgrown toys find new kids or end up with collectors, but I feel sorry for how many animals must end up in the bin.

Reusing old toys is much better for the planet!

Multiple versions of the Floral Garden dog to collect .

What a fabulous thread! I have collected quite a lot of Britains now and find it extraordinary the range of colours due to the handpainting. By the way, if anyone is looking for Barney Brown's books that have been out of print, he has a few back in stock - on ebay and on his website. I haven't got that particular dog, but have golden and white versions- must keep an eye out!

These are fantastic! I recognized so many from my childhood collection! (The brown and polar bears, the tiger, the male Lion, the stag, and the black seal. I also remember a walrus and big elephant, maybe a hippo too) I remember my grandfather taking me to the toy store and letting me pick one out of the glass case when I would visit. I still have them, stored away in a bin, with other toys from my childhood. I remember I had the bottom drawer of a bureau filled with my little animals, metal cars, and rubber snakes and spiders. Thank you for bringing back fun memories!

Yesterday some very special Britains arrived. Five fabulous repaints by Alain/Caracal!

Two springboks:


Beautifully striped with subtle, realistic colours. Look at the very accurately painted back part and the short stripe around the eyes:


Finally, Britains springboks that look like real springboks! They are beautiful.

Two wolves:


They have a multitude of colours that subtly transition into each other with an interesting lighter shoulder patch that wolves often have.


My photos don’t really do them justice. The closer I look, the more stunning they are. Look at the incredibly detailed painting of the eyes and the mouth. How can this be done? The eyes are no more than 0.5 mm wide and Alain has managed to put an iris and a pupil in it! I have tried to put eyes on Britains animals and I can’t even put a blob in the right place. This is done by a magician!


And the absolute masterpiece, a leopard:


It has an almost infinite array of colours, from darker on its spine to a lighter colour on its tummy. And hundreds of spots and every time Alain has put it in exactly the right place and he has put orange/yellowy paint exactly in the centre of it. A hundred times a magician!


It’s difficult to see the smallest details with the naked eye. My camera can’t zoom in sufficiently to show them either, but I can zoom in digitally. The details of the eyes, the mouth, the nose and the ears are incredible.


They are absolutely wonderful treasures. They have a very, very special place in my collection. Thank you so much Alain, I am completely overwhelmed by these fabulous repaints!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Yesterday some very special Britains arrived. Five fabulous repaints by Alain/Caracal!

Two springboks:




Finally, Britains springboks that look like real springboks! They are beautiful.

Two wolves:




And the absolute masterpiece, a leopard:




They are absolutely wonderful treasures. They have a very, very special place in my collection. Thank you so much Alain, I am completely overwhelmed by these fabulous repaints!

oh my! how superb
Congratulations on having such beauties join your collection Roger :)
exceptional work by Alain!!

truly magnificent treasures

Beautieful repaints

Exceptional repaints.