Rogerpgvg's Britains collection: field horses

This is actually a good model with good proportions and geometry. I like also the painting of the flanks does not show symmetry. Nice to know they are rare and now you have two of them in very good condition.

How wonderful to have found these rare models to add to your ever-growing collection! They're in such good condition too and make a lovely pair!

Very nice, and in great condition too.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, Britains made great cows. More generally, the Herald farm animals from the 1950s and 60s are pretty good, I think the very best at that time.

congratulations on both aspects Roger!
the immaculate condition of them both and their material
what a super addition to your collection, that was a very nice surprise for you:)

Really beautiful cows!!

Thank you, Annette and Taylor!

These PVC Herald cows may not be as rare as I thought. I discovered that I already had another one, a brown and white feeding cow:


Here it is with the Britains cow that both succeeded and preceded it:

Looks Like new

Red Holstein, Airshire, is it known what breed it intends to represent?

widukind wrote:

Looks Like new

Yes, it looks like it hasn't been played with much. It's well over 50 years old. The PVC versions are generally in a better condition than the polythene versions because the paint does not stick to polythene so well and over time, this has probably got worse because the polythene deteriorates.

Roger wrote:

Red Holstein, Airshire, is it known what breed it intends to represent?

Barrney Brown refers to them as Ayrshire cows in his Britains farm animals book. It is quite possible that Britains gave them a breed name early on because initially their catalogue numbers were different from the black-and-white cows. However, the earliest catalogue I have is from 1965 and then Britains simply referred to them as "cow", regardless of whether they were black-and-white or brown-and-white. Later catalogues also just say "cow".

rogerpgvg wrote:

widukind wrote:

Looks Like new

Yes, it looks like it hasn't been played with much. It's well over 50 years old. The PVC versions are generally in a better condition than the polythene versions because the paint does not stick to polythene so well and over time, this has probably got worse because the polythene deteriorates.

Roger wrote:

Red Holstein, Airshire, is it known what breed it intends to represent?

Barrney Brown refers to them as Ayrshire cows in his Britains farm animals book. It is quite possible that Britains gave them a breed name early on because initially their catalogue numbers were different from the black-and-white cows. However, the earliest catalogue I have is from 1965 and then Britains simply referred to them as "cow", regardless of whether they were black-and-white or brown-and-white. Later catalogues also just say "cow".

As usual, you have it perfectly studied. I think the initial breed identification should remain even if they renamed it to cow, unless they paint it in colors which not match to the breed.

Well, my research wasn't good enough . Barney Brown's book also shows part of the very first Herald catalogue from 1955 and the Herald cows are labelled Blk. & W. and Brn. & W. No breed names. A leaflet from 1958 shows the later Britains cows as simply "cows". In 1959, they are called "bull and cow (assorted colours)". So it looks like Britains never referred to them as Ayrshire cows.

In the 1980s and later, Britains referred to the black-and-white bull cows as Friesian cattle. The brown-and-white cattle were only made until 1983. This catalogue from 1982 shows that they referred to both colours of cattle as Friesians: https://www.conradantiquario.de/content/katalog/britains-catalogue-1982.html

However, I think Ayrshire is a better choice. Holstein cattle usually has that dark and light colored heads with a very typical pattern. Ayrshires do not show any special pattern, they are sometimes almost white, sometimes almost entirely brown or with a mix of the two colors without any specific layout.
Though, Ayrshires are not as big as Holsteins, the dutch breed can reach 145 cm at the shoulders. Another determining factor is probably the fact that Ayrshire is a British dairy breed while Holsteins are not.

rogerpgvg wrote:

These PVC Herald cows may not be as rare as I thought. I discovered that I already had another one, a brown and white feeding cow:

what a gorgeous cow!

Thank you (says the cow). I am happy that I found it again even though it was never really lost, just lost in my brain.

I would agree with Roger in the model being an Ayrshire judging by the build,colour and horn shape.Also at the time the models were being made Freisans were only just becoming popular and maybe this led to the model be changed to a larger bulkier model in accordance with the changing fortunes of cattle breeds.

Thanks, Taylor. Sorry, I hadn't noticed your post before. The sculptor probably just wanted to model brown and white cows that were common in the UK in the 1950s. It's plausible that they were Ayrshires rather than Holsteins.
New additions: A man with whip and two running hounds. Their condition looks too good to be original, they are probably repainted. I believe the dogs were made between 1928 and 1959.

Beautiful additions,those hounds are great!!

This is a woman, Roger. Isn't it?

Wow, very rare additions. It is interesting.

Roger wrote:

This is a woman, Roger. Isn't it?

Yes, well spotted!

repainted or not, the dogs are gorgeous

Wonderful hounds!!
I love vintage figures such as these, they reveal a lot about the past and how fox hunting was an even bigger part of British life back then. And foxhounds probably a much more common sight too as a result! I hardly ever see them now .
Their poses are full of action too, you can just imagine them chasing at full speed, heads low to the ground, following the scent trail- lovely models!

A fabulous set !
Full of life and charm

And it shows a piece of history.
Look at the lady's legs, - she must have been sitting a lot on horseback