Britains value

since i am not posting any Britains figures pics, i thought of posting this thread here instead. i would like to know if Britains figures are very expensive? how much is the price range of Britains figures in acceptable/decent to excellent condition? thank you.

I have only a few Britains animals and so not a knewledge about this brand and the value. But i know some Britains deetail animals like the gaur are rare and expensive

sauroid wrote:

since i am not posting any Britains figures pics, i thought of posting this thread here instead. i would like to know if Britains figures are very expensive? how much is the price range of Britains figures in acceptable/decent to excellent condition? thank you.

I think the best Britains expert is Willy

Some good condition Britains figures are rare and expensive, e.g. the platypus, black panther, some apes, some elephants. Some figures have their typical damage during the age, e.g. most of buffaloes are today without tail, stags without antlers, elephants without tusks etc.

You can find Britains from very cheap to very expensive. Willy is surely an expert but Chris has also something to add here.

sauroid wrote:

since i am not posting any Britains figures pics, i thought of posting this thread here instead. i would like to know if Britains figures are very expensive? how much is the price range of Britains figures in acceptable/decent to excellent condition? thank you.

Hi sauriod

This book will help:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Britains-Toy-Price-Guide-incl-Swoppets-Floral-Garden-metal-plastic-figures-/251234445689?pt=UK_Toys_Games_ToySoldiers_EH&hash=item3a7ebd6979

Price £6.99.

Also e-bay UK will have a range of Britains Zoo and Farm animals and this will guide pricing.

This link also has Britains animal prices:

http://96prices.co.uk/Britains%20Zoo?gclid=COWxn9vT0rUCFfLLtAodQm0AaA

Most animals will be obtained for less than £10 and lots will cost much less than this.

As others have indicated there are hard to find animals which attract a premium price.

Richard Lewis' list here will guide you on rarity and what animals are hard and easy to find but Richard does not provide prices:

http://www.thetoybox.4t.com/britainsplastic.html

Hope this helps and good luck.

thank you so much everyone.

The most expensive and rarest Britains plastic models are:

Platypus
Guenon Monkey
Charging Bull Elephant in excellent condition with original box
Black Panther
Brown bear cub standing (alternate colour version of the Polar bear cub).

The last two are the hardest to find and therefore command the highest prices on ebay. There is no individual model that costs way too much as these are easily available on Ebay. The more expensive items are Britains animals sold in special packages from the 1960s and 1970s - These sell for much high values and all other original boxed items in general such as zoo accessories and zoo pits and animal pens.

The hardest to locate with rating according to Richard Lewis:

Panther, black, crawling - Extremely RARE
Platypus - RARE
Water buffalo - RARE
Guenon monkey - RARE
Vulture, sitting, on tree stump - RARE
Brown bear, Cub standing on hind legs - Very hard to find
Elephant, African, adult charging - hard to find
Gaur - hard to find
Flamingo - hard to find

I would say that none of the Britains animals are difficult to find cheap on E-bay if You just wait. It's not like the Jeol animals.

It's cheaper to buy a lot than buy one animal a time.

The most expensive is the chimpanze tea party.

Some of the animals was remade for teh better, for example the red deer, the sable antelope and the sebra. Some was just slightly changed - like the big cats.

The first versions were made in larger quantities and are more easy to find cheap.

And one more thing the black panther was released two times, it's the first one who is more expensive.

Lennart wrote:

...

And one more thing the black panther was released two times, it's the first one who is more expensive.

Lennart, please can You highlight the diffs between first and second black panther release?

jarda wrote:

Lennart wrote:

...

And one more thing the black panther was released two times, it's the first one who is more expensive.

Lennart, please can You highlight the diffs between first and second black panther release?

jarda

First black panther was matt plastic from the 1960’s

Second was the version in PVC plastic form the late 1970’s.

Chris Sweetman wrote:

jarda wrote:

Lennart wrote:

...

And one more thing the black panther was released two times, it's the first one who is more expensive.

Lennart, please can You highlight the diffs between first and second black panther release?

jarda

First black panther was matt plastic from the 1960’s

Second was the version in PVC plastic form the late 1970’s.

Chris

Thank You, Chris, for your explanation.

jarda wrote:

Chris Sweetman wrote:

jarda wrote:

Lennart wrote:

...

And one more thing the black panther was released two times, it's the first one who is more expensive.

Lennart, please can You highlight the diffs between first and second black panther release?

jarda

First black panther was matt plastic from the 1960’s

Second was the version in PVC plastic form the late 1970’s.

Chris

Thank You, Chris, for your explanation.

You are welcome jarda.

Hi!

Chris got here before me so thanks, maybe theres diffrent markings underneath the panther? This is the only Britians I have'nt got.

But I have a pink flammingp which I guess is rare, never seen it in picture anywhere, and then I belive that the later kangaroo with joey that could jump out of it's pouch is quite rare too.

Britains was large in Sweden so here it's quite easy to find them.

Lennart
Stockholm

I think Chris knows so much more then me regarding Britains and other UK toy-manufacturers!
He is more specialised in that then me in the first place, and of course is from the Uk which helps a lot!
Prices range from like € 3,00-4,00 for the most common models, the black panther can go to € 75,00, the Platypus up to € 40,00 now i guesss, i paid € 25,00 and € 60,00 for the panther in the UK.
For the rarity i agree with Chris, but it also depends where you are looking of course.
In my opinion, it is always the best to look for your models in the country of origin, specially when it comes to rarer models, so for Britains E-bay Uk ect...
It is always good to buy in batches, i think Chris agrees, because in those batches you can find rare stuff sometimes.
Of course, the trained eye sees already on the pics what is or might be in the batch, i got soooo much stuff through the years like that...
And specially on E-Bay, in the hollyday season, when most people are away from home, so very often from internet to, which makes that you have less compition in bidding...
And of course build up a network of collectors, traders, sellers and shops, and keep those contacts warm, contacts in life is everything, regardless what!

WILLYBACOMAN wrote:

I think Chris knows so much more then me regarding Britains and other UK toy-manufacturers!
He is more specialised in that then me in the first place, and of course is from the Uk which helps a lot!
Prices range from like € 3,00-4,00 for the most common models, the black panther can go to € 75,00, the Platypus up to € 40,00 now i guesss, i paid € 25,00 and € 60,00 for the panther in the UK.
For the rarity i agree with Chris, but it also depends where you are looking of course.
In my opinion, it is always the best to look for your models in the country of origin, specially when it comes to rarer models, so for Britains E-bay Uk ect...
It is always good to buy in batches, i think Chris agrees, because in those batches you can find rare stuff sometimes.
Of course, the trained eye sees already on the pics what is or might be in the batch, i got soooo much stuff through the years like that...
And specially on E-Bay, in the hollyday season, when most people are away from home, so very often from internet to, which makes that you have less compition in bidding...
And of course build up a network of collectors, traders, sellers and shops, and keep those contacts warm, contacts in life is everything, regardless what!

Some wise words from Willy regarding obtaining models for your collection.

In 2005, yes these are prices paid 15 years ago, I recorded prices from UK e-bay on the following Britains animals:

Single figures:

Black panther £72
Duck-billed platypus £26.50
Brown bear cub, standing £16.30
African rhinoceros £15
Guenon monkey £9.50
Chimp, moving arm £4.20

Multiples:

Eland X 2 £31.50
Gaur X 3 £25
Red deer X 2 older versions £16.55
Kangaroo and baby X 2 £15

Accessories:

Zoo cages set £17

Hope this helps in an historical context.

It's true that you can find them for such high prices on Ebay, but you can generally find them for much lower prices, as long as you are patient and are prepared to look for them. For example, I saw a black panther a while ago for £15 that wasn't sold immediately. Except for an early Indian elephant that came in a box, I haven't paid more than £10 for any Britains. Best to buy them in batches; I have found black panthers, platypus and standing brown bear cubs for little money that way.

Because they are generally sold in batches, Britains are cheaper than other vintage brands such as Starlux and Hausser Elastolin. Probably many more Britains were produced as well. Best to look on Ebay UK for a while to see what is on offer before you buy anything expensive. Also, summer time tends to be cheaper than winter, especially before Christmas.

Thanks for repeating my words Roger...
When you can buy the Britains Black Panther for 15 pounds, i would cut this persons hand off haha.
I think Chris and my prices are more realistic, but you can get lucky now and then, sure...
I never overpaid anyway...

Quite a few hands to cut . A few sold for around £15 recently:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-BRITAINS-Black-Panther-Rare-not-in-catalogues-54mm-plastic/373300316472?hash=item56ea6ec938:g:4PMAAOSwH2ZfiDv3
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Britains-Black-Panther/284014214825?hash=item422090fea9:g:4CEAAOSwvclfYnjy
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Britains-Plastic-Zoo-Animal-Black-Panther/274518126089?hash=item3fea8e2e09:g:zNYAAOSwN5Ve5MV6

Yes, you could say you need to be lucky, but I'd say you need to be patient.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Quite a few hands to cut . A few sold for around £15 recently:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-BRITAINS-Black-Panther-Rare-not-in-catalogues-54mm-plastic/373300316472?hash=item56ea6ec938:g:4PMAAOSwH2ZfiDv3
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Britains-Black-Panther/284014214825?hash=item422090fea9:g:4CEAAOSwvclfYnjy
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Britains-Plastic-Zoo-Animal-Black-Panther/274518126089?hash=item3fea8e2e09:g:zNYAAOSwN5Ve5MV6

Yes, you could say you need to be lucky, but I'd say you need to be patient.

My take.

Around 15 years ago Britains black panther was considered extremely rare. Since then with this publicity of high prices paid more have resurfaced so prices have gone down. Same thing happened to the Brown bear cub, standing. Truth is Britains never published production figures for each model and the never ending variations that occur over a time period that some figures were available have only recently started to be recorded.

I used to record details of what I purchased. In 2008 I bought an Eland for 50p and a Chimp with moving arm for £8. Going back further in time to the mid 1980's I found an old toy shop that had a few Duck-billed platypuses for 10p each. At the time they had been obsolete for 20 odd years!

All it needs is a dealer type person to find old shop stock kept for donkey's years then the market is flooded with what has been assumed a rare item because they suddenly come into circulation.

Auction values depend on who is bidding at the time and how far many of these bidders are prepared to go to obtain the model.

Personally, I feel it is a mixture of both luck and patience that wins out.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Quite a few hands to cut . A few sold for around £15 recently:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-BRITAINS-Black-Panther-Rare-not-in-catalogues-54mm-plastic/373300316472?hash=item56ea6ec938:g:4PMAAOSwH2ZfiDv3
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Britains-Black-Panther/284014214825?hash=item422090fea9:g:4CEAAOSwvclfYnjy
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Britains-Plastic-Zoo-Animal-Black-Panther/274518126089?hash=item3fea8e2e09:g:zNYAAOSwN5Ve5MV6

Yes, you could say you need to be lucky, but I'd say you need to be patient.

In the time i was searching for it, and that was several years in a row, such prices were not possible, but times have changed, and i think the time we are in now does add to that to, people need money for many reasons...
And you can't see if they are fakes, like over-painted or so...
I was always very patient when it came to getting the things i needed, because most of the models you wanted pass by many times in your life anyway.

Chris Sweetman wrote:

rogerpgvg wrote:

Quite a few hands to cut . A few sold for around £15 recently:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-BRITAINS-Black-Panther-Rare-not-in-catalogues-54mm-plastic/373300316472?hash=item56ea6ec938:g:4PMAAOSwH2ZfiDv3
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Britains-Black-Panther/284014214825?hash=item422090fea9:g:4CEAAOSwvclfYnjy
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Britains-Plastic-Zoo-Animal-Black-Panther/274518126089?hash=item3fea8e2e09:g:zNYAAOSwN5Ve5MV6

Yes, you could say you need to be lucky, but I'd say you need to be patient.

My take.

Around 15 years ago Britains black panther was considered extremely rare. Since then with this publicity of high prices paid more have resurfaced so prices have gone down. Same thing happened to the Brown bear cub, standing. Truth is Britains never published production figures for each model and the never ending variations that occur over a time period that some figures were available have only recently started to be recorded.

I used to record details of what I purchased. In 2008 I bought an Eland for 50p and a Chimp with moving arm for £8. Going back further in time to the mid 1980's I found an old toy shop that had a few Duck-billed platypuses for 10p each. At the time they had been obsolete for 20 odd years!

All it needs is a dealer type person to find old shop stock kept for donkey's years then the market is flooded with what has been assumed a rare item because they suddenly come into circulation.

Auction values depend on who is bidding at the time and how far many of these bidders are prepared to go to obtain the model.

Personally, I feel it is a mixture of both luck and patience that wins out.

Exactly Chris!
I remember when the Schleich Corallfish were sold everywhere for around € 25,00 each...
Then i found a smaller toyshop like you, who had them in stock, all 6 models, and just for € 4,50 each, and believe me, i bought the whole stock at once haha, that gave me some nice profits, because as a collector you need your funding to.
I did the same with the Schleich Llama "Horst", which i purchased at the souvenirshop of the Leipzich Zoo directly for around € 5,00 to, so i bought 30 at once, and sold them overhere for € 35,00 each...
So a bit of cleverness, luck and patience, and you are on the road to succes...
But now in these harsh times(we went into a totall lockdown again since today), collections tend to go down in price anyway, because people have more important needs then to hold on to their collections.
But i think i have to go back on E-Bay again when i saw the auctions that Rogerio showed us, stock that stuff up, and wait for better times...

WILLYBACOMAN wrote:

But i think i have to go back on E-Bay again when i saw the auctions that Rogerio showed us, stock that stuff up, and wait for better times...

Not Rogério Willy... Roger. Rogério is a not a Polar bear

Then he better puts on a thick coat...