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- Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Serie: Crowood Collectors' Series
- Sprache: Englisch
Toy soldiers have played a significant role in the history of toys since the days of ancient Egypt, reflecting real-world realities of the times in which they were produced. Written as a primer for toy soldier collectors, both new and experienced, as well as for those wishing to relive childhood memories, this highly illustrated volume conveys the reader from the early origins of toy soldiers to the so-called 'golden age' of the 1930s, then through the austerity of World War II and early post-war years to the plastic revolution of the 1960s. It moves on to look at the reintroduction of the traditional toy soldier in the 1980s and 90s and the emergence of the bespoke military miniature and commercial connoisseur ranges by the likes of King & Country, First Legion and similar makers, before ending with a brief examination of the future of the toy soldier. Brief histories of the major toy soldier makers both past and present are included, and most of their most prominent products are examined and evaluated in some detail. Useful hints on identifying and buying toy soldiers, as well as practical information on the storage and display of your toy soldier collection, how to start a collection and where to buy toy soldiers are also included in this meticulously researched work.
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Seitenzahl: 242
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Set 2085 – Household Cavalry Musical Ride, one of the last twin tray sets, Britains, 1954.
Deutscher Ritterorden – a Mounted Teutonic Knight in 54mm scale from Amber Studios, St Petersburg.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1 The Toy Soldier in Britain from Early Times to World War II
2 1945 and Beyond
3 ‘Plastic Fantastic’ – The Rise to World Domination of the Plastic Figure
4 Full Circle – The Return of the Traditional Toy Soldier
5 The Advent of the Mass-Produced Collectable Military Miniature
6 The Toy Soldier in 2022 and Future Campaigns
Appendix: A Select Listing of Where to Buy Toy Soldiers
Index
INTRODUCTION
Toy soldiers have played a significant role in the history of toys since the days of Ancient Egypt, reflecting the realities of the times in which they were produced. This book is aimed principally as a primer for those of us who collect toy soldiers, or who may wish to start collecting them, but also at those who played with them as children and want to relive those memories.
The reader will be conveyed from the early origins of toy soldiers to the so-called ‘golden age’ during the 1930s, through the austerity of the war and early post-war years, to the plastic revolution of the 1960s and on to the reintroduction of the traditional toy soldier in the 1980s and 1990s. The book finishes with the bespoke military miniature and commercial connoisseur ranges by the likes of King & Country, First Legion and similar makers.
‘Stupid boy!’ – a selection of Dad’s Army annuals published in the 1970s.
As a boy growing up in the 1960s, with the end of World War II being only fifteen years in the past, all toy shops were full of toy soldiers. Television and film production seemed to be geared to reliving the derring-do of those who went to war in 1939. With only three television channels available in the UK, schedules were laden with World War II dramas, comedies and documentaries. Classics such as Dad’s Army, Secret Army and Colditz dominated the television ratings. At the cinema, too, the war film still dominated. The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far and The Desert Fox vied with historical epics, such as Zulu, The Fall of the Roman Empire and Waterloo.
‘Don’t panic!’ – Corporal Jones of Dad’s Army on guard, by Trophy Miniatures.
The very popular Airfix Colditz Glider kit, released in 1974.
The American Wild West was represented by television shows such as Wagon Train, The Virginian and Rawhide, which were supplemented in the cinema with blockbusters, such as The Alamo, The War Wagon and Clint Eastwood’s ‘spaghetti western’ trilogy released in the late 1960s, all of which fuelled a demand for Wild West figures and accessories. This demand was catered for by a variety of makers, including Britains, Herald, Timpo, Cherilea and Crescent. The constant media presence of film stars such as John Wayne, Audie Murphy and Gary Cooper all helped to build the cowboy and Indian bonanza.
Front-line figures – Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead – as portrayed in the 1964 film Zulu.
Rorke’s Drift Hospital, part of the Zulu War series by Britains, released 2006.
Lt Col. J.O.E. Vandeleur, played by Michael Caine in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far.
British airborne troops in action, Arnhem, 1944, by King & Country.
Hopalong Cassidy, dismounted character set, released by Timpo in the 1950s.
COMMONLY USED TOY SOLDIER SCALES
NB: most manufacturers use approximations of these scales and strict interpretations of accurate scales vary from maker to maker.
Not to be left out, the medieval world was not far behind, with television series such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sir Lancelot and Francis Drake topping the children’s ratings. Films such as Ivanhoe, King Richard and the Crusaders and The Vikings added to the demand for castles, siege towers and knights. Children’s comics such as The Victor and Valiant related famous military actions and the winning of many awards for gallantry, as well as containing adventure stories telling heroic tales of the Middle Ages, the North-West Frontier of India and the trials and tribulations of Royal Flying Corps (RFC) aircrew during World War I. The 1960s also saw the launch of the immensely popular Commando picture strip series of books, which eventually ran to over 300 issues and which are now highly collectable in today’s market, whilst in the early 1970s the first examples of the part-work series of factual magazines began with histories of both world wars and The History of the British Empire.
Hopalong Cassidy, mounted character set, released by Timpo in the 1950s.
Texas Rangers, a Britains set, available only during 1937 and now very rare. It can sell for more than £1,000 when complete and in good condition.
‘Hi-Ho Silver!’ – the Lone Ranger and Tonto, plastic figures by Lone Star, 1955.
‘King of the Wild Frontier’ – Davy Crockett Covered Wagon, a television tie-in with Disney by Modern Products, 1955.
Zorro, a plastic figure by Lone Star, 1957.
The Alamo Mission Building Façade by King & Country, 1990s release.
The 1960s also saw the rise of the construction kit, with the mighty Airfix leading the charge and other makers including Revell and Frog following close on its heels. It was a golden age, with a plethora of aircraft, ships, tanks and to date the best selection of plastic toy soldiers there has ever been. The use of various plastics such as polystyrene and polythene, which began in earnest during the late 1950s/early 1960s, revolutionised the production and retail cost of all genres of toy soldier collecting. The use of these new materials facilitated the release of more accurate and cheaper figures and accessories. Accurate models of castles, forts, chariots and Wild West vehicles were all now possible at a price that the average pocket-money customer could afford.
In addition to the plethora of soldiers, vehicles and accessories that were now available in the standard scale of 1/32 (54mm), a new smaller scale of 1/76 (4mm) (‘HO,’ the Hornby Railway scale) was introduced, initially by Airfix, which had decided that it made commercial sense to supply figures and accessories matching the scale of model railways, which the majority of children in the 1960s would have already have in their toy inventories. This approach had the twin advantages of not needing so much space in which to play (many children in the 1960s now resided in small flats following the war damage to traditional housing and slum clearances of the 1950s) and a significant reduction in retail cost. For the average cost of one Britains’ Swoppet series mounted knight, a child could buy five sets of Airfix figures, each set containing around forty-eight figures! As a result, sales of Airfix figures rocketed, with children (and many adults who used the figures for wargaming) amassing whole armies, complete with all the vehicles and aircraft required, for the price of a few shillings.
Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, a Half Moon display card set released by Herald in 1957.
Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, display box showing the Sheriff of Nottingham, 1957.
Robin Hood and his Merrie Men set, the Benbros version, c. 1960.
‘Where are you going?’ – the Quo Vadis film tie-in set by John Hill & Co., 1951.
Sir Lancelot from the hugely popular Knights of the Round Table series by Timpo, 1954.
Sir Mordred from Timpo’s Knights of the Round Table series, 1954.
Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada set by Cherilea, c. 1968.
‘Valhalla awaits’ – Viking Invaders set, with individually named characters by H.R. Products, c. 1959.
‘Achtung Spitfire!’ – Airfix’s first true aircraft kit, the Spitfire BTK, 1955.
‘Bombs away!’ – another ground-breaking kit from Airfix, the Avro Lancaster, 1955.
A trio of 1/32 scale F-4 Phantoms by Revell, released 1972–5.
The now rare Whitley Mk.V/VII Bomber kit by FROG, c. 1975.
HO/OO-scale Gun Emplacement, a popular set from Airfix, 1972.
The ultra-rare first-issue Attack Force Landing Craft by Airfix, 1965–6 only.
They sold in their millions – Airfix HO/OO-scale figure sets, first issues, 1959–65.
The mid- to late 1970s saw the rise of the sci-fi blockbuster, with its spin-off themed toys, as well as a raft of educational toys, and these began to edge out the toy soldier. The influence of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and protesters at Greenham Common also had an effect and by the early 1980s, industry giants such as Airfix were experiencing considerable difficulties, mainly due to these changing social trends. Those products that remained in the catalogue were heavily censored, (Australia and West Germany both banned explicit war toys in the early 1980s), with the ‘violent’ elements such as explosions and so on airbrushed from advertising and packaging.
The early 1990s saw a sea change to the hobby, as it began to split into distinct areas of interest. Auctions of vintage toy soldiers, which had begun in the late 1960s, gained traction and saw prices rise as the first generation of collectors/investors started the drive to amass ‘world-class’, or complete, collections. Their aim was to build collections that contained an example of every set and figure variant produced. This principle could be applied to a specific maker, or to a certain type of figure or figures representing a particular country. Whatever the rationale was, the remit would be to collect everything released within the chosen category. This has resulted in many collections being defined as ‘world class’, meaning that they cannot be bettered by any other collections with similar remits. With such collections being established, collectors soon began to drive up prices as they vied with each other to secure that one item/set with which to complete their collection.
Roy Cross 1960s original artwork for the Ju 88 bomber; it was sanitised in the late 1970s.
However, the compulsive behaviour of this relatively small band of determined collectors had the unintended effect of creating a cottage industry intent on supplying (at a price) whatsoever the collector required, even if this entailed being ‘economical with the truth’ when it came to selling such pieces, many of which could be politely described as ‘reconditioned’, or ‘sympathetically restored’. It was a market in which many old-school dealers thrived, with access to thousands of original figures acquired for a few pence apiece in the 1960s as the trend was to move to plastic. A few also had access to the original paints/inks supplied to companies such as Britains, as suppliers moved away from lead-based paints due to ongoing health concerns and a dwindling order book from toy soldier companies.
Armed with original figures (though not necessarily the correct ones) and original paints, a small group of entrepreneurs worked hard to provide collectors with those impossible to find sets and figures, with one individual allegedly advising the burial of newly painted figures in sand for a few weeks so that when extracted they exhibited the patina of age! However, this marketing ploy seemed to work, feeding a seemingly insatiable market of collectors willing to pay high prices for what they believed would be the star piece in their collection.
Another emerging arm of the hobby was the military miniature and connoisseur figure market. Although around since the 1930s in the form of the classic medieval knights mastered by Richard Courtenay and historical figures by Bill Carman, it was not until the 1960s that such figures became popular with collectors. Beginning with the output of talented sculptor Charles Stadden, an avalanche of offerings from various manufacturers was made available to the collecting market. Many such figures were offered in multiple variants: fully modelled and painted to professional standards; fully modelled and undercoated; or in kit form to be assembled and painted by the purchaser.
An example of the exquisite work of Richard Courtenay and Frederick Ping, depicting Sir Geoffrey Luttrell with his wife, Dame Agnes Sutton, and daughter-in-law, Beatrice Scrope, c. 1965.
An example of the sculpting work of Charles Stadden – Waterloo, 1815, released c. 1975
A selection of historical figures by Bill Carman, pre-war releases.
Never intended as toys, these ranges were specifically aimed at adult collectors and are noted for their accuracy and, where applicable, professional paint finishes. The 1980s saw a move towards manufacturers supplying whole ranges in ‘connoisseur’ figures, which was made possible in part by the opening up of China, where production and painting facilities could be established fairly cheaply whilst still maintaining a high standard of workmanship. A further advance was due to the fall of the USSR in the late 1980s/early 1990s, which led to St Petersburg miniatures appearing at many international toy soldier and modelling shows around the world. These models took the art of the military miniature to new heights, with most of the work undertaken by art students or professional artists. Marketed on a label of authenticity and exclusivity, these figures quickly became popular with those who could afford these miniature works of art. Take, as an example, the Carthaginian War Elephant – this comes complete with a full fighting contingent and is assembled and painted to connoisseur standard by a recognised ‘name’ employed by one of the Russian Federation suppliers. It costs in the region of £5,000.
Deutscher Ritterorden – a Mounted Teutonic Knight in 54mm scale from Amber Studios, St Petersburg.
The crème de la crème of military miniatures – an Armoured Seleucid War Elephant by Arsenyev Studios, painted to museum quality by master artist Tatiyana Mikhailova, c. 2000.
Another area relates to wargames, using figures and equipment in scales from 5mm to 54mm. The advent of 3D printing, brass etching and advanced resins has revolutionised this area in recent years.
This book, therefore, is intended as an introductory guide to toy soldiers of all disciplines, focusing principally on the makers and industry as it developed (mainly) in the UK. The company Britains will feature heavily throughout. As the leading innovator and largest manufacturer of toy soldiers, it was often the market leader from 1893 through to the present day. Although this book is not meant to be a dedicated history of Britains, the company’s omnipresence in the world of toy soldiers cannot be ignored. We will also look at how conflicts over history influenced the popularity of toy soldiers and in at least one instance how world events during World War II almost destroyed the industry as a commercial enterprise. We will chart the rise and fall of the market leading producers, thereby ushering in the age of the bespoke cottage industry producers, who were, and in many cases still are, extremely successful in catering for niche markets and collecting themes.
A selection of medieval heraldry – Foot Knights by the St Petersburg Collection, 2010.
‘Pax Romana’ – Ancient Rome as envisaged by various St Petersburg studios, c. 2010–15.
‘Banzai!’ – Samurai Warriors by Lead Army Studios, St Petersburg, c. 2000–10.
Alexander Nevsky, the Prince of Moscovy, as portrayed in 54mm scale by Grenada Studios, St Petersburg, c. 2015.
On the more practical front, we will cover: collecting themes; where you can currently buy; helpful hints; the dos and don’ts of collecting; storing and displaying your collection; and, finally, we will take a look at the future of the hobby and potential new developments.
Ancient Greek Hoplites as portrayed in 54mm scale by Grenada Studios, St Petersburg, c. 2005.
CHAPTER 1
THE TOY SOLDIER IN BRITAIN FROM EARLY TIMES TO WORLD WAR II
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The earliest account of toy soldiers in Great Britain occurs in the rolls at Alnwick Castle, home of the Percy family of Northumberland. The rolls cover the period from 12 February 1599 to 27 March 1602 and contain accounts of expenditure on: ‘for trymnge of 4,000 leaden soldiers, for quicksilver, Verdigris and copper, moulds of brass to cast the manykeys [mannequins] and wire to be drawn for the pikemen’ (quoted in J.G. Garratt, The World Encyclopedia of Model Soldiers, Overlook Press, 1981). It is recorded that this model army was used by Henry Percy, ninth Earl of Northumberland, both at Alnwick and at Syon House, the home of Thomas Harriot, the mathematician and scientist. Both were members of an intimate circle that included the maritime explorers Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Walter Raleigh. Harriot in particular conducted experiments with cannon shot, and it appears the ‘leaden’ soldiers’ were used by the group to play an early version of a tactical wargame. The collection was later gifted to Henry, Prince of Wales, as it is next recorded in the inventory of the Armoury of St James’s Palace in 1612.
Representations of soldiers in miniature form have been an integral part of a child’s toybox dating back to the ancient civilisations of Assyria and Egypt, with examples found in various archaeological digs, including the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun discovered in 1921. In the context of this book, toy soldiers in their current form began to be produced in Europe in the early nineteenth century.
OO (70mm)-size solids – Chinese (Boxer) infantry by Georg Heyde of Dresden, Germany, c. 1900.
O (120mm)-size solids – Englisch Uhlanen (English Lancers) by Georg Heyde of Dresden, Germany, c. 1890.
L’Empereur Napoléon et État Major à Cheval (The Emperor Napoleon and the General Staff – mounted) by Lucotte, c. 1913.
Napoleon had a set manufactured for his son, the King of Rome, in 1812, while the French maker La Maison Lucotte began production of lead figures modelled and painted to represent the soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars around 1812.
La Grande Guerre (WWI) – French Machine Gunners by CBG Mignot, c. 1920.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the market leaders were mainly based in France and Germany, with makers such as Heyde, Heinrichson, Lucotte and C.B.G. Mignot producing solid cast figures in lead alloys to various scales. Much of this production featured representations of the forces and actions fought by the British Empire, at the time the world’s largest. As a consequence of the exploits of the ‘Sons of Empire’, there was a great demand in Britain for such products and retail catalogues, such as that issued by the famous London retailer Gamages, which were crammed with German- or French-made toy soldiers and other military paraphernalia.
THE RISE OF THE BRITISH-MADE TOY SOLDIER
In the early 1880s, a London-based entrepreneur by the name of William Britain began taking notice of this flood of European imported toys, many of which were toy soldiers or military-related toys. Realising that there was a gap in the market (the UK toy soldier industry was in its infancy and consisted of a few small cottage-industry enterprises), in around 1882 Mr Britain took the first step in what would become the world’s premier producer of toy soldiers and accessories. He began by brokering a deal to import directly a range of German-manufactured mechanical toys. The initial range of toys included items such as: The New Mechanical Equestrienne, a flywheel-driven toy – as the mechanism rotates, the rider jumps the post and then lands back on the horse’s back; The Miniature London Road Roller – a flywheel-driven tin plate and cast-metal road roller; and The Clown – a flywheel-driven toy clown balancing a plate on his nose.
Another from the 1880 catalogue – The Miniature London Road Roller, retailed by Britains.
One of the first – The New Mechanical Equestrienne, retailed by Britains, c. 1880.
Set 9 – 16th Lancers, Britains, 1896–7.
Set 3 – 5th Dragoon Guards, Britains, 1894.
Set 1 – 1st Life Guards, Britains, 1893.
These imports were boxed and labelled in Britain and became the first to be retailed by the newly formed company W. Britain Ltd. Within a couple of years and with steady sales, the range of toys imported was expanded to include toy soldier sets, many depicting British Army types. The first toy soldier sets to appear are known as ‘Germanic’ sets, so called because of their similarity in design to those already produced by German manufacturers for home consumption. First to appear in 1893 were 1st Life Guards, comprising five troopers on Germanic style (unmarked) walking horses, with fixed arms, drawn tin sabres and dark blue continental-style saddle cloths lined with gold. Next were Royal Horse Guards, also comprising five troopers on Germanic style (unmarked) walking horses, with fixed arms, drawn tin sabres and red continental-style saddle cloths lined with gold. These were closely followed by Dragoon Guards, Dragoons, Lancers and Hussars. These sets, although scarce, do appear in sales and if in good condition and boxed can fetch between £500 and £1,500 per set at auction.
With healthy sales and the British Empire at its zenith, William Britain took this marketing opportunity to provide British children with (primarily) their own miniature army, with which to emulate the deeds of Empire. The marketing slogan ‘When buying Britain’s soldiers, see that they are Britains’’ quickly caught the imagination of not only a generation of British children, but their parents, too; after all, it was they who footed the bill!
WILLIAM BRITAIN & SON
In 1893, William Britain Jr (the eldest son of William Britain Snr) took over the soldier side of the business and went on to produce (from German master models) the first true sets of Britains’ soldiers, again beginning with the Life Guards. By Christmas 1893, the Britains’ catalogue listed a total of fifteen various Infantry and Cavalry sets, all representing regiments of the British Army and Navy. Production began in earnest when the fledgling company relocated to a newly established factory situated in the London Borough of Walthamstow.
It was shortly after the move to Walthamstow that William Britain Jr first pioneered a manufacturing innovation that revolutionised the production of toy soldiers in Britain. Toy soldiers, particularly those manufactured in Europe, were traditionally produced by pouring molten metal into a mould, which, when cooled, resulted in a solid toy soldier figure. William Jr, however, quickly realised that this process used large quantities of expensive raw materials and the end product was excessively heavy, thereby requiring much more robust (and expensive) packaging (many continental set boxes were out of necessity manufactured in wood). The solution was hollow casting.
Essentially, the hollow-casting process used a similar tooled steel mould, but with a solid core. The molten metal was poured in, swirled around to leave a thin coating (in some cases paper thin) and the excess returned to the melting pot. When cooled, the figure was ejected. This process produced a lightweight hollow figure with greater surface detail. It also enabled Britains to undercut the opposition by reducing production costs, thereby offering sets at substantially lower prices. Advertisements of the time list prices from 10½d (£3.70p in 2022) for a box of Infantry figures, up to an eye-watering 7 shillings (£29 in 2022; 7 shillings was a day’s wages for a skilled craftsman in 1890) for a British Army display set containing more than forty figures.
2nd Dragoons Royal Scots Greys from Britains set 32, 1895.
Within six years (1899), Britain’s catalogue boasted over 100 sets. The first releases in the series included such iconic sets as: Set 32 – 2nd Dragoons Royal Scots Greys, comprising five Mounted Dragoons on (unmarked) trotting horses with tin sabres; Set 7 – The Royal Fusiliers, comprising an Officer and six Fusiliers marching at the slope with fixed bayonets; and Set 13 – 3rd Hussars containing a Mounted Officer with drawn tin sabre and four Mounted troopers all holding short carbines.
Set 26 – Boer Infantry (rare marching shoulder arms versions), Britains, 1906.
1899 also saw the release of further sets that represented current events in South Africa and the Sudan in particular, sets such as: Set 26 – Boer Infantry, comprising a Marching Officer and seven Infantrymen marching at the slope; Set 96 – York and Lancaster Regiment (Omdurman version), comprising a Running Officer with drawn sword and seven Infantrymen running at the trail; and Set 98 – King’s Royal Rifle Corps, comprising a Running Officer with drawn sword together with seven Riflemen running at the trail. Such sets, although scarce, can still be found for sale. Prices vary according to the set, condition of the figures and whether boxed, but a complete example in good condition can vary between £300 to £1,000 per set.
CELEBRATING THE END OF THE VICTORIAN ERA
Current conflicts and the many reforms that were being implemented in the British Armed Forces during the last decade of the nineteenth century and first decade of the twentieth century provided Britains with a rich seam of source material, which in turn fuelled the production of specific figure types and sets. The reconquest of the Sudan, the first and second Boer Wars and constant skirmishing on the North-West Frontier Province of India provided toy soldier designers with plenty of opportunities to exercise their not inconsiderable talents.
One highlight of the closing years of the nineteenth century in Britain was Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, held in 1897. This inspired a raft of specifically designed sets and figure types, as also happened with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022. By 1897, technical innovations saw the advent of the movable arm figure, whereby the arm of the figure was separately moulded with a shoulder loop, which then fitted over an arm lug, meaning that arms could be moved 360 degrees to any desired position. Other advances included the introduction of a range of smaller 30mm scale figure sets and a selection of second-grade sets incorporating fewer movable parts and basic painting finishes. These retailed at around a third of the price of a first-grade set.
Set 72 – The Life Guards 1837 and 1897, Britains, 1897.
B Series, Set 13B – 17th Lancers, Britains, 1896.
ISSUES OF COPYRIGHT
Whilst Britains was the undoubted market leader in British-produced toy soldiers, its success inspired many other firms often run or staffed by ex-Britains employees, many of whom openly copied such features as hollow casting and movable arm figures. In 1900, Britains took the step to register its products legally by impressing the undersides of the figure bases with ‘W M Britain’s JR Copyright’ and the date of the figure, or in some cases affixing a paper label containing the same information. At this date, it was almost unheard of for any company in Britain to undertake such steps to protect its product range. In late 1900, Britains took legal action and won copyright suits against two competitor companies, Hanks Brothers and James Renvoize, for copying Britains’ Imperial Yeomanry figure released in 1899. The action taken by Britains set a precedent, so that within a few years most of British industry followed by registering the copyright of their products in one form or another.
From Set 44 – 2nd Dragoons, Hanks/Britains, 1896.
By the beginning decade of the twentieth century, the British Empire was at the height of its power and influence and there was no shortage of military units, conflicts and battles upon which to base the thousands of toy soldiers now being produced every year. Thousands of patriotic children were subjected to deeds of the Empire in comics, books and the media of the times, with these national sentiments being repeated in much the same fashion across most of Europe and America. Many boys, especially in the emerging middle class and upper classes, saw their future in the Army or Navy. Many such careers began with the acquisition of boxes of toy soldiers for birthdays and Christmases. Indeed, Winston Churchill possessed a vast collection of mainly French-made Lucotte figures, many of which can still be seen today on display at Blenheim Palace.
WORLD WAR I
As World War I approached, toy soldier companies ramped up their patriotic output. Britains released sets representing the armies of nations that fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912–13; French makers relived the glory years of the Napoleonic epoch and the current forces of the Armée d’Afrique engaged in the many ‘small wars’ in North Africa. American makers made ranges that covered actions in Mexico; the campaigns of the Midwest; and the Spanish–American War of 1901.
Set 173 – Servian (Serbian) Infantry, Britains, 1913.
As World War I began in 1914, production slowed as employees of the manufacturing companies went to war, although it did not stop altogether as was the case twenty-five years later. In Great Britain new releases focused on sets representing The Entente: the forces of Belgium, France, Russia, Italy, Japan and later the
