david_scrivener

Most of them are indeed awful. The ones I've kept are the best of the bunch, probably a lot of them made by Blue-Box, although some of the nicer pigs are marked 'ZIP'.

I'm not at all sure you've correctly identified any of those. According to Joplin's books: 1) The Timpo log wagon had a square cross section main shaft, & the 2 horses are side by side with a central harness pole, not a pair of shafts for one horse & the other horse in front with traces.. I think the one in your photo is by Charbens, but the Crescent one is very similar. 2) The big Shire horse, is indeed rare, its manufacturer is not known for sure, but thought to be JoHillCo. The other Shire horse is by Britains (check back leg positions of all the similar Shires in the 3 Joplin reference books). Edit to add: I've just checked the horses with your log wagon in the Joplin big yellow book, they're Crescent.

Here are the Hong Kongs I rescued from my rubbish box. I say, 'Hong Kongs', but one of the bigger and better companies, 'Blue-Box', also had a factory in singapore. Most of the figures are copies of Britains/Herald, but there are also copies of Crescent plastic farm figures, copies of others, and a few original figures. Some of them could be useful for dioramas, such as the lying Jersey cows, which Britains never made, although the cow is a copy of their 1969 lying cow, but Britains never made it in jersey colours. The under scale figures could be useful in the backgound of a large diorama if trying to achieve a distance, perspective effect. And finally, those who like to do repaints, can do so with a clear conscience with HKs, because they are mostly cheap and disposable, so not like you'd be wrecking a rare old collectable figure. Last photo shows crescent copies.

Now for my Timpo plastic farm items. The three people were the same as previous lead figures, but the animals were all new designs, many of which seem to have been, ahem, "inspired" by Britains/Herald farm animals.

My Timpo lead farm figure collection. Note some of the animals with a furry 'flock' coating. This was done by a sub-contracting company called Laing Products in London, who also flocked figures for Wend-Al, Barrett & Sons (formerly half of Taylor & Barrett) and others. Many were based on German composition figures by Lineol (main competitor to Elastolin/Hausser), and the guy pushing the weird barrow thing makes a lot more sense when you see the Lineol original, because the simplified Timpo version omits the load slung between the two shafts. I think the nearest implement to this likely to be seen in British agriculture would be barrows used in Kent for the traditional huge sacks of hops. I don't have any of the quite rare Timpo horse drawn items, so if anyone else here has them, please post photos. There were a farm cart, a water tank cart, a log wagon, a roller and a disc harrow.

I haven't mentioned the village idiot because I haven't got one, and don't intend buying any (in all the colours) unless I'm lucky enough to find one really cheap being sold by someone who doesn't know their usual price. As for "where it all started", I doubt many here realise that farm ranges by Britains and other UK manufacturers began after WW1, because no one wanted toy soldiers for a while. Everyone had relations and/or friends who had been killed or seriously injured during the war, supposedly 'the war to end all wars' (that idea didn't work out well), and all talk was of a new peaceful country, a home fit for heroes (with the great depression, that idea didn't work out well either), so farm & zoo ranges had to be hastily introduced to stay in business. Anti-war sentiment and the great depression were no doubt also reasons for the manufacturers to do promo items and other things which were more ornaments than toys. If it could be made from hollow cast lead, and they could sell it, or another company was paying them to make something (e.g. Cadbury's Cococubs, which I'll get to shortly), they'd do it.

Not marked. I was only able to identify them from the Plastic Warrior guides to these companies, and they were only able to identify them because they had some boxed sets. As one of the PW people said to me, it is pretty much impossible to identify cows, horses, etc from the loads of unmarked plastic cows & horses which are found without a photo. Once a few in a range have been positively identified, it then becomes easier to identify the rest by style of design, painting & type of plastic.

First up, the small Johnnie Walkers (2 versions, one with face details painted in, the other without) fixed around bottle necks. Also in photo a 1937 Coronation crown brooh souvenir by Britains, and a Whitbread tankard which might be by Britains. I know Britains made some of these, but this one unmarked, so ? Next 3 versions of the big Johnnie Walker, some or all of which might have been made by Britains. Unfortunately the bottom part of the base underneath is missing on all of them, the part which would have has britains or other manufacturer's name. Next 2 other whisky promo figures, made by ??? Next the Morphy Richards Irons, made & sold by Britains in the 1950s. Not quite sure if these count as a promo item, or just an attempt by Britains to produce more stuff for girls.

I haven't seen the Little Bo-Peep either, and would also like to know what it looks like. Back with photos of Johnnie Walkers in a mo'

Another hoarders parody: Zombie hoarder :ha ha!:

Talking of WW2 & Nissen huts, I have a very unusual, and sort of related, item, a toy Anderson Bomb Shelter! I bought it off eBay, where the seller thought it was a pig sty (came with some lead pigs & the Crescent Land Girl), but the raised base means it is obviously a bomb shelter, as pig stys are not normally half buried! I think it was made by Peacock & Co, who were based in Islington, London, so the owners would certainly have had the Blitz in mind. I doubt many of these were made, as they could only have been made in the first few months of the war. Once the Blitz had started in ernest, and kids and their parents had spent a few terrifying and uncomortable nights in these things, I think the novelty would have worn off, and they wouldn't wanted a toy version any more! Included in the photo are a Crescent army aircraft spotter, a T&B lady from their ARP set, and the Britains 'Village Girl'.

We've had the Britans for Nestle 'World's Cow' (I don't have one), so to follow, the Britains 'Sarson's Lamb', presumably made for a mint sauce promotion. The two examples on bases were made later by Britains for Wells/Brimtoy, and were 'lost sheep' attached to a clockwork Little Bo-Peep. These large scale horses (normal similar pose plastic trotting cart horse included in photo for size comparison) were made by Britains for Tri-ang - one of each colour to go in their tinplate horse box truck. Included in this thread as I class it as one of Britains 'odds 'n' sods' items.

The first photo shows some plastic figures made circa 1960 (I know because i had a couple as a kid back then) by an unknown UK manufacturer. I think it was Paramount, a successor company set up by Mr Lucas after he closed down his previous lead figure company (best known for his very shiny electro-plated knights in armour). I included the plastic cowboy, marked paramount underneath, because it seems to be the same shiny white plastic. The hen & chicks might be JoHillCo (it is in the Plastic Warrior JoHillCo book, but I'm not convinced). The small dog might be JoHillCo or early Cherilea, as Cherilea did make a similar plastic dog in much larger size. There are a lot of 'Unknown' farm & zoo figures by smaller companies because no illustrated catalogues have been found by the collecting community - if they ever printed such things. Now some plastic farm figures by the Speedwell/UNA/VP group of companies. Now back to lead figures, these by Stoddart (probably). They were in operation 1916 to 1939. In addition to their own moulds, they may have bought moulds from Pixyland/Kew. During or after the 1939-45 war Stoddarts sold moulds to Timpo, which Timpo used to get started before they had their own moulds made. Paint style is a help to assess the age of a figure & therefore possibly pin down who actually made a specific figure from a mould which seems to have changed hands twice. So, were the two milkmaids with buckets made Pixyland? Kew? (after they bought out Pixyland circa 1931), or Stoddart? or Timpo? Cutting edge toy history stuff!

As not much is known about some of the UK's smaller farm toy figure manufactureres, and pretty much by definition ('minor') they didn't make many items, I thought it best to put them all together here, rather than have separate threads for each of them. Fylde was a short lived (1947-50) company set up in Blackpool by some of the people involved with JoHillCo (then in terminal decline) and Cherilea (the longest lasting and biggest of the successor companies). The sitting horse is slightly different from the JoHillCo sitting horse, note the ears & tail. These fences etc were made by Kemlows, and many were sold by Wardie. Both companies are mainly known for railway layout accessories and petrol station items, Corgi & Dinky Cars, for the use of. Nothing much seems to be known about Noble, the company who made these small scale hunting people. London, circa 1951. Britains hunt figure included in photo to show scale. These very attractive farm figures were made by Roydon, based at Wallasey, Cheshire, circa 1949-52. Since taking this photo I've bought a few more colour variations of the milkmaid with buckets, but wish I had a lot more Roydon figures.

Before you all post a lot of animals here, I was thinking of starting separate threads for (1) Britains lead farm animals, (2) Britains lead farm small accessories (3) Britains lead farm (mostly 'F series') horse drawn vehicles & boxed sets (except the buildings, as we already have a thread for them), (4) Britains plastic farm animals/people/accessories before 1970, (5) ditto, after 1970, (6) Britains lead & plastic garden. As the 'World Cow' has already been posted here, we might as well continue to include other Britains advertising figures & 'odds & sods' such as the gnomes, large scale deer, Johnnie Walker man, etc here as well.

Phillip Segal started to produce hollowcast figures in a small factory at Christchurch, Hampshire, in 1938, and obviously had to stop production during the war. he start up again after the war (1947?), but sadly died in 1951. Some of the moulds were sold to other small scale figure producers by his family, but I'm not expert enought to know which ones, and how many figures were produced after his death. Segal figures have a rather abstract or cartoony style, so some of them don't fit in that well with displays of figures by Britains and others. One set Segal made, which I don't have, so can't give photos, are cricketers. OK, so not exactly 'farm', but I've often thought what a great diorama of a village green cricket match could be set up using these, some wooden cottages, a pub and a church, around the edge, and some appropriate farm/village people by the other manufacturers as the audience. The JoHillCo innkeeper, Pixyland/Kew beer drinkers spring to mind. Otherwise, the more cartoony figures are probably best displayed with Wendal and other figures which don't fit in with more convential items. In the case of zoo animal ranges, Segal, JoHillCo and Charbens zoo ranges all have a certain charm, but realistic and consistent to scale they ain't Anyway, here are my Segal farm figures to start the thread:

Now my collection of Charbens plastic farm figures. They are even more 'toy-like' (or do I really mean 'rubbish'? ) than their lead figures. The first brown farmer is an earlier figure, made from their lead mould, much nicer than the replacement farmer (here in 2 colour versions) hammer is broken off blacksmith's hand (perhaps I'll eventually get a better example). Charbens plastic cattle + a goat. They also made a brown version of the goat (I notice Mandy has one) Since taking this photo I've discovered there are a couple of 'intruders' here. The brown horse on the top right isn't Charbens. I'm not sure who made it, but at present I think Paramount, a short lived company owned by Mr Lucas after his original company 'Sacul' (Lucas spelled backwards) closed down. The brown horse, 2nd row, middle of photo, I've since discovered by the confusing Speedwell/UNA/VP combo of companies.

My Charbens lead farm figures. Charming, but with a total disregard for keep to a constant scale. These people made toys! Not models.

Benbros started about 1950-53, and was owned by Nathan and Jack Bennison in Walthamstow. Some of their figures are marked 'Benson', others 'Benbros', and some not marked at all. It appears that Benbros bought some lead moulds from Timpo, probably about 1955, when Timpo changed to plastic, so didn't need most of their lead moulds any more, although they kept a few to produce plastic versions of their previous lead figures. This is one of the unmarked figures, the man with pitchfork. Unmarked, so you can only tell by the paint. The one at top right is the original Timpo version; note that belt is painted in. The rest are Benbros versions. Drover, cows, goat, sheep (ex Timpo), swan & angry gander. Benbros also bought the Timpo standing bull mould. Timpo version marked as such, Benbros version unmarked, but you can see where old mark was obliterated. Poultry, turkey hen (all marked Timpo, then Benbros) & pigs (original Benbros items) Benbros didn't effectively switch to plastic production, the only known plastic figures by them being (very rare) copies of Britains/Herald khaki infantry, cowboys & indians. They did make other toys though, but I don't collect those, so if anyone else here does, perhaps they'd like to continue the thread.

Huntswoman side-saddle on standing horse #609 Hunt group Curate (a rare item) #592, Clergyman #593

Shepherd with crook & lamb #594, Shepherd Boy #595 Sower #744 Women's Land Army (WW2) #745, Girl with bucket, lead #747, Girl with bucket, rarer plastic version #813

Blacksmith with anvil #589, Man with garden roller #715, Man with lawn mower #679 & #673 Shepherd with crook #577 Dairyman with yoke &pails #591

Boy on Swing #619 Man with barrow #547 Man with water barrow #564, Stable Lad #563, Navvy with shovel #646

Farmer's Son sitting #554, Aged man sitting #555 Farmer's Daughter sitting #561, Aged Woman sitting #556 Pre-war Landgirl #535, Young Lady (usually called the 'Flapper' by collectors) #559, Golfer #562, Girl #557, Boy #558

Now for some Milkmaids, #531 pail on head, #532 pail at side, # 537 milking on stool