The World of Model Soldiers

Part 8 : The Larger Figures

The vogue for the larger size of figure began in the early 1970s when Pat Bird and John Tassell, both employees of Norman Newton Ltd., the firm which ran the Tradition magazine and shop in Piccadilly, London, decided to produce some figures of their own. John Tassell had for some time been experimenting with large-size figures, which he made from resin; in some cases he made the figures by assembling separate metal castings of various parts of the body. He had difficulties in the early stages with the casting of these figures because of the sheer bulk of them and the amount of hot metal that was required to fill the cavities. He and Pat Bird, both living in the same area, persevered and to make absolutely certain that no one could claim that they had either pirated or infringed any copyright, they decided to move well away from the standard-size figure of 54 mm and produce something much larger.

The early figures turned out to be about 77 mm high and this decided the name of the series. The Series 77 must be among the more popular of the larger-sized figures to have been produced in the last six or seven years, and so successful were they that eventually when Tassell left the partnership to join the firm of Greenwood and Ball, Pat Bird and his wife Olive continued to produce figures from their workshop at home in Gravesend in Kent. Their production was very successful, not only of master figures but also of high-quality castings, and they began to sell more and more to the United States. This was a period when to earn dollars was a better incentive than to earn pounds, and one could charge a higher rate if one was selling overseas. The Birds continued with their business and eventually, because of the amount they were selling to the States, they decided to emigrate and set up a factory in California.

Following the lead that Series 77 created, a host of makers began producing larger but not necessarily better figures. Today there is a great range of the larger-sized figures, 75 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 120 mm, 140 mm, and now Pat Bird has doubled his original size competely with his new 154 mm figures. Most of the companies manufacture their figures in a more or less arbitrary fashion, in as much as they will jump from period to period, from army to army, without any consideration for the composition of a collection. It can always be argued, that it is in order for a French Imperial Guard Grenadier of 1812 to stand on the same shelf as a German infantry private serving in Russia in 1943, but for the purist the aesthetic appeal of a collection is enhanced by having a particular theme. Whether this comprises the ancient warriors of Egypt, Roman soldiers, the horse soldiers of the British Empire, or whatever, is left to the choice of the collector, but to jumble periods together is normally felt to be detrimental. However, if one does decide to collect the large figures, in many cases there are very few figures to choose from that will fall neatly into a historical or thematic collection.

The Cameron range of figures, obtainable from the shop Tradition, have been made for some years. Normally 110 mm high, these models are attractive and well sculpted. Tradition have also brought out a range of Napoleonic figures by John Willis, who makes in addition an attractive Nelson, Frederick the Great, Kaiser Wilhelm, and various other leaders of countries and armies throughout history. Other Tradition products include a full range of 75 mm knights, distributed in Britain by Peter Kemplay who is based in Suffolk, and a 90 mm range of soldiers mainly of the Napoleonic period yet again, but also of the British Army at the turn of the century. There are also some 90 mm mounted figures which Alan Caton produced for Tradition prior to his departure and the formation of his own business, Dek. Tradition do another set of figures made by Geoff Willys, this time in 80 mm, and there are some 22 figures in the range.

This size of figures is among the most popular and is definitely the fastest growing in the whole field of model soldiers. Anything over 75 mm is now regarded as a large figure and the various manufacturers are clambering over each other in their efforts to produce something bigger and better than their competitors.

Hinchliffe of Yorkshire produces 75 mm figures sculpted by the gifted artist, Julian Benassi, and one of their recent offerings is of Baron von Richthofen, the fighter ace of World War I. They also produce a 75 mm Stadden figure an a 90 mm Jarvis range. These are for the most part Napoleonic and are fairly expensive. The large ‘Taisho’ (Japanese: leader) figure that Hinchliffe produced of a 12^th/ 13^th century Japanese commander, standing about 150 mm high, has now been re-issued due to popular demand, but because of the high price is sold only by mail order.

Another new company making figures in the large size – a range called All The Queen’s Men – is Dek Military Models of Leicester. Their sculpting is done by Alan Caton, and the first four figures to be produced are most attractive. One, of the ‘Gentleman in Khaki’ from the Caton Woodville illustration, captures the mood and flavour of the period to a nicety. At the turn of the century when British patriotism was running at its highest, several firms produced model figures depicting the drawing by Caton Woodville that appeared in the publication With the Flag to Pretoria. This was of a British service man standing guard with his head bandaged and his helmet lying at his feet. These figures were produced at the time in a variety of materials from porcelain and china, through an early form of bakelite or plastic, to metal, in many cases coated with silver or gold. The drawing itself was reproduced time and time again and occasionally one is lucky enough to be able to buy a litho reprint from an antique or second-hand shop dealer.