Blast from the Past (1 Viewer)

[zulucollector]

Normally I stick pretty close to Wbritains current collection on this thread but I was curious did other collectors "graduate" from the britains deetail line to their current matte offering. Some of my fondest memories growing up was collecting deetails with my allowance via my dad and on special occasions getting a vehicle! The name Wbritains was one of the reasons I decided to start collecting again as well as they have the best anglo zulu war collection on the market today. I hope some of the pics from my collection will bring back fond memories from your early days of collecting too...

 

[Panzer ace]

Normally I stick pretty close to Wbritains current collection on this thread but I was curious did other collectors "graduate" from the britains deetail line to their current matte offering. Some of my fondest memories growing up was collecting deetails with my allowance via my dad and on special occasions getting a vehicle! The name Wbritains was one of the reasons I decided to start collecting again as well as they have the best anglo zulu war collection on the market today. I hope some of the pics from my collection will bring back fond memories from your early days of collecting too...

My Britains Deetail story has been told and re-told I think. So here goes one more time. When I was very young I could not go on a field trip for school because I had recently had a fever. Even though I was feeling better my mom was concerned and told me I could not go. The day of the field trip I was so depressed that my mom decided to take me shopping with her to a small yet growing town called Los Gatos. Low and behold, right near the stores in the downtown area she was shopping at sat a hobby store. I begged and pleaded to go there so my mom, feeling bad about me missing the school field trip, allowed me to go. I walked up and down the aisles in awe of the models, trains etc. But then I saw the Britains Deetail case and I was drawn to it like a bee to nectar. I looked up at it as if it was the Empire State Building. I stood there for what seemed like hours until my mom came looking for me. The moment she was within earshot I begged her for just one soldier out of the case. She told me that I had been so good that I could get 4 of them! Back then they were $1 per soldier and being so young this was a fortune to me. I picked them all so carefully and to this day I still remember those 4 pieces and I am proud to say that I still own them. So much time passed until one day I found the soldiers in a shoe box in my closet. I took them down and wondered if they were still being made and what they were worth. I got to the office that same day and looked up "toy soldiers" on Google. A company called "Sierra Toy Soldier" came up first. I thought how nice to have a toy soldier shop located in Lake Tahoe (about 3-4 hours drive from where I was living). I clicked on their name and looked for a phone number. I quickly came to realize that they were actually located in Los Gatos. More to the point, their store was only 10 minutes from where my Britains Deetail purchases had been made so many years ago. I decided that I would have a look at their store with no intention of buying anything. I left immediately and headed to their location. It was getting late and I got stuck in traffic. I called them and told them I was on my way and Michael Hall answered. I am sure he regrets it now, but he told me that he would gladly stay open a few minutes to accommodate me. Long story short, I got there, purchased some items and then went back each day for about one week straight. I have been buying form them ever since. Fast forward a few more years and they moved their shop. And where did they move to? They are now located about 1 block from the exact location where my original Britains Deetail purchases had happened in downtown Los Gatos. Same street, same side of the street in fact and I walk by the old hobby location each time I go to Sierra to remind me that my toy soldier obsession began with Britains Deetail items purchased by my mom. In my world, toy soldiers and the collecting thereof truly has come full circle.

 

[Leadmen]

I still have my Detail collection and always had a fondness for their figures and vehicles. J

 

[theBaron]

They were in stores when I was a kid (I saw them in Hess' in Allentown at Christmas, '67 or '68, I think it was, but I never had them. Today, I have a couple of pieces in my collection, but I've also picked up a bunch of the horses for use with some of the rider castings that I have. I like their animation.

Prost!
Brad

 

[jager7080]

I had my first experience with the Britains Deetail brand in the 70's , my family & i would go to this amusement park in Cincinnati , Ohio called Kings Island...Well there they had an international gift shop right across from a 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower...Inside they had a display case of the Britains Deetail figures...I was glued to it...So my dad would always buy me a couple , Not long ago i came across the last two Deetail figures i still had from childhood...German officer w/map & German soldier marching...Since i build kits & paint , i figured i would give these two figures a face lift...Now i am on a mission , i am slowly gathering & repainting the old Deetail ww2 line...& really enjoying it ! Here are some pics...

Joe

 

[zulucollector]

I had my first experience with the Britains Deetail brand in the 70's , my family & i would go to this amusement park in Cincinnati , Ohio called Kings Island...Well there they had an international gift shop right across from a 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower...Inside they had a display case of the Britains Deetail figures...I was glued to it...So my dad would always buy me a couple , Not long ago i came across the last two Deetail figures i still had from childhood...German officer w/map & German soldier marching...Since i build kits & paint , i figured i would give these two figures a face lift...Now i am on a mission , i am slowly gathering & repainting the old Deetail ww2 line...& really enjoying it ! Here are some pics...

Joe

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Nicely done....I have also seen some collectors modify their nationally ..... I saw some british mortar crews turned into australian crews on ebay recently....

PS I think the moderator has given us a new home in plastics .....