Britains Deetail: How collectable are they? (1 Viewer)

[wadepat]

Gentle Friends,

In my recent explorations in an antique mall, I came across a series of 8 Britains Deetail figures that were in outstanding condition. From talking to the seller, I learned that these figures had been found on the shelf of a toy store storage area. The toy store closed several years ago and the antique dealer purchased all the contents of that store. The Deetail figures were among the store contents. Apparently, these figures sat on a shelf in the storage room and were never sold at retail.

I have never made any serious study of Britains Deetail figures as I do not normally collect plastic figures, but I was captivated by these figures and the price was very, very reasonable. I purchased the lot of them and I am very pleased with the acquisition.

Now, my question. How collectible are these figures? I know that some forum members have indicated a desire to see Britains re-introduce the line. Are the figures collected for their own sake or are they used primarily for conversions? Any information you can provide concerning the Britains Deetail figures will be greatly appreciated.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[Leadmen]

I have most of the Detail figures except the Napoleonic and Foreign Legion. I would say the Civil War, Cowboys and some Indians and some army are common. The older sets like 8th Army, Africa Korps especially motorcycle and rider is hard to find.Most team weapons are somewhat hard to find like 8th army MG team that comes with firing BB's. I have the Apaches and all the Mexicans which are hard to find. Mexicans made only one year. Some might be rare but I got them because I liked them at the time. Value varies between a dollar to fifty dollars or more for rarer items. Leadmen

 

[vandilay]

Hi Pat
I also collected these as a kid,as Leadmen has said the afrika korps sidecar
is pretty rare .all of the vehicles and bikes in this range still seem to have
a good collector base.
Boxed the soldiers are more valuable ,out of the vehicles the afrika korps
kubelwagon and sidecar along with the long wheel base landrover are
all hard to find and fetch pretty decent dollars.
The boxes containing various soldiers and vehicles can also sell for a
fair bit depending on the contents.
The napoleonics i would say fall into the same category as the ww2 stuff
for collectability,much more so than the knights.
What a great find these are what got me into toy soldier collecting.I
had a similar find in fiji a few years back a whole heap of boxed vehicles etc
being a kid the budget was a little on the ltd side ,but i bought what
i could afford.[the rest may still be sitting at the back of a dingy shop in nandi]

 

[Gideon]

There is nothing like the Britains Deetail series - nothing.

THey were just an incredible group of figures and must have really drawn children into the hobby.

I remember staring at them in specialty shops when I was a child and getting a few here and there. THe vehicles are spectacular.

THere was another series called "Swoppit" made just prior to the Deetail series. They were more in the 1/35th range and were more customizable. I have a landrover from that series that would blow your mind. The detail and functionality is amazing. If you would like, I can post some pics.

Value is an interesting thing. Most are pretty common, but the 8th Army, WWII Japanese and Napoleonics can go a bit high.

I have been selling my trade cartons lately. I have a bunch of old store stock early Africa Corps cases of 48 figures - in the old store diplays. THey are cool.

THey tend to go $200 +. When had the trade cartons of Japanese and 8th Army - they went for $450 +. Otherwise, price per figure, they shouldn't be that expensive. The vehicles will run you quite a bit. I have paid over $60 for a mint kettenkrad and kubelwagen. Those aren't the rare ones, though.

Good luck in your hunt. If you need any information on pricing or "if something is a good deal" just ping me, I'd be happy to help.