Britains ? Vintage ? Glossy ? Need ID ! (1 Viewer)

[TedToySII]

Hi ALL!
First time here...bear with me !
So I bought a box of lead toy soldiers !
I can figure out what the mounted soldiers are, because they say Britains, and I suspect they are Royal Canadian Mounted Police !
And the marching band is also probably Canadian ?
The others not so sure they are also Britains or what they are or how old they are ?
Can you tell me about how old they are ?
I suspect the 60's ?
What's with the paint, it's kinda on the powder side of things on the horses or just old ?
Or stored improperly ?
Yes I numbered them !
I have other pictures but the uploader say they are to big , wanted to give this a shot , maybe it'll work out !
Many Thanks, Ted

 

[Mike Niederman]

Hi Ted, and welcome to the Forum! Nice score on the figures. #1 is Britains set 1349 RCMP, summer dress. I'm guessing the two white horses are repaints; the horses should be dark brown and black. Post WWII, the officer (the empty-handed guy) was on a grey. If the white used for repainting is flat poster paint it'll feel chalky. So-called lead disease (oxidization) can produce a powdery coating on old figures, too, but without seeing close-up shots I can't diagnose that. Some of the horses' legs are pretty bent. Straightening them is possible, but a very slow and tricky business. I'd leave 'em be. #2 is Britains set 27 Band of the Line. All 12 figures are there; Can't tell from the picture which arms and/or instruments are missing. The drum major's mace certainly is. The set was produced until 1955. #s 3-7 appear by the shape of their bases to be Authenticast or Comet. I don't know enough about that company to tell you anything beyond this: 4 and 6 are copies of Britains figures; 5 and 7 seem to be US Civil War troops, Federal in blue, Confederates in grey. #8 are Britains, rifles broken and repainted - that colour scheme was only used on some cowboys, never on these poses. I can't see the headgear clearly enough to guess at the original figures. Britains foot figures are marked on the underside of the base. Hope this helps.

 

[TedToySII]

Lets see if I can add the pix I have !

 

[theBaron]

...#s 3-7 appear by the shape of their bases to be Authenticast or Comet. I don't know enough about that company to tell you anything beyond this: 4 and 6 are copies of Britains figures; 5 and 7 seem to be US Civil War troops, Federal in blue, Confederates in grey...

I agree that every one of the figures marked as 3 through 7 are Comet or early Authenticast. The shape of the base is the first identifying mark, as is the style of the sculpting. Especially as Comet, the figures tended to have heads that were a shade small for their bodies, and they also were prone to breaking at the neck if the figure tipped over. We can see that here with the Confederates. When Holger Ericksson started sculpting for them, the quality of the sculpting improved, and the brand flourished for a time under the Authenticast label.

Whether they are copies of Britains, though, I have never heard anyone ever say. They may be of the same subject, and in similar poses, but we can find the same subjects and poses across the catalogs of many makers, but that doesn't make them copies. Generally what was considered a copy was a figure made by making a master from another maker's figure and then molding it. There were pirates of Britains, but I just don't recall that anyone ever said Comet was one. But I'll have to go back to my references for Comet/Authenticast to see if there is such a mention.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Mike Niederman]

Let's say the figures strongly resemble these ones in Britains' set 1613. Same fabric creases on the officer, same plug-in arm articulation on the men. The most glaring difference is that Comet (sensibly for the action pose) got rid of the gas masks and gas mask packs on the men. The Comet officer's right hand and sword are broken off.