HIRIART Inspired by Britains (1 Viewer)

[ucla1967]

Hiriart has been producing classic, 54mm, glossy toys soldiers for several decades. Unlike many other current toy soldier manufacturers, Hiriart's boxed sets usually have nine foot or five mounted figures. Many other manufacturers, including Britains, have reduced the number of figures in a boxed set to three or two or even just one. Generally speaking, Hiriart produces marching parade figures unlike the trend of the matte finished, 60mm individually sculpted, in action, figure of many of today's manufacturers. I have noticed a generational divide in this regard with the older collectors favoring classic, 54mm glossy toy soldiers while the younger collectors favor in action, 60mm matte toy soldiers.

For those of us who like the classic toy soldier, Hiriart has carried on in the tradition of the vintage, pre-war Britains toy soldier. Many of Hiriart's sets are directly inspired by the earlier Britains. For example, Hiriart's set 1054 THE DUKE OF CORNWALL'S OWN LIGHT INFANTRY is made marching at a trail arms, wearing the same dress uniform as the original Britains set.

 

[ucla1967]

As can be seen from the first posting, Hiriart's sets are produced to a much higher standard than the pre-war Britains. They are more detailed, better sculpted, more accurate, and have been better painted, which is to be expected since Britains were produced by the 100s of thousands as toys and not as collector's items like Hiriart. Set 1057 ESCUELA MILITAR URUGUAY provies a good example of this difference.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is Hiriart set 1120 THE ROYAL SCOTS versus Britains set 212 Royal Scots to compare.

 

[ucla1967]

Hiriart set 1037 SOVIET GUARDS IN GREATCOATS compared to Britains earlier version in set 2027.

 

[johnnybach]

What a really nice idea Mike - and very nicely photographed too. Materials and products have, of course, improved enormously over time - but I really like the things that Hiriart STILL hold dear, and applaud them for sticking to the boxed Glossy set idea - once held by the early Toy Soldier makers too. Looks to me as if they are at least, arguably, one of their natural heirs. johnnybach

 

[ucla1967]

What a really nice idea Mike - and very nicely photographed too. Materials and products have, of course, improved enormously over time - but I really like the things that Hiriart STILL hold dear, and applaud them for sticking to the boxed Glossy set idea - once held by the early Toy Soldier makers too. Looks to me as if they are at least, arguably, one of their natural heirs. johnnybach

Thanks JB. About 20 years ago, when I started collecting, I was buying the new Britains boxed sets that were produced in the Wissock like boxes. However, after the Britains family sold the business and the company went through several different owners, they kind of lost their way. I am glad to say that Richard Walker has got them back on track again, but in a different way by embracing the matte finished, in action, smaller sets with fewer figures per box. I discovered Hiriart, who was still producing toy soldiers the old fashioned way (without playing the limited production, now its retired marketing scheme) at about that time. You can still get every one of Hiriart's 340 catalog sets---none has ever been retired.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is an example of a five figure Hiriart mounted set compared to its Britains' version. Hiriart set 1140 16TH LANCERS versus Britains set 33. I didn't mention it before, but Hiriart figures have fixed arms and do not employ the pivoting arm found in the early Britains sets.

 

[johnnybach]

And very nice indeed the 16th Lancers are too Mike. I applaud them for doing away with the moveable arm - it always looks so ugly, I think - as the paintwork nearly always comes off here first. (Again though - as Toys - Britains were catering for their market, at the time).
I attach for comparison, some(mainly) Dorset Soldier figures - which again, are very similar to Hiriart - with the exception of the famous Britains Sideways Sitting Officer (A re-cast version, this one - and my all-time favourite piece). Behind are two similar castings, that I also painted as 9th and 12th Lancers. As Brad mentioned in an earlier post for some German figures - Hiriart's British Lancers could also be re-painted to make up almost ANY of the British Lancer Regiments of years gone by. Regards, johnnybach

 

[ucla1967]

JB those are some mighty fine 16th Lancers you turned out. You are right about being able to use the basic casting to make other lancer regiments. Hiriart has made several other lancer regiments, including bands, in those dress uniforms. I posted photos of them under the thread "Hiriart British Cavalry Regiments." I too don't like moveable arms on toy soldiers. I have a large Imperial Productions collection and wish the earlier sets did not have that feature. They are beautifully sculpted and painted and then you see the side with the crude, moveable arm which does not go with the rest of the figure---ugh!

 

[ucla1967]

Here is Hiriart set 1119 GREEK EVZONES comparted to Britains version.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is a close-up of the Hiriart Greek Evzone officer.

 

[thebritfarmer]

It is nice to see the Hiriart sets and also the Britains "inspiration" sets. If I was to have my choice of sets I think I would go with the Britains. Guess it is an old fashioned thing, knowing that something is 40/50/60 and up years old. Wondering about the adventures these little guys went on. I also think that while they are not very well detailed and the painting as can be seen is a little ropey, they still have a lot of charm to them.

Thanks for post these sets Mike it is a treat to see and I hope you will continue to do so.

Regards
Scott

 

[ucla1967]

It is nice to see the Hiriart sets and also the Britains "inspiration" sets. If I was to have my choice of sets I think I would go with the Britains. Guess it is an old fashioned thing, knowing that something is 40/50/60 and up years old. Wondering about the adventures these little guys went on. I also think that while they are not very well detailed and the painting as can be seen is a little ropey, they still have a lot of charm to them.

Thanks for post these sets Mike it is a treat to see and I hope you will continue to do so.

Regards
Scott

Hi Scott,

I am glad you like this thread. I will continue to post the comparisons as long as I can find decent photos of the Britains sets. I agree with you that the Britains have a lot of charm, but they are also usually very play worn and primative, which is part of their charm. However, I don't collect old Britains---too expensive, too many sets to collect, usually in poor condition, beat up or no box, etc. My good friend, Bob Walker, who has a hugh collection, collects both old Britains and Hiriart. I would estimate that he has about 250 Hiriart sets in his collection. Another good friend, Ed Ruby, had, arguably, the largest Britains collection in the world at one time, but sold most of it off. I asked him why he sold it, he said it was because he pretty much had collected everything they had made and the hunt for missing sets was half the fun. In any case, he still has an impressive collection. If you ever make it out here to southern California, I would be glad to arrange for you to see one or both of those collections.

Best regards,

 

[ucla1967]

I first got the idea that many of Hiriart's sets were directly inspired by an earlier old Britains set with the West Indies Regiment. Most Hiriart sets have the officer on foot, but their West Indies Regiment set had the officer mounted just like the earlier Britains set did. That had to be more than a coincidence. Here is Hiriart's set 1126 THE WEST INDIA REGIMENT compared to Britains set 19.

 

[johnnybach]

I do agree with many of the things you say Mike, about the original, often poor, sculpting and painting of Old Toy Soldiers. But could I also make this point - visually - if I may.

Take, as an example, a well known figure like the centre one below. He's a Johillco Piper. Now, Johillco was one of Britains competitors - and we know that they were competing mainly on price. This piper figure could be had in many finishes - most of them awful. The less colour and care taken - the cheaper he was. This figure shown was actually pretty good compared to some. Now I managed to find an old one - in an old box of battered old toy soldiers - mostly broken - but this one was complete, though someone had slapped a few extra layers of paint on him. As it happens - it probably saved him from getting more damaged.

Now look at the next picture down.

This is the same figure (on the left) - just stripped and given a careful repaint. Now I think that IF an old figure is carefully cleaned up and given a careful re-paint - they CAN still give the modern Toy Soldier makers (like e.g's, Hiriart, Hocker, Imperial,Regal et. al.), a run for their money. By all means compare the modern ones with old Britains - but if you want a truly FAIR comparison - do compare newly painted versions of both ( IF you can find some).^&grin

Is that fair?:wink2By the way - don't just stop doing it - I love what you're doing!), johnnybach

 

[ucla1967]

Again, JB you have demonstrated that you are an first-rate painter. Your point is completely valid if you have someone, like yourself, who can do that kind of work. I don't have the talent, time, inclination, or patience to do re-paints. On a good day, mine would look like, well, the old Britains paint jobs.

You may have missed the intent of this thread. I acknowledged earlier that old Britains were mass produced as toys in another time and place, whereas Hiriart's toy soldiers are made to order in limited numbers by what is essentially a mom and pop operation. I am not trying to be unfair to Britains, but rather want to showcase how a current manufacturer has been inspired by, and, in some cases, copied Britains earlier efforts. I am just glad that I can still acquire many of Hiriart's new versions of Britains Regiments of All Nations and Types of The British Army that were made decades ago. So, in that spirit, I will continue to post the comparisons of the two.

Best regards,

 

[ucla1967]

Here is Hiriart's set 1143 FRENCH INFANTERIE DE LIGNE, 1914 compared to Britains set 141.

 

[johnnybach]

Cheers Mike - Don't worry I haven't missed the point - but just wanted to make sure others don't. We have a lot of viewers to anything we post - and especially your so colourful and shiny ones!^&grin

Yes - the present day producers are aiming at a different market - so the earlier toy soldiers of Britains - Johillco et al - are almost bound to look crude in comparison. However - with a lick or two of paint - some poor examples CAN often be improved - though of course there is a catch 22 involved sometimes - as some of the very old examples sometimes have a high rarity value ( which is often reflected in their price). Restoring some of these might considerably reduce their value. You have to be careful WHAT you resore or repaint.{eek3}

As I said Mike - I love what you are doing - and Hiriart is fast becoming one of my favourite brands to look at. In my opinion ( and yours too by the look of it), they have got it right. Do please, keep posting - and I will try to curb my enthusiasm - well, just a tad. johnnybach

 

[ucla1967]

Cheers Mike - Don't worry I haven't missed the point - but just wanted to make sure others don't. We have a lot of viewers to anything we post - and especially your so colourful and shiny ones!^&grin

Yes - the present day producers are aiming at a different market - so the earlier toy soldiers of Britains - Johillco et al - are almost bound to look crude in comparison. However - with a lick or two of paint - some poor examples CAN often be improved - though of course there is a catch 22 involved sometimes - as some of the very old examples sometimes have a high rarity value ( which is often reflected in their price). Restoring some of these might considerably reduce their value. You have to be careful WHAT you resore or repaint.{eek3}

As I said Mike - I love what you are doing - and Hiriart is fast becoming one of my favourite brands to look at. In my opinion ( and yours too by the look of it), they have got it right. Do please, keep posting - and I will try to curb my enthusiasm - well, just a tad. johnnybach

JB, please don't curb your enthusiasm. It is what makes you who you are. Relatively speaking, there is only a small sub-set of viewers to the Glossy Manufacturers Forum and even fewer to Hiriart's section. Some days there will be ten times as many King & Country viewers as there are viewers of the entire glossy forum, but that is ok. I will soldier on, doing my part in support of classic glossy toy soldiers, as long as some of you keep looking.

 

[ucla1967]

Hiriart made non-catalog versions of THE ROYAL BIRKSHIRES both as a nine-figure set and as a 19-figure band. Again, as in earlier examples, Hiriart has done their versions in the same dress uniforms as Britains. I don't have a photo of the Britains regular set, but do have one of their band for comparison purposes.