HIRIART Inspired by Britains (4 Viewers)

[ucla1967]

Here is a comparison of Britains 3RD HUSSARS with Hiriart's set 1069 THE THIRD HUSSARS. The Britains officer's plume is broken.

 

[ucla1967]

Here are two more views of Hiriart's set 1069 THE THIRD HUSSARS. The first photo has one extra man.

 

[ucla1967]

This comparison is between Britains set 241 CHINESE INFANTRY and Hiriart's set 1231 CHINESE BOXER INFANTRY, 1900.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is Britains set 66 THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S OWN LANCERS compared to Hiriart's set 1204 THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S OWN (31ST) LANCERS. While Britains figures are mounted, Hiriart's are not. Also Hiriart's kurtkas are green while Britains are dark blue. It could be that the Britains eBay seller had them in the wrong box and therefore did not identify them correctly.

 

[lancer]

Here is Britains set 66 THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S OWN LANCERS compared to Hiriart's set 1204 THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S OWN (31ST) LANCERS. While Britains figures are mounted, Hiriart's are not. Also Hiriart's kurtkas are green while Britains are dark blue. It could be that the Britains eBay seller had them in the wrong box and therefore did not identify them correctly.

Hi Mike. The uniform info I have on the DoC's 31st lancers has them with dark green kurtas, as Hiriart does. -- Al

 

[ucla1967]

Hi Mike. The uniform info I have on the DoC's 31st lancers has them with dark green kurtas, as Hiriart does. -- Al

Thanks Al. Then the Britains are probably a different regiment; I doubt that they would make a mistake like that. Do you know if Britains DoC set is mounted or not?

 

[lancer]

Thanks Al. Then the Britains are probably a different regiment; I doubt that they would make a mistake like that. Do you know if Britains DoC set is mounted or not?

Mike, I do not know. I do not really collect or know much about Britains hollowcast beyond the few sets I inherited from my dad. I do collect Indian cavalry regiments from Somerset and SoW, so I have some general info on them. Just enough info to get myself in trouble.:rolleyes2::wink2: -- Al

 

[ucla1967]

Mike, I do not know. I do not really collect or know much about Britains hollowcast beyond the few sets I inherited from my dad. I do collect Indian cavalry regiments from Somerset and SoW, so I have some general info on them. Just enough info to get myself in trouble.:rolleyes2::wink2: -- Al

Thanks Al. Mike Niedermans's post following yours gives the answer.

 

[ucla1967]

I just checked Wallis' Armies of the World, and he says that the first version (1896) of Britain's DoC had light green kurtas with white facings. By the '20s the uniform was dark green. In '36, the facings changed to red, and by '53 the kurta had changed to dark blue. Britain's painting generally gave an accurate recording of the correct uniform colours, but sometimes it took them a few years to follow the actual uniform and regimental title changes. All their Indian lancer regiments use the same mounted casting (which also turns up in their ACW cavalry{eek3}). I haven't seen the new, colour edition of the book yet, so I don't know which variations of set 66 he shows; there's at least two for the 1925-1941 period the book covers.

Thanks for the information, Mike.

Wow, no wonder we have a hard time keeping up with the correct uniforms---light green kurta with white facings, to dark green kurta, to red facings, to dark blue kurta. I had assumed that the Britains set I pictured was pre-war, but this suggests that it was made in the 1950s with the correct kurta color, dark blue, and was in the correct box. Does the Wallis book show if they ever made this set on foot rather than mounted?

I am not sure if Hiriart uses the same castings for its mounted Indian lancer regiments or not, but I suspect that they do.

 

[ucla1967]

Britain's only made Indian infantry and artillery as foot figures. Cavalry regiments were always depicted mounted. Wm. Hocker's amazingly Britain's-style lancers are all mounted, too. Tradition do a nice selection of Indian lancer regiments on foot at attention (http://traditionoflondonshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=1933), and Marlborough have three similar sets in their huge Durbar range.

Thanks Mike. I had both Tradition's and Marlborough's Indian lancer sets, on foot, in my collection, at one time, but subsequently sold them all. All of Hiriart's Indian lancer sets are mounted except for the Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers. When Bob Walker bought that set a couple of years ago, sight unseen, he was surprised that they were on foot, unlike the other Hiriart sets.

 

[ucla1967]

This is a comparison between Britains set 47 SKINNER'S HORSE and Hiriart's set 1203 THE 1St DUKE OF YORK'S LANCERS (SKINNER'S HORSE). Hiriart's sets have an officer, trumpeter with banner, and three men. I am not sure if Britains always had just a bugler and four men or not.

 

[ucla1967]

This comparison is between Britains set 1856 POLISH INFANTRY, 1939 and Hiriart's set 1341 ARMIA POLSKA, 1939. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Britains Polish figures were rushed into production without much regard for accuracy, and as a result, they used the head from their Italian Infantry with the body of their German Infantry to make the figures. They also mentioned that they incoreectly painted them in gray rather than the correct khaki. BTW, the Hiriart Polish set is a non-catalog set that I ordered last year for my collection which Hiriart then added to it catalog as set 1341.

 

[ucla1967]

This comparison is between Britains ROAN set 138 FRENCH CUIRASSIERS and Hiriart's set 1130 CUIRASSIERS FRANCAISE "LES GROS FRERES."

 

[ucla1967]

This is Britains set 1544 AUSTRALIAN INFANTRY compared to Hiriart's set 1183 ANZACs at GALLIPOLI, 1915.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is a comparison with Britains set 2074 1ST DRAGOON GUARDS and a Hiriart non-catalog set of the 1ST DRAGOON GUARDS. The Britains set pictured appears to have two troopers each from two different versions of this set.

 

[aujj65]

Hi Mike,

Seems that the Hiriart versions have more painted detail especially on the horses.

Another interesting thread of yours - until you started posting I had never even heard of Hiriart.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[ucla1967]

Hi Mike,

Seems that the Hiriart versions have more painted detail especially on the horses.

Another interesting thread of yours - until you started posting I had never even heard of Hiriart.

Thanks

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. Although they have been in business for decades, they are basically a father and son operation without a website or any internet or storefront dealers, that I am aware of. So they are not that well known, but I am doing my personal best to change that. I started buying Hiriart for my collection in 2005, but have slowly expanded the number of other collectors that I order for to about 40 including about a dozen Forum members. I should point out that some of them have only ordered one set, one time, but others have ordered dozens of sets.

 

[johnnybach]

Two very nice versions of the Dragoon sets there Mike. The Hiriart one is nice - and I've always liked set 2074 from Britains, which does feature some different head variations for the troopers (two with plumes flying behind on the cantering horse pair - and two with plumes hanging on the walking horse pair). Note also that the "Officer horse", is also slightly differently sculpted - with the head up - giving three different versions of horse with this set. Unusual - but nicely done.

I have always fancied finding a rather battered version of these - and giving the horses a better re-paint than they were originally given. Note the rather plain all-over paint job on them - with no differentation for the reins and leatherwork - or shading on the horses. Even giving them a few dabs of white to represent socks would have helped lift them a bit.

Simple painting to keep the price down - was the order of the day then.

I'll keep looking for the right set. jb

 

[ucla1967]

Two very nice versions of the Dragoon sets there Mike. The Hiriart one is nice - and I've always liked set 2074 from Britains, which does feature some different head variations for the troopers (two with plumes flying behind on the cantering horse pair - and two with plumes hanging on the walking horse pair). Note also that the "Officer horse", is also slightly differently sculpted - with the head up - giving three different versions of horse with this set. Unusual - but nicely done.

I have always fancied finding a rather battered version of these - and giving the horses a better re-paint than they were originally given. Note the rather plain all-over paint job on them - with no differentation for the reins and leatherwork - or shading on the horses. Even giving them a few dabs of white to represent socks would have helped lift them a bit.

Simple painting to keep the price down - was the order of the day then.

I'll keep looking for the right set. jb

I noticed the same thing too, JB. Good luck on your quest.

 

[ucla1967]

This comparison is between Britains set 1435 WORLD WAR II ITALIAN INFANTRY with Hiriart's set 1197 FANTERIA, ESERCITO ITALIANO, 1939. The WWII Italian uniform color was gregio-verde (gray-green), but it always appeared more gray than green to me. Note the different uniform color on the Britains and Hiriart figures---the Britains are a lot more green. Also, the Britains figures pants are more baggy than Hiriarts.