HM of Great Britain (5 Viewers)

[ucla1967]

Here is another HM of Great Britain set which recently appeared on eBay: OFS1S Camel Corps, Nile Campaigns, 1881-1885, Set in Action with Sergeant.

 

[johnnybach]

Sorry JB, I got those photos off of eBay---they aren't mine. If you want to see them out of their boxes, you will have to bid $1200! However, on post #30, there are three photos of them out of their boxes in Ed Ruby's collection. Unfortunately, you really can't see the Gordons all that well and they are the most interesting sculpts in the set.

No need to apologise at all Mike - I did realise they weren't yours - just making an observation that it would be nice to see them posed. Maybe the new owner might oblige???^&grin

Much as I do like them ( and I do!) - I wouldn't dream of paying out that kind of money for them! I would much prefer to be able to buy a decent ( and sensibly priced) casting - and paint a few myself. I sometimes see figures that I like - then find something like it - and convert away merrily. MUCH more fun than spending money that you might regret - and creating it for yourself. Each to his own, however. Thanks again for posting something nice. jb

 

[ucla1967]

No need to apologise at all Mike - I did realise they weren't yours - just making an observation that it would be nice to see them posed. Maybe the new owner might oblige???^&grin

Much as I do like them ( and I do!) - I wouldn't dream of paying out that kind of money for them! I would much prefer to be able to buy a decent ( and sensibly priced) casting - and paint a few myself. I sometimes see figures that I like - then find something like it - and convert away merrily. MUCH more fun than spending money that you might regret - and creating it for yourself. Each to his own, however. Thanks again for posting something nice. jb

JB,

That did seem to be a little pricey, didn't it? Actually, I don't think anyone bought them, so there isn't a new owner yet. Maybe, they be relisted at a lower price. I would pay maybe $125 a set for them.

 

[Martin Tabony]

I've just found two trade price lists 1994 and 1996. Bare in mind that at least one third has to be added for retail though.

 

[ucla1967]

I've just found two trade price lists 1994 and 1996. Bare in mind that at least one third has to be added for retail though.

Thank you Martin for providing those trade lists. They help add to the picture of this very interesting line of toy soldiers which is no longer in business. I hope that some of you out there might have some additional photos of sets to share with us.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is another HM of Great Britain set that appeared on eBay recently. It is OFS7 HQM Black Watch Headquarters Set.

 

[ucla1967]

Here is yet another HM of Great Britain set that recently appeared on eBay. It is called 2nd Volunteer Battn Royal Fusiliers 'Fire!' There was no set number indicated on the label or description.

 

[Fort-Stamford]

Yes - very nice to see some nicely made TS in their boxes. Would have been even nicer though, if we could have seen them OUT of their boxes - which hides most of the figures - and correctly set up on display. ( I note that there are several clip on bits and bobs to assemble - or get lost - with this marque). Still - if they aren't yours to show - it's better than not seeing them at all, I s'pose. jb

Johnny,

I totally agree, per example:

 

[johnnybach]

Here is yet another HM of Great Britain set that recently appeared on eBay. It is called 2nd Volunteer Battn Royal Fusiliers 'Fire!' There was no set number indicated on the label or description.

love the guy wiping his "shootin' eye"! Done that myself - on the ranges. jb Clever use of castings.

 

[johnnybach]

Johnny,

I totally agree, per example:View attachment 110756

Thanks chum - agreed - MUCH better out of the box!{sm3}jb

 

[ucla1967]

Sure, that would be better (duh), but you are missing the point that it is better in the box than not at all. Sometimes you just have to go with what you have rather than wishing you had something else.

 

[johnnybach]

You are quite right Mike - a pic of them in a box IS better than none at all. But by asking if anyone could post a pic of them posed - we got one.

If you ask a question - you sometimes get a postive response. Thanks to you both they are lovely - Cheers. jb

 

[ucla1967]

You are quite right Mike - a pic of them in a box IS better than none at all. But by asking if anyone could post a pic of them posed - we got one.

If you ask a question - you sometimes get a postive response. Thanks to you both they are lovely - Cheers. jb

Yes, but not to beat a dead horse; the pic that was posted was not the 2nd Volunteer Battn Fusiliers that I posted boxed, but rather a set that had been posted earlier on this thread. My intention on this thread is to contribute to a photo history of the sets offered by HM of Great Britain for all to see whether boxed or not.

 

[Fort-Stamford]

From my Photo Album of HM of Great Britain Sets for reference:

 

[ucla1967]

This HM of Great Britain set is currently on eBay: OFS1A Camel Corps, Nile Campaigns 1881-1885, Set 1- Halt.

 

[ucla1967]

This is HM of Great Britain's FD11 ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY ESCORT SET 1 which recently appeared on eBay.

 

[ucla1967]

Another HM of Great Britain set that was recently on eBay was OFS2 X1.3 MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY STUBBORN BRUTE!

 

[ucla1967]

I saw this HM of Great Britain set on eBay a couple of days ago: HIS GRACE, THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, 1815.

 

[ucla1967]

A heads up to any of you who may be interested, two different HM of Great Britain multi-box sets went up on eBay yesterday, March 4th. The four box set of Saving the Guns at Maiwand, 1880 for $1,375 and the four box set of The Charge of the Scots Greys and Gordon Highlanders for $1,275.

 

[InterWar]

Thanks Martin. I wonder if anyone on the Forum has been able to locate a catalog list. Those sets sound really interesting.

Yes, I have.

And, yes, it is.

I've come late to this thread, but it's been a pleasure to scroll through - This is easily the best gallery of HM of GB's output I've seen, and I've been searching intermittently for some time now.
A very long time in fact.

I'll briefly (Ok, that might be stretching it a bit) tell the backstory to how I came by this catalogue, as it's been an interesting bit of detective work and serendipity.
I have told a little of this story in a previous thread, but as we're 2 years down the line, it's worth retelling, and I suspect it will

In around 1989-1990, when I was but a lad, we went on a family holiday to Brittany. We came back by ferry, arriving in Portsmouth at the crack of dawn and (after a restorative Full English) went into the historic dockyards where we toured HMS Warrior (love that ship) and the Mary Rose.
I was afterwards treated to some metal models - the first metal toy soldiers I was ever bought - in the form of a Tudor bronze cannon and three crew.
These were by HM of GB.
There were other figues (archers, yeoman etc) and I took with me a folded A3 colour promo leaflet showing them in their glossy glory, hoping one day to return to the shop and add them to the shelf.

When we did finally return to Portsmouth some years later, the figures were no longer sold - Though they were selling Tradition of London's 'Henry VIII's arquebusiers', as sets and castings.
In time I lost that colour leaflet, and the idea of completing my set went with it. University beckoned.

In about 2005 I picked up some more of the Tudor figures in varying states of disrepair at the London Toy Soldier Show from a seller called John Wolff.
He said he was selling them on behalf of the maker's widow, which certainly explained why they had not been in the shop when returned.
I bought what I thought I could salvage, and was glad to have chanced upon them.

Fast forward to the present - About 2 years ago I was buying some Rose Miniatures castings off John Eden Studios, and discovered he had also had unpainted castings from HM of GB's 'Tudor World' range that was sold at the Mary Rose museum. It turned out John had bought HM of GB from Peter Kingsland's children, who had been trying to make a going concern of the firm, after it ran into difficulties.
(I believe the company was bailed out by its backers three times before they called it a day - Creativity and profitability don't always make good bed fellows).

John Eden has put very few of the figures into production, as the moulds were in poor nick and no masters were kept.
A portion of the moulds (mainly Egyptian/Sudanese campaigns) were sold at some point to Fleurbaix, during the late Father Greg's grand hoovering-up of British ranges.
I don't think we need dwell on their fate - This forum has seen enough exchanges on the subject.

With the prospect of completing my Tudor set after a twenty year gap, I began searching for information on the paint schemes to finish the castings from John Eden. Then I remembered the colour leaflet.

I won't go into all the details, but my inquires via letters, cheque stubs, phone calls, emails and this very forum brought me into contact with John Wolff (from the show), Brian Holmes (a Yorkshire trader in HM of GB farm ranges) and Martin Tabony (master sculptor).
And through Martin, I was able to get in touch with Peter's widow. (Thanks again for that Martin!)
And discovered she was down-sizing and had disposed of the majority of the figures she still had, and lots of Peter's copious, bulky notes.
Just 3 months earlier...
Cue tearing out of hair etc

However, what she did have was a digital copy of the HM of GB's list price list/catalogue from 1996, and a spare copy of that full colour leaflet with the Tudor rnange on the back page (The only illustrated one they ever did - They were looking at producing a complete colour catalogue when they ceased trading).
She sent these, and some interesting press cuttings about Peter and the company from various Sheffield papers, along with a disc of photographs of all the loose figures she'd sold to Brian Holmes (all now long since sold on).
This included Peter's own sets of the Mountain Gun Team series, which lived on his desk on a pile of wooden building blocks formed into a Khyber-esque landscape, a grainy photo of which was included (taken from an article in the September 1993 issue of Model & Collectors Mart. (Anyone have one of these in a box somewhere?)

I don't have copious free-time at present (Small children - Need I say more?) but had entertained the idea of collecting images of HM of GB sets seen online and slowly populating the catalogue to build a complete picture of their production. Brain Holmes visited the factory in Sheffield on many occasions, (he had some amusing anecdotes about the set-up) and told me that the catalogue should not be taken as definitive, as several of the sets were announced, but didn't get into production before it folded.

The catalogue runs to 51 pages (unillustrated), so I'm not about to try and post it all on the forum, but in the interests of perpetuating the memory of Peter Kingsland's imaginative output, I'd would be happy to email it to anyone with an interest in joining me in this little quest.
I sense from the posts, that the majority of HM of GB's products headed across the Atlantic, and it is in America that many sets will be found to photograph.

So, the game is afoot!

P.S. Martin - Any news on reviving your excellent Reveille range? You did hint at it 2 years back.