Friday 25 August 2023

Cowboys and Aliens


 Hot on the trail of Woodsy's Go West post, here are some old shots of my Britains, Timpo and Herald figures. My dad was usually in charge of buying toys and took care to ensure that I had a wide range of other interests besides just Space toys!
Whilst Britain's wouldn't produce space themed figures until many decades later, I had a good selection of cowboys and indians. My favourites were always the Swoppet figures, which allowed you to chop and change the figures by popping apart the legs and bodies and hats, to create your own style.
Whilst I never actually 'played' with them as such - no running carpet battles as i could do with army soldiers - I did enjoy collecting them and choosing an odd figure now and again from Woolies or other hobby shops, picking them out of a counter top box.


The Herald Totem Pole (centre yellow wings) was always a source of fascination for me and started me on a journey towards the appreciation of real First Nations artwork many years later.


The most recent Cowboy model I received is this Britain's Mini Set. A slightly smaller range of figures on a simple diorama.




10 comments:

  1. Scott Kellogg8/25/2023 2:02 pm

    We used to collect all sorts of Britain's LTD figures.

    Knights, soldiers, catapults, ballistas, cannons...

    Is Britains still out there? I tried looking them up, but couldn't find anything.

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  2. Yes there still out there mainly producing white metal figures and
    Some of the old deetail plastics with more detailed paint jobs.

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    Replies
    1. I assumed they had bitten the dust a long time ago, but seems they have regrouped and gone back to their roots: https://www.wbritain.com/company-history

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  3. Some fantastic childhood classics there, Bill. You dad was an astute toy buyer. Lovely to see these old treasures.

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  4. I can well understand the fenced in daleks Bill, but Crater Critters before a firing squad? Why oh why!

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    Replies
    1. Cowboys thought they were illegal aliens!

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  5. Paul Adams from New Zealand8/25/2023 9:07 pm

    That is a great collection. I had a few Timpo and Made in Hong Kong toys, along with the odd Swoppet/Herald figure. The Cowboy and Indian figures we grew up with seem to have disappeared these days.

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  6. I had Britains and Timpo figures, as well as a street of Wild West buildings, including a bank, a jail and, my favourite, the saloon.
    Many shoot outs were staged, and the bar fights were spectacular. Well, at least in my imagination.

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  7. Daleks being herded by Mini-Boys made me laugh - very inspired!
    Best -- Paul

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  8. Great collection and memories Bill. I liked little cowboys and Indians as a kid too. Always swapping tiny colt 45s and neck scarves around!

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