#1065 BRITAINS LTD. - FORDSON SUPER MAJOR DIESEL TRACTOR (9525) and TIP-UP TRAILER WITH RACKS (9550) (1965 and 1962)

Britains Ltd., also known as W. Britain or Britains Models is a die-cast and toy brand of scale models and figurines, especialized in agricultural machinery, although they also had more ordinary vehicles (cars, motorbikes) as well as more uncommon stuff, like war machines and military vehicles. 

The company actually started as a toy soldiers manufacturer in 1983, and the name does not indicate its nationality (although the brand is from Britain), but the name of its founder William Britain Jr., who invented a process of hollow casting in lead that was a big step in the manufacture of toy soldiers. The factory was in London, as it is often indicated in the boxes of the toys.

To my surprise, the company is still active, although it now belongs to multinationals and has actually splitted in two. In 1997, the company was acquired by the American Ertl, then, in 1999, it went to Racing Champions. In 2010, it went to Learning Curve UK and, finally, in 2011, to the Japanese company Tomy. 

In 2005, the W. Britain brand became independent and was sold to First Gear, an American die-cast manufacturer. So, currently Britains and W. Britain are both competing for the same agricultural miniature market. This rather narrow niche has probably eased its long life and the survival of many major crisis in the toy market and elsewhere. 

Let´s go through the history of the brand a little more in detail. We have just commented the invention of Mr. William Britain Jr., which rocketed this company to become the leader of the toy soilder market at the end of the XIXth Century. Of course this industrial secret would not last much, and other companies copied the process in the years following the invention. Their soldiers became the industry standard, but as the competition grew, they also expanded into other toy types. In 1907, the name Britains Ltd. is used for the first time. By 1931, they employed 450 people in London, producing up to twenty million models a year. Their catalogue had 435 sets listed.

Other landmarks of Britains, according to the Wikipedia, are:

• Early 1950s: Association with W. Horton Toys and Games (Lilliput generic cars and trucks)
• Early 1950s: Blue Bird land speed record car (driven by Malcolm Campbell)
• Early 1950s: Land Rovers and lorries
• 1950s: Manufacture of various vehicles including military
• 1959: Acquisition of Herald Miniatures (Plastic Figure manufacturer)
• 1966: Stop of the production of lead toy soldiers due to safety regulations
• 1966: Herald Miniatures legacy production moved to Hong Kong.
• 1971: Production of plastic figures with metal bases in England. The references were more than 2.200 by the time the production was moved to China.
• 1973: New Metal Models denomination for figures in die-cast alloy, initially for the souvenir and tourist markets. This line expanded over 20 years, including re-releases of classic toy soldier figures. This commercial brand was also known as Metal Models, and it is very similar to others like Britains Deetail
• 1984: Company is sold to Dobson Park Industries from the UK, and renamed Britains Petite, Ltd.
• 1997: Company is sold to Ertl from the US
• 1999: RC2 LLC (Racing Champions from the US) bought Ertl. Production is completely moved to China.
• 2011: Tomy acquired RC2, including the brand Britains.

Talking about tractors, the first model ever in Britains' catalogue was the Fordson Major (from 1945), introduced in 1948. Farm vehicles had been released since as early as 1921, when the Model Home Farm was released with 30 figures and animals and a cart to be drawn by the horse. By 1980, there were more than 120 models available. Also in 2021, celebrating the 100 years of their farming line, they released a limited edition of the Fordson Major tractor.

FORDSON SUPER MAJOR DIESEL TRACTOR (Ref. 9525) 

The model I show here should not be mistaken with the Fordson Major, as it is the Fordson Super Major, a couple of years newer (both the real tractor and the miniature). The toy was launched in 1965, and it is made to scale 1:32. Unlike the “not-Super” model, it came without a driver, so the piece shown in the pictures is complete. The tractorr comes with several very cool features, starting with the steering wheels, rubber tyres, screw coupler to attach a trailer and an additional lever mechanism to attach a farm implement lift, which, I guess, it is required for some accesories that were sold separately.

The tractor is made in blue with grey fenders. The red lights, I think, were an “improvement” of its original owner. The tractor has all its decals: two at the front in a simulated radiator and two at the sides with the Fordson brand logo.

As I have seen in many other models, the rubber of the tyres, combined with the plastic compound of the wheels has melted slightly, resulting in a noticeable imperfection. If it does not go worse, I'm happy with that... the toy is 60 years old by the time I write these lines...

And finally, I love the cardboard box. It has an external part, with nice pictures of the tractor as seen from the front, and lists the name and the features of the toy. One of the larger sides show the trailers that share the same scale, or, at least, a selection of them, as the reference numbers do not build a row. Inside that box, there is a sliding base which is, at the same time, the closing lid of the outer box and that has some holes and cuts to firmly fit the tractor in it. Note the “shadow” that the tractor casts on the red base. The lid has some “volume” as it conceals that farm implement that can be attached or detached to the vehicle. But that is not all, in order to prevent the toy from moving inside the box, there is a third piece of cardboard that clamps the tractor. I guess this last cardboard part is hard to find, as it is not decorated and can be easily mistaken for something else.

TIP-UP TRAILER WITH RACKS (Ref. 9550)

The Tip-up trailer with racks was part of the series "Farm Implements", which fitted all tractors in the same scale and is a couple of years older than the Fordson  I just presented (they could be attached to previous tractor models). My toy came in it´s early box model from 1962. It is in very good condition, as it has been played, but it was probably kept in the box most of the time.

 As in the previous toy, the box has two parts. The outer rectagular box, plus an cardboard inlay so the trailer is not loose inside the box. It fits perfectly and stays in its position no matter what. Thanks to the box, the trailer comes with its original racks that can be attached to either ends of the trailer to increase its capacity. The rear end can be clapped, to unload whatever it carries, and the bed can be lifted (I guess the technical word is "tip up") to help in the process of unloading. A nice detail is the third small wheel (it is not actually a wheel, but a piece of plastic) that keeps the trailer horizontal when not attached to another vehicle. 

One curiosity, to those who may appreciate it: the box of the trailer has a price tag of 29, but I am not sure which currency it could be. I bought this toy in Austria, so it may be 29 Schilling (that would be around 2,10 euro from 1965.

I have the impression that it is becoming easier to find and buy die-cast jewels from the 60s, some of them in excellent condition and even boxed ones. I guess it is a biological fact, that people today are not interested in this kind of toys, and whatever comes in the market, it is difficult to sell at normal collector’s prices. The choices are now different, and tractors are not so popular anymore, as other machinery either agricultural or for construction and public works.

I was very happy to put my hands on this beautifully made Tractor by Britains Ltd., a company which is rare to find outside of the UK, and even more, as it came together with a equally beautiful hay trailer in the same series (that fit perfectly in scale and thematically). A real treasure that I got here! 

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FORDSON SUPER MAJOR DIESEL TRACTOR (9525) and TIP-UP TRAILER WITH RACKS (9550)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1965 and 1962
• Company: Britains Ltd. (United Kingdom)
• Size: approx. 10 cm long

#566 LESNEY TOYS - VARIOUS MODELS II (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962)

The first models made by Lesney were mostly English models, but as the line grew, other European and American models were included in the series. Despite the size, models were pretty accurate and included a great detail level.

The size of the toys was a factor for success, since it allowed to sell them much cheaper than their concurrents from Dinky or others. Matchbox as a brand was a registered to protected it worldwide.
The first models did not have windows or interiors and were made completely of metal. By 1968, Matchbox was the biggest selling brand, and their models already featured plastic windows, interior, tyres, spring suspension, opening parts, maybe some accesories... models had grown from the original 2 inches to 3 inches and there were many different types available (trucks, vans, motorcycles...)
During the Lesney era it was also defined that the standard series would always comprise 75 references, and after they reached that number, any new reference would replace an older one, so the display stands would always have the same size. This 1-75 reference system has been used almost until today, except from 1999 to 2001 and from 2008 on, with 100 references available.

Other model series have their own numbering system, but none of them is limited as the 1-75 series.

Nr. 10c - Fonden 15 Ton Sugar Container (1960-1966)
Nr. 27c - Cadillac Sixty Special (1960-1966)

Nr. 31b - American Ford Station Wagon (1960-1964)
Nr. 38a - Karrier Refuse Collector (1957-1963)

Nr. 32b - "E" Type Jaguar (other type of wheel) (1962-1968)

Nr. 44a - Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (1958-1964) - Repainted in grey
Nr. 73a - 10 Ton Pressure Refueller (1959-1962)

Nr. 75a - Ford Thunderbird (1960-1965)

Nr. 73b - Ferrari (other type of wheel) (1962-1968)

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: Fonden 15 Ton Sugar Container (Nr. 10c), Cadillac Sixty Special (Nr. 27c), American Ford Station Wagon (Nr. 31b), Karrier Refuse Collector (Nr. 38a), Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (Nr. 44a), 10 Ton Pressure Refueller (Nr. 73a), Ford Thunderbird (Nr. 75a), "E" Type Jaguar (Nr. 32b), Ferrari (Nr. 73b)
• Scale: approx. 1:64
• Year: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962
• Company: Lesney (Great Britain)
• Size: approx. 6 cm