COLLECTING 54MM MEDIEVALS (Part ONE)

Late last year I restored a batch of W.Britains knights which I had picked up on Ebay. These were actually a Christmas present for my Great Nephew. In the 1970s I had in turn inherited a handful of Britains knights and I remembered how colourful and impressive these figures looked. Restoring them was quite enjoyable, and I also began to contemplate how such figures could be employed on the wargames table. Even in my childhood I could discern the Britains varied in their design, that they had different designers. Indeed, that company has produced a fair number of medieval ranges since its founding in the 1890s. But for wargames, the figures produced during the period 1965-90 appear to be the most popular, comprising two collections; the DEETAIL RANGE, and the HERALD RANGE, and they are very different creations. The DEETAIL RANGE was made in England. They are typically robust figures, with heavy detail, simplistic painting, and metal bases. The historical accuracy can best be described as 'generous', all ages of medieval armour are often incorporated into a single figure. But they are popular, and very collectable. The HERALD RANGE was made in British Hongkong. They are slender in their casting, with a rushed painted finish, but superior coverage. The armour is surprisingly accurate, and this cannot be by chance. The Herald figures were much more limited in their number of castings and paint-variants, their bases are hard plastic. For me, however, their cavalry are vastly superior to the DEETAIL range. To put it another way, the DEETAIL range are toy knights used for wargames. While the HERALD range are well designed figures that can be used for historical collections, toys, or wargames, I hope that makes some sense. So, I am now collecting 54mm Herald figures, collecting, restoring, repairing, converting, and forming them up into wargaming units. This is not a long-term project, I want this collection completed within a few months, and I have already picked up several batches of figures. Here's a few photos of recent acquisitions. MGB