Britains , earlier known by the founder's name W. Britain , is a British toy brand and former manufacturing company known for its die-cast scale models of agricultural machinery , and figurines . The company was established in 1893 as a toy soldiers manufacturer.
49-596: With its factory set in London, Britains then diversified into other associated toys such as die-cast zamac military trucks, commercial vehicles, and toy cars. Today, the Britains brand is owned by Tomy since 2011, and the W. Britain brand by First Gear, Inc. The "W. Britain" brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented
98-410: A die . It was originally designed for low volume sheet metal dies. It later gained popularity for making short run injection molding dies. It is also less commonly used for non-sparking tools and mandrels for metal spinning. The KS alloy was developed for spin casting decorative parts. It has the same composition as zamak 2, except with more magnesium in order to produce finer grains and reduce
147-529: A refluxer as part of the refining process. Zamak can be electroplated, wet painted, and chromate conversion coated well. In the early 1930s, Morris Ashby in Britain had licensed the New Jersey zamak alloy. The 99.99%-purity refluxer zinc was not available in Britain and so they acquired the right to manufacture the alloy using a locally available electrolytically refined zinc of 99.95% purity. This
196-504: A competing firm run by Henry G. Bachmann and changed its name to Bachmann Bros. By 1902 Bachmann Bros. started to use celluloid for its products and by 1912 introduced optical frames that were made from it. It was around this time that Bachmann Bros. began experimenting in plastic. In 1927, shortly before they moved to their final Philadelphia address, they became the first American manufacturer of sunglasses. The line, "Solarex" would become very popular worldwide and would later be purchased by
245-475: A new line of structures was released. In 2010, Bachmann released several Garden Scale models of Thomas & Friends characters, a range which has seen steady releases since. In 2019, it was announced that the Thomas license would also see releases in N scale beginning in 2020. Since 2006 Bachmann has been concentrating on implementing a Digital Command Control ("DCC") system and products in its product lines, with
294-505: A nickel-silver version of the track line came out in 1996, and a wide variety of track length and turnout selections became available in the line, including E-Z Command DCC turnouts. After the success of the HO track line, E-Z Track was also made available in N scale as well. Train sets manufactured by Athearn also come with E-Z Track, as they do not make their own HO track. During the 1960s Bachmann produced plastic models of animals (Animals of
343-1217: A short lived product, a radio controlled motorcycle. Bachmann's Mini-planes list included several commercial airline models, such as Boeing 707 in American Airlines , Pan American World Airways , Trans World Airlines and fictional Bachmann Airlines marking, Convair CV880 in Delta Air Lines and TWA marking, Boeing 727 in Delta, Eastern Airlines TWA and United Airlines marking, Douglas DC-9 in Delta, Eastern and TWA marking, Douglas DC-8 in United and Japan Airlines marking, Boeing 747 in Japan Airlines, Pan Am and Lufthansa marking, Douglas DC-10 in American marking, Ford Tri-motor in TWA marking, and Douglas DC-3 in American Airlines marking. In light of dwindling interest in model railroading,
392-492: Is more commonly used in Europe. Zamak 7 has less magnesium than zamak 3 to increase fluidity and ductility, which is especially useful when casting thin wall components. In order to reduce inter-granular corrosion a small amount of nickel is added and impurities are more strictly controlled. Common uses for zamak alloys include appliances, bathroom fixtures, die cast toys and automotive industry. Zamak alloys are also used in
441-422: Is zamak 3. Besides that, zamak 2, zamak 5 and zamak 7 are also commercially used. These alloys are most commonly die cast . Zamak alloys (particularly #3 and #5) are frequently used in the spin casting industry. A large problem with early zinc die casting materials was zinc pest , owing to impurities in the alloys. Zamak avoided this by the use of 99.99% pure zinc metal, produced by New Jersey Zinc's use of
490-658: The Bachmann UK headquarters . In 1991 Bachmann established a sales office in Ontario , Canada, but had it closed down in 1996. In 1992 it bought Liliput of Austria, and established its Continental Europe headquarters in Fürth , Germany. In 1997 it moved to Altdorf bei Nürnberg , Germany, which continues today as the German Liliput headquarters. In 2000 it bought Graham Farish . Bachmann started to work with
539-475: The orange peel effect. Zamak 3 is the de facto standard for the zamak series of zinc alloys; all other zinc alloys are compared to this. Zamak 3 has the base composition for the zamak alloys (96% zinc, 4% aluminum). It has excellent castability and long term dimensional stability. More than 70% of all North American zinc die castings are made from zamak 3. Zamak 4 was developed for the Asian markets to reduce
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#1732765896582588-463: The zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminium composition. The name zamak is an acronym of the German names for the metals of which the alloys are composed: Zink (zinc), Aluminium , Magnesium and Kupfer (copper). The New Jersey Zinc Company developed zamak alloys in 1929. The most common zamak alloy
637-459: The Big Haulers. They were first introduced in sets consisting of a locomotive, one or two freight cars and a caboose, Set 90100 was the first set. The locomotives were battery powered and were radio controlled. In 1989 they began making train sets using track powered electric locomotives. In 1989 Bachmann also began selling locomotives, freight Cars, and passenger cars as separate items. Since
686-480: The Britains die-cast farm miniatures range. In 2021, Tomy celebrated 100 years of the Britains farm miniatures range. In 2005, the W. Britains brand was acquired by First Gear, an American maker of die-cast collectibles. This firm produces and sells mostly contemporary matte-style figures to the collectors market under the W. Britain brand. Kenneth A. Osen was the master sculptor for W. Britain until June 2013 when he
735-619: The Chinese National Railway in 1999, and in 2000 started to produce its first model "East Wind 11 Diesel". Chinese outline models under the Bachmann China name, opening the world's first Bachmann speciality retail shop in Shanghai in 2005. Bachmann China is based in Shanghai. Kader's business model for each take over, from its original purchase of Bachmann to the present day, is to buy a perceived quality brand in
784-703: The Crowther brothers decided, in 1981, to sell to their manufacturer, the Kader Group. Kader changed the name to Bachmann Industries and used the new brand to expand worldwide, such as the European market. It is also part of the strategy to take over other failing companies in Europe and put them under one single name. The packaging changed from plastic jewel cases to white paper boxes with cellophane window. Starting from 1982 Bachmann began to slowly retool individual product lines one by one. A typical example would be
833-620: The US Army and United States Army Air Forces for their personnel during WWII. During WWII Bachmann Bros. was awarded the coveted Army-Navy "E" Award for outstanding contribution to the war effort by an American company. Other notable products include Birds of the World Model kits, Plasticville USA, shooting glasses for Winchester Repeating Arms Company (now the U.S. Repeating Arms Company ), and Stein Eriksen ski goggles. Because of
882-655: The World series, Birds of the World series, and Dogs of the World series) called Nature Craft Kits. They also produced their own Mini-planes , Slot cars (to compete better with former rival Tyco Toys 's own HO-scale trains and slot cars) marketed in both HO and a slightly smaller version of 1/32 scale cars and sets, with 1/32 scale track purchased from Strombecker Corporation, whom by the early 1970s closed down its slot car business; military models (with Fujimi ) that include fighter planes, helicopters, and Tanks; and toy robots called "Toys of Tomorrow" (with Tomy ). Bachmann would drop
931-690: The box showed a detailed cut-away illustration of the car. Land Rovers , and later Range Rovers and various commercial lorries, such as a milk tanker, flat bed, tipper, cement mixer, also appeared. In 1966 safety regulations in the United Kingdom combined with rising costs halted the production of lead toy soldiers. Britains shifted most production of Herald plastic to Hong Kong from 1966. In 1971 Britains started Deetail plastic figures with metal bases that were initially manufactured in England but later outsourced to China. When production stopped,
980-442: The early 1950s Britains was associated with W. Horton Toys and Games which made the die-cast Lilliput ranges of small-scale, rather generic, cars and trucks and other vehicles. In 1959, Britains acquired Herald Miniatures which produced plastic figures designed by Roy Selwyn-Smith . The company was also known for its American Revolutionary War soldiers. In the 1950s, besides soldiers, a variety of vehicles began to appear, mostly in
1029-534: The early years Bachmann introduced a high quality line of prototype 1:20.3 locomotives and rolling stock in their Spectrum Line. In 2007 Bachmann purchased the Williams Electric Trains company, which has allowed the company to expand into the O scale market. Williams offers a more "traditional" train layout reminiscent of the 1950s, with diesel engines, and rolling stock similar in look to the same O gauge products introduced by Lionel Trains during
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#17327658965821078-401: The effects of die soldering while maintaining the ductility of zamak 3. This was achieved by using half the amount of copper from the zamak 5 composition. Zamak 5 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 1% copper in order to increase strength (by approximately 10% ), hardness and corrosive resistance, but reduces ductility . It also has less dimensional accuracy. Zamak 5
1127-433: The example): Zamak 2 has the same composition as zamak 3 with the addition of 3% copper in order to increase strength by 20%, which also increases the price. Zamak 2 has the greatest strength out of all the zamak alloys. Over time it retains its strength and hardness better than the other alloys; however, it becomes more brittle, shrinks, and is less elastic. Zamak 2 is also known as Kirksite when gravity cast for use as
1176-426: The firm until 1984 when it was sold to a British conglomerate, Dobson Park Industries. They combined the operations with an existing line of toys and renamed the company Britains Petite, Ltd. During the first half of the 20th century, Britains expanded its range and market. By 1931 the firm employed 450 at its London factory. The catalogue had expanded to 435 sets and twenty million models a year were being produced. In
1225-639: The first farm vehicle, a tumbrel cart. The first tractor model was the Fordson Major , introduced in 1948, three years after the real tractor. In 1968, the Massey Ferguson 135 became the first non- Ford tractor in the range. The Massey Ferguson 760 combine harvester was voted UK Toy of the Year in 1978. In the 1980s more than 120 new models were produced for the Britains Farm. 2007 saw
1274-525: The first vintage model, the Ford 5000 tractor. In 2021 Britains celebrated 100 years as Europe’s oldest specialist in farm toys with a limited edition of the Fordson Major tractor. Zamak ZAMAK (or Zamac , formerly trademarked as MAZAK ) is an eclectic family of alloys with a base metal of zinc and alloying elements of aluminium , magnesium , and copper . Zamak alloys are part of
1323-628: The floor without worry of dust, lint and carpet fibres, though traditional tabletop layouts could also be designed using this track system. While integrated-roadbed track was not invented by Bachmann (foreign train manufacturers such as Kato Precision Railroad Models and Märklin Trains all had their own types of roadbed track), the E-Z Track was still new and innovative to the North American HO train market. Originally offered only in steel,
1372-485: The golden ages of model railroads. Steam engines include semi-scale and scale representations. Williams by Bachmann has produced a new 44 ton switcher that has been introduced in 2015 the company still remains a value leader in the O gauge segment. In an effort to fill the quality gap between the Spectrum brand and the regular Bachmann trains, Bachmann introduced a mid-ranged "Bachmann plus" series in 1992 when production
1421-1242: The help and partnership of the German company, Lenz Elektronik, GmbH. Bachmann released its Dynamis DCC system in 2007 which enabled Bachmann to catch up technologically with other DCC companies. Currently, Bachmann HO Spectrum lines are DCC on board, while the vast majority of its N Spectrum lines are DCC-ready. Following the war's end, Bachmann came up with the product which made their name a household word..."Plasticville USA"...an assemble yourself kit of homes, stores, and other buildings to enhance train layouts. Plasticville USA products are still popular accessories for Lionel and American Flyer trains. Bachmann's Plasticville products, originally in O scale , and later expanded to HO scale , and N scale were originally manufactured by Bachmann in Philadelphia, but later manufactured in Hong Kong. They have been made exclusively in China by plastics moulding manufacturer Kader Holdings Company Limited since 1999. The hobby of collecting Plasticville has increased in recent years to
1470-555: The home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, whose model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan , China. In the past, Bachmann specialised in entry level train sets. In 1988, the Spectrum line of high-quality, detailed models was introduced to cater to more experienced hobbyists. In the past few years, Bachmann has retooled most of its product line, increasing
1519-457: The lines of Britains Deetail plastic figures and accessories, and their older sets have become highly collectable. In 1997, Britains Petite, Ltd was bought by Ertl Company of Iowa , a maker of die-cast toys. Ertl was subsequently bought by RC2 LLC , another American die-cast miniature and plastic kit maker. At this time, production of toy soldiers was moved to China. In 2011, Japanese-headquartered toy company Tomy acquired RC2 which included
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1568-615: The manufacture of some firearms such as those from Hi-Point Firearms . In World War 2, zamak alloy buttplates were one of three variations common on Canadian and American-made .303 Lee Enfield rifles, particularly during mid-war production. Bachmann Industries Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda -registered, Chinese -owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong ; specialising in model railroading . Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ,
1617-406: The military field. One such detailed die-cast vehicle was a Royal Artillery 4.5" howitzer towable cannon that fired toy shells. For a toy, it was intricately designed, with a special threaded post with rotating knob to raise and lower the cannon. Also in early 1950s, one of the first Britains vehicles was a Bluebird land speed record car of famed driver Malcolm Campbell . It had a removable body and
1666-570: The point that the Plasticville Collectors Association was founded in 1999 and incorporated in 2001. Originally like most other train manufacturers, Bachmann's train sets used conventional snap-track (originally in brass, then switching to steel in the early 1980s.) In 1994, Bachmann introduced the then-revolutionary E-Z track, that featured HO track built onto a moulded plastic roadbed that could be assembled like typical HO track. This allowed for operating HO trains on
1715-515: The present one. Trains began to be packaged in blue jewel cases. Bachmann Bros. held exclusive licenses to produce models of trains manufactured by Budd Company passenger trains and United Aircraft's high-speed train. Several product lines are produced under the Bachmann name including: In 1988 Bachmann introduced the "Spectrum" line of higher quality equipment, including updated motors, more realistic paint schemes, and better detail. Spectrum
1764-458: The process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers . The company quickly became the industry leader, and was imitated by many other companies, such as Hanks Bros. and John Hill and Co. The style and scale of Britain's figures became the industry standard for toy soldiers for many years. In 1907 the family proprietorship, William Britain & Sons, incorporated as "Britains, Ltd". The Britain family controlled
1813-563: The quality of its standard line products and discontinuing most of the Spectrum line. Many of the Spectrum products have been slightly modified and are now sold as higher-quality standard line models. Bachmann produces models in HO scale , N scale (1:160 and 1:148), On30 , 00 gauge , HOn30 (H0 scale on N tracks) and G scale . They also own the Williams line of tinplate O gauge trains and related products. The turnover for Bachmann model trains for
1862-535: The range of catalogued lead sets exceeded 2200. In 1973 Britains introduced New Metal models, which are die cast in a durable alloy. Initially these sets were aimed at the British souvenir market. In 1983 Britains responded to a growing collectors' market by introducing additional models and limited edition sets. This range was greatly expanded over the next 20 years and included die-cast versions of their old toy soldiers, some made from original moulds. These, as well as
1911-463: The replacement of metal gears to cheaper plastic ones in the Diesel locomotives. By 1992 all cars were manufactured in China. As well as introducing its own brands to North America, Kader, under the Bachmann brand, built itself up as the largest volume seller of model railways by purchasing other failing companies, using the Bachmann name to front a series of purchases in the rest of the world to combat
1960-506: The sudden popularity of N scale model railroading around 1966, Bachmann entered the trains market by starting its N scale trains products in June 1968, with cars packaged in white jewel cases . However, problems of initial run led to a retooling the following year. In 1970 Bachmann entered the HO trains market. A second retooling occurred around 1973, when trains started to be packaged in black jewel cases . In 1978 Bachmann changed its logo to
2009-530: The target market or country. The company then closes local in-country production facilities. Armed with state-of-the-art manufacturing machines and AutoCAD systems, Bachmann then improves quality by re-engineering the models in Hong Kong, and reduces cost by producing the models in its jointly owned plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann sells model trains in HO scale , N scale (1:160 and 1:148), On30 , 00 gauge , HOn30 (HO scale on N tracks) and G scale around
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2058-778: The then poor perceptions of Hong Kong-based production quality. By 1985 Bachmann had established agencies in Corcieux , France, and also in Bologna , Italy. In 1989 a European division was set up initially reusing the moulds previously used for the Palitoy Mainline model railway products to create the Bachmann Branchline models. It took over Palitoy's location and established its European headquarters in Barwell, Leicestershire, England, which continues today as
2107-583: The toy robots within a couple of years. The Bachmann-Fujimi models would be dropped during the 1970s. Bachmann dropped Slot Cars and Mini-Planes from its product lines after the Kader takeover (see below) but instead entered the Radio-controlled model market. In 1982 they revived their Nature Craft Kits as Birds of the World. By 1987 they have dropped all other toys and only concentrated on Model Trains and Accessories. In 1998 Bachmann did try to sell
2156-641: The year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $ 146.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005. Founded in 1833 by Henry Carlisle, the company originally specialized in vanity products such as parasol handles and Spanish combs made of ivory horns. Its target market was aristocracy in the American South and Louisiana. After the Civil War it continued to make other types of hair ornaments and handles for walking canes now out of Tortoise shell and ivory. In 1899 Carlisle's firm merged with
2205-475: Was appointed General Manager & Creative Director. Sculpting continues to be done by Ken Osen, Alan Ball and Graham Scollick. All figures are sculpted by hand, to scale, before duplication. On 30 January 2012 Bachmann Europe Plc became the sole distributor of all W. Britain figures in the UK and Continental Europe. In 1921, the Britains "Model Home Farm" was launched, including 30 farm figures and animals as well as
2254-433: Was considered a totally different company from the regular Bachmann company. The initial offering was a GE 44 Ton Diesel. Later on, the Spectrum line expanded to include a Pennsylvania Railroad K-4 Pacific, an EMD GP30, and a General Electric Dash 8-40C. In 1998, Bachmann introduced their Spectrum H0 scale 2-8-0 Consolidation, which was selected "Model of the Year" by the readers of Model Railroader magazine. By 2000 Spectrum
2303-497: Was given the name Mazak , partly to distinguish it from zamak and partly from the initials of Morris Ashby. In 1933, National Smelting licensed the refluxer patent with the intent of using it to produce 99.99% zinc in their plant at Avonmouth . Zinc alloy chemical composition standards are defined per country by the standard listed below: Zamak goes by many different names based on standard and/or country: The short European designation code breaks down as follows (using ZL0430 as
2352-644: Was moved to China. Eventually the entire standard product line would be upgraded to the quality level of the plus series, which led to the drop of the plus series and the birth of the current silver series in 1997. Bachmann doubled the MSRP of its products, and cars are now packaged in clear plastic display jewel cases. In 2001, Bachmann started to produce trains in On30 scale (O scale on HO tracks). In 2002, Bachmann introduced its Thomas and Friends range in H0 scale. In 2007,
2401-491: Was no longer considered a separate product and became one of the Bachmann product lines, as Spectrum was finally included in Bachmann's regular catalogues. In recent years, Bachmann has begun phasing out the Spectrum brand, moving most of the products in the line to the Standard Line (sometimes with minor changes). In 1988 Bachmann started to produce large scale (also known as G Scale or garden scale) train sets called
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