What happened to the Hinchliffe 54mm figure and equipment moulds?

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4th Cuirassier

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I was a keen collector of 20mm and 25mm Hinchliffe in my youth but these days I focus more on 1/32 and 54mm.

The 25mm and 30mm moulds are now in the hands of Hinds Figures. The rest appear to have vanished.

That is, there used to be an extensive range of 54mm equipment by Hinchliffe, some of which occasionally comes up on eBay. I have seen (well, bought then sold actually) the Waterloo 9-pounder, the horse team and crew to go with it, and the odd 20th century gun.

Does anyone know the whereabouts of these 54mm moulds? Does anyone happen to have an old price list or anything, setting out what they actually had in their range?

I'm interested in things like their 1/32 PAK38 kit. It's been so long since they've been in production that one just sees the odd item on eBay. I'm surprised they're not still in production somewhere, although then again the RHA horse team I saw was kind of disappointing so perhaps they are just not up to modern standards?
 
The last I knew of them was that they were still in the hands of Skytrex who are now very much into the model railway business. It would be a very great pity if the moulds and/or masters have been lost permanently. I did some freelance painting work for them back in the early 1980's the outcome of which was I had a large number of their kits. Unfortunately at some point in the past these were all disposed of & there are a few I would like to get hold of again.
With care in casting some of their range would hold up fairly well against modern kits particulary if priced reasonably.

Geoff
 
Sorry I should have made that clear; it includes all the Hinchliffe ranges above 30mm in scale. The only exceptions were the 75mm foot figures sculpted by Ray Lamb. The last time I saw these they were in a range by the now defunct SoldierPac business.

Geoff
 
Skytrex have just confirmed to me that they have no plans to produce anything off these moulds anytime soon.

Pity really. The 1/32 scale is consistent with the usual scale for other eras. It seems that if you want to display figures from the 20th century alongside those from the 19th you can't, because the main suppliers of the former do them in 1/35th, whereas the others are all 1/32.

You could display 20th century aircraft with 19th century figures...but who'd want to?

I could use a few 1/32 Pak38s, 97s and 43s and whatever else Hinchliffe made but I can't even remember...
 
I discovered only today the site and your info's about Hinchliffe . I remember they also made figures in 54mm of
Isandlawana sculpted by Sanderson . I have seen a very look alike lately , the posture all the same from Conte Collectible sold as Toy Soldiers .
So what happend with the Sanderson mould ?
Best
 
As far as I know the moulds still remain with Skytrex. Pity as they are still among the very best depictions of soldiers of that era. I still believe that Skytrex have no plans to reissue the figures. The Hinchliffe range could do with being taken on by someone else prepared to release the best of the figures.

Geoff
 
Thanks for sharing your experience . And , by the way , any idea of what happened to the Sanderson Molds from Greenwood & Balls ( Great remembering ) : the Press Gang, the ladies in 80mm, the WW2 German in 80mm the Lasset range .
Anything about Deauville Miniatures, Vaillant ?
I painted a lot of these in the 70ties but sold them to buy new models . When you are young , you don't think that there is a end to all things . Now I still have some in my stock but I miss lot of them . I have not painted since almost 25 years . Now I'm retiring from my job and begin to review my stock , buyng colors and brushes to " begin again " . I continued to buy new things during those years and have arround > 500 pieces 54mm and up plus an inheritance of almost 2000 25 / 30mm .
Best
 
The Sanderson moulds ex Greenwood & Ball were owned at one time by Rosedale who ceased trading several years ago and I think someone in Australia might have bought part or all of the business but not sure. They also had the X rated Rape of Tortuga Pirate range done by Cliff Sanderson for Monarch. The Lasset range has been out of production I think since the demise of Greenwood & Ball. As they were cast in a spread-eagled pose & factory animated, much as the early Tradition & Olive ranges, I can't see there being any appeal to the present market. Valiant figures do crop up frequently on ebay.com & I think are still in production.
Hope that helps

Geoff
 
I'd love to see the Hinchcliffe Gothic Knight return but would think the cost of metal wouldn't make it practicable price wise
 
The 75mm foot figures sculpted by Ray Lamb were sold off by Skytrex many years ago. They were being sold by Soldierpac until a few years ago when their business folded. I know that Skytrex are now very active in the model railway(railroad) market and I would guess they perceive no commercial reason to reissue the old Hinchliffe figures. Some of the figures must still be in demand given the prices some achieve in auction on ebay. Maybe Skytrex no longer know what they have?


Geoff
 
When soldierpac had the Phoenix Range, I know that got sold off to this company
http://www.forty-third.co.uk/index.htm but I dont see anything about any of the other ranges. It is a shame about Hinchcliffe, I was able to buy one of Zulu War series figures last year, I wish I had the forsight to see if the vendor had anymore at the time. I it still a nice figure, perhaps not Pegaso, but still nice.
 
This stuff is very interesting!... As I have a group of, 5, (75mm) Early 'French', line infantry! with choice of headgear etc. I bought these a few years ago, but without original box, and with no stands for the figures. However, there was two 'Hinchliffe', paint guides that matched the figures. How could I verify, that these are Hinchliffe. The castings are excellent. but what struck me was the detail on the equipment! I didn't mean to hijack this thread. sorry.!!! But their seems to be people in the know! Sorry, this should be a new thread, but cant find delete option.
 
There are none!....Thats whats really annoying.... Sorry all,.......... scrap it. Just found a matching figure. Confirming!!... Appologies, to 4TH Cuirassier.
 
Sometimes there's a number etc on the soles of the feet. Ray Lamb did sculpt 5 varied French Grenadiers for HM and they could be those. One standing at guard was sculpted with the bearskin attached, the other 4 were sculpted bare-headed to permit headgear variations; bearskin, bicorne or fatigue cap. These 4 were standing firing, kneeling firing, ramming musket and priming musket. A photo would certainly help.

Geoff
 

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