Britains Ltd set of hunting figures 'The Meet' consisting of standing riders with their horses and dogs either lying down or sitting. Britains also made another set of figures, the 'Full cry', with all figures on galloping horses and with running hounds and fox. The company produced these in 1926 and they proved very popular. The figures could be bought as a set or individually. With some variation the hunting figures remained in production until 1966.

William Britain began his company in 1845. His family of five sons all helped in the business and initially they produced mechanical toys. Then in the 1890s William Britain junior developed a method of producing miniature hollow-cast figures. The company produced toy soldiers to a high degree of accuracy; all were hand-painted to obtain the detail. Following World War One, Britains began the manufacture of 'peace toys': farm sets, zoo figures, circus sets and the hunting figures. Some were more successful than others. Model soldiers remained a mainstay of the company.

Fawdry, Marguerite. British tin toys: including an A-Z of British metal toy makers, London: New Cavendish Books, 1990

Gardiner, Gordon. The all-colour directory of metal toys: a pictorial guide to the art of collecting international playthings, Sydney: Lansdowne, c1984

King, Constance Eileen. The encyclopedia of toys, Adelaide : Rigby, 1978

Opie, James. Britains toy soldiers, 1893-1932, London: V. Gollancz, 1985

Hampshire Museums Service: Childhood collection. A brief history of toys. Models and miniature toys

Powerhouse Museum Collection: search for 'Britains toy figures'

Victoria and Albert Museum: Museum of Childhood. Collections: Toys: Toy manufacturers. Britains

W. Britain: the history