A short history of Tradition of London

Most military history addicts can trace their enthusiasm to an early exposure to the cut and dash of a military uniform, or the pipes and drums, the rebel yell or the passing of a spitfire at speed. This is what initially captivates most military fans and ignites the spark of interest that then spreads into obsession. Steve Hare and his company Tradition cater for this basic instinct by producing a huge range of collectible figures and kits depicting that very dash and splendour.

Steve Hare, the General manager, explains some of the history behind the company. Tradition started as a company back in the early fifties, when it was called Norman Newton Ltd. Charles Stadden Miniatures. This was a company formed by Roy Maitland and Charles C Stadden and produced purely hand made collectors figures. Apart from toy soldiers likes Britains and those like them, there wasnt anything else available until the sixties when more people became interested and the war-gaming side began to emerge. In the sixties, we got into 25mm and 30mm again, mainly made by

One of the famous events in British military history. Sergeant Ewart of the 2nd Royal North British Dragoons, or Scots Greys, wrestlers the eagle of the 45th Invincible from its standard bearer during the Union Brigade Charge at Waterloo. The eagle is displayed in the regimental museum at Edinburgh Castle. The figures are from Traditions 54mm range.

How tall is that man

War gamers frequently complain when the 15mm or 25mm figures that they purchase make the rest of the army look like dwarfs or giants. This problem becomes more acute when the figures in question cannot be lost on a battlefield with a thousand others but are displayed and studied in great detail after being lovingly painted. Steve explains that although 54mm and 90mm are recognised sizes, the scale used can be rather misleading. 54mm is a standard size, which most manufactures go for. 90mm is a size that started back in the sixties and is done by quite a few manufactures although there tends to be different interpretations on 90mm from these different manufactures so some figures tend to look like they are 6 foot six whilst the other figure looks like has only five foot. This problem is heightened by the differing national traits and historical characteristics of the figures represented, especially when the figures are displayed close to one another. After all, the

Four Murats

There certainly is no shortage in the range as a quick glance through Traditions catalogue soon reveals a vast selection of figures and characters from the worlds military past. The 90mm range includes no less than four figures depicting Marshal Murat, along with most of the Marshals and famous generals from Napoleons army. British, Prussian, Russian and Bavarians also figure prominently and are well represented. The ranges of medieval knights are perhaps the most stunning and give the greatest opportunity for weeks to be spent meticulously emblazoning the figures

Eager to impress. This 54mm Napoleonic Recruiting Sergeant was made especially for the National Army Museum in Chelsea.

Stadden but then we started making kits and 90mm and in the last fifteen years or so we have been making toy soldiers as well. These are the toy soldiers in the traditional style and so we have really gone through the full range of military figures. We used to publish a magazine called Tradition witch really was the first real model and uniform magazine in English. When the editor, Colonel Nicholson, retired in the mid seventies we didnt have anyone to replace him as it was really a hobby magazine run by enthusiasts. Steve himself began as a military collector. Like most kids I did a paper round and then from the money I got from that I d cycle up to a shop that used to have literally buckets of swords and a couple of weeks money would buy a cheap one. Once you had bought enough of those and sold them on you could get a better one. I tended to put all my money into that. I suppose like most kids you are given a couple of medals or badges and it grows from there. I started painting plastic, very cheap figures, and then in the early seventies I got into the market as a painter and then I helped out on Saturdays in a shop in Camden Passage and from there I was offered a full time job. I have been with Tradition for about twenty five years now. I came in doing the Militaria first and then

average Roman legionnaire from two thousand years ago was undoubtedly shorter than the Grenadier Guard of today and if one manufacturer makes short Roman whilst another makes a tall guardsman the result can make the claimed scale seem far fetched at the least.

Tradition of London did produce war gaming figures but these were sold to Tradition Scandinavia some years ago. Tradition 25mm and Tradition 30mm, Tradition Scandinavia carries some more brands of 30mm, 54mm, 90mm and Ladies.

As Steve points out, the main thrust of their business comes from the 54mm and toy soldier area. We find now that amongst other things that we used to sell were old figures, Britains and so forth, that were made pre war and to a certain extent post war, they became very expensive and so modern style toy soldiers came along. We werent the first to make them but we have been doing it for nearly twenty years now. They are 54mm, hand painted in gloss and boxed, but you

with accurate heraldic designs. The 54mm range includes a similarly comprehensive listing with just about every period being covered and the Napoleonic in particular being well thought out. For the diorama rather than presentation style collector Tradition has created several ranges that delight including The Retreat to Corunna, three 1812 sets The Retreat from Moscow, The Burning of the Eagles, The Rearguard and The spoils of War, a depiction of levity during the
Peninsular War.

The Toy soldiers are equally well developed, including the inescapable Sharpes Rifles with

figures second, but now the Militaria side has been virtually closed down. The development of Tradition of London is a good indicator of its resilience and of the wide range of product that appeals to the military enthusiast. As Steve explains, the name Tradition and the willingness to try most areas of the hobby have kept the company in the fore. The name Tradition came from the magazine, and then we called the whole range Tradition, because everybody knew us as Tradition. We started out doing figures and then militaria, everything from complete uniforms, swords and helmets all originals. Really we did everything pre 1914 but we got out of that mainly because in the sixties that sort of thing was quite easy to buy and replace but by the mid eighties the stock just dried up basically you had to wait until someone died and a big collection came up again. Also the prices started to become silly and there was a growing market for Nazi and Third Reich material, which we never bothered with. The company then began to specialise more in the figures and I think that tastes have changed. There is far more variety for the collector now then then and so you give them more choice. However I must say that some of the figures that we produce that are the most popular in the range are the same characters and ideas from thirty years ago.

can buy them as kits. These have gone into completely new market that is very big. If you go across a customer base you have several sections war gamers, hobbyists who buy unpainted figures, collectors of painted figures, who either cant paint, don't have the time or so forth, and those who collect toy soldiers for nostalgia. Most collectors tend to be thirty five plus and as well as collecting books, prints and so on, you get very few people who collect all four types. Toy soldiers tend to be collected an not used for war games, how ever the 54mm are often bought as kits and painted up for use in skirmish war games as they are a good size for that so there is a sort of overlap there. Tradition dies not just supply the individual as Steve explains. Because we are a manufacturer we supply lots of different institutions such as museums, and some regiments althoughnot so much of the latter these days. We supply the National Army Museum, the Naval Museum at Greenwich, the Mary Rose and others. They couldn't possibly take the whole range and so they take a proportion that relates to their speciality.

Harper, the Chosen men and Sharpes Eagle as well as the wretched balding figure of Sergeant Hawkswill. As Steve explains, this latter range of toy soldier has become the most popular The toy soldier area is, by way of turnover, getting on for fiftyper cent of our business, because it seems to be fashionable at the moment. A couple of years ago it wasnt and it properly wont be in the future but it tends to go up and down. We have the largest range of figures in the world, although there are some things that we haven t done. We have been asked in the past to make Hitler and so forth, which we never have, but times have changed and so we have made a world War two range.

The debate over what to make leads on to the decision over what to make the figures out of. Tradition has always made their figures out of metal, as Steve illustrates Whatever size, we have always made our figures from white metal. There are lots of newer companies that make their figures out of resin or out of a mixture of resin and metal. It works on the hobby side of it because you can make a bigger figure and if the figure gets too big and is made out of metal it becomes awkward and heavy to hold and paint. The problem is that when the model is completed and is finished painted item the metal figure will always sell before a resin one because the value is in the feel of the item. The weight value seems a very important factor although there is some very fine resin figures made. The other point is that resin is a horrible substance particularly when it has to be cut and sawed. A Lot of our painters won t even touch the resin figures on the market for this reason.

We tend to use three or four types of white metal which is tin based. The masters are some carved in metal and some in epoxy resin. The moulds are made out of rubber and the figures, except a few, are cast by centrifugal machine. The figures are actually spun. The mould is a circular mould of varying size and the figures is impressed into the mould under considerable pressure. If you did that procedure with a resin figure you would probably snap the master, but the metal is stronger. You can then cast anything extra. If the master figure was produced with outstretched arms that couldn t be cast in a mould in one piece then you would literally cut the arms off, put the pegs in, or whatever fixing you need so that the master figure then fits together as a kit. You can then make the moulds for each part of the kit. This means that swords, packs and so on forth can be created as needed. Painting depends primarily on the quality required, and Tradition has several standards.

A normal commercial 54mm or 90mm painted figure is hand painted in matt enamels and a painter can do about fifteen to twenty figures in a full week but that is fast going. One connoisseur standard figure of the same size could easily take thirty or forty hours or more  Obviously, a collector at home would take much longer, but that is a lot of enjoyment of collecting.

With such a vast range, the choice of where to begin collecting seems daunting. Steve has a few personal favourites and he tends to prefer the diorama rather than the single figures. I tend to be a bit of a tradionalist and like the 54mm range. I like to see figures interacting with each other. You can have a little group, not necessarily a battle scene although we have made several of those. The group of figures complement each other and says far more than the individual figures displayed on their own. At the end of the day s it s up to the individual collector and that s way it should be.