Britains

Established by William Britain in 1845 in Hornsey, London. One of William's sons developed the art of producing lead figures for which the company became famed with its wide range of military models and farm animals and motorised transport was included in the range (in the chosen scale of 1/32nd) to complement these. An '00' gauge range was also developed, under the name of W Horton Ltd, known as Britains Liliput, and was intended to complement Trix Twin model railways.

More recently Britains' has concentrated on its military and agricultural models. In 1987, as part of the Dobson Industries Group, the name was changed to Britains-Petite, revealing the association with Petite Typewriters. The brand is now owned by Ertl, which uses the Britains' name for its collectables ranges.