This is my remaining original copy of the Hinton Hunt price list and I think it dates from around 1973/74. I don’t know for sure as there is no date printed on it but that was about the last time I ordered any figures direct from Hinton Hunt so I’m probably right. If you click on the image it should become big enough to read properly.Hinton Hunt Figures were never the cheapest option for building a wargame army and their mail order service was not particularly fast when compared to contemporaries like Minifigs. However to me they were the figures to have because they were the ones featured in Miniature Warfare magazine and the ones that Callan used. The problem was that you had to order over 150 figures to get the best price (6p infantry, 12p cavalry) and that was a lot of pocket money but it did make for an exciting package when they finally arrived.
The figures could also be bought ready painted (25p infantry, 50p cavalry) although that was way beyond my pocket as a kid but I dreamed of being able to order complete ready painted armies. Since then, having heard various tales about the quality of the paint job, I can see that perhaps I might have been disappointed on that score.
4 comments:
Amazing that you still have that list Ian. Probably 'run off' on one of those old Gestetner machines with the handle on the side, right messy old inky job, I'm surprised that HH did not pay to have them properly typeset in lead - would have seemed more appropriate!! (Sorry Ian, just that I spent 30 years in the printing trade and I get a bit Geeky about such things). I'm wondering how the price compares against the cost of figures today? Lovely to see that, thanks for posting it.
Cheers,
Lee.
Hi Lee - the entire catalogue is printed in the same way so it must have been quite a job. If you assume that a genuine vintage 1973 HH foot casting is worth about £4 now that represents an increase in value of 6,700%. Not bad when you consider that the rate of inflation over that period is only about 450%. Certainly better than my rubbish pension fund anyway!
Ian
Cynthia ran all the lists and catalogues off on the banda duplicator She typed a skin that went over the ink soaked pad and then turned them out, page after page which she collated. most inefficient.
As to quality sculpts. well in some ways the figures got better, but the most crucial factor in getting a good figure or not was whether Marcus hinton lovede that figure or not. The Dutch are late and they are Ok, but not better than the first British. For some reason there was no really good 1815 French fusilier. Plus there was never a French fusilier in Greatcoat despite their being grenadiers and voltigeurs. a sad omission.
Roy
Hinton Hunts were always a dear do.I remember buying my first Polish napoleonic infantry at 1s 10d a pop. In new money, beer averaged c15p a pint in the students union 1972-5 and I lived comfortably on 5 quid a week, so I reckon that works out at nearly 2 pounds a figure adjusted for today's BPI (Beer Price Index).
Andy Callan
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