----- Original Message -----

From: Peter Towler

To: britains_floral_garden@...

Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:40 PM

Subject: [britains_floral_garden] Contact with Britains!!

HI all

 

see http://www.wbritain.com/  I wrote to First Gear ( the current owners of the "Britains" name). The reply and original message are below.

 

To summarise ;

 

• The original Floral Garden moulds no longer exist.
• They gave me a contact name in the UK who might have some very useful info about the range
• Britains are incorporating a garden in a forthcoming civilian model range (but not like the Floral Garden builder system)
• They have already launched a female range of civilian ladies called Petticoats

So there it is. No chance to resurrect the originals. However I will call the person they gave me and hopefully he will be able to add information to the group files. ( I xxx'd out his details as I don't have his permission to post them) Maybe he has some of the box sets?....

 

 

Peter

 

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For info;

 

Reply from First-Gear:

===============

 

Dear Mr Towler

 

Thank you for your enquiry with regards to the Britains Floral garden.  Unfortunately the moulds for this range no longer exist and we know this because we were looking into re-doing the range.  However what we are planning is a new civilian range which will include a garden.

 

With regards to your query about filling in some gaps the best person I can direct you to is XXXXX. He is a Britains expert and has the full garden himself in his collection and is more then willing to help your group on any information you may need, you can contact him on XXXXXXXXX he is expecting your call.

 

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Original message to First Gear

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Dear Sirs
 
The ownership of "Britains" seems to have gone through so many loops that I wonder if my question is answerable. However your website gives me hope when it quotes 'The brand now seems to have gone full circle, as what was once started as a small family business is now once again owned by a small family business'.
  
Since the ownership is now more 'personal' I wonder if you or anyone else there at First Gear have the ability or the interest to find out if you possess information relating to Floral Garden? Hope-of-all-impossible hopes, is that the moulds will still exist somewhere. I highly doubt it, having last been used overseas in Herald making the last of the Floral Garden range and the 'Lucy's Garden' last-gasp of the product's manufacturing life.  However you might be aware that the Airfix company has successfully recovered moulds created in the 1940s and 1950s and returned them to the UK! So it's not impossible thta Britains' old moulds still exist.
 
However, more realistically, I would be interested to hear about any information at all you have within the Company relating to 'Britains Floral Garden'. You might consider joining the above group and seeing if you can assist in plugging gaps in our archive. It is a small group. You would be most welcome even as non-contributing or anonymous observers.  
 
 
Looking forward to your reply...
 
Peter Towler
Wickford, Essex, UK (nr London)