Imperial Productions (New Zealand)

Lore & Background

Imperial Productions, based in Greytown, New Zealand, has been making toy soldiers since 1982. The company produces 54mm cast pewter figurines, all hand-painted, mostly depicting British Army soldiers from the Napoleonic era through World War II, along with Māori figures and Victorian civilians.

The business was started by David Cowe. He grew up in Lower Hutt as the youngest of three boys, playing with pre-World War II lead toy soldiers passed down from his older brothers, which sparked his interest in model making and military history. After earning a diploma in graphic design, he moved to London in the 1960s to study at Saint Martin's School of Art. When he returned to New Zealand, he worked as a freelance illustrator, ran his own graphic design company, and taught at the Wellington School of Design. While living in Greytown with his three daughters, he saw an advertisement for toy soldiers in a UK magazine and decided to try making them himself.

Cowe began commercial casting in 1982. Five years later, in 1987, he opened a shop and showroom in a small building on McMaster Street, just off Greytown’s main street—a building that had originally been the town’s bootmaker’s shop. At first, sales were handled by telephone and mail order; today, most sales are online and international.

The soldiers are cast in lead-free pewter (tin) at 54mm, or 1:32 scale, the traditional size first used by W. Britain and European manufacturers in the 1800s. Masters are sculpted in resin, then a silicone rubber mould is made. A 97% tin alloy (with no lead) is heated to 280°C and poured into the mould. Since 1998, Cowe’s daughter Lisa Cowe-Kirk has painted the figures by hand using traditional gloss enamel colours.

The company produces over a thousand hand-cast and hand-painted figurines each year. The range covers British forces like the 1st Foot Guards, Coldstream Guards from the Crimean War, and the Camel Corps, dervishes, and Winston Churchill from the 1898 Battle of Omdurman. New Zealand subjects include Māori in traditional dress, the New Zealand Girls' Khaki Brigade, and Armed Constabulary from 1870. There are also Victorian civilian figures, such as women, children, and domestic animals.

Reader's Guide

Imperial Productions occupies a distinctive niche in the toy soldier hobby as a long-running New Zealand manufacturer producing traditional 54mm hand-painted pewter figures. The company's focus on British Army subjects from the Napoleonic period through World War II, alongside Māori and Victorian civilian figures, reflects founder David Cowe's interest in military history and his New Zealand heritage. The use of lead-free pewter and hand-painting in gloss enamel colours continues a 19th-century tradition established by manufacturers such as W. Britain. The company's production of more than 1000 figurines annually, combined with its shift from telephone and mail sales to online and international distribution, illustrates the adaptation of a small specialist manufacturer to changing markets. The involvement of Cowe's daughter Lisa Cowe-Kirk as the painter since 1998 represents a family continuity in the craft. The shop on McMaster Street, originally a bootmaker's, remains a physical presence in Greytown.

Did You Know?

• Imperial Productions was founded by David Cowe in 1982 in Greytown, New Zealand.
• The figurines are cast in lead-free pewter (97% tin) at 54 mm (1:32 scale).
• The company's shop on McMaster Street was originally the Greytown bootmaker's shop.