Roy Selwyn-Smith (22 September 1923 in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

– 16 June 2006), was well known as a sculptor of English

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

figures and

toy soldiers A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve ...

. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

service as a merchant navy radio operator in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, Selwyn-Smith joined Myer Zang's Modern Packages where he learned sculpting and plastic moulding from 1947 to 1949. He then joined Willmore & Sons that made moulds for lead

hollow cast Permanent mold casting is a metal casting process that employs reusable molds ("permanent molds"), usually made from metal. The most common process uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A variation on the ...

figures for

Timpo Timpo Toys Ltd. was a British toy company created in 1938 by Salomon "Sally" Gawrylovitz (born in Frankfurt 1907, died September 28, 2000 in Zug, Switzerland), also known as Ally Gee. History A Jewish refugee from Germany, Gawrylovitz starte ...

. Selwyn-Smith used his wife Mary as a model for a figure of a woman leaning against her suitcase. In 1951 Selwyn-Smith formed Selwyn until his backer committed suicide and the moulds were sold to W. Britain. Returning to Zang, he developed the

Herald Miniatures A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

plastic figures with Zang that Britains distributed from 1954 until the firm was purchased by Britains in 1959. Selwyn-Smith also developed Britains Swoppets where figures could be assembled and combined with pieces of different coloured plastic to form a variety of poses that was patented in 1956.Improvements in or relating to model figures – Patent Review GB19560014389 19560509
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selwyn-Smith, Roy Model manufacturers of the United Kingdom 1923 births 2006 deaths British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II