LILLIPUT LANE COTTAGES WEIGHT  CHART 1982-1985

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NOTES RELATING TO MATERIAL AND PAINT CHANGE 1985

The back stamps and versions are listed by combining the following publications-THE COMPLETE COLLECTORS GUIDE BY DAN KOMAR and THE POCKET GUIDE TO LILLIPUT LANE COTTAGES by VIV MARSTON and DON GIBSON, fifth  edition June 2006

The weights of the cottages should be recorded in grams, as this will provide a more accurate figure than ounces.

Do not be surprised if you have a piece which does not have the same back stamp as recorded in either of the above publications, please advise!

The same remarks apply to the title of the piece; for example I have a piece with the label as TINTAGEL POST OFFICE, not the usual Tintagel  The base labels come in many different colours and sizes, indeed shapes. In particular the early labels may be rubberstamped, in upper and lower case or any combination of this and even Italics. Print size and definition show many variations. Some early examples may even be handwritten. Whilst this is not part of my current research, it will be useful to have this for future research if undertaken. It is possible to photocopy or scan the base label. If you have any pieces not included in this current exercise which you feel is unusual and should be included, please advise, no matter how trivial it may appear.

April 1984, one would have expected this piece to appear in post 1985 paints and material, recent evidences show it comes with both pre and post 1985  paints and material.

When undertaking this review if you have the above publications it may be worth examining the number of window panes, particularly on the tiny series, such as Millers. These variations can occur on any side, I acknowledge that this may be difficult if you only have one example.

It may also be worth taking a close look at the paints to see how the colour ways compare, the paint chart issued with the Marston & Gibson book will be most valuable here.

If you have two or more examples of the same model, don’t be surprised if there is a difference, it does not mean that either model is suspect. The medium change is showing at present a 15/20% variation. It should also be remembered, that the bases in the early days were smoothed on a kind of belt sander. One machine operator may be more heavy-handed than another resulting in greater or smaller amounts of material being removed. Further it is also known that in the early days between 1982-1985, David Tate was experimenting with materials, in order to improve on definition and strength.

Following a few recent purchases from E-bay another problem area has arisen concerning the:-

LILLIPUT LANE BEIGE AND GREY DIPS FOR COTTAGES BETWEEN 1982-1985

Recent research as late as October 2005, has thrown yet another imponderable into the equation, please use the link above for full research to date. It has long been known that the early pieces from 1982/1985 were seen with different colour dips as shown in The Pocket Guide to Lilliput Lane Cottages, please use the links below.

As recently as April 2006, whilst restoring two early pieces, I noticed that the casting material on one was grey, whilst on the other it was beige. Subsequently I spoke with Viv Marston, co author of the Pocket Guide, who has learned that David Tate was not only experimenting with the casting material used, but also adding dips to the liquid prior to casting, which would be a plausible explanation for some dramatic colour changes I show on my we site.  As we know the early records concerning these questions are sketchy and we are very much reliant on the memories of those involved with the company at it embryo stage. I don't believe, that we will ever know which cottages were cast with dip added or which of those were dipped in what colour. So the research will go on , pieces will be added to the list below on there merits.

Naturally I will leave it to you the surfers to draw your own conclusions.

 

The following are shown in the PG with colour variations-which I now believe are the result of beige and grey dips:-

Anne Hathaway	Version 1-1 and 1-1C1.
Dove Cottage	Version 1-1.
Miners	Version 1-1.
Sussex Mill	Version 0-1 and 0-1C1.

My research suggest that the grey dip examples can be seen in the following:-

Acorn	Version 1-1.
April	Version 0-1.
April	Version 1-1.
Croft	Version 1982-1.
Coach House	Version 1-1.
Dale Farm	Version 1-1.
Dale House	Version 0-1.
Dove	Version 1-1.
Draper	Version 1-2.
Holly	Version 1-1.
Holly	Version 1982-1.
Honeysuckle	Version 1-1.
Old Post Office	Version 1-1.
Oak Lodge	Version 1982-1.*
Stone	Version 0-2.
Stone	Version 1-1.
Stone	Version 1982-1.
Sussex Mill	Version 1-1.
Troutbeck	Version 1983-1.
William Shakespeare	Version 1983-1.
William Shakespeare	Version 1984-1.
Woodcutter	Version 1-1.

*(double back stamp anomaly)

However in a number of cases sellers on E-bay could be forgiven, for selling, what they believe to be unpainted pieces, where in fact the pieces are either of grey dip or have been painted early in the day, before the paints become darker later in the day due to evaporation.

 I have also seen a grey dip Coopers, but was out bid on E-bay at the both time!

 

Please be aware that the secondary market value of your piece is not affected by this exercise. It may be however that with the passage of time and as Collectors become more aware of these changes in the early days of the Company, that an individual collector may look for particular weights/paints when building a collection.

I have shown the 1st Series, American Roadside, in bold italics, as it would almost be unobtainable for the Average Collector such as myself, to accumulate more than one example of each in the Series. Therefore as a practical exercise, I don't propose to include. In my opinion it will be impossible to compare versions in respect of weigh and paints. Given how strongly these are contested on E-bay, I believe that is would require substantial funding  to be able to complete one example of this 13 piece series.

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