It would not be until 1893 that the British ventured into the model soldier business, and then in a way that turned the existing market on its ear. An English manufacturer of mechanical toys, aptly named William Britain, took a look at the market and decided it was time to compete with the mainland. His idea was to produce fully-rounded figures, but at far less cost than his rivals across the channel, thereby undercutting the French fully-round market and overshadowing the German flats market altogether. He did so by producing hollow figures.

His "Britains," as they became known, were all standardized at 54 millimeters high (1/32nd scale) and were hollow-cast from a thin lead alloy. Comprised almost exclusively of British units, his figures covered a very wide range of regiments and were extremely accurate in detail and painting. Britain was a good businessman and was constantly aware of changes in the expectations of his customers. A stickler for detail, he would often revise his products during a run and release them to the market as soon as they were available. A good example is something as seemingly insignificant as the tails on the first version of the Camel Corps mounts. Originally just made of wire, his second version had detailed tails made of lead. Thus, with the arrival of Britains, the tin soldier consumer market now offered it all!