Timpo

Timpo Toys Ltd. was a British toy manufacturer established in 1938 by Salomon “Sally” Gawrylovitz, a Jewish refugee from Germany who was also known as Ally Gee. The company began under the name Toy Importers Company, from which the abbreviated name TIMPO was derived. Its early production included toys made from wood, bakelite, and composition, reflecting the diverse materials used by British toy manufacturers before and during the Second World War. After the war, Timpo developed a stronger identity in the figure and toy-soldier market. It produced hollowcast metal toy soldiers, a format associated with mid-century collecting and children’s play. In 1954, the company shifted its soldiers into plastic production. This change allowed Timpo to create lighter, more detailed, and more varied figures while supporting larger thematic ranges and interchangeable components. Plastic production became central to the company’s later identity and to its lasting reputation among collectors. Timpo’s assortment covered historical, military, frontier, and fantasy subjects. Its American frontier range was one of the principal pillars of the business and included cowboys, Native Americans, Apache figures, Union Army soldiers, Confederate States Army soldiers, and Mexican figures. The company also developed an extensive knight and medieval range, including Crusaders and several generations or sub-series of medieval figures such as Vizor, Gold, Silver, and Black Knights. Other documented subjects included Romans, Vikings, Arabs, the French Foreign Legion, the American Revolutionary War, Inuit figures, World War II, farm figures, and guards. The company’s practice of revising and expanding ranges over time means that collectors often classify certain subjects by production generation. The cowboy range, for example, is described as having four generations. This evolutionary approach gave Timpo’s products a broad visual and historical variety, while also making mold variations and production changes significant to later collectors. Timpo ceased operations in 1978. Although the business no longer operates, its figures remain part of the specialist market for vintage toy soldiers and historical plastic figures. The company is particularly associated with British postwar toy manufacturing, the transition from metal to plastic figures, and highly recognizable series depicting the American frontier and medieval knights. Its production history has been documented in specialist collecting publications and in broader histories of the British toy industry.

Timpo originated in Britain in 1938 as the Toy Importers Company, commonly abbreviated as TIMPO. It was founded by Salomon “Sally” Gawrylovitz, a Jewish refugee from Germany who later became associated with the Timpo name and was also known as Ally Gee. The company’s first products were made from wood, bakelite, and composition. These materials were used until the end of the Second World War and place Timpo within the broader tradition of early British toy manufacturing, when companies often worked across several materials and product categories. In the postwar period, Timpo concentrated increasingly on toy soldiers and related figures. It produced hollowcast metal soldiers, continuing a format that had been important in the toy-soldier trade. In 1954, Timpo began producing soldiers in plastic. The move was commercially and technically important: plastic enabled lighter products, more extensive sculptural variation, and the creation of larger themed figure families. Timpo’s later reputation is therefore closely linked to its plastic figures rather than only to its earlier metal output. The company developed a wide portfolio of historical and adventure subjects. Its American frontier products included cowboys, Native Americans, Apache figures, Union and Confederate soldiers, and Mexican figures. A substantial knight range included Crusaders and medieval figures, later organized by collectors into categories such as Vizor, Gold, Silver, and Black Knights. Additional ranges represented Romans, Vikings, Arabs, the French Foreign Legion, the American Revolutionary War, Inuit subjects, World War II, farms, and guards. Timpo continued to revise its ranges during production. Some subjects are consequently divided into multiple generations, with the cowboy range identified as having four generations. Such changes made the assortment more varied but also created distinctions that are important to collectors attempting to identify particular molds, poses, accessories, or production periods. The company ceased operations in 1978. No successor corporate structure or continuing official brand operation is identified in the supplied reference material. Timpo nevertheless retains a presence in the vintage toy and specialist collecting communities. Its historical importance derives from its contribution to British toy production, its transition from hollowcast metal to plastic figures, and its extensive lines of frontier, military, medieval, and historical characters. The company has been covered both in general histories of the British toy business and in specialist publications devoted to Timpo collecting.

1. 1978Operations cease

   Timpo ceased operations after four decades of toy manufacturing.

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2. 1954Plastic toy-soldier production introduced

   Timpo moved its soldier production into plastic, establishing the material associated with many of its best-known later figures.

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3. 1945Prewar material production period ends

   The company’s production of toys in wood, bakelite, and composition continued until the end of the Second World War.

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4. 1938Toy Importers Company established

   Salomon “Sally” Gawrylovitz founded the British company known as the Toy Importers Company, using the abbreviation TIMPO.

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5. 1938Early multi-material toy production begins

   Timpo produced toys from wood, bakelite, and composition during its early period.

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Timpo positioned its products as collectible and playable historical, military, frontier, and fantasy figures. Its later identity rested on broad themed series, recognizable character types, and the flexibility of plastic production.

• American frontier seriesHistorical and adventure figurines

  The American frontier range was one of Timpo’s core product families. It covered the frontier setting through several related groups, including cowboys, Native Americans, Apache figures, Union Army soldiers, Confederate States Army soldiers, and Mexican figures. The range was produced in multiple generations, particularly the cowboy figures, making variations in poses and production details relevant to collectors.

• Knight seriesMedieval and fantasy figurines

  Timpo’s knight products formed another major pillar of its assortment. The broader family included Crusaders and medieval knights, with collector classifications such as Vizor, Gold, Silver, and Black Knights. These figures extended the company’s historical range into medieval subjects and were produced as part of its later plastic-figure business.

• Other historical and thematic seriesHistorical, military, and everyday-life figurines

  Beyond the frontier and knight ranges, Timpo produced figures representing Romans, Vikings, Arabs, the French Foreign Legion, the American Revolutionary War, Inuit subjects, World War II, farms, and guards. These series demonstrate the breadth of the company’s subject coverage and its use of plastic figures for both historical and noncombat themes.

• Hollowcast metal toy soldiersMetal toy soldiers

  After the Second World War, Timpo manufactured hollowcast metal toy soldiers. This production preceded the company’s 1954 transition to plastic and represents an important phase in its development as a toy-soldier manufacturer.

• 1954Shift from metal to plastic soldiersStrategy

  Timpo had produced hollowcast metal toy soldiers in the postwar period, but the company subsequently adopted plastic for soldier production.

  What changed. The company began manufacturing its soldiers in plastic, supporting broader and more varied figure series.

  Aftermath. Plastic became central to Timpo’s later identity and to its extensive frontier, knight, military, and historical ranges.

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1. Timpo
2. The British Toy Business: A History since 1700
3. The A to Z of TIMPO