Swivel & Swop books are now in production. Soft sales-launch on June 5-15 with official Kick-off on July 4th.

Britains Swoppet Collecting Guides by Ed Poole

Swords and Roses --- Swivel and Swop

Britains Swoppet Collecting Guides

SwivelAndSwop.com (aka, SwordsAndRosesBook.com) provides a sales point for Swoppet collecting guides written by Ed Poole - Swords and Roses (2022), and new in 2026, Swivel and Swop. Information on both guides is available to help decide if they are right for you. Visit the Book Store for how to purchase. This is the author's site and offers the lowest prices available on new books.

The site also provides a Photo Gallery from the author's collection - many of the photos are seen in the books. Lastly, the site includes a Figures for Sale page for those interested in adding some figures to your collection.

Books available now on this site

Focused coverage of the Swoppet Knights. Covers several topics common to all Swoppet series (e.g. - cleaning, swopping tips, conversions, competitor figures inspired by Britains Swoppets).
All standard figures and parts documented.
See more details on the Swords and Roses page.
The book was first introduced in 2022 and has been reviewed by several toy soldier publications. Click the link below.
Limited remaining supply! Buy while you can!

Read Book Reviews

Official Sales Kick-off on July 4, 2026

Detailed coverage of non-medieval Swoppet ranges - Wild West, Modern British Infantry, American War of Independence, and American Civil War.
Includes a supplement chapter to Swords and Roses with additional photos of knight figures and sets.
Appendixes on Swoppet Masters and French Swoppets.
See more details on the Swivel and Swop page.
No book reviews yet, but click the link below to see the foreword.

Read Foreword by Peter Cole

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Examples from the three original Swoppet series introduced in the late 1950's - Knights, Indians, and Cowboys.

Two Books - One Story

Swords and Roses and Swivel and Swop combine to provide documentation and the story of the Britains Swoppet line of toy soldiers produced in England from 1958-1972. Nestled between the end of the hollow-cast era and the dawn of the PVC plastic era, the Swoppets were transformational. Made primarily of polythene plastic, the Swoppets introduced creative poses with detailed features rarely seen in previous metal figures. They were constructed with multiple separately-molded parts that could be twisted into different poses; these same parts could be disassembled and traded with other figures for even more poses. They were colorful and attractive to kids - who couldn't get enough of them.

Swoppets rocked the toy business early in the plastics era - the beautifully designed figures offered huge quantities of play value with their 'swivel and swop' features. To this day, the line remains an outstanding example of what can be produced in plastic when great design and skillful engineering are combined. A great gap-filler for generalist collectors unfamiliar with the transition to plastic!

So, What's a Swoppet?

Swoppets were conceived by toymaker Roy Selwyn-Smith in the mid-1950's with an underlying desire to create a twistable toy soldier design that enables a single figure to adopt different realistic poses - essentially a forerunner to modern twistable 'action figures'.

Swords and Roses and Swivel and Swop discuss the creative elements that went into the original design and changes over time. Suffice it to say that the result was a multi-component design combining the artistic sculpting and design by Selwyn-Smith and his team, the ability of body components to twist (i.e., swivel), the addition of complementing plug-in equipment and accoutrements, and splashes of color with different plastics and paint. To top things off, the body components and equipment could be detached and traded onto other figures (i.e., swop).

The figures were unique, they were colorful, they inspired creativity, and they were super-fun. The three original series were blockbusters and ran the entire course of the line. But that wasn't the end of the story. Six additional multi-component series followed that broadened the historical settings and prompted an evolution in Swoppet design. This evolution is part of the story conveyed in Swivel and Swop.

At their core, Swords and Roses and Swivel and Swop are documentation guides with heavy doses of color photography showing factory-standard figures, the many equipment variations, and, where appropriate, standard component pairings and paint schemes. Both books are liberally seasoned with images of catalogue pages, boxed sets, and accessories - discussions of such things as how the figures relate historically, rarities, hybrids, the aforementioned evolution of Swoppet design, and every once in a while a "Swoppet Mystery" - an issue muddled by the passage of time that has collectors scratching their heads.

Documentation of Factory-Standard Figures

With all the swopping that has taken place over the past 55+ years, how do you know what the standard figures were for each series? Catalogues are helpful, but offer little detail. The Guides leverage boxed sets and other resources to corroborate the figures and color variations that were sold.
This approach was most important for the Cowboys (first series) and Indians because of changes in color pairings and paint schemes that occurred during production. Swivel and Swop makes sense of it to provide detailed guidance of what variations were available during three different periods - great information if you desire to collect the standard issues. And if you want to identify rarities, it sure helps to understand what standard looks like. Rarities are discussed for each series with many photos provided to help with your search.
These issues contribute to Swords and Roses and Swivel and Swop being valuable documentation and reference resources for Swoppet collectors.

Questions?

Contact SwordsAndRosesBook@gmail.com to get more information on either book.

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