Swivel and Swop, Collecting Guide for Britains Swoppet Figures
Swivel & Swop books are now in production. Soft sales-launch on June 5-15 with official Kick-off on July 4th.
Swivel and Swop, Collecting Guide for Britains Swoppet Figures
Swivel and Swop is now in production. Look for the book on this site and Herald Toys & Models
290 pages with 1,095 illustrations.
Primarily produced with a soft cover 'Perfect Bind' to minimize sales price.
A limited number of hard cover 'Cased Bind' books (like Swords and Roses) are also available. Order ASAP if you want one of these.
Swivel and Swop is essentially ‘Volume 2’ of collecting guidance covering the Britains Swoppet line produced from 1958-1972. The first book, Swords and Roses, covered the Swoppet Knights and some general Swoppet topics. Swivel and Swop stands on its own with full coverage of the other four Swoppet ranges (encompassing eight series). Focus is on color photo documentation of figures, parts, and paint schemes, as well as discussion of rarities, oddities, and other topics that make collecting Swoppets fun and interesting. This level of documentation is not repeated in this book for the Swoppet Knights, but the book does include a supplement to Swords and Roses where more information and photos of the knights are presented.
The book uses photos from the author's collection and many volunteered by others. Content was peer reviewed and enhanced by other collectors.
Swivel and Swop is a good read for generalist collectors or die-hard Swoppet enthusiasts looking for a glimpse at rare items or new insights on their favorite toy figures.
Range and Series Coverage for Swivel and Swop:
Wild West Range - Cowboys (first and second series), Indians series
Infantry in Action Range - Modern British Infantry series (post WWII)
American War of Independence Range - American and British series
American Civil War Range - Federal and Confederate infantry series
In addition - Supplement chapter to Swords and Roses, and appendixes on Swoppet Masters and French Swoppets
Each range/series is covered in a systematic format to cover the big picture, details of the figures, and interesting issues. A commonality throughout is a heavy dosage of color photos of figures, boxed sets, and catalogue images for documentation and interest.
Series Overviews provide such things as historical backdrop, common threads that run through the series, and any changes in design versus preceding Swoppet series.
Spotlight on the Figures - A focused look at each individual figure.
Component Descriptions - Documentation and discussion of all body components (head, torso, lower body) and equipment variations.
Standard Pairings and Paint Schemes - Each Swoppet series had unique protocols for plastic component colors and paint schemes that helped define the 'factory standard' figures that were marketed from 1958-72. This is pretty straight-forward for most series, but quite complex for the original Cowboys and Indians series. Swivel and Swop provides pairings and paint schemes for each figure in these series for three distinct periods during production. So, what's the big deal? 1) If you want to collect the factory-standard figures, an understanding of the pairings and paint schemes is necessary, and 2) a good understanding of the factory-standard offerings is very desirable for spotting rarities.
Rarities - Well known and obscure rarities are discussed and illustrated. This includes boxed sets and peripheral items such as show stands and masters.
Swopping and Hybrid Figures - Hybrid examples are shown for each series along with swopping insights (e.g., degree of difficulty).
Accessories that accompanied the figures in Britains catalogues are documented and woven into discussions of each series.
Swoppet Mysteries are intermingled throughout. These sidebars are used to drill down on 'head scratching' anomalies or issues that collectors may have been wondering about for decades.
Contact SwordsAndRosesBook@gmail.com to get more information on either book.
Copyright © 2026 by Edward Stephen Poole. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.