|
||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
As you may know, the history of the Robert Harrop Designs can be traced back to one particular character. Lord Laurence as he was known gave way to our waxed jacketed characters and was very definitely the patriarchal ancestor to the 200 plus Robert Harrop Designs dog characters that came after. The idea that was born on the cobbled stable yard of a 17th Century house which has housed, through the years, trades, professions and sports, weathered the advances of time and has now seen adventures into space. Our challenge now is to capture and remain true to the characters of our long history. Our creative standards will follow our one guiding light, which remains the design and creation of original ideas which, in turn, will become your treasured possessions. When we started the company, we came up with the Robert Harrop Designs motto "Originality by Design" because that best sums up what we are all about. We combine a love of animals with our artistic talents to produce one of the most popular and original collectable ranges of quality figurines available. You can easily see that our figurines have a character of their own. Attention to detail starts before we get to the modeller's wax. We research each subject for its quirks and character and see how best to produce it as a figurine. These details are brought out by the modeller in wax. Only when we are happy with the final model, is the modeller's initials added and we move to mould making. Every wax model is treated as new by the mould maker. The model is encased in a silicone rubber block for the first mould. Once this is carefully cut, the wax model is removed and destroyed. The master model is then cast from the block mould and any imperfections are remodelled. After the master is finally approved, we make production and working moulds for casting. We use a white ceramic resin which is designed to bring out every detail of the original design. Once the mould is cottled up, we pour the mix into the mould and leave it to cure. Any excess is drawn out of the mould in a vacuum chamber. The model is then carefully removed from the mould and if it passes muster, it is stored ready for fettling and allowed further time to complete cure. At this time the base of the casting is levelled. Fettling is a very skilled job which cleans up any out of place body or marks on each model. This can take some time until every model matches exactly the original design. At every stage, each model is stringently checked to meet our own exacting quality standards. Nothing but the best will do, not only for us, but for our growing band of collectors throughout the world. It is only after a figurine has passed the final scrutiny of the quality manager that the Robert Harrop label is applied. This is proof that we are proud to continue our tradition of craftsmanship in pursuit of creating Great Family Collectables. This tradition can only continue for as long as we enjoy the support of all our collectors world-wide. Therefore, may I express my thanks to all our friends and supporters. May you all continue to enjoy collecting Robert Harrop figurines and I hope your collection will enhance in value to match your enthusiasm. With thanks to you all. Robert Harrop |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Retired |