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| The
Hard To Get Pieces |
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 In 1988 two of the most famous David
Winter Cottages were released. They became famous for the same thing - their
rarity. But this rarity was caused for very different reasons:
The House That Jim Fixed was the very first
special limited edition and charity piece made and was created in response to a
request made via the BBC's "Jim'll Fix It" programme. This programme is where
the dreams of children, and some adults, are made to come true. Hosted by Jimmy
Saville this programme was extremely popular Saturday teatime viewing. It was
reliant on viewers writing into the show and in 1987 a 10 year old viewer wrote
in asking if her mother, Penny Jackman, could see how the David Winter Cottages
were made.
The Studios of John Hine Limited were more than happy to
oblige and so on the 27th February 1988 the BBC broadcasted an edition of
"Jim'll Fix It" which not only revealed the complete process from start to
finish but had David on television actually sculpturing Penny Jackman's own
home. Right at the end of this segment of the show it was revelled that there
would be a limited production of 250 pieces made and that all the proceeds
would be given to the rebuilding of London's Great Ormond Street Children's
Hospital. With such a small production run it was controlled carefully to
ensure that it was definitely 'first come first served', but the demand for
this piece far outstripped the number available and so its secondary market
value hit the roof. In this one exercise The Studios of John Hine Limited made
thousands of enemies and only two hundred and fifty friends. On a much happier
note during a later programme John Hine presented to Jimmy Saville a cheque for
£50,176.
The Grange however, has a much sadder
story. With David's talents expanding all the time with the demand for much
more varied and detailed pieces it was found the Crystacal was not versatile or
strong enough for some of the more delicate and detailed parts. White metal, a
form of lead alloy used in metal soldiers, was experimented with. A number of
cottages released during 1988 had these metal additions. Some just had lamp
posts or stair rails added in metal. However, two pieces relied heavily on
these metal additions - Cornish Engine House and The Grange.
It was The Grange though which caused the most grief
for both the production staff and collectors. It was found that Crystacal the
material used for the bulk of the piece shrank at slightly different amounts
during its production but the metal used for the balcony and staircase did not.
This meant that there was a large amount of wastage when the two parts were
found not to go together correctly. After a large price increase, which was
meant to help cover the extra production costs as well as deter some collectors
from wanting this piece, the demand for The Grange actually increased.
However, it was soon realised that it was still not financially viable to
continue producing this piece and so it was instantly retired in June 1989
leaving hundreds of unfulfilled orders. The result of this was frenzy amongst
collectors never seen before, or since, amongst those desperate to obtain one
and those who were willing to sell. Overnight the secondary market price for
this piece mushroomed making it virtually impossible, unless you had money to
burn, to obtain one. |
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