Cotswold got started in the mid 1980's as an antique auction in Seattle, importing fine British antiques (hence, our name . . . As you might guess, it wasn't a straight path from armoires and dining tables to specializing in 12 inch action figures. But by 1989 we had branched out into lots of English collectibles including Action Man (the brand name for GI Joe in England), and we sent out a sales
list of vintage Joe parts we'd found in a warehouse in Uruguay (true story). Our GI Joe/Action Figure mail order service for collectors was born! We were knee-deep in the US Vintage Joe as well as Action Man and began manufacturing replacement parts and figures to complete and use all of the vintage gear that was around. We named our line The Elite Brigade. Before long we started to expand on Joe's legacy, adding additional uniforms and periods of history and expanding the hobby past vintage Joe. By the late nineties several other large manufacturers joined us and together the 12" figure hobby that spans interests from the earlier 60's figures right up to the most incredibly detailed figures we see today, evolved. Today there's not a stick of antique furniture to be seen anywhere in our business and we've dedicated ourselves entirely to the creative fun of the 12" action figure hobby. Military figures form the core of what we do . . . but following our customers' creative leads . . . we offer all kinds of 12" figures . . . to collect complete in their boxes, to display or to "morph" into whole new combinations. Our headquarters is north of Seattle on beautiful Whidbey Island, one of the larger islands in the Puget Sound. We have a friendly, helpful staff and enjoy being a person-to-person business, so call when you have questions or need help.
