Big Fellow and Long Fellow shrunk

I dare to say it. A Co Cork company has achieved what the might of the British Empire, possibly Lloyd George and a hail of republican bullets couldn't - bring Michael Collins down to size!

Fifty-four millimetres to be precise.

But before descendants of Collins's Civil War adversaries permit themselves a smug smile, they should realise his nemesis at the end, Dev, has also been whittled down to exactly the same 54 mms.

Not that being brought down to size is always a malign process - not at least when the miniature status is conferred by model-makers Prince August, which has recently added Clonakilty-born Collins to its popular "Irish Heroes" range.

Perhaps the most surprising feature of Prince August's story isn't its success - but rather from where it's been achieved - the small village of Kilnamartyra, set high in the fastnesses of the mid-Cork Muscrai.

The village, with its impressive church tower, is visible to the south from the main Cork-Killarney Road, but its remoteness ensured that in 1922, together with nearby Ballyvourney, it served as the last bastion of the republican government.

But back to Prince August. Although established in Sweden in 1958 by Jan Edman - father of the current owner, Lars - Prince August (named after a model train, its first product) moved to Kilnamartyra in 1976.

Everything is now run from the modern single-storey 550-sq metre factory right in the heart of the Gaeltacht village - Cill na Martra as Gaeilge - where Lars Edman employs some 15 people.

The range of models produced is surprising. Napoleon's Imperial Guard and members of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, the Black Watch, jostle on their shelves with figures such as Brian Boru, Daniel O'Connell and St Patrick.

The military range also includes model artillery such as Napoleon's eight-pounder Gribeauval cannon, but for those who like their miniatures more fantastical, Prince August also produces a range of figures from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.

"All our figures are carefully designed - our design team under Chris Tubbs spent two years working on Michael Collins, getting him right," says sales executive Marjorie Cullen, who suggested the Collins figures following Neil Jordan's movie.

The modelling process begins with a model made from miliput - a sort of fast-drying plasticine - from which tool-makers Dan Lucey and Dan Joe Kelleher make a bronze master figure which is used to make the vulcanised rubber mould.

According to Marjorie, sale of the moulds account for about 75 per cent of Prince August's business, with model-makers from Australia, the United States and Europe ordering the company's moulds to make their own models.

The models which are on sale at Prince August's visitor centre and shop take about 48 hours to make, with a hand-painted finish ensuring a quality model.

Prices range from £2.50 for a single figure to £250 for a full chess set.

"We have a number of chess sets - a Union and Confederate [American Civil War] one as well as an `Irish Legends' chess set which includes Cuchulainn, but our `Third Crusade with Richard the Lionheart and the Saracens' is our best-seller. It's a very dramatic set."

While the company relies on traditional skills that require a steady hand and keen eye, it isn't slow about using modern technology, including the Internet.

There is a new website to promote its products internationally.

"We only put the new website on Thursday and on Friday we had two emails from the US from collectors looking for the Michael Collins figure," said Marjorie.

She said most foreign customers are adult hobby collectors.

Marjorie hopes to see the Irish market grow. "We're averaging around 10,000 visitors a year, but we're hoping to expand next year to include small bus tours and school groups."