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The Aardman Classics stamp issue, released on October 19, is a celebration of the creative genius of British film studio Aardman Animations, which has been crafting beautifully detailed and humorous films in its instantly recognisable stop-motion style for almost half a century.

Eight stamps illustrate a selection of its most popular characters, while a miniature sheet of four showcases stories featuring their most famous duo, Wallace and Gromit.

Aardman was co-founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who were friends at school. Their first films were animated on the Sproxtonsʼ kitchen table, and they were still teenagers when one was shown on BBC television.

They developed their first clay character, Morph, for the BBC art show Take Hart, and recruited Nick Park after he had created Wallace and Gromit.

The combination went from strength to strength, first becoming known for short films and then for blockbuster feature films and television series, as well as creating advertising campaigns, video games and music videos. Aardman and Park have won four US Academy Awards and 15 BAFTA awards.

Stop-motion animation utilises three-dimensional models made from flexible materials, such as clay, often built around a wire skeleton. They are moved in tiny increments, usually 12 times for every second of film, giving the companyʼs films a distinctive hand-made feel.

Design credits for the stamp issue are shared by Aardman, Studio Up and Royal Mail Group, and printing is in litho by Cartor.

The sheet stamps are self-adhesive and free-form, each design being die-cut with one or two extruding elements. The miniature sheet is conventionally gummed and perforated.

2nd class ROCKY AND GINGER
Rocky the rooster is a brash American circus performer who helps the plucky English chicken Ginger and a farmyard full of hens attempt a prison-break in Chicken Run, Aardmanʼs first full-length movie, released in 2000.

2nd class FEATHERS McGRAW
Criminal genius and penguin impersonator Feathers McGraw adapts Wallaceʼs new invention, ‘Techno Trousersʼ, as part of his devious scheme to steal a diamond in The Wrong Trousers, made in 1993.

1st class WALLACE AND GROMIT
Cheese-loving inventor Wallace may have endless optimism, but his faithful hound Gromit is the brains of the operation, coming to his masterʼs rescue whenever necessary. After becoming national icons in a series of short films, the duo found worldwide fame in the comedic horror feature film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit in 2005.

1st class FRANK
House-proud tortoise Frank appeared in the Heat Electric television advertising campaign of 1990-92, extolling the joys of having a warm and cosy home. The campaign was inspired by Creature Comforts, Nick Park’s 1989 short film that took unscripted recordings of everyday people and put them into the mouths of animals.

£1.85 TIMMY
The innocent little lamb whose curiosity and determination often land him in big trouble, Timmy was as the youngest member of the flock in the television series Shaun the Sheep, which debuted in 2007, and its big-screen spin-offs. He later starred in Timmy Time, an animated series for younger children.

£1.85 MORPH AND CHAS
A mischievous figure who can transform into any shape he likes, Morph was Aardmanʼs first character to achieve national fame. He guested on the childrenʼs television show Take Hart before starring in his own series, The Amazing Adventures of Morph, from 1980, where he was joined by an even cheekier partner in crime, Chas.

£2.55 ROBIN
Raised by a family of mice, Robin the robin tries to prove to them that she can be a really good mouse, but ends up discovering who she really is, in the Christmas short film Robin Robin, made in 2021. This was Aardmanʼs first stop-motion film to use felt puppets rather than clay figures.

£2.55 SHAUN AND BITZER
Shaun is the sheep who leads his flock into all kinds of escapades, while Bitzer is the long-suffering sheepdog whose job it is to maintain order on the farm, in the television series Shaun the Sheep, which started in 2007. The pair have also appeared in two big-screen adventures: Shaun the Sheep Movie and Farmageddon.

MINIATURE SHEET

1st class A CLOSE SHAVE
Wallace and Gromit crack a sheep-rustling conspiracy in A Close Shave, a short film made in 1995.

1st class A MATTER OF LOAF & DEATH
Wallace and Gromit tangle with a serial killer in A Matter of Loaf & Death, a short film made in 2008.

£1.85 THE WRONG TROUSERS
Wallace and Gromit foil the scheme of a criminal mastermind in The Wrong Trousers, a short film made in 1993.

£1.85 A GRAND DAY OUT
Wallace and Gromit travel to the Moon in search of cheese in A Grand Day Out, a short film made in 1989.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS
The presentation pack tells the full story of stop-motion technology and the success of Aardman Animations.

First day covers and stamp cards are available as usual, along with a press sheet of 12 unguillotined miniature sheets.

PRICES
Set of 8 stamps £12.06
Miniature sheet £5.60
Presentation pack £18.55
Stamp cards £5.85
Press sheet £67.20
First day cover (stamps) £15.15
First day cover (mini sheet) £7.40
Medal covers from £19.99

VERDICT
COMMEMORATIVE WORTH 4/5
Aardman is a very British success story, a creator of extremely clever and influential films with international appeal

QUALITY OF DESIGN 2/5
The still images uses are unremarkable in themselves but include many much-loved characters

WOW FACTOR 3/5
These endearing self-adhesives could see more postal use than the average set