Toy soldier
Encyclopedia
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
that represents a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
personnel from all eras, and includes knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s, cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s, pirates, and other subjects that involve combat
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
-related themes. Toy soldiers vary from simple playthings
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
to highly realistic and detailed models
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
. The latter are of more recent development and are sometimes called model figure
Model figure
A model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type , a historical personage , or a fictional character .Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted...
s to distinguish them from traditional toy soldiers. Larger scale toys such as doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s and action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s may come in military uniforms, but they are not generally considered toy soldiers.
Toy soldiers are made from all types of material, but the most common mass produced
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
varieties are metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
and plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
. There are many different kinds of toy soldiers, including tin soldier
Tin soldier
Tin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are extremely popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic...
s or flats, hollow cast metal figures, composition
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
figures, and plastic army men
Army men
Army men, or plastic soldiers, are simple toy soldiers that are about 5 cm tall and most commonly molded from green or other colored relatively unbreakable plastic. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores,...
. Metal Toy soldiers were traditionally sold in sets, plastic figures were sold in toy shops individually in Britain and Europe and in large boxed sets in the U.S. Modern, collectable figures are often sold individually.
Scale
ScaleScale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
for toy soldiers is expressed as the soldier's approximate height from head to foot in millimeters. Because many figures do not stand up straight, height is usually an approximation. Standard toy soldier scale, originally adopted by W. Britain, is 54 mm (2.25 inches) or 1:32 scale. Among different manufacturers, standard scale may range from 50 mm or 1:35 scale, to 60 mm or 1:28 scale. For gamers and miniatures enthusiasts, 25 mm and even smaller scales are available. On the larger end of the scale are American Dimestore figures
Dimestore soldiers
Dimestore soldiers are a name first given by collector and author Don Pielin to American made toy soldiers sold individually in five and dime stores from the 1930s to the 1950s before being replaced by plastic toy soldiers called army men. Though most figures were hollowcast metal, composition and...
, and many of the toy soldiers produced in Germany, which are approximately 75 mm (3 inches) or 1:24 scale.
History
Military figures have been found in ancient EgyptianAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
tombs, and have appeared in many cultures and eras. Tin soldier
Tin soldier
Tin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are extremely popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic...
s were produced in Germany as early as the 1730s, by molding the metal between two pieces of slate. Toy soldiers became widespread during the 18th century, inspired by the military exploits of Frederick the Great. Miniature soldiers were also used in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries by military strategists to plan battle tactics by using the figures to show the locations of real soldiers. In 1893, William Britain
W. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
revolutionized the production of toy soldiers by devising the method of hollow casting, making soldiers that were cheaper and lighter than their German counterparts.
W. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
, there have been many other manufacturers of toy soldiers over the years. For example, John Hill & Company
John Hill & Company
John Hill & Company or Johillco were a British toy company specialising in the manufacture of hollowcast metal and later plastic toy soldiers becoming second to W. Britain in popularity. No one knows where the name of John Hill came from.-History:...
produced hollow cast lead figures in the same style and scale. Companies such as Elastolin
Elastolin
Elastolin is a trademark used by the German company O&M Hausser for the toy soldiers and other types of figures it manufactured from composite material and later from plastic....
and Lineol were well known for their composite
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
figures made of glue and sawdust that included both military and civilian subjects. After 1950, rising production costs and the developent of plastic meant that many shop keepers liked the lighter, cheaper, and far less prone to break in transit polythene figure. This
led to greater numbers of plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
toy soldiers. The first American plastic soldiers were made by Beton as early as 1937.
The first plastic toy soldiers produced in Great Britain were made in 1946 by Airfix before they became known for their famous model kits range.
One large historical producer in plastic was Louis Marx and Company
Louis Marx and Company
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. Its boxes were often imprinted with the slogan, "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"-Logo and Offerings:...
, which produced both realistic soldiers of great detail and also historical collections of plastic men and women, including the "Presidents of the United States" collection, "Warriors of the World", "Generals of World War II", "Jesus and the Apostles", and figures from the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Marx also produced boxed playsets that featured many famous battles with armies of two sides, character figures, and terrain features. Britains produced plastic figures under the brand names of Herald and Deetail. Also in England, the scale model company, Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
produced a variety of high quality plastic sets, which were frequently painted by hobbyists. Many Airfix figures were imitated by other companies and reproduced as inexpensive, bagged plastic army men
Army men
Army men, or plastic soldiers, are simple toy soldiers that are about 5 cm tall and most commonly molded from green or other colored relatively unbreakable plastic. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores,...
.
Timpo Toys, Britains main competitor in terms of sales and quality in the 1960s and 70s developed the 'Over - Moulding' system. Different coloured plastics were injected into the mould at various stages, creating a fully coloured figure without the need of paint.
During the 1990s, the production of metal toy-grade painted figures and connoisseur-grade painted toy soldiers increased to serve the demands of the collectors' market. The style of many of these figures shifted from the traditional gloss-coat enamel paint
Enamel paint
Enamel paint is paint that air dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enamel", where vitreous enamel is applied with brushes and...
to the matte-finished acrylic paint
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...
, which allows for greater detail and historical accuracy. The change was largely inspired by the introduction of very high quality painted figures from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Collecting
There is a substantial hobbyHobby
A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
devoted to collecting
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
both old and new toy soldiers, with an abundance of small manufacturers, dealers, and toy soldier shows. There are even specialty magazines devoted to the hobby, such as "Toy Soldier Collector (www.toysoldiercollector.com)", "Plastic Warrior" and "Toy Soldier and Model Figure". Collectors often specialize in a particular type of soldier or historical period, though some people enjoy collecting many different kinds of figures. The most popular historical periods for collecting are Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Many collectors modify and paint plastic figures, and some even cast and paint their own metal figures.
Actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr had a collection of 3000 toy soldiers when he sold it in 1977. Fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...
has a substantial collection of toy knights and castles. The most extensive collection of toy soldiers was probably that of Malcolm Forbes
Malcolm Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes was publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes and today run by his son Steve Forbes.-Life and career:...
, who began collecting toy soldiers in the late 1960s and amassed a collection of over 90,000 figures by the time of his death in 1990. Anne Seddon Kinsolving Brown of Providence, Rhode Island, USA, began collecting miniature toy soldiers on her honeymoon to Europe in 1930, eventually amassing a collection of over 6,000 figures; these are on display at the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection
Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection
The Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection is one of the largest research collections devoted to the history and iconography of soldiers and soldiering, from circa 1500 to 1945. Formerly a private collection, it was donated to the in 1981.Mrs...
at Brown University Library in Providence.
Chicago Toy Soldier Show
The Chicago Toy Soldier Show is a toy soldier and model figure trade show. It is held annually at the Hyatt Regency Hotel near Woodfield Mall, in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois. The show is organized by OTSN, Inc., publisher of Old Toy Soldier News. It is also known as the Old Toy...
(OTSN) in Illinois, the East Coast Toy Soldier Show in New Jersey, the West Coaster Toy Soldier Show in California, the Sammlerbörse (Collector's Market) in Friedberg, Germany and the biennial Zinnfigurenbörse (Tin Figure Market) in Kulmbach, Germany.
In recent years, collectors of vintage toy soldiers made of polythene PE and polypropylene
Polypropylene
Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...
PP thermoplastics as well as PC
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
/ABS
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene is a common thermoplastic. Its melting point is approximately 105 °C ....
plastic blends have reported brittling and disintegration of collectible miniatures or components thereof.
Varieties
Different types and styles of toy soldiers have been produced over the years, depending on the cost and availability of materials, as well as manufacturing technologies. Here is a list of some of the most commonly collected varieties of toy soldiers.- Aluminum - slush cast aluminium, made chiefly in France during the early and middle 20th Century
- Army menArmy menArmy men, or plastic soldiers, are simple toy soldiers that are about 5 cm tall and most commonly molded from green or other colored relatively unbreakable plastic. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores,...
- unpainted, soft plastic toy soldiers sold inexpensively in bags or with terrain pieces and vehicles in boxed playsets - Composition - made from a mixture of sawdust and glue, manufactured in Austria and Germany
- Connoisseur - high quality, collectible figures featuring highly detailed paint jobs
- Dimestore - hollow or slush cast iron, sold through five and dimeFive and DimeFive and Dime is a cartoon short by Walter Lantz which features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is the 74th Oswald short produced by Lantz and the 125th overall. It also is among the number of shorts that feature Oswald in his fully clothed appearance....
stores from the 1920s to 1960 in the United States - Flat - thin, two dimensional tin soldierTin soldierTin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are extremely popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic...
s cast in slateSlateSlate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
molds - Hollow cast - cast in metal, usually a lead alloy, which cools and sets as it touches the mold; the excess molten metal is poured out leaving a hollow figure
- Paper - printed on sheets of paper or cardboard, frequently mounted on blocks of wood
- Plastic - hard and soft plastic, generally painted figures
- Solid - cast in solid metal, usually lead, common in Germany during the 19th and early 20th Century
Prominent vintage toy soldier makers include Airfix
Airfix
Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....
, Barclay, Britains
W. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
, Herald, Elastolin
Elastolin
Elastolin is a trademark used by the German company O&M Hausser for the toy soldiers and other types of figures it manufactured from composite material and later from plastic....
, Johillco, Lineol, Marx
Louis Marx and Company
Louis Marx and Company was an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1978. Its boxes were often imprinted with the slogan, "One of the many Marx toys, have you all of them?"-Logo and Offerings:...
, Manoil
Manoil Manufacturing Co.
Manoil Manufacturing Company was an American metal and plastic toy company. From June 1940 they were located on Providence Street, in Waverly, NY...
, and Timpo
Timpo
Timpo Toys is an English toy company created in 1938 by Sally Gawrylowicz , also known as Ally Gee,A Jewish refugee from Germany, he started as Toy Importers Company known as TIMPO in 1938...
.
Gaming
The playing of games with toy figures was popularized by H.G. Wells in his 1913 book, Little WarsLittle Wars
Little Wars is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by H. G. Wells in 1913. Its full title is Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books.Little Wars is considered by some...
. Wells, a pacifist, was the first to publish detailed rules for playing war games with toy soldiers. He suggested that this could provide a cathartic
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
experience, possibly preventing future real wars. Although this was not to be, Little Wars was a predecessor to the modern hobby of miniatures wargaming
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
.
A similar book titled Shambattle: How to Play with Toy Soldiers was published by Harry Dowdall and Joseph Gleason in 1929.
Although people continue to play wargames with miniature figures, most contemporary wargamers use a smaller scale than that favored by collectors, typically under 25 mm.
See also
- Army menArmy menArmy men, or plastic soldiers, are simple toy soldiers that are about 5 cm tall and most commonly molded from green or other colored relatively unbreakable plastic. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores,...
- Miniature wargamingMiniature wargamingMiniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
- Model figureModel figureA model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type , a historical personage , or a fictional character .Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted...
- Tin soldierTin soldierTin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are extremely popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic...
- W. BritainW. BritainThe W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
- The Parade of the Tin SoldiersThe Parade of the Tin Soldiers"The Parade of the Tin Soldiers" , also known as "The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers", is an instrumental musical character piece, in the form of a popular jaunty march, written by German composer Leon Jessel, in 1897....
External links
- Antiques View - New York Times article
- Cigar Aficionado - article on collecting
- Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library - collection of over 6,000 miniature toy soldiers
- Collecting Toy Soldiers - private collectors personal website
- Chicago Toy Soldier Show - largest annual show in the United States
- Toy Soldier Forum - toy soldier and military miniatures collectors' forum
- Shambattle - simple wargaming rules for toy soldiers
- Toy Soldier Gallery - collector's website
- Canada Toy Soldiers Club - online club for toy soldier collectors
- My Toy Soldier Collection - online database of toy soldiers
- Plastic flats and their ads in American comic bookAmerican comic bookAn American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
s - Wm Hocker Toy Soldier Resources - list of toy soldier resources
- The Toy Soldier Wiki - closed wiki for toy soldiers that are no longer produced.
- http://www.plasticwarrior.com Home page for Plastic Warrior Magazine