Toy Soldiers

A toy soldier may be any of various metal, wooden, or, beginning in the 20th century, plastic figurines manufactured either as playthings or as collectible miniatures, usually expensive metal replicas, to commemorate soldiers. more...

The largest manufacturer of this plaything soldiers was the Louis Marx and Company, founded by Louis Marx, who produced both realistic soldiers of great detail and also realistic historical-figure 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.

In the 1990s, the production of both toy-grade painted figures and connoisseur-grade painted toy soldiers dramatically shifted from the traditional gloss-coat enamel paints to the matte-finished acryllic paints, which allowed for greated detail and historical accuracy. The change was brought about by the introduction of such figures from St. Petersburg, Russia.

The best-known type of modern toy soldier is the all-green plastic soldiers known as Army men. These toy soldiers are usually based on World War II or Vietnam War personnel and equipment. A variety of soldiers appear with different weapons, such as riflemen, machine gunners, snipers, bazooka men, officers, and scouts (with binoculars). The soldiers come with accessories including tanks, Jeeps and other vehicles; artillery; helicopters, and buildings. In addition, some soldiers are made in different colors, such as tan or grey, to represent an opposing side. They are commonly sold inexpensively in large plastic bags or buckets.

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