Toy soldier

The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve combat-related themes.

[citation needed] Toy soldiers became widespread during the 18th century, inspired by the military exploits of Frederick the Great.

Companies such as Elastolin and Lineol were well known for their composite figures made of glue and sawdust that included both military and civilian subjects.

After 1950, rising production costs and the development of plastic meant that many shop keepers liked the lighter, cheaper, and far less prone to break in transit polythene figure.

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, 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.

Also in England, the scale model company, Airfix produced a variety of high quality plastic sets, which were frequently painted by hobbyists.

Collectors often specialize in a particular type of soldier or historical period, though some people enjoy collecting many different kinds of figures.

In recent years, collectors of vintage toy soldiers made of polythene PE and polypropylene PP thermoplastics as well as PC/ABS plastic blends have reported brittling and disintegration of collectible miniatures or components thereof.

[4] 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.

[5] Prominent vintage toy soldier makers include Airfix, Barclay, Britains, Herald, Elastolin, Johillco, Lineol, Marx, Manoil, Reamsa and Timpo.

[7] A similar book titled Shambattle: How to Play with Toy Soldiers[8] was published by Harry Dowdall and Joseph Gleason in 1929.