A toy soldier is a type of figurine representing a soldier or related military subject. It may be made of any type of material but the most common are metal, paper, and plastic. Soldier figures have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and have appeared in many cultures and eras. The toy soldier as a mass produced toy was first seen in the 17th Century with the introduction of paper soldiers, and metal followed in the 18th century. There have been many different types over the years including the tin soldier also known as flats, hollow cast metal figures [http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/toys/history/toy_soldiers.html, composition figures, and plastic army men.

Scale for toy soldiers is expressed as the soldier's approximate height from head to foot in millimeters. Because many figures are not standing straight, the height is usually an approximation. Popular sizes include 54 mm, 45 mm, 28 mm, 25 mm, and 15 mm, which, assuming an average height of about 6 feet for a human male, works out to about 1:32, 1:35, 1:64, 1:76, and 1:144 in scale-modeling terms.

There have been many major manufacturers over the years. W Britains being the first and one of the largest manufacturers of hollow cast metal figures. Companies such as Elastolin and Lineol were well known for their composite figures made of glue and sawdust that included both military and civillian subjects. One large historical producer in plastic 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 greater detail and historical accuracy. The change was brought about by the introduction of such figures from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Gaming

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The playing of games with toy figures, popularized by H.G. Wells, eventually created the modern hobby of miniature wargaming.

See also

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• Tin soldier
• Army men

External link

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• Toy Soldier Gallery.

Dolls