What toys ar good for your kids


 

Toy soldiers

A toy soldier is a type of figurineWar II", "Jesus and the Apostles", and
representing a soldier or related militaryfigures from the Coronation of Queen
subject. It may be made of any type ofElizabeth II. The model company, Airfix
material but the most common are metal,produced a variety of high quality plastic
paper, and plastic. Soldier figures have beensets, which were frequently painted by
found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and havehobbyists. Many Airfix figures were imitated
appeared in many cultures and eras. The 'toyby other companies and reproduced as
soldier as a mass produced toy was first seeninexpensive,  bagged  plastic  army  men.
in the 17th Century with the introduction of
paper soldiers, and metal followed in theIn the 1990s, the production of both
18th century. There have been many differenttoy-grade painted figures and
types over the years including the tinconnoisseur-grade painted toy soldiers
soldier also known as flats, hollow castdramatically shifted from the traditional
metal figures, composition figures, andgloss-coat enamel paint to the matte-finished
plastic  army  men.acrylic paint, which allowed for greater
detail and historical accuracy. The change
Scalewas brought about by the introduction of such
figures  from  St.  Petersburg,  Russia.
Scale for toy soldiers is expressed as the
soldier's approximate height from head toCollecting
foot in millimeters. Because many figures are
not standing straight, the height is usuallyThere is a substantial hobby devoted to
an approximation. Popular sizes include 54collecting toy soldiers, with an abundance of
mm, 45 mm, 28 mm, 25 mm, and 15 mm, which,small manufacturers, dealers, and toy soldier
assuming an average height of about 6 feetshows, and even a few specialty magazines.
for a human male, works out to about 1:32,Collectors typically specialize in one or
1:35, 1:64, 1:76, and 1:144 in scale-modelingmore materials (metal vs. plastic), styles
terms. "Standard" toy soldier scale is(glossy vs. matte), and historical periods.
considered to be 54 mm (1:32 scale). ThoseMany collectors modify and paint plastic
made of metal in Britain before metricationfigures, and some even cast their own.
had their sizes given in inches andMalcolm Forbes began collecting toy soldiers
fractions,  as  did  those  made  in America.in the late 1960s and amassed a collection of
over 90,000 figures by the time of his death
Historyin  1990.
There have been many major manufacturers overGaming
the years. Britain's being the first and one
of the largest manufacturers of hollow castThe playing of games with toy figures was
metal figures. Companies such as Elastolinpopularized by H.G. Wells in his book, Little
and Lineol were well known for theirWars. Wells, a pacifist, was the first to
composite figures made of glue and sawdustpublish detailed rules for playing a war game
that included both military and civilianwith toy soldiers. He suggested that this
subjects. One large historical producer inwould provide a cathartic experience,
plastic was the Louis Marx and Company,possibly preventing future real wars.
founded by Louis Marx, who produced bothAlthough this was not to be, Little Wars did
realistic soldiers of great detail and alsolead to the modern hobby of miniatures
realistic historical-figure collections ofwargaming. Most wargamers use a smaller scale
plastic men and women, including thethan that favored by collectors, typically
"Presidents of the United States" collection,under 25 mm.
"Warriors of the World", "Generals of World



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