Toy Soldiers, the Collector's Guide to Identifying Buying and Enjoying Toy Soldiers
Published by The Apple Press, 1994, hardcover, illustrated, index, 80 pages, 24 cms x 31.3 cms, condition: as new.
Examines all types of toy soldiers, including the earliest solid figures, hollow-casts, composition and plastic figures, and major models, and offers tips for collectors.
This book has an extraordinarily broad scope of subject matter, both in time and the number of manufacturers mentioned. Many years, many firms, many toy soldiers are touched on. The focus is on mass-produced toy soldiers, or collector's items from companies that also mass produced toy soldiers. 95% of those covered are lead, with a touch of aluminum, elastolin, and plastic thrown in. US manufacturers like Marx are given pretty good coverage. And there are tons of color photos, usually 5 or 6 PER PAGE.
Overall, I found this book a welcome relief from Euro-centric military models which seem to be the focus of some "toy soldier" books.