Toy soldiers have been the favorite playthings of young boys for more than two thousand years all over the world. They have always loved to have mock battles on the floors of their bedrooms and kitchen tables. Army men and toy soldiers have always been a delight to boys and girls.
People have used small human figures as teaching aids forever. I am sure the first human mothers taught their daughters about raising babies and families with dolls. Males used miniature animals to educate their sons how to stalk and kill beasts in the wild. Using these aids allowed proper techniques to be transferred safely and quickly, with no risk to the hunter, improving the hunting success. The Roman Legionnaires were probably instructed in this same manner all of their lives.
The instructional toys of man have changed as he has. Simple warriors and hunters of prehistory have grown to more modern toys. There still is a fascination with armed struggle and military miniatures are as popular as ever. Army men have been a source of study for their uniforms and supplies as well as the battle they fought. Collecting or even playing with these tiny armies and the lore of war will entertain men of all ages for hours on end.
If you put this together with the fascination of the American civil war, you have endless hours of collecting ahead. You can spend years putting together impressive armies of civil war toy soldiers from famous battles and campaigns of that time. American history buffs can debate the pros and cons of strategies and battle movements with their army men for hours.
Of course you know this means war. Pick a fight and stand your ground: Vicksburg, Bull Run, or the most important battle of the civil war, Gettysburg. Find collectible civil war toy soldiers from both sides and fight for your chosen side. Let the South win for a change.
Entire military units can be collected, complete with horses, houses, troops, wagons even hospitals with doctors treating the sick and wounded. You can collect toy soldiers that are patterned after real military units form either side of the war. The generals from the North: Grant, Sheridan and Sherman can fight against their great southern counterparts: Lee, Jackson and Pickett.
Since the War Between The States happened in the mid 1800s, the market for antique civil war toy soldiers is very strong. They are in high demand making them very expensive and still commanding high prices. These valuable civil war toy soldiers were usually hand painted and cast from lead.
There is however, a large market of more modern, plastic toy soldiers from many sources. These too can be hand painted or purchased in the raw so you can paint them yourself. This lets you pick which side your soldier is going to fight for. You could make your cavalry man an officer in the First Virginia by painting him with a gray great coat, gray riding hat and sash. By painting this same figure a dark blue, he could become a rider for the Ohio 3rd Cavalry unit.
So if you are a collector creating realistic stagings of famous battles or an armchair general playing war with your armies at your command, collecting civil war toy soldiers is an enjoyable and instructional pastime for boys no matter what the age. Don't let them know that they are educating themselves though, lets not spoil their fun.
People have used small human figures as teaching aids forever. I am sure the first human mothers taught their daughters about raising babies and families with dolls. Males used miniature animals to educate their sons how to stalk and kill beasts in the wild. Using these aids allowed proper techniques to be transferred safely and quickly, with no risk to the hunter, improving the hunting success. The Roman Legionnaires were probably instructed in this same manner all of their lives.
The instructional toys of man have changed as he has. Simple warriors and hunters of prehistory have grown to more modern toys. There still is a fascination with armed struggle and military miniatures are as popular as ever. Army men have been a source of study for their uniforms and supplies as well as the battle they fought. Collecting or even playing with these tiny armies and the lore of war will entertain men of all ages for hours on end.
If you put this together with the fascination of the American civil war, you have endless hours of collecting ahead. You can spend years putting together impressive armies of civil war toy soldiers from famous battles and campaigns of that time. American history buffs can debate the pros and cons of strategies and battle movements with their army men for hours.
Of course you know this means war. Pick a fight and stand your ground: Vicksburg, Bull Run, or the most important battle of the civil war, Gettysburg. Find collectible civil war toy soldiers from both sides and fight for your chosen side. Let the South win for a change.
Entire military units can be collected, complete with horses, houses, troops, wagons even hospitals with doctors treating the sick and wounded. You can collect toy soldiers that are patterned after real military units form either side of the war. The generals from the North: Grant, Sheridan and Sherman can fight against their great southern counterparts: Lee, Jackson and Pickett.
Since the War Between The States happened in the mid 1800s, the market for antique civil war toy soldiers is very strong. They are in high demand making them very expensive and still commanding high prices. These valuable civil war toy soldiers were usually hand painted and cast from lead.
There is however, a large market of more modern, plastic toy soldiers from many sources. These too can be hand painted or purchased in the raw so you can paint them yourself. This lets you pick which side your soldier is going to fight for. You could make your cavalry man an officer in the First Virginia by painting him with a gray great coat, gray riding hat and sash. By painting this same figure a dark blue, he could become a rider for the Ohio 3rd Cavalry unit.
So if you are a collector creating realistic stagings of famous battles or an armchair general playing war with your armies at your command, collecting civil war toy soldiers is an enjoyable and instructional pastime for boys no matter what the age. Don't let them know that they are educating themselves though, lets not spoil their fun.
About the Author:
Glen Schmit has been finding civil war toy soldiers from a somewhatearly age traveling with his parents to his first antique auction. He has a large collection of both southern and northern army men and freely shares his knowledge of this historical period of America. Find out more about rare pieces and even civil war chess sets at his website, http://www.civilwartoysoldiers.net
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