A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a 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 combatrelated themes. Toy soldiers vary from simple playthings to highly realistic and detailed models. The latter are of more recent development and are sometimes called model figures to distinguish them from traditional toy soldiers. Larger scale toys such as dolls and action figures may come in military uniforms, but they are not generally considered toy soldiers.

Toy soldiers are made from all types of material, but the most common massproduced varieties are metal and plastic. There are many different kinds of toy soldiers, including tin soldiers or flats, hollowcast metal figures, composition figures, and plastic army men. Metal toy soldiers were traditionally sold in sets; plastic figures were sold in toy shops individually in Britain and Europe and in large boxed sets in the U.S. Modern, collectable figures are often sold individually.

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