Plastic soldiers
These have mostly been mass produced as toys since the
1950s. The most commonly used material is polyethylene (PE) or polyvinyl
chloride (PVC). These are flexible, unbreakable types of plastic.
Hard plastic miniatures are usually supplied as single
figures in the form of construction boxes. Well-known brands are Historex from
France, Airfix from England and Tamiya from Japan. With Elastolin (now Preiser)
miniatures deserving a special mention. These are high-quality hard-plastic toy
miniatures. Softer plastic miniatures have been produced in huge quantities
since the sixties by brands such as Timpo Toys, Britains and Atlantic.
Contemporary brands include Esci, Italeri and Revell. A new kind of miniatures from
the last 20 years are the 10 cm-tall figurines by the brands Papo, Plastoy and
Bully.
