Tag: toy army men

Toy Army Men Buying Guide

Plastic toy army men are a must have element in any army toys collection. They encourage a variety of creative types of play, because they can be set up in so many different ways, depending upon the imagination.

Critics have accused army men toys of advocating violence and militarism, banning them from schools and daycares. However, it’s important to remember that these toys are just that: toys. They don’t pose a threat to anybody and are really just an inventive way for children to express themselves. Generations prior to ours have played with plastic army men toys and turned out just fine. Who are we to argue with that?

Although they are relatively cheap to buy, so are virtually disposable, you should still give some thought to which sets to buy. They range from small figures bought by the bucket load to 12″ GI Joe figures so here are some pointers to consider when browsing possible sets:

Quality v quantity

You will get a lot of fairly small and standard versions for not much money or one larger figure. Which will your child be happier with?

Size

How tall do you want your army men toys to be? 2″ tall is a fairly standard size. Anything much larger than that is going to be harder to find other than in action figure form.

Detailing

The molding on cheaper sets is pretty basic and you will not find much, if any, variety in the collection. Try and find sets where the detailing on the face and uniforms is at least varied to some extent.

Stances

Some cheaper collections contain soldiers all molded in the same pose. This does not make for a very realistic battle scene. Try and ensure whichever set you go for has a collection of army men in different poses.

Articulated

Most toy army men sets are not going to include articulated figures. You will need action figures to enjoy this level of detailing.

Kits

Will your child want to get straight down to the battle or will they enjoy building their army through one of the many kits available?

Character based

Most plastic army soldiers are not branded in any way. The exception to this rule are the Toy Story green army men toys or the GI Joe figures. Which route you choose will depend on whether your child is an army toys fan or a movie fan.

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Enemy figures

Battles are not battles without enemies. As such you will really need to ensure that your army men toys are distinguishable somehow into at least two separate armies. Most sets have figures in varying colors to allow for this play battle experience.

Vehicles

Vehicles are a key part to any army and so sets that include a few will allow for more realistic play. Sometimes it can be better to buy a separate army vehicles set in addition to a soldier figures set – just make sure the scales are the same on each one.

Which war?

Most children will probably not be interested in which war their toy soldiers represent, but if you are after figures from the Civil War or WWII or you are even after medieval army toys, make sure you choose a relevant set.

Who would have thought there was so much to think about with such a cheap toy, but nobody wants to waste money so a little planning never goes amiss. Please read our other article for our top picks on plastic army men toys.

Best Plastic Army Men Toys

Long before GI Joe, children played with plastic army men toys. Keeping them occupied for hours at a time, these simple plastic toys were able to transform according to the imagination. There are many varieties of plastic toy soldiers in circulation today. In some respects, they have evolved over the years, but in others they’ve also stayed much the same.

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Here are our top picks of some of those available to buy today.

Large Quantity Option

This collection of 1000 toy army men is reminiscent of plastic army soldiers from days gone by. The set includes a six inch wind up crawling soldier, along with 1,000 other two inch figurines, all in green and gray. Costing approximately 2 cents per soldier, you are certainly getting value for money when buying in this large a quantity. You could spray paint various selections of the 1,000 figures to make up different teams or just to make the collection more interesting. They will offer hours of enjoyment to any army toys fan and even if a few get lost or broken, they won’t be missed.

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Toy Story Army Men – Quality Option

The Toy Story movies have caused a resurgence in the popularity of little green plastic army men so this ‘Bucket O Soldiers’ will be a welcome gift for either Toy Story or army toys fans. Based on characters from the movie, the bucket contains 70 2 ½ inch green plastic army soldiers in a selection of 10 poses, along with two working parachuting soldiers and various weaponry for extra excitement. The figures have sturdy bases so stand well and are easy to manipulate with little hands. The build quality and detailing are very good – far superior to most collections. The bucket with carry handle is useful for carrying the toys about and for storage. This is a great army toy sold at a great price that will stimulate the imagination. Please click the link for a more detailed review of these green army men.

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Medieval Army Toys Figures

This Guardian Knights playset comes with 36 plastic medieval knights in two colors to create your own castle defense league. They are scaled 1/35 so approximately 2″ tall and are good quality with nice detailing. Perfect for a medieval battle as let’s face it, what young boys don’t like to play with knights and dragons. You’ll just need a replica castle to go with them.

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Fully Varied Assortment

This 202 piece set is full of American, British, German & Japanese WWII toy army soldiers. Each troop is designated by a different color and has different moldings for a distinct look. The figures come in over 40 poses which makes them very realistic for imaginary battles. They are 1/32 scale standing at just over 2″ tall. This set is ideal being plentiful, varied and colorful and the affordability is just the icing on the cake.

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An All Encompassing Playset

Offering great value for money this Civil War playset contains 72 pieces ranging from Union and Confederate soldiers, horses, fences, bridge, sandbag walls, buildings, wagons and cannons. The soldiers stand just over 2″ tall being scaled to 1/35.

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Plastic Army Men Board Game

Days of Wonder Memoir ’44 is a distinctive historical war game where legions of plastic army men face-off in various WWII battles on an oversized game board. You get to develop a battle plan and deploy your incredibly detailed army men figures. This very popular game of strategy is best suited to players aged 12+.

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Airfix Toy Soldiers: The Whole Collection

Airfix has been well known for its high quality model kits since the 1950’s, as they are loved by kids and adults alike. Their range of plastic army men toys includes small 1:72 models as well as larger 1:32 scale versions. They are a great option to use to create your kids toy army as they are almost indestructible – a much needed trait in boys army toys.

There are many different Airfix toy soldiers to choose from covering British, German, and US Paratroops and Infantrymen and many others. With the military of so many countries represented, you can recreate the great battles from history with these army action figures and their accessories.

The original versions are now very collectible with collectors being particularly interested in the slightly different features between sets. As well as army toy soldiers, Airfix also make army vehicle and building model kits. These include tanks, dioramas and battlegrounds and are equally well made and collectible. The best place to find the more collectible items is on .

For those parents interested solely in the play value of these toy army soldiers though, brand new sets have recently been released. These more up to date versions have set the bar high with the plastic toy soldiers being increasingly accurate and paying minute attention to detail. With the use of precision mouldings, sophisticated techniques and modern materials, scale models have truly arrived in the 21st century. Gone are the days of messy glue fingers and fiddly stickers.

Airfix Toys Soldiers 1:72 Scale

For around £5, you can buy a number of Airfix 1:72 scale models. These sets contain the smaller versions of army men toy soldiers (approx 1″/2 cm tall) but come with 40-50 pieces. Despite their small size they are highly detailed and durable. They are easy to put together, having the lowest skill level of the Airfix kits (level 1). They contain accurately modeled soldiers from a number of different armies. Both officers and infantry men are included along with weapons such as swords and rifles. The figures come in a good mix of poses and with the size of these sets, your child will be happy to play for hours. They do require painting although their small size makes this a tad tricky! The Classic Kits contain figures using the designs originally worked on in the 1960’s.

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Airfix WWII British Paratroops Figures Classic Kit Series 1
More than ever with British Paratroops you imagine action and this set allows great action scenes to be created. The pieces include collapsed parachutes, suppy containers as well as a mortar and crew.

Airfix British Commandos

Just right for role playing amphibious operations, this exciting British Commandos set contains scaling ladders, grapnels and an assault canoe.

Airfix WWII British Infantry Figures Classic Kit Series 1

The models of British Infantrymen who served in Western Europe during WWII include riflemen, machine gunners, and radio operators.

Airfix Gurkhas Figures Classic Kit Series 1

The Nepalese Gurkhas were part of the British Army who fought in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East.

Airfix WWII US Marines Figures Classic Kit Series 1

Create action scenes with these “Leathernecks” – choose US Marines with bazookas or flame throwers or even an inflated assault boat.

Airfix WWII German Infantry Figures Classic Kit Series 1

German infantry soldiers ready to do battle with the British. Weapons include grenade throwers and an anti-tank gun.

Airfix Afrika Corps

Afrika Korps toy soldier figures.

Airfix Japanese Infantry

Japanese army soldiers from the Pacific. Weapons include swords, buglers, rifles, sub-machine guns and grenades.

 

Airfix Toys Soldiers 1:32 Scale

For around £6, you can get great value for money from the Airfix 1:32 toy soldier sets. These are a better size than the 1:72 models being around 6cm tall but you only get 14 pieces in a set. They are still easy to put together, only requiring a skill level of 1 but do need painting. There is a good range of poses on offer, but the only downside is that the contents of the box may vary so you could get a few of the same or not the one you are hoping for.

Airfix British Commandos Figures Classic Kit Series 2

British Commando figures.

Airfix British Paratroops Figures Classic Kit Series 2

Paint these British Paratroops in their maroon beret and distinctive shoulder patch before sending them into battle.

Airfix British Infantry Figures Classic Kit Series 2

British Infantry soldier figures.

Airfix British 8th Army Figures Classic Kit Series 2

The Eighth Army soldier figures represent those who fought in the North African and Italian campaigns.

Airfix US Paratroopers Figures Classic Kit Series 2

US Paratroops figures.

Airfix US Infantry Figures Classic Kit Series 2

US Infantry soldier figures.

Airfix German Paratroopers Figures Classic Kit Series 2

Figures representing the German Paratroops who invaded Norway, the Netherlands and Crete.

Airfix German Infantry Figures Classic Kit Series 2

German Infantry soldier figures.

Airfix Afrika Korps Figures Classic Kit Series 2

Defeat these Afrika Korps figures with the set of the British 8th Army.

 

James May’s Toy Stories: The Airfix Handbook

For true Airfix fans, James May, the well known co-presenter of the BBC’s motoring show, Top Gear, has written an Airfix Handbook just for you. It is a fascinating insight into how each scale model comes into being from starting life as just a drawing.

 

Airfix plastic toy soldiers offer great value for money in their 1:32 and 1:72 scale model kits. They will certainly add some variety to your child’s collection of traditional green army men toys. They offer a huge amount of detail compared to the bag of 100 soldiers you can pick up for 99p so are well worth this small investment. Don’t forget to collect vehicles, buildings and landscape kits to create very real battle scenes.

Top Army Toys For Kids Brands

There are many cheap and cheerful army men toys and army playsets available online but if your child plays with kids army toys a lot, you may want to consider some of the better quality versions on offer. Whether they are toy soldiers, army toy tanks or role play toys, those from the following brands will typically offer larger, more detailed and more durable toys to last the test of time.

Army Men Toys

For large scale detailed army action figures, GI Joe will probably spring to mind and rightly so. The range of toys was revamped in 2009 following the popular GI Joe movie and so these articulated military style army figures are as popular as ever. They can be played with following the movie themes but also offer great imaginary play for any army scenarios. They are aimed at children four years and over, who can act out mini battles and ensure good triumphs over evil. There are numerous different size army men figures, as well as vehicles, so you will be sure to find one that suits your budget. They are well made as you would expect from the toy giant Hasbro, so you can be assured of spending your money wisely. The smallest army figure stands 3.75″ tall and starts at around $10, whilst the 12″ figures go for around $20. Even the smallest come with weapon accessories but for the extra money you get real clothing and electronic sounds.

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Parents in the UK have another good choice of army men action figures in the recently released HM Armed Forces toys range. These large scale plastic toy soldiers standing at 10″ tall cost around $15 and are extremely detailed versions of members of the British Armed Forces. They sport life like military uniforms and weapons and are fully poseable.

Army Toy Tanks & Other Vehicles

For detailed models of an army toy tank and other vehicles, your best bet is the Unimax range of toys. They offer many different styles of toy army tank, battleship, helicopter, airplane and other army vehicles. Their models are either 1:32 or 1:72 scale models and start at around $16 going up to over $500. They are made from die cast metal and plastic and are very detailed. They are probably best for children aged at least 7 years old and are even suitable for serious collectors.

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Army Lego

Unfortunately Lego does not have a range of modern day warfare sets. Of course, you can build anything with Lego and you just have to look online to see what serious Lego builders can achieve. But if you are after army building block sets for your child you will have to look elsewhere. The Mega Bloks Probuilder range is well thought of and includes many military models. There is a good range of toy helicopters, ships, airplanes and tanks suitable for children aged over 8 years old. They range in price from about $20 for the 343 piece Gromitz Minehunter Boat to closer to $300 for the 1,700 piece USS Kittyhawk. As you can see from the number of pieces they are very detailed and quite advanced building block sets but come with easy to follow instructions.

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Role Play Army Toys For Kids

Moving onto role play army toys for kids, Hasbro’s Nerf seems to lead the way in blaster style toy guns. Whilst not exactly military issue replicas, for some good shooting and battling fun, they are ideal and receive rave reviews. One of the hot picks from last Christmas, the Nerf N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35 Dart Blaster, is still a top choice and can be bought for around $30. For more covert operations and night time fun, EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Binoculars and Goggles are well thought of but are top end toys. Toys may in fact be an over simplification as these bits of kit feature real night vision technology allowing you to see up to 50 feet away. They are not cheap though starting at $50 for the binoculars.

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So if your child is army toys mad, then it may be worth investing in some of the better quality military toys, rather than the cheap plastic junk you can find in most dollar stores.