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Army men

February 20, 2023

"Army Man" redirects here. For the comedy magazine, see Army Man (magazine). For the video game series, see Army Men.
For the occupation, see Soldier and Military personnel.

Army men, or plastic soldiers, are toy soldiers that are about 5 cm (2.0 in) tall and most commonly molded from olive green, relatively unbreakable plastic. Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops, army men are sold at low prices in discount stores and supermarkets in bulk packaging. Army men are traditionally green and almost always dressed in modern military uniforms and armed with 20th-century weapons. 'Jumbo' army men are a less common secondary scale with 4.75-inch (12.1 cm) soldiers made with the same process.

Bucket of army men

Description

Plastic army men are sold in plastic bags or buckets, and often include different colors such as green, tan, or gray, to represent opposing sides. They are equipped with a variety of weapons, typically from World War II to the current era, often depicting the 1964 Vietnam-era M-16 rifle with fixed M7 bayonet. These include rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, pistols, grenades, flamethrowers, mortars, and bazookas. They may also have radio men, binocular scouts, and minesweepers. The traditional helmets are the older M1 "steel pot" style that were issued to US soldiers during the middle to late 20th century. Typical accoutrements depicted are often 1960s-era M1911 style pistols, ammunition pouches, and water canteens. Army men are sometimes packaged with additional accessories including tanks (often based on the M48 Patton tank), jeeps, armed hovercraft, half-tracks, artillery, flags, army trucks, helicopters, fighter jets, landing craft and fortifications. Their vehicles are usually manufactured in a smaller scale, to save on production and packaging costs. Army men are considered toys and not models; and as such, historical and chronological accuracy are generally not a priority.

History and varieties

The first American plastic toy soldiers were made by Bergen Toy & Novelty Co. (Beton for short) in 1938.[1] Beton also acquired the molds of another pre-war plastic figure company, Universal Plastics[2] with their figures remaining for sale when lead toy production was stopped in 1942. The Beton figures were painted like metal figures and sold the same as their metal brethren; individually or in a boxed set of around seven figures. Following World War II, Beton modified their figures in an attempt to change the World War I type helmet into the World War II one.

Following World War II, plastic manufacture was seen as an industry with growth potential with many old and new companies making plastic figures that were widely available in the United States. Army men following the war were sold unpainted, usually in a green color corresponding to United States Army uniforms in World War II.

Beginning in the early 1950s, Louis Marx and Company sold boxed sets of figures and accessories called playsets, such as "US Army Training Center" and the later "Battleground" sets. A rival manufacturer, the Multiple Plastics Corporation (MPC) also sold plastic figures in various colors with different separate accessories, so the same figures could be kitted out as soldiers (green), farmers, pioneers or cowboys (brown), policemen (blue), ski troopers (white) spacemen (various colors), or American Civil War soldiers in blue and gray.

The economy of plastic sold in bulk, popularity of army men, and competition with manufacturers led to army men being sold in large bags by Marx, Tim-Mee Toys and MPC for as little as a penny a piece in the mid-1960s. During this time, Marx gave the American army men actual enemy soldiers to fight such as German soldiers (molded in gray) in their 1962 "Army Combat" set and Japanese soldiers (molded in yellow) in their "Iwo Jima" set that was released in 1963. In 1965, a "D-Day" Marx set featured Allies such as French (horizon blue), British (khaki), and Russians. One of their last and largest playsets was the multi-level "Fortress Navarone" mountain set based on The Guns of Navarone, which was available in the 1970s and pitted World War II Americans against Germans.

During the Vietnam War, sales and availability of military toys began to decline alongside the unpopularity of the war[3] and the higher prices of plastic from the 1973 oil crisis. Since 1975 many manufacturers of plastic soldiers in Europe and US closed, for example John Hill & Company, Reamsa, Louis Marx and Company, and Dinky Toys.

Today most army men are made inexpensively in China and do not include the extensive accessories that were common in Marx playsets. They are also smaller on average, often not much more than 2.5 cm (one inch) high. Most of these figures are generic imitations of model figure sets from such companies as Airfix and Matchbox. They vary widely in quality.

In addition to army men, other inexpensive, plastic toy figures are also commonly available. Toy cowboys and Indians, farm sets, spacemen, knights, dinosaurs, firemen, police officers and other playsets are often sold alongside army men.

In September of 2019, BMC Toys, a maker of army men, announced that army women would be sold in 2020.[4] This announcement was made due to popular request from female veterans and toy fans. The most well-known request is from a six-year-old girl who sent a handwritten letter for them to be made.[5]

Army men in culture

 
Green army man from Toy Story at Disney's Hollywood Studios
 
Army men candy

In 2011, Time magazine placed the army men on their list of 100 most popular toys of all time.[1] This cultural phenomenon was represented in Army Men, a popular series of video games introduced by 3DO in the 1990s. Green army men were also among the characters in the 1995 Disney Pixar animated film, Toy Story and its three sequels. Gummy army men candy are also available.

Because these toys do not cost much, they are virtually disposable. They encourage a variety of creative types of play, because they can be set up in many different ways. They are especially well suited for the sandbox, or simple wargames with rubber balls or marbles, which can be rolled or thrown at army men.

Army men have been banned from schools and daycare programs with zero tolerance weapon policies. On one occasion, children were asked to clip the weapons off of plastic army men on display during an elementary school graduation ceremony.[6] When Burger King released tie-in toys for the movie Toy Story, the green army men were not featured with weapons, but only the variations of leader, radio operator, minesweeper, and man with binoculars.[7]

An unusual use for army men was attaching poems to them and scattering them around in a "guerrilla poetry" scheme.[8] They have also been the exclusive (albeit stop-motion) actors in a music video featuring an instrumental track by the band Pink Martini.[9]

The 1972 Stephen King short story "Battleground", and a 2006 episode of Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King based upon the short story, feature plastic army men who come alive with sinister intentions.

In Witching & Bitching, a 2013 Spanish horror-comedy film co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia,[10] Mario Casas impersonates a thief disguised as street mime. Dressed as a green army man, his skin, helmet and uniform are completely painted in the typical bright green color.

In Heroes of the Storm (2015), a multiplayer video game by Blizzard Entertainment, there are several hero skins with green army men theme.[11]

More whimsical variations of army men toy soldiers are also available, including figures molded in yoga poses.

Russian masked soldiers operating inside Ukraine during the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation became known as "little green men" in reference to the green plastic toy soldiers.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Allie Townsend - , Time, February 16, 2011. Notes: Ranked 13 of 100
  2. ^ O'Brien, Richard Collecting American Made Toy Soldiers - Identification and Value Guide. Beton. KP Books, 1996
  3. ^ T. Shell and A. Shell, Army Men Homepage. Retrieved on Dec. 23rd, 2010.
  4. ^ "BMC Toys: Plastic Army Women Project: Update #11". BMC Toy Soldier Shop. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  5. ^ Rockett, Darcel. "A 7-year-old's wish has come true: Green army women are a reality". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  6. ^ Clinton, P. (September 12, 2007). "RPV school apologizes for graduation-cap flap" Daily Breeze. Torrance, California. Retrieved September 2, 2011
  7. ^ Photo of the original Green Army Men from the Burger King children's meal, 1995. [1]
  8. ^ "Students learn the pen is mightier than the sword in guerilla exercise". 28 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Choreography for Plastic Army Men". 19 July 2011.
  10. ^ Film Factory Entertainment 2014-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Heroes of the Storm: The toys are back in town!, archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2019-12-17
  12. ^ "How, Why, and when Russia Will Deploy Little Green Men – and Why the US Cannot". Foreign Policy Research Institute.
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plastic soldiers.

February 20, 2023
army, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february, 2012, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Army men news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Army Man redirects here For the comedy magazine see Army Man magazine For the video game series see Army Men For the occupation see Soldier and Military personnel Army men or plastic soldiers are toy soldiers that are about 5 cm 2 0 in tall and most commonly molded from olive green relatively unbreakable plastic Unlike the more expensive toy soldiers available in hobby shops army men are sold at low prices in discount stores and supermarkets in bulk packaging Army men are traditionally green and almost always dressed in modern military uniforms and armed with 20th century weapons Jumbo army men are a less common secondary scale with 4 75 inch 12 1 cm soldiers made with the same process Bucket of army men Contents 1 Description 2 History and varieties 3 Army men in culture 4 See also 5 ReferencesDescription EditPlastic army men are sold in plastic bags or buckets and often include different colors such as green tan or gray to represent opposing sides They are equipped with a variety of weapons typically from World War II to the current era often depicting the 1964 Vietnam era M 16 rifle with fixed M7 bayonet These include rifles machine guns submachine guns sniper rifles pistols grenades flamethrowers mortars and bazookas They may also have radio men binocular scouts and minesweepers The traditional helmets are the older M1 steel pot style that were issued to US soldiers during the middle to late 20th century Typical accoutrements depicted are often 1960s era M1911 style pistols ammunition pouches and water canteens Army men are sometimes packaged with additional accessories including tanks often based on the M48 Patton tank jeeps armed hovercraft half tracks artillery flags army trucks helicopters fighter jets landing craft and fortifications Their vehicles are usually manufactured in a smaller scale to save on production and packaging costs Army men are considered toys and not models and as such historical and chronological accuracy are generally not a priority History and varieties EditThe first American plastic toy soldiers were made by Bergen Toy amp Novelty Co Beton for short in 1938 1 Beton also acquired the molds of another pre war plastic figure company Universal Plastics 2 with their figures remaining for sale when lead toy production was stopped in 1942 The Beton figures were painted like metal figures and sold the same as their metal brethren individually or in a boxed set of around seven figures Following World War II Beton modified their figures in an attempt to change the World War I type helmet into the World War II one Following World War II plastic manufacture was seen as an industry with growth potential with many old and new companies making plastic figures that were widely available in the United States Army men following the war were sold unpainted usually in a green color corresponding to United States Army uniforms in World War II Beginning in the early 1950s Louis Marx and Company sold boxed sets of figures and accessories called playsets such as US Army Training Center and the later Battleground sets A rival manufacturer the Multiple Plastics Corporation MPC also sold plastic figures in various colors with different separate accessories so the same figures could be kitted out as soldiers green farmers pioneers or cowboys brown policemen blue ski troopers white spacemen various colors or American Civil War soldiers in blue and gray The economy of plastic sold in bulk popularity of army men and competition with manufacturers led to army men being sold in large bags by Marx Tim Mee Toys and MPC for as little as a penny a piece in the mid 1960s During this time Marx gave the American army men actual enemy soldiers to fight such as German soldiers molded in gray in their 1962 Army Combat set and Japanese soldiers molded in yellow in their Iwo Jima set that was released in 1963 In 1965 a D Day Marx set featured Allies such as French horizon blue British khaki and Russians One of their last and largest playsets was the multi level Fortress Navarone mountain set based on The Guns of Navarone which was available in the 1970s and pitted World War II Americans against Germans During the Vietnam War sales and availability of military toys began to decline alongside the unpopularity of the war 3 and the higher prices of plastic from the 1973 oil crisis Since 1975 many manufacturers of plastic soldiers in Europe and US closed for example John Hill amp Company Reamsa Louis Marx and Company and Dinky Toys Today most army men are made inexpensively in China and do not include the extensive accessories that were common in Marx playsets They are also smaller on average often not much more than 2 5 cm one inch high Most of these figures are generic imitations of model figure sets from such companies as Airfix and Matchbox They vary widely in quality In addition to army men other inexpensive plastic toy figures are also commonly available Toy cowboys and Indians farm sets spacemen knights dinosaurs firemen police officers and other playsets are often sold alongside army men In September of 2019 BMC Toys a maker of army men announced that army women would be sold in 2020 4 This announcement was made due to popular request from female veterans and toy fans The most well known request is from a six year old girl who sent a handwritten letter for them to be made 5 Army men in culture Edit Green army man from Toy Story at Disney s Hollywood Studios Army men candy In 2011 Time magazine placed the army men on their list of 100 most popular toys of all time 1 This cultural phenomenon was represented in Army Men a popular series of video games introduced by 3DO in the 1990s Green army men were also among the characters in the 1995 Disney Pixar animated film Toy Story and its three sequels Gummy army men candy are also available Because these toys do not cost much they are virtually disposable They encourage a variety of creative types of play because they can be set up in many different ways They are especially well suited for the sandbox or simple wargames with rubber balls or marbles which can be rolled or thrown at army men Army men have been banned from schools and daycare programs with zero tolerance weapon policies On one occasion children were asked to clip the weapons off of plastic army men on display during an elementary school graduation ceremony 6 When Burger King released tie in toys for the movie Toy Story the green army men were not featured with weapons but only the variations of leader radio operator minesweeper and man with binoculars 7 An unusual use for army men was attaching poems to them and scattering them around in a guerrilla poetry scheme 8 They have also been the exclusive albeit stop motion actors in a music video featuring an instrumental track by the band Pink Martini 9 The 1972 Stephen King short story Battleground and a 2006 episode of Nightmares and Dreamscapes From the Stories of Stephen King based upon the short story feature plastic army men who come alive with sinister intentions In Witching amp Bitching a 2013 Spanish horror comedy film co written and directed by Alex de la Iglesia 10 Mario Casas impersonates a thief disguised as street mime Dressed as a green army man his skin helmet and uniform are completely painted in the typical bright green color In Heroes of the Storm 2015 a multiplayer video game by Blizzard Entertainment there are several hero skins with green army men theme 11 More whimsical variations of army men toy soldiers are also available including figures molded in yoga poses Russian masked soldiers operating inside Ukraine during the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation became known as little green men in reference to the green plastic toy soldiers 12 See also EditLittle Wars Toy playset Reamsa plastic toy soldier Miniature wargaming Model figure Figurine Action figure List of toysReferences Edit a b Allie Townsend All Time 100 Greatest Toys Time February 16 2011 Notes Ranked 13 of 100 O Brien Richard Collecting American Made Toy Soldiers Identification and Value Guide Beton KP Books 1996 T Shell and A Shell Army Men Homepage Retrieved on Dec 23rd 2010 BMC Toys Plastic Army Women Project Update 11 BMC Toy Soldier Shop Retrieved 2020 12 21 Rockett Darcel A 7 year old s wish has come true Green army women are a reality chicagotribune com Retrieved 2020 12 21 Clinton P September 12 2007 RPV school apologizes for graduation cap flap Daily Breeze Torrance California Retrieved September 2 2011 Photo of the original Green Army Men from the Burger King children s meal 1995 1 Students learn the pen is mightier than the sword in guerilla exercise 28 August 2011 Choreography for Plastic Army Men 19 July 2011 Film Factory Entertainment Archived 2014 12 30 at the Wayback Machine Heroes of the Storm The toys are back in town archived from the original on 2021 12 19 retrieved 2019 12 17 How Why and when Russia Will Deploy Little Green Men and Why the US Cannot Foreign Policy Research Institute Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plastic soldiers Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Army men amp oldid 1100916876, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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