Toy Soldiers (or Army Men) typically measured around 5 cm (2 inches) in height and were usually moulded in green, brown or grey solid plastic. Popular figure sets were based on modern military soldiers and came in various combat and strategy poses along with vehicles and accessories (often of a smaller scale to the soldiers) which were sometimes bundled into sets. As well as the modern military sets, other sets available on the market were cowboys and Indians, medieval knights and space figures.
US. Ghostly Haunts. 1974. Lucky Products ad.
US. Weird War Tales. 1978. This variant of the Lucky Products ad appeared four years later and shows a price increase as well as change of address.
US. Marvel Doctor Who. 1981. Fast-forward three years and this variant shows another price increase, some minor changes to the order details, and “imaginary war scene shown” added below the illustration.
The footlocker versions as seen above were probably only available via mail order. At the cheap end of the spectrum these soldiers were often sold in stores in clear bags with an illustrated cardboard header. Companies such as Louis Marx, MPC and Airfix offered a more expensive range that covered many more armies from around the world.
Below are more ads from the same Lucky Products stable, plus some from other companies offering similar toy soldier sets.
US. Weird War Tales N°1. 1971.
US. Weird War Tales. 1975.
US. Weird War Tales. 1976.
US. Star Wars 28. 1979.
Toy Soldiers Fighting Ships. 1981. US.
US. Weird War Tales. 1975.
US. Creepy Things. 1975.
US. The New Mutants. 1985.
