How the toy soldiers figures are made

Above is a collection of toy soldiers cast in metal and unpainted. Provided by King and Country Toy Soldiers.

Above is an artist sketch of a toy soldier before it is sculpted. Provided by Rolande Toy Soldiers.

Above is a toy soldier roughed out in clay. The next step will be for the artist to start refining details. Provided by Rolande Toy Soldiers.

To create a toy soldier a skilled artist must create the initial carvings.

The most important part of creating a toy soldier is knowledge of the subject. This information may be gathered from museums, books, private collections and if possible veterans themselves.

Detailed studies are made of the period uniforms, weapons, insignias, and any related items to the subject matter depicted.


The concept begins to take form in his mind, and the sketch gradually takes form.

After sketching his idea, the artist starts to create what is called the ‘master’. Masters can be made in wax, epoxy, clay, resin or wood depending on the artist choice.

The master toy soldier is first roughed out with attention to proportions before details are added.
Very small sculpting tools are used to create the tiny details of the master. These tools may often be the same tools used by dentists!

These masters are then used to build the moulds, which will serve to cast the finished series of toy soldiers in metal.



The metals most commonly used are definitively lead, pewter and tin. Once toy soldiers are cast in metal they are hand painted by skilled artisans using acrylics or enamel paints.

Figures are often produced in batch of 100; this allows standards to be kept high. Our studios are always very insistent on the quality of their finely painted miniatures made from detailed casting; after all, it is why they are called “Connoisseur toy soldiers”.

Toy soldiers can be cast in limited or unlimited quantities. The limited quantities are also called "editions". Edition sizes for most toy soldier companies tend to be around 500 castings but some may run over 1000.

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