Miniature toy soldiers have existed since the 1930’s and they were originally made out of metal. After the Second World War, plastic was seen as an option for more affordable miniatures. These army men have traditionally been green in color, to represent the US Army uniforms.
In the 1960’s miniature men made out of grey and yellow plastic were introduced to represent the opponents to the US in the Second World War. Today, most of these army men toys are still created with World War II style uniforms, though sets do exist with modern uniforms as well as uniforms from the Vietnam War.
Ironically, most of these US Army soldiers are no longer made in the United States. Manufacturing facilities in China produce the majority of the green army men now sitting on the shelves.
Toy soldiers have also figured prominently in the cinema. Along with the slinky dog, and Mr. Potato Head, they were featured in the movie Toy Story. In the first Toy Story movie, their main job was surveillance on the new toys arriving for Christmas. They returned for a minor role in Toy Story 2, recovering Woody’s Hat from the toy box and holding open the bedroom door for Buster.
However, they were featured prominently in the third Toy Story movie. By the time they reach the third movie, only three of the 
original two hundred men remained and the story highlighted the last few days of their life in Andy’s room.
With their appearance in the movie theaters and the advent of YouTube, green army men have re-surged in popularity. The affordability of these figurines combined with the variety of positions allows amateur filmmakers to recreate many classic battlefield scenes.
Toy army men sets are indeed an American classic which does not look to be fading from the store shelves any time soon. Hunson sells a 150 piece set and the Combat Mission toy army men set has 1,000 pieces.
