A Swedish boy plays with Elastolin toy soldiers 🇸🇪🇾🇪

WW2 old black and white photo of a boy playing with Elastolin German army soldiers (Sweden, 40s). During the war Elastolin and Lineol exported its composition soldiers to Sweden. You can still find them there in German or Swedish uniforms. 

 Source Alamy.

West-German Gescha "Manorvier" tank

Gescha 65-6-F tin lithographed clockwork toy tank with a pop-up driver (Western Germany, 50s). This tank features multiple maneuvering ways.

Elastolin cowboys and Indians - old photos 🇺🇸🪓🪓🪓🏜

Old black and white photos of the Elastolin Wild West.

Durso Wehrmacht soldiers and Kriegsverdienstkreuz

The War Merit Cross (Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a decoration of of Nazi Germany awarded to military personnel and civilians during the Second World War. The War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords was presented to Military Personnel for bravery not necessarily in the face of the enemy. A total of 6,134,950 were issued. German composition soldiers were produced by Durso (Belgium) in 30s/40s.

German Pioniere - combat engineers

Lineol Pioniere - combat engineer and construction troops series (Germany, 30s). The Lineol set of pontoon crew represents pioneers in action from 1934-39: the three composition figures are referenced as 210-212 in the Lineol catalogues.

German infantry marching

These German infantry marching figures were produced by Durso (Belgium) in 30s/40s. During the perod of 1940-1945, Durso factory experienced problems with supply of paints and sometimes cheap alternatives were used, including furniture lacquer. That's why some of the old Durso figures got this "darkened" colour of their faces.

Lionel wounded soldier...

German injured soldier going to a Lazarett ...(Lineol, 30s). According to my observations, Lineol wounded  soldiers always have a left arm injured, whereas Elastolin wounded soldiers suffer from a right arm injuries...

Lineol: Swiss soldier on motorcycle

This Swiss motorcyclist (Kradschutze im Wettermantel) was produced by Lionel (Germany) in the end of 30s. Lineol made most of its foreign figures by adding a head with the correct helmet to a headless conventional body and then painting the figure accordingly. That is why why Swiss soldiers carry a standard German gas mask canister.

Happy Friday ! Italians from Elastolin

The Italians produced by Elastolin were represented by marching infantry and several combat figures; there were also marching officers and men of the elite bersaglieri rifle units with their broad-brimmed hats and black cockerel feathers. Italian figures in tropical uniforms, and (black) African colonial soldiers were produced in small numbers.

Reich Labour Service (Reichs Arbeits Dienst - RAD)

The German Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD), or German Reich Labor Service, was formed in July of 1934 as the official state and party labor service. The RAD was a voluntary service, but it was made compulsory in 1935 for all young men to serve in the RAD for six months. The RAD was was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ideology. It was the official state labour service, divided into separate sections for men and women. In 1935 there were 422,000 men serving in the RAD. RAD units served on all fronts during WWII, from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea, and from France in the west, to the far reaches of Russia in the east. Units served in Albania, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. Elastolin,Lineol and Kienel produced RAD composition soldiers during 30s. These days RAD figurines are quite rare.

A bridge too far ...

A pontoon bridge uses floats or shallow-draft boatsnto support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. Different German composition soldiers produced by Lineol, Elastolin and Schusso. Happy Friday !

Toy Story: Bucket o' Soldiers postcard from Disney 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Storyboard: Toy Storynpostcard.Joe Ranft, pencil and ink, 1994.

Char B1 and French army composition soldiers

The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. This wooden model of Char B1 was built in France (1946). There are also different composition soldiers produced by German makers (Elastolin, Lineol) and Belgian ones (Durso, Clairon).