Comments on: Identifying Vintage Lead Toy Soldiers

By: jfc

jfc — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:01:36 +0000

Hi Alan,

Sorry, I couldn’t find any information on a company by that name that might have manufactured toys or imported and branded them with that name. If they’re old and obscure there might not be that much information available online for them though. I’ll see if I can check in some reference books I have to see if there’s anything in there.

By: alan landon

alan landon — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:48:12 +0000

a friend (without a computor)has some “toy”soldiers that have
the name that looks like j.debone.he has failed to find
anything about them, can you help? thanks alan.

By: Claire

Claire — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:48:57 +0000

Thanks jfc, I am sure there is a toy expert nearby so will ask them. Thanks for you help.

By: jfc

jfc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:30:36 +0000

Hi Claire,

As far as I know Britains were made using a mixture of lead, tin and antimony using the hollow-cast method up until WWII. In the 50’s they added some plastic resin models as a cost cutting measure and quit using lead entirely in 1966 due to health concerns. Lead-free pewter was used after that. I don’t know of any that were made from clay unless you’ve happened to run across a design prototype. Often the original sculpture was done in clay.

My suggestion would be to locate a local antique toy expert and have them evaluate the toy soldiers you found. This is the best thing to do when you’re uncertain about a particular item. If you don’t know of one, usually if you can find someone who knows antiques well in one area or in general who can lead you to an expert in a particular area.

By: Claire

Claire — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:39:19 +0000

I have found a lot of old soldiers in the loft a couple of weeks ago. Some are Britains and Timpo but there are other soldiers that have no name of the base and have been hand painted. I thought they have be Airfix but not sure. I also have some Britains scottish drummers and a couple have chips, they are not plastic or lead, they look like they are made from clay/ pottery. Does anybody know if soldiers are made from clay as I thought they would all be plastic or lead. I am not sure of the age but they must have been in the loft for over 30 years.

By: jfc

jfc — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:13:31 +0000

Hi Anime,

I used to have a collection of toy soldiers myself but I sold it on eBay a few years ago. I did get more than the price of a skateboard for them though.

By: jfc

jfc — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:09:58 +0000

Hi Susan,

100 Manoil toy soldiers is quite a haul. Manoil soldiers were quite durable and most have held up well over the years. Depending on the condition and the exact model they’ll be $10 to $20 apiece on average. They probably will be from the 1930’s since Manoil suspended production during WWII and had very limited production thereafter. Here’s an article about them, Manoil Toy Soldiers.

As for cleaning them, I suggest moving cautiously. If you have a buyer lined up for the whole lot they may want to clean the soldiers themselves. If you’re wanting to sell them on eBay or elsewhere yourself then you will want to clean them up a bit. Begin by dusting them off with a very fine paint brush. You want to remove as much surface dust as possible but do this very gentle so as to avoid damage to the toy soldier or releasing any lead dust. Next, you can wash them in a very mild detergent like Ivory, once again being very gentle with them. Dry them with a gentle cloth and that should take care of it.

If you want any advice on selling these toy soldiers on eBay feel free to ask. I sold over 100 toy soldiers on eBay myself a few years ago.

By: Susan Milow

Susan Milow — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 06:58:18 +0000

My father-in-law recently passed away and in his estate, was a box with over 100 Manoil and/or other toy soldiers. There is paint missing from many as they were well played with although all the guns appear to be intact. I believe these to be from the 1930’s as my FIL was born in 1931. The question I have is that they are all quite dirty. Would it behoove me to wash them before attempting to sell them or could this hurt the value?

By: Cheap Anime Games

Cheap Anime Games — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:13:52 +0000

It kills me to think how much my big brother’s collection of vintage lead toy soldiers would be worth now … if of course he hadn’t swapped them for a skateboard at a garage sale in the 1970s.

My big brother always was a bit of a doofus.

By: Vampire Bats

Vampire Bats — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:35:38 +0000

i know someone who collects these, i will have to show him this page !