Toy Soldier Art

What makes it art?

Creativity.

Instead of churning out rows upon rows of the same old stuff, creativity took hold. I want them to retain enough of that toylike quality that they are friendly and touchable. Just as a too-perfect person sets us off, so a too-perfect miniature keeps us at bay. The problem with a too-perfect piece is that everybody is afraid to touch it, so it is locked up in a display cabinet where it just stands immobile. The less perfect, even crude things have the advantage of being touchable.

My army guys are touchable. If you chip or scrape or dent them, it adds to their character because you have added a bit of your history to the miniature. Of course it is better if you don't do that...but if you do, no harm, no foul. Half the art is not mine, anyway. Half the art is yours. Your art is what you do with them.

The problem with the old type toy soldiers is that they were painted in an assembly-line fashion. I don't do that. Each one of mine gets something a little different. That is a lot easier than you think. Individual touches do not take more time, they just take more caring. It is easy to alter colors slightly, for instance. If you look at my World War II army guys, you can see that the colors vary. The same happened in the real army. Our fatigue uniforms faded at their own rate ,and some faded to different shades than others. They ranged from olive drab to light sage green, and every variant in between. As for the greens, some were yellower, some were bluer.

The real creative part is taking one soldier and making many types from him. Just look at all the variations on the Air Commandos! That one mold has made a load of cool armies. They are not toys and they are not models. They are art. Art that you can play with. Art to display with your cool stuff. Art.

The Art of Imperfection

These old fashioned toy figures are crude from the start. They do not stand up to the expensive military miniatures when it comes to detail and historical accuracy. Well, we said that this is something different. By their very nature, our army guys are imperfect. Add the problems that come with old-fashioned hand casting and you get an item that some might think imperfect. What makes it a perfect piece of toy soldier art is that it is imperfect. One can find perfection in imperfection. Taken by itself, that imperfect little figure may not seem like much. Add the human factor and it is a whole new ballgame.

Like I said, folks will interact with the imperfect figure much more than with a perfect model. They will see character in each one and they will have fun with them. The imperfect has within it perfection, just as the crude is the gateway to refinement. Even the boxes are art. The cover art is my original design. Each of the covers is cut, glued and placed by hand. I do that, too. And I sign each box because it is part of the art. Where are you going to find an American-made item that is done by hand? Hand cast the old fashioned way. Individually hand-painted. Hand packed into hand-finished boxes. Toy Soldier Art is done entirely by hand.

Click here to order some for yourself!

If the paradox of perfection and imperfection needs clarification, click to read this