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What is a tin soldier?

Toy soldiers, tin soldiers, or model soldiers are miniature figures representing soldiers from ancient times to the present day. They come in different sizes, usually between 30 millimeters and 75 millimeters measured between the base plate and the eyes to compensate for the height of the head-gear. Different types of toy soldiers are the so-called flats, paper-thin castings painted and shaded to look three-dimensional. Semiflats are a few millimeters thicker, and in the case of cavalry, often produced with a semiflat horse and a round rider. The most popular today are the round, solid, or hollow-cast figures.

Toy soldiers are used by children to play with, but can also be used by adults to fight war games as a pastime or for instructive purposes. Toy soldiers–old and new–as well as the expensive and detailed model soldiers that are produced by cottage industries in several countries, are popular collectors' items.

Catherine the Great of Russia wrote in her autobiography that Tsar Peter III as a young boy had several hundred toy soldiers made of wood, lead, starch, and wax: "They were all paraded on festive occasions, and a special arrangement of springs which could be released by pulling a string, produced a sound as if they fired their guns." It comes as no surprise, then, that the French emperor Napoleon presented his son, the king of Rome, with a large number of toy soldiers. The finest were a set of 117 gold figures made by the goldsmith Claude Odinot.

Toy soldiers as they are known today appeared around the middle of the eighteenth century. Among the first producers of flat figures were the Hilpert family of Nuremberg, Germany. The figures were inspired by the colorful uniforms of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Prussian king Frederick the Great. It is probably figures of this type that inspired the Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen's tale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."

The best-known tin soldier in literature is the unnamed title character in Hans Christian Andersen's 1838 fairy tale The Steadfast Tin Soldier. It concerns a tin soldier who had only one leg because "he had been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted tin to finish him." He falls in love with a dancer made of paper and after much adventuring, including being swallowed by a fish, the two are consumed together by fire, leaving nothing but tin melted "in the shape of a little tin heart."

Where to buy an original tin soldiers?

Do you have an idea to buy tin soldiers for a gift or for home? Are you looking for solid tin soldiers? On our website skazka.site you can find a lot of different hand painted tin soldiers. We welcoming you to look our big range of Soldiers to find ONE you need! Easy navigation on the site will assist your quick search and ordering. You have an option to pay by card or with your PayPal account. We offering a worldwide delivery and returns for all purchase on our website. We also guarantee that you buy at lowest possible price.

If you are looking for any assistance, don’t hesitate to call us at + 7916-491-06-73 or email us at help@skazka.site

Where to buy hand painted tin soldiers in Moscow?


The Skazka shop on the Arbat street in Moscow offers an unprecedentedly huge selection of hand painted tin soldiers. Each soldier in the Skazka store is signed by an artist and is accompanied by certificate of quality confirming that the soldier is handmade in Russia. The Skazka store gives a quality guarantee for every tin soldier for a period of 3 years. To visit Skazka store go to Arbat street 51, near Hard Rock cafe Moscow, use exit at Smolenskaya metro station.

What is a tin soldier?

Toy soldiers, tin soldiers, or model soldiers are miniature figures representing soldiers from ancient times to the present day. They come in different sizes, usually between 30 millimeters and 75 millimeters measured between the base plate and the eyes to compensate for the height of the head-gear. Different types of toy soldiers are the so-called flats, paper-thin castings painted and shaded to look three-dimensional. Semiflats are a few millimeters thicker, and in the case of cavalry, often produced with a semiflat horse and a round rider. The most popular today are the round, solid, or hollow-cast figures.

Toy soldiers are used by children to play with, but can also be used by adults to fight war games as a pastime or for instructive purposes. Toy soldiers–old and new–as well as the expensive and detailed model soldiers that are produced by cottage industries in several countries, are popular collectors' items.

Catherine the Great of Russia wrote in her autobiography that Tsar Peter III as a young boy had several hundred toy soldiers made of wood, lead, starch, and wax: "They were all paraded on festive occasions, and a special arrangement of springs which could be released by pulling a string, produced a sound as if they fired their guns." It comes as no surprise, then, that the French emperor Napoleon presented his son, the king of Rome, with a large number of toy soldiers. The finest were a set of 117 gold figures made by the goldsmith Claude Odinot.

Toy soldiers as they are known today appeared around the middle of the eighteenth century. Among the first producers of flat figures were the Hilpert family of Nuremberg, Germany. The figures were inspired by the colorful uniforms of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Prussian king Frederick the Great. It is probably figures of this type that inspired the Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen's tale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."

The best-known tin soldier in literature is the unnamed title character in Hans Christian Andersen's 1838 fairy tale The Steadfast Tin Soldier. It concerns a tin soldier who had only one leg because "he had been left to the last, and then there was not enough of the melted tin to finish him." He falls in love with a dancer made of paper and after much adventuring, including being swallowed by a fish, the two are consumed together by fire, leaving nothing but tin melted "in the shape of a little tin heart."

Where to buy an original tin soldiers?

Do you have an idea to buy tin soldiers for a gift or for home? Are you looking for solid tin soldiers? On our website skazka.site you can find a lot of different hand painted tin soldiers. We welcoming you to look our big range of Soldiers to find ONE you need! Easy navigation on the site will assist your quick search and ordering. You have an option to pay by card or with your PayPal account. We offering a worldwide delivery and returns for all purchase on our website. We also guarantee that you buy at lowest possible price.

If you are looking for any assistance, don’t hesitate to call us at + 7916-491-06-73 or email us at help@skazka.site

Where to buy hand painted tin soldiers in Moscow?


The Skazka shop on the Arbat street in Moscow offers an unprecedentedly huge selection of hand painted tin soldiers. Each soldier in the Skazka store is signed by an artist and is accompanied by certificate of quality confirming that the soldier is handmade in Russia. The Skazka store gives a quality guarantee for every tin soldier for a period of 3 years. To visit Skazka store go to Arbat street 51, near Hard Rock cafe Moscow, use exit at Smolenskaya metro station.






The prices in the retail Skazka shop may differ from the prices indicated on this site.