Toy soldiers were first created in the Middle Ages in the form of wooden knights. Qver the ages the soldies evoled, crafted from tin, lead and, more recently, plastic. Among the best known brands were those made by Britan’s, Barclay, Manoil, Authenticast, and Warren, to name just a few. Along with the evolution of the toy soldier came the cannons, planes, ships, tanks and trucks that transported them. Theses too evolved from wooden replicas to those made of diecast metal, aluminum, rubber and plastic. Among the well known manufacturers were Authenticast, Britian’s, Dinky Toys, Corgi, Comet, Solido, Tiang-Minic, Vicking and more recently, Forces of Valour. Many manufacturers went out of business in the 1960,s, 70’s and early 80’s as children’s interests changed and the scale of toys gradually grew larger. However, more recently there has been a revival of interest in and the quality of toy soldiers and their vehicles, while the toys of earlier manufacturer’s have become collector’s items.

Displayed in several old glass cases on the second floor of The Brewster Store and pictured here are a portion of the owner’s collection of waterline ship models made by Comet/Authenticast, Triang-Minic and a 1938 set by Vicking of Keel Harbor in Germany, containing waterline ship models of the entire German fleet at the time. When you visit the store we hope you will venture upstairs to view this collection along with other World War II artifacts.

Listed below The Brewster Store has a variety of diecast military models of vehicles from World War II to the present.