Battle in the Toy Box: Military Toys Explosive Popularity and Variety

Ancient Egyptians had them, Romans had them, Medieval Kings had them, and even the Vikings had them — toy soldiers. People have been playing with army toys for thousands of years. Their popularity has waxed and waned over time, but one thing is sure, military-themed toys are here to stay.

From small plastic army men to realistic costumes, modern military toys come in such a great variety that it is difficult to categorize them. Below is just a glimpse into the wide selection of military-themed toys available for children to play with today.

Small army men are a mainstay of military-themed toys and have been for decades if not centuries. There is a wide variety of small plastic soldiers available today, including Viking warriors, Romans soldiers, Native Americans, and the modern American military. It seems as if there is hardly a current or historic setting that is not represented by a small plastic army mem. These toys come with accessories like tanks, airplanes, barbed-wire fences, castles, horses, forts, and boats. The variety is truly staggering.

A highly popular line of are toys are military action figures. In development for decades, these fully articulated plastic soldiers are manufactured with an eye to detail. These come with removable parts and easily replaced with an array of military gear such as weapons, helmets, body armor, and in some cases, even boots. Like their smaller cousins, these toys come with a wealth of accessories. There are guard towers, jeeps, tanks, helicopters, and also submarines.

Larger military toys are available as well. These fully articulated, realistic toy soldiers reach up to twelve inches in height. These are developed with an extraordinary eye to detail and come with uniforms to fit most of the roles and environments in which modern soldiers find themselves. Jungle uniforms, desert camo, urban warfare outfits, and a host of others are available. Additionally, military vehicles and equipment like Humvees, motorcycles, and tanks, canons add to the excitement of playing with these military toys.

Remote control military toys are growing in popularity. There are remote controlled tanks, helicopters, jeeps, fighter jets, and battleships. Replete with lighting, sound effects, and even weaponry that fires harmless projectiles. These remote control military toys are exciting to play with both inside and outside the house.

It is worth mentioning that army toys are not limited to those described above. Military-style costumes and accessories are also available for young children to wear and play soldier. These costumes come with a variety of accessories such a toy guns, flak gear, backpacks, and even ghillie suits. The costumes are not limited to modern themes either. There are costumes for medieval knights, Roman soldiers, Samurai, and Mongol raiders.

Today, there is a massive variety of military-themed toys available for kids of all ages to play with. Small or large, articulated action figures or static, remote-controlled, or wearing costumes, army toys are as popular as ever. Military toys have been around for centuries and, it appears, they will be around for centuries to come.