Introduced in the late '60s, these Vietnam era soldiers quickly became the most popular toy soldier of all time. 13 poses in all, they were sold in bagged soldier sets, bagged vehicle sets and boxed or bucket playsets by Processed Plastic and B·Line Toys (see company history). They were cast in a variety of green hues and briefly in camouflage. During the height of the unpopular war in Vietnam, they were instead cast in various solid or transparent shades of pink, red, green, aqua or yellow. Blue soldiers were packaged with the U.S. Air Force bagged sets as replacements for the discontinued 60mm Air force figures. After America's overwhelming victory in the Gulf War, Processed Plastic (like many other toy companies) quickly introduced Desert Shield and Desert Storm themed military toys. In 1991, Processed Plastic introduced the Desert Command Series which included the Vietnam era soldiers cast in desert tan.
After the introduction of the Desert Command Series, Processed Plastics found another use for their new tan plastic. They created a camouflage variation for a number of their military products with a process called marbling (a.k.a. tortoise shell or swirling effect). This process was accomplished by combining two or more colored plastics at various ratios and pressures into a specific type of injection molding machine. Since these particular machines did not mix the materials properly it produced random streaks in the castings. Therefore, no two patterns or color ratios are ever alike. This makes for a truly unique casting each and every time. Header cards for the soldier bagged sets were given a MOLDED IN CAMOUFLAGE footer. The soldiers are the rarest of the camouflage military toys that were briefly produced by the company.
Aqua green was used around this time as well for several bagged sets that included aqua green vehicles. A metallic green was also used near the end of their production run.
At some point in the early 80s a cavity of one of the molds containing the marching G.I. was damaged beyond repair and the pose was subsequently discontinued. This obviously makes them somewhat rare and they can fetch a dollar or two on Ebay. The cavity containing the grenade thrower was also damaged at some point and had to be replaced with a modified cavity that became the waving G.I. pose. Neither pose was produced in desert tan as a result.
Chinese toy companies have been producing clones for decades and are easily spotted by their anemic appearance, cheap plastic, excessive flash and additional morphed poses. Sadly, the competition from these companies would force Processed Plastic to close their doors forever in 2005.
After the introduction of the Desert Command Series, Processed Plastics found another use for their new tan plastic. They created a camouflage variation for a number of their military products with a process called marbling (a.k.a. tortoise shell or swirling effect). This process was accomplished by combining two or more colored plastics at various ratios and pressures into a specific type of injection molding machine. Since these particular machines did not mix the materials properly it produced random streaks in the castings. Therefore, no two patterns or color ratios are ever alike. This makes for a truly unique casting each and every time. Header cards for the soldier bagged sets were given a MOLDED IN CAMOUFLAGE footer. The soldiers are the rarest of the camouflage military toys that were briefly produced by the company.
Aqua green was used around this time as well for several bagged sets that included aqua green vehicles. A metallic green was also used near the end of their production run.
At some point in the early 80s a cavity of one of the molds containing the marching G.I. was damaged beyond repair and the pose was subsequently discontinued. This obviously makes them somewhat rare and they can fetch a dollar or two on Ebay. The cavity containing the grenade thrower was also damaged at some point and had to be replaced with a modified cavity that became the waving G.I. pose. Neither pose was produced in desert tan as a result.
Chinese toy companies have been producing clones for decades and are easily spotted by their anemic appearance, cheap plastic, excessive flash and additional morphed poses. Sadly, the competition from these companies would force Processed Plastic to close their doors forever in 2005.
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| Grenade Thrower |
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| Waving G.I. |
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| Marching G.I. |
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| Captain |
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| Flame Thrower |
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| Minesweeper |
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| Overhead Rifle w/ bayonet |
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| Bazooka |
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| Kneeling w/ rifle |
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| Radio Operator |
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| Mortar Launcher |
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| Machine gunner |
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| Prone w/ rifle |
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| Crawling w/ rifle |
The Other Colors
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| Desert tan and the Psychedelics |
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| #360 S (1st edition, 1969) |
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| #5931 |
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| B·Line Toys #1196 |
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| #0961 (post-1980) |
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| #0961 (post-1980) |
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| #1194 (post-1980) |
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| #1194 Mid 90s |
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| #17840 (late 90s - 2005) |
Quick Facts
• Manufacturer: Tim Mee Toys• Production: 1969 - 2005
• Scale: 54mm
• Colors: green, tan, camo green, aqua, yellow, blue, pink, red
► Check out the Large Scale Army section for the 6" Vietnam Era soldiers.
► Reissues: Click here for information.
