Civil War Miniatures

My first exposure to Civil War miniatures was when I was a kid. My dad was a private investigator, but in his spare time he was also a collector and painter of miniatures. He had all kinds of different miniature figurines, including World War II miniatures, replica tall ships, and a collection of Dutch windmill replicas. His favorite hobby, however, was adding to his Civil War miniature collection.

There are many different ways to collect miniature toy soldiers. Some people like to get fantastic knights in armor, armed with majestic weapons and regaled in bright and shiny armor. It does not matter to some of these collectors whether or not their knights are realistic. The point is the fantasy for them. With Civil War miniatures, however, realism is always at a premium. The major civil war toy soldier collectors will actually do historical research to make sure that their miniatures accurately reflect the regiments of the various battalions which served in the Civil War. Civil War replicas are not made for the casual collector in general. People who aren't serious about it generally don't get involved.

My dad was extremely serious. As a matter of fact, he had one of the best Civil War miniatures collections in town. A lot of his friends were involved in Civil War reenactment, and collected replicas and authentic artifacts from that period of time, but not my dad. For him, having a miniature army in front of him was the thrill. He didn't really care whether he had artifacts from the actual conflict. He liked to see the battle spread out in front of him and envision what things were like in the war.

Now that I am a father, I am starting to revisit miniature Civil War soldiers. My son has just started a unit on the American Civil War in school, so naturally it is time to go into my closet and dig out my own figurines. I'm thinking about giving him some for his birthday, but maybe I should show them to him first. It might make sense to gauge his reaction before I entrust my antique toy soldiers to my son. If he is only slightly interested in them, I had better keep them myself. If he is like most boys, however, he will be absolutely thrilled to get the Civil War miniatures. I would say nine kids out of ten love to play with toy soldiers.

Summary

Civil war miniatures are collectibles that many people enjoy. Toy soldiers are a very common plaything with children, and having a collection of these miniatures allows you to actually see history in a way unlike any other. The details on the pieces is very intricate and true to history.

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