Requesting help in identifying uniforms of a set of tin/lead soldiers

by dreasgrech

My girlfriend is currently in possession of some old sets of tin and lead soldiers and we are trying to identify the regiments and eras of the uniforms of these soldiers.

Any general pointers would be immensely useful in helping us identifying these old toy soldiers.

https://imgur.com/a/hwvYWwU

Thank you very much for your help!

JMer806

There is not enough detail in either the sculpts or the painting to identify regiments, and we also can’t really know whether they were painted to resemble a specific army or just because the painter enjoyed those colors.

Still, here’s what I can gather:

  1. These are British grenadiers, likely meant to be Grenadier Guard. The distinctive red coats point to British 18-19th century and the bearskin hats point to grenadiers.
  2. Don’t know
  3. These are likely meant to be grenadiers of the Grande Armée, but I think it’s possible these are of a later era - their weapons are too short for Napoleonic-era muskets, but there’s not enough detail to be sure
  4. These are definitely not Civil War era soldiers - one of them is carrying a machine gun - although the uniform colors are in the range. These could be US soldiers from the Spanish-American War era, as the dark blue coats and light blue trousers match, but I haven’t seen any uniforms with red piping from that era.
  5. Too generic to say
  6. You’re spot on, these are Yeoman Wardens 7-8-9. No idea
HeartInYourBoots

Most of those look fairly generic-ish? Like how the Little Green Army Men you can buy at the dollar store usually aren't modeled on a specific unit.

I think you're on the right track for most of them, at least. The guys in red coats and shako hats appear to be late 1700's/Early 1800's English Infantry, for example, but I can't see enough detail to point to a specific regiment.

I -can- tell you that these guys (https://i.imgur.com/VQ4banJ.jpeg ) appear to be English Beefeaters-- officially known as the Yeomen Warders, the ceremonial guard for the Tower of London.

Are there any markings on the underside of the bases? That might point you in the direction of a manufacturer, which could help you ID them.

Also, Osprey (https://ospreypublishing.com/) puts out a series of well-illustrated books that detail the gear and uniforms of various armies throughout history. That might be another good place to get more info.