American Metal Toys was created in 1937 with a capitalization of around $3,000 to 4,000, a lot of money at the time. Around half of their production was based on copies of figures produced by other toy soldier manufacturers. Like these other manufacturers, production halted in 1942 with the entry of the United States into World War II with the molds being sold to Lincoln Logs.
American Metal Toys Gallery
Numbering of figures is from the O’Brien guide. I have included some side-by-side comparisons of the Manoil and Barclay figures copied by American Metal to highlight the difference seen in the underbase which is partially plugged in the AM versions.
References
- R O’Brien. Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers: Identifcation and Value Guide. 3rd ed. Books Americana; 1996.
American Metal AM6
American Metal AM6
Amercian Metal AM17
Amercian Metal AM17
American Metal AM30
American Metal AM30
American Metal Am27
American Metal Am27
American Metal Doctors
American Metal AM28a (right)
American Metal AM28 (right)
American Metal AM28a (right)
American Metal AM7 (right)
American Metal AM7 (right)