The Plastic General - Toy Soldiers

The Plastic General is a new line of WW2 toy soldiers launched in September of 2025. It's founder is Christian Aldo, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since 2014. Christian is a lifelong collector of WW2 plastic toy soldiers and vehicles and has one of the most complete collections I am aware of. This is not just because of the vast number of sets that he owns, but also because of how he applies his creativity towards figure conversions to address gaps in the hobby. His Plastic General brand has evolved over the years. It started as the moniker that he used in toy soldier forums. A few years ago, it became the central character and title of his YouTube channel in which he reviews WW2 plastic toy soldiers and vehicles. He does this in a very creative and entertaining format, reenacting fictitious battles and embedding himself in the shots (no pun intended) of the men fighting. In order to do so, he dresses in the corresponding uniforms and equips himself with a variety of hand-made weapons and props. If you are not familiar with his episodes you should definitely check them out. Most recently he decided to pursue his dream of launching his own line of toy soldiers. He's done so in partnership with Toy Soldier Central which manufactures his figures using 3D printing. Christian is uniquely positioned to launch his own toy soldier brand as he clearly understands the hobby from a collector's point of view. And not just any collector, but a collector who actually plays extensively with his figures. Christian knows very well what sets are missing or which ones need additional poses or weaponry. He also understands the types of poses that should be released in a first set, as well as subsequent expansion sets. He also understands the types of tradeoffs that exist when making figures with different types of materials, and he holds strong opinions on matters such as what the ideal base for a toy soldier should be and many more subtleties. I am very excited about the impact that he will have on the hobby and can't wait to get my hands on his future sets. For now he has kicked off his product line with German Waffen SS in winter uniforms. Let's take a look! or like the Plastic General says, let's go to war! and long live 1:32 WW2 Plastic!

The Plastic General German Waffen SS in winter uniforms

If you look closely at this set, what is unique about them is that they are wearing long coats and on top of them they are wearing cammo jackets and helmet covers. Previous manufacturers of winter German troops had given us one or the other, but not both. Given that these guys are late war guys -think Battle of the Bulge period- they are also equipped with weapons of the period, a couple MP40s, a couple Stg44s, and you also get a machine gunner and a rifle man with a panzerfaust on his back to round up the set. The poses address all the basic poses that you want in an initial set that you aim to use for combat. No odd poses or fancy weapons. A good, solid basic initial set. The sculpting is fairly nice, with good level of detail. Notice how these guys  are wearing scarfs and anything else they can wrap themselves in for the tough winter campaigns. These figures are being manufactured by Toy Soldier Central in flexible resin, so they are very sturdy. If there's anything to improve, I would have liked to see the figures display a bit more dynamism. For example, the grenade man could have a bit more range of motion if he really wants to throw that potato masher farther than a few yards. But hey, let's not get nitpicky. I am super excited about The Plastic General throwing his hat in the ring and I am really looking forward to having him fill and complement the gaps in our hobby!