The evolution of metal figure manufacture from specialty items for the wealthy to toys that even the average Bürger could afford seems to have been driven by politics. Recall that at the time, the metal soldier market was fairly well limited to only those who could afford to commission the artisans and silversmiths who produced them. So, with the royal whims satisfied, who cared? Well, somebody did.

"What has politics got to do with Zinnfiguren?" you are no doubt asking. "Plenty!" is the answer. In what amounts to little more than the span of one lifetime, two men had a profound influence not only on history, but also on the world of the military miniature. These two men were, of course, Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, and the dazzling variety of military dress attributed to their eras are still a source of endless study, fascination and challenge to the modern-day figure painter.Their exploits, and especially their armies, were the impetus in a revival of national manias for uniforms, and subsequently, miniatures. It did not take long before some enterprising person would turn Frederick the Great's fame into profits.

Taking advantage of the military fervor of Frederick's day, craftsman Andreas Hilpert set out to mass produce miniatures and is the originator of toy soldiers as we know them today. A metal founder by trade, Herr Hilpert gathered up his family and in 1760, made the 150 kilometer journey from the village of Coburg to Nuremberg, the toy making center of Germany. The Hilperts set up their Zinnfiguren shop and quickly established a market for their thin, flat, painted metal soldiers.

Anxiety about overhead costs ran as high two centuries ago as it does today, and Herr Hilpert's concern for his bottom line was no exception. Always experimenting with different combinations of various metals, he soon discovered that by mixing tin with lead or copper, he could produce his figures at decreased cost, thereby making them even more affordable to the public and ultimately, of course, increasing his profits. Because of Hilpert's mass production and marketing techniques, little armies soon became familiar objects in playrooms throughout Europe. Needing foes for the miniature troops of Frederick the Great to vanquish, Hilpert's line of products quickly grew to include the armies of different countries. These figures, painted in the uniforms of their respective nations, were added to his showcases as quickly as his engravers could produce the molds. No duke worthy of his dukedom was content until the Hilperts made Zinnfiguren of his soldiers.

Hilpert's figures were no thicker than a dime, but what made them unique was that they were engraved on both sides and stood on bases like the "flats" of today. Favorite subjects were personalities such as Frederick, his generals and other celebrities of the time. These figures were made a little larger than the others and considerably more effort and care was taken in their painting. This care and effort was, of course, reflected in the price.

Herr Hilpert's Zinnsoldaten and his retailing innovations helped make him a wealthy man. Ahead of his time in marketing his products, extant Hilpert catalogs still show his great variety of miniatures. His line included not only miniature soldiers, but wild and domestic animals, civilians and scenic accessories such as trees and shrubs.

Tin and lead were used for casting and there seemed to be absolutely no standards as far as height or scale were concerned. Figurs ranged anywhere from 30 to 60 millimeters tall and in some cases were even larger. Nevertheless, Hilpert enjoyed a monopoly on the market for quite some time. His competition was mainly in the form of "Ma and Pa" shops set up in homes. In these shops, most of the casting and painting was done on a piecework basis after the molds had been engraved. And even though by the end of the 1700s countless numbers of small shops had mushroomed up all over Europe, they could not compete with Hilpert.