The war had consumed such a quantity of metal, that by the time it finally ended a serious metal shortage existed. But industry adapted and re-tooled back to consumer goods. A new generation of children existed who had grown up with war and were more interested in the mechanical delights of the 20th century than in model soldiers. The new craze was for wind-up cars and electric trains. And in Germany, home of the model soldier since Hilpert's day, the Treaty of Versailles had not only forbidden a "real" army of any practical use, but a clause in the Treaty also forbade the production of military toys of any kind. The French had been complete in their revanche. So the German miniature industry did the only thing it could do: it produced more civilian flats than any other country, and still does to this day.

A resurgence in interest in military miniatures occurred prior to World War II. And with the onset of the consumer craze for plastic in the 1950s and 1960s, an entirely new aspect was introduced into the world of model soldiers. Plastic figures were first produced in mass by a Pole named Zang. He founded the "Heralds" line of figures and later joined forces with Britains. Plastic figures took over the role that had once been played solely by the flats and full rounds. The tin soldier had grown obsolete with only serious miniature devotees and collectors still showing an interest. Even the venerable "Britains" gave way and the age of the hollow metal soldiers ended in 1967, when all metal production ceased and Britains too were made of plastic. Times had truly changed.

Britains adapted well and created the unique "Swoppet" range which was produced by the Britains-Herald concern. This line contained a variety of medieval knights with interchangeable heads, belts, and weapons. If memory serves me, I recall the knights even had torsos that could be removed and interchanged. This feature made for some very ferocious battles!