Reich Labour Service (Reichs Arbeits Dienst - RAD)

The German Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD), or German Reich Labor Service, was formed in July of 1934 as the official state and party labor service. The RAD was a voluntary service, but it was made compulsory in 1935 for all young men to serve in the RAD for six months. The RAD was was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ideology. It was the official state labour service, divided into separate sections for men and women. In 1935 there were 422,000 men serving in the RAD. RAD units served on all fronts during WWII, from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea, and from France in the west, to the far reaches of Russia in the east. Units served in Albania, Greece, and the former Yugoslavia. Elastolin,Lineol and Kienel produced RAD composition soldiers during 30s. These days RAD figurines are quite rare.

A bridge too far ...

A pontoon bridge uses floats or shallow-draft boatsnto support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. Different German composition soldiers produced by Lineol, Elastolin and Schusso. Happy Friday !

Toy Story: Bucket o' Soldiers postcard from Disney 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Storyboard: Toy Storynpostcard.Joe Ranft, pencil and ink, 1994.

Char B1 and French army composition soldiers

The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turret was added, to allow it to function also as a Char de Bataille, a "battle tank" fighting enemy armour, equipping the armoured divisions of the Infantry Arm. This wooden model of Char B1 was built in France (1946). There are also different composition soldiers produced by German makers (Elastolin, Lineol) and Belgian ones (Durso, Clairon).

East German soldiers crossing a river on an inflatable boat

The first generation of PGH Effelder NVA (DDR army) "rubber" soldiers was painted in camouflage (Tarnfarben). PGH Effelder produced this type of soldiers from 1968 till 1979. The wooden inflatable boat is borrowed from Elastolin (Hausser).

Belgian soldiers are testing RL-83 Blindicide antitank rocket launcher

The RL-83 Blindicide is an antitank rocket launcher that was produced by Mecar SA of Belgium from 1953 until 1968 and was an improved derivative of the American M20A1 Bazooka. It had an effective range of 400 metres and its 83mm warhead could penetrate 2 inches of rolled armour plate at 90 degrees. Its name roughly means "tank killer", derived from the French "véhicule blindé" (armoured car) and the suffix -cide. In 50s, Durso (Belgium) produced composition Belgian army soldiers armored with the RL-83 Blindicide. It is interesting to notice that Durso initially produced postwar Belgian army soldiers equiiped by British "Brodie" helmets but later changed them to the U.S. M1 type.

NVA army soldiers from PGH Effelder

The National People's Army (NVA) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. NVA officers often served as combat advisers in Africa.Some of the first NVA advisors went to the Republic of the Congo in 1973. During the 1980s at various times the NVA had advisors in Algeria, Angola, Ethiopia, Guinea, Iraq, Libya, Mozambique, South Yemen, and Syria. These NVA "rubber" soldiers were produced by PGH Effelder (DDR) from 1979 to 1990.