Greenfield Shop Recreates Civil War and More

The 150^th anniversary of the start of the Civil War is on a lot of people’s minds these days.

But for historian Paul Herrmann, it’s on his just about every day and has been for decades.

Herrmann received his first Civil War book when he was 13 years old, igniting his love affair with the historic era.

“I love the Civil War,” said Herrmann, owner of Toy Soldier Shoppe in Greenfield. “I’ve done a lot of studying on it. I’ve been to an awful lot of the battlefields, some of them often. That’s my main love.”

Herrmann bought in 1999 and moved it from Wauwatosa to its current location almost four years ago. It specializes in the hobby of hand-painted, pewter soldiers, most standing only 54 millimeters tall. 

Herrmann estimates his shop is one of 15 or fewer like it in the country, and the nearest ones are as far away as Detroit and St. Louis.

The hobby has been around for more than 100 years, according to Herrmann, who got his first set of soldiers in 1948 from Gimble’s Department Store. Collection are typically displayed by simply lining soldiers up in glass cabinets, not unlike how Herrmann does in his shop, or by creating elaborate dioramas that depict certain wars or even specific battles of those wars.

“It’s kind of a closet hobby,” Herrmann said. “Most people don’t know about it.”

Toy Soldier Shoppe carries six manufacturers of soldiers, including brands such as W. Britain, which has been around since 1893, and King & Country. The manufacturers produce new items fairly regularly, but do so in limited quantities.

Limited production runs of 500 to 1,000 pieces, rising metal prices and escalating costs to pay sculptures and painters make the hobby an expensive one. Figures can easily cost a collector as much as $30 a pop, and vehicles $100 or more.

Older figures, those produced prior to 1965, have witnessed significant hikes in value, and some figures and vehicles made in the last five or six years have tripled in value, according to Herrmann. But the store owner warns if you’re looking to make an investment, look elsewhere.

“A lot of times, people get into it and ask, ‘Will this go up in value?’” Herrmann said. “I don’t know. If it does, great. If it doesn’t, you’ve enjoyed it, so buy what you like, don’t buy what you think is going to go up in value.

“The real value in them is the historical aspect of it. A lot of these (collectors) know their stuff. They’ve done a lot of reading on it.”

Herrmann is well-read on the Civil War and most other wars for that matter, not only because he is a military history buff, but because he wants to best serve his customers.

“I have to have some kind of background to do justice to (the hobby),” he said. “Anybody can say, ‘I need part number 73045.’ Well, OK, but some people want to know how to use it. I try to give them a lot of background information on the figures.”

According to Herrmann, approximately 15 percent of his business is done at toy solider conventions and another 60-70 percent is done by mail order. The rest is done through in-store purchases.

“I get a lot of people coming and saying, ‘Oh wow, I never knew there was anything like this. It’s so different,’” he said. “But a lot of those people are just really impressed and walk out without buying anything.

“I do, however, get a lot of interest from people in Chicago who drive up on the weekend, or people who vacation in Wisconsin. If they are into the hobby, they try to find a shop in the area, and mine is the only one in this area.”

Herrmann also fields plenty of misguided calls generated by his store's name. He does sell a few plastic figures for children or novice shoppers, but his is far from a toy store.

“I get sick of phone calls from people asking, ‘Do you buy Beanie Babies?’ Or, ‘I have this collection of G.I. Joes,’” he said. “I get a lot of that, but I stick to the scale and mostly everything is collectible.”