one of the rarer toy soldiers are figures called chalkware.  formed of gypsum, ie. plaster of paris, chalkware was a depression era low cost medium for household objects , often carved or easily molded. Though figurines, lamps, wall hangings souveniers and bricacrac were the mainstay of the factory output cheap toys were a natural application of the art. Plaster was cheaper than ceramics, or plastics, or metals, and was easily molded, and when painted with oil paints, could develop an attractive finish. On the negative, it's fragile, brittle, and has all the drawbacks of celluloid or clay for toys. It was a great way to make cheap toys, but few survive from the 30s to 50s, the heyday era of chalkware. Miller produced some great WWIi-Korea soldiers though, beautifully rendered. Examples like this prove the point.