This Figure of the Week comes from the red-headed stepchild of the Dimestore Toy Soldier world, the Grey Iron Company. Founded in 1840 (reorganized as Grey Iron Casting Company, Ltd. in 1881) they started casting their solid iron soldiers in 1917. Hand-poured and painted these figures were pricey retailing for 10¢, twice as much as their chief competitors.

Figure G104, “Nurse and Wounded Soldier” depicts a caring nurse and her tender embrace of a dying young soldier. Her expression is woeful while his is calm and resigned. The paint on this example is relatively good as Grey Iron figures don't seem to hold their paint as well as the other two big dimestore companies, Barclay and Manoil. Currently this piece fetches $250.00+ and is somewhat rare due to its lack of popularity when originally produced (no kid wanted to play with a girl and a dead guy). ~DLD