Toy soldiers have come a long way from being just a bit of fun during childhood. They are now a seriously grown-up investment that can fetch thousands of pounds. Small military models have been found ...

In Daniel Tiffin's office in Richmond Hill, Ont., thousands of colourful infantrymen, their bayonets and muskets aloft, charge into battle. To the experienced eye, their positions will look familiar.

If you want a taste of what soldiers, heroes and pioneers looked like in almost any period of history — from well-traveled eras like the American Civil War, World War II and the Crusades to such ...