Michael,
When I was a kid, I also couldn't afford the top notch metal toy soldiers. There was a hobby shop in my town I used to pass walking to and from school called Devlins Hobbies which had a huge showcase full of beautiful glossy metal parade ground figures (probably Britains) which I coveted. Instead, I bought these great Bandai 1/48 scale model tanks, vehicles, artillery pieces and troops, built and painted them myself. I just bought a bunch of the old Bandai kits . . . a great father son activity for the future.