This group of toy soldiers, representing Nazi Sturmabteilung (or SA) troops, also known as 'Brownshirts', was not originally sold as a set, but is made up of individual pieces, from two separate manufacturers, purchased separately and brought together. The majority of the figures were manufactured by A. G. Lineol, a leading German manufacturer of toy soldiers, but the set also includes figures produced by O. & M. Hausser, Lineol's main competitor and another major manufacture of soldiers and other games. All of the figures were manufactured in Germany in the mid- to late-1930s.

They are made from a composite material, which includes substances such as plaster, glue, sawdust, and linseed oil mixed together, which is then pressed into a mould around a wire armature, heated and dried and then hand-painted. The particular composite mixture used by Hausser was given the trade name 'Elsastolin'.

They reflect the trend amongst toy manufacturers to mirror the real world in terms of new armies, regiments, changes in uniform and equipment and methods of warfare. Although, through representing the SA, the figures can be read as an example of propaganda, it is unclear how much official encouragement, on the part of the German Government, for the manufacture of these politically-based figures existed at the time. It is likely that toys such as this were produced to satisfy a general demand amongst the German population caused by the political climate of the time.