Green Army Men toys now officially include women

Green Army Men figures have gotten a makeover. The bucket of toys now includes women.

And it’s not just any women, the new figures include the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” on a base that says “We Can Do It!”

The change came after Vivian Lord, 6, pointed out that the small plastic toys only had men. If they were marketed to girls, the soldiers were cast in pink plastic but were still all men, Army Times reported.

The New York Times reported Vivian wrote a letter. It said, “Some girls don’t like pink, so please can you make army girls that look like women?”

And she sent them to three companies and one answered -- BMC toys.

Jeff Imel’s company had been thinking about adding women to the toy line for years, but Vivian’s letter helped take it from an idea to reality, Army Times reported.

Imel raised money through a fundraiser to help launch the new variations, telling WNEP last year that it costs about the same as a modest new car, to design the toys. The donations coming from a variety of people including senior citizens who also wanted the toys when they were Vivian’s age, Imel said on a Facebook live stream in December.

BMC recently released images of prototypes for the new designs. In addition to the Rosie figure, the women will also be in classic poses like running, standing, prone sniper and bazooka operator, as well as some new poses like military dog handler, complete with dog and a nurse, Army Times reported.

The toys haven’t hit the market just yet. But they are expected to be available in October in a 36-piece set of only women and an 86-piece bucket of either just women or a bucket that is a mix of men and women figures. All are available for pre-order.

Cox Media Group