2 The application of metal
Arguably metals, including steel, are the most important structural materials in modern life. Metals have several properties which have made them extremely popular with toy manufacturers. For instance, due to their high formability, metals can be rolled into thin plates and then pressed to make tubular or hollow components. The vintage toys in Figure 9 are made from thin steel sheets which, very often, are pressed tinplate (a thin sheet of steel coated in tin). Tinplate has some desirable properties for toy manufacturers such as its lustre, corrosion resistance, solderability, weldability and formability.
