Hello
I think it is completely random, my Airfix soldiers were bought between 1966 and 1970 and were used for playing/ war gamming between 1965 and 1972 and between 2005 to present. The “casualty rate” (not counting “missing in action” i.e. lost) varies enormously:
WW1
British Infantry (my first box
) less than 10%
German Infantry 35%
French Infantry 60%
American Infantry 15%
British Artillery 40%
WW2
British Infantry (first type) less than 10%
German Infantry (first Type) 35%
Russian Infantry 65%
Japanese Infantry 60%
US Marines (first type) less than 10%
Commandos (first type) 80%+
British paratroopers 30%
Africa Korps (first type) 50%
8th Army (first type) 40%
ACW
Union less than 10%
Confederation 25%
Artillery 50%
US Cavalry 0%
Napoleonics
Highland Infantry 0%
French Cuirassiers 0%
Others
Romans 80%
Britons 60%
Foreign legion (first type) less than 10%
Arabs 0%
As you can see the number of broken figures varies a lot between sets. Some are very brittle, some are as new after more than 40 years. There might be a tendency for green figures to be in better shape, but there are exceptions.
We should learn with the Romans: CARPE DIEM; live your days, this is true for us and also for our little soldiers.
A good day for all.
Mário