Figures of Abyssinian and Italian soldiers appeared for the first time in Lineol in 1937. Some of the African warriors were wearing the traditional dress of tribes from Abyssinia. However why did Lineol start a new series of figures? The reason for that was the Italian-Abyssinian War of 1935 to 1936.

When Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini came into power in 1922, his dream was to re-establish the old Roman Empire. Two Italian colonies, Eritrea and Somalia, were seperated by the independent African empire of Abyssinia (later called Ethiopia) at the Horn of Africa. The Italians had already tried to conquer the country, but they were defeated at the Battle of Adowa by a well equipped Abyssinian army in 1896.

In 1925, Italian forces took control of some strategic water holes along the Abyssinian border. Some of these location, however, were clearly within the Abyssinian territory. Immediately after this fact became obvious in October 1926, the Abyssinians complaint about it. To settle this conflict, talks between Italy and Abyssinia began and a treaty was finalized in 1928. However, this did not stop the Italians. By 1932, the Italians had even build a road through Abyssinian territory.