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Sunday, 11 December 2022

Mystery Fort

 I took a bit of a gamble and purchased a small log fort that was clearly a toy and designed as some form of child's shooting game.  A bonus was that it was cheap at around £12 with a good number of lovely Minifigs S Range Crimean figures included:


When it arrived, I removed the centre and added a new floor from card.  With a bit of paint I quickly had a nice size little log fort that would work from the ECW out to the SYW and possibly beyond. Seen here with some SYW 25mm Minifigs infantry:


My question is, does anyone know what the original fort was called and who made it?  I think it originally worked by hitting the flag pole with a projectile which tilted on elastic bands causing little plastic spikes to come up through the floor and knock figures over.  I removed all of that.


17 comments:

  1. That makes an absolutely fantastic fort! I do hope somebody chirps up with who made it and what it was called for a trawl on eBay.

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  2. That's a nice little fort , I hope you find out who makes them.

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    1. Thanks. It measures only about 9 inches across, so is perfect for the average gaming table.

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  3. I found one on Ebay; the maker of it is listed as Pressman Toys.

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    1. Thank you, although I have never heard of Pressman Toys. Will take a look.

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    2. Found it on eBay but £58+ plus £26+ p&p! I think I'll just have to use your pictures as inspiration for a scratch-build.

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  4. Amazing find! Will make an impregnable BUA.

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    1. Must get my Prussians to brush up their FIBUA training!

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  5. Impressive wherever it came from.

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    1. It seems it is an American toy and designed for 54mm figures.

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  6. What an excellent purchase,you have done a terrific job with it!
    Alan Tradgardland

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    1. Thanks Alan. Its always nice when a speculative eBay purchase turns out to be worth it.

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  7. The fort looks really good. A very handy pickup.

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    1. Indeed Peter, I think I can find several uses for it and it beats using a yoghurt carton to simulate the Mamelon!

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  8. Brilliant find, a tricky shape to scratch build so cheap at the price really.

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    1. Thanks James, it was indeed a bargain. I have looked on line and a new one would cost over $50 in the USA.

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