Toy forts come in many shapes and sizes; some are copies of existing historical structures, while others are imagined with specific elements to enable realistic play, such as moats, drawbridges, and battlements.
As time went on, some of these sets were designed to portray specific structures associated with real battles.
Sets would consist of wooden components, some blocks and some flat, painted to depict details such as stone, brick, windows, arches and vegetation.
The Germans dominated the toy fort market until about 1900 when other manufacturers from France, Denmark, Britain, and the USA started to appear on the scene.
As technology progressed, new materials were used in the manufacturing of toy forts including tin, zinc alloy, composition, cardboard, hardboard, MDF, and finally plastics.