Americana #98530 Authentic Gettysburg Action Figures Playset - Pt 1

We still haven't got the American Civil War out our blood and there's plenty to post - just as soon as photos get taken! This next little mini-series has been in the works for a couple of months now and I do believe it's ready to go, so let's get started.

Back in the early '60s it seemed that every major toy company was producing Civil War toys to celebrate its centennial. Today however, Civil War toys are a niche category and no longer produced by the big boys. Companies that specialize in making entire ranges of 'little green army men' are the ones most likely make figures. The big playsets made by Marx, T. Cohn, MPC and others is a thing of the past. The only two companies making big playsets are Classic Toy Soldiers (CTS) and Americana but while CTS continues to offer new sets I haven't heard much at all from Americana in regards to larger playsets. The set featured today and in the coming days was produced some years back and I probably have had it for maybe ten years. Giving Amazon.com and eBay a quick look doesn't reveal any new, big, playsets.

This  really does hearken back to the golden age of playsets and offers a ton of play value, a decent piece count, and some nice historically accurate (for a toy) details.Not only do you get both warring factions with cannon and terrain peices but instead of tents and a couple of flags (as offered in playsets past), you actually get representations of actual buildings used as headquarters on either side. Marx made  the quintessential Civil War playset with it's gorgeous tin-litho mansion but it was not an actual representation of any battlefield landmark. In this set you get the two buildings used by Gen Meade and General Lee during the battle. 

Piece count. The box top declares "Over 101 PC" and here's what you get:


Union figures,           15 poses   34 total
Confederate figures   15 poses   34 total
Horses                                          2
Flagpoles 2EA                             4 pcs
Sheet of flag appliques                1 large (for flag poles)
                                                     1 small (for flag bearers)
Limber                                         4
Cannon                                        8
Rock walls                                   2
Meade's HQ                                 9 pc
Lee's HQ                                      8 pcs
Assembly instructions                 1
                                       Total 108 pieces