This model 6.8 Foreign Legion Fort is from the 1937 number 6 manual. The model is built using in the cross hatched blue, gold and red parts of the 1937 outfits. A few enhancements have been made to the original model and extra parts used beyond the scope of the 1937 number 6 outfit. Features of the model include a drawbridge that is raised and lowered by a crank handle on the side, a flag that can be raised and lowered, two field guns and a radio aerial. Pictures of Foreign Legion forts do not appear to have ramps to a drawbridge this looks more like one of the "Triang" wooden toy forts advertised in the Meccano Magazine of the 1930's. Stories about the French Foreign Legion and their daring deeds were popular subjects in boys story books and magazines of the nineteen twenties and thirties, perhaps that was the reason for the introduction by Meccano of this fort. I have fond memories of building this model as a child in the 1950's for my toy soldiers and field guns and having great fun in recreating epic desert battles. The model however was short lived and only appeared briefly again in the first post war reprint of the manual in 1945. I would have thought this model with all its play value would have been continued, in those days most boys had toy soldiers. However Meccano seemed to have had an aversion to buildings in the instruction manuals although they were often featured in the Meccano Magazine and there were even architectural model competitions! Picture below is of a Foreign Legion fort from the film Beau Geste. Bottom original manual instructions 1937. Page created February 12 2018