Grandpa Ed's Workshop

Grandpa Ed's Workshop Toys should be timeless and built to last! I build the coolest wooden castles you and your kids will ever play with! Follow us on Twitter

This is the official page for Grandpa Ed 's Workshop. Grandpa Ed 's Workshop is about two ideals: that imagination is the most powerful force in a child's development, and that the best toys are timeless. We build high quality wooden castles to our unique designs using the finest materials. Each castle is handmade from Baltic Birch plywood and decorated in the style of your choosing. The

castles are sized to accommodate figures ranging from 1:32 scale (green army men sized) to 3" size. This project is about two ideals: that imagination is the most powerful force in a child's development, and that the best toys are timeless. I grew up during the transition from G.I. Joes and Barbies to video games and electronic gadgets. I had plenty of both, yet my fondest memories aren't of high scores and beaten levels. They are of the worlds I created with green army men, Legos, and my imagination. I'm not the only person my age that feels this way. There's a strange phenomenon going on in the world of playtime. More and more I hear of children casting aside their iGizmos in favor of their parent's old toys; rediscovered in the attic or rescued from Grandma's basement. In fact that's sort of the story behind this project. This project is inspired by the memory of my grandfather Ed Fromm. Ed was a carpenter, designer, and tinkerer. From the doors of his workshop emerged beautiful furniture, game tables, cabinets, and ingenious widgets. The scrap corner served as stock for the imaginations of his grandchildren. With his guiding hands we leaned to turn leftover pieces into everything from bird houses to battleships. Going through some old things I stumbled upon some plans for a project we never got around to; a wooden fortress for toy soldiers...
..Flash forward a few years. My girlfriend's 10 year old was whining that he had nothing to do because the Xbox controller was out of batteries. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was trying to get some work done. I ran down a mental list of all of the flashy toys and games he had to play with, but there was no interest in any of them. In a fit of desperation I handed him a shopping bag filled with old green army men and pointed to a rocky part of the yard. Three hours later the backyard general returned grinning ear to ear. "Jon these things are awesome! But you need to build a base for the bad guys!" In the coming days I discovered many people had similar stories. The final "ah-ha!" moment came when a five year old told me his new flashy store bought castle wasn't "real and mean looking enough." Within a few weeks pencil sketches had become CAD models had become prototypes. Grandpa Ed's Workshop was born

09/20/2017

The workshop is moving into a new place where, well, I'll actually be able to have a workshop again. Tools don't like living in boxes any more than yours do. With Toys R Us going bankrupt someone has to pick up the slack!

06/08/2016

Wow, I didn't realize so many people view this page! Yay, and thank you Facebook analytics! The Workshop is now in sunny picturesque Washington. Unfortunately the castle building tools are still in boxes. Unpacking from a big move is a full time job, add one that I don't have full time for. I'll get there eventually and have some great new projects lined up. The laser cutter delivery was delayed and it's essential for my next big project. I'm planning on building a fort with articulating disappearing guns. Kits may end up on Kickstarter.

The board game projects are in full swing. I probably won't publish any games under the Grandpa Ed's label. Yet publishing games was always the end goal. The more I post about games the more views I get. So I'll keep posting about them! I may do a limited run of my game Shires with all wooden bits once the laser cutter comes in. That will be something to behold! Gramps would have gotten a huge kick out of a project like that.

Unfortunately Emergency Dispatch did not win the Cardboard Edison award. I did recieved some excellent feedback and will be tweaking the game accordingly. Then there is the new game... I don't want to disclose much about it at this time. I'll tell you this: the concept has been in work for over a year, it's a worker placement type game, and it has an aviation theme. I'll be pitching all three games at Gencon in August. Feel free to contact me for details or demos!

05/08/2016

The workshop has left hot sunny California for warm sunny Washington. The tools and work benches arrive tomorrow!

The workshop is relocating so it will be a little while before the next batch of wooden toys :(Fortunately I'm keeping b...
02/29/2016

The workshop is relocating so it will be a little while before the next batch of wooden toys :(

Fortunately I'm keeping busy with a new board game design. Emergency Dispatch has been nominated for a prestigious Cardboard Edison award. You can learn all about the game at http://cardboardedison.com/award

In Routes of Steel, you are the manager of a small rail company trying to take advantage of the boom in the steel industry during the early 70’s in the US Midwest. With your trains, you will deliver steel to the port for export, as well as other commodities such as coal, oil and iron to US Midwest c…

Christmas is coming and the workshop would love to help you put something special under your tree! I have a few pack-n-...
09/18/2015

Christmas is coming and the workshop would love to help you put something special under your tree! I have a few pack-n-play pieces available on Etsy. I'm also willing to entertain a limited number of requests for castles, forts, and play sets. Send me a PM if you are interested! Prices are negotiable. I have a large selection of knights, soldiers, and accessories that can be included.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GrandpaEdsWorkshop?ref=search_shop_redirect

Hello everyone! Here is the latest creation from the workshop. This is a star fortress. This creation features lots o...
09/18/2015

Hello everyone! Here is the latest creation from the workshop. This is a star fortress. This creation features lots of new capabilities. The cannons, gun turret, and pocket doors were made on the workshop's new 3D printer. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm having a lot of fun ratcheting up the detail with each new part I design. The doors slide open and shut. The guns in the turret elevate and depress. The whole turret rotates 360 degrees. The same is true for the pintle guns. The mounts for the pintle guns double as a handle for removing the roof from the bastion. There are 14 cannon ports in the walls and 1:32 scale cannons fit perfectly.

The fort is modular just like the castles. It looks especially cool laid out in a straight line. That's over 3 feet of fortress!

This design has been rattling around in my brain for over a year. I drew inspiration from several fortresses I've visited around the country. The bastions and walls are influenced by Napoleonic era designs. The bunker in the back is in the style of a turn of the century coastal battery. The gun turret is WWII style. Then I added some WWI style pintle guns. 4 Generations of fun!

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Here's a look at what's churning through the workshop these days.
08/31/2015

Here's a look at what's churning through the workshop these days.

It's been awhile so I thought I'd post an update on the current workings of the Workshop. LOTS has been going on. Ther...
07/18/2015

It's been awhile so I thought I'd post an update on the current workings of the Workshop. LOTS has been going on. There is a new castle design in the works. It's going to be a very different style and feature numerous 3D printed plastic parts. A CAD model exists but I haven't started cutting wood for it yet. Stay tuned. I'm also working on some 3D printed parts for the castles. I have 1 castle coming along that will be the first to feature these pieces.

Castles aren't the only things coming out of the Workshop. I have been working diligently on a board game called Shires. You can read about it at http://unpub.net/games/detail/?proto=742&o=645. I'm humbled and excited to report that Shires was selected for a special event at the upcoming GENCON convention in Indianapolis.

I realize that Shires has nothing to do with wooden toys and may not appeal to some of you. However, I can assure you there will be plenty more castles to come!

Thought I'd post some more pictures of one of the decorated King's Castles. This one is the last of the Kickstarter orde...
01/12/2015

Thought I'd post some more pictures of one of the decorated King's Castles. This one is the last of the Kickstarter orders and has some special extras for a special client.

01/10/2015

The brown Castillo and grey Castle are now available on etsy. Just look for the GrandpaEdsWorkshop store!

THE GRAY FORTRESS HAS FOUND A HAPPY HOME! This fort sets up in seconds and collapses into the base for storage. The 2 s...
12/16/2014

THE GRAY FORTRESS HAS FOUND A HAPPY HOME!

This fort sets up in seconds and collapses into the base for storage. The 2 story tower has interlocking parts so that it is very sturdy when assembled. This Castillo is constructed from furniture grade birch with oak trim and finished in a textured stone paint scheme.

The Gray Fortress includes 2 cannons, 2 mortars, 1 horse, and 17 54mm colonial soldiers. All of these fit inside the base making it a great pack and play set. When folded up the set measures 4"x11"x11".

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Cameron Park, CA

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