Crow Shoot

[cdavenport]

At the Show of Shows (gun and militaria) in Louisville earlier this month, I came across this shooting game at one of the tables. It was vintage, worn, and overpriced. So, I recreated it using existing imagery from the net, most importantly the repainted Disney crows. I found a couple of cork rifles on Ebay and refurbished them so that they shoot exceedingly well. The crows are printed on thick cardstock and laminated. They will adhere to a "fence" with some self-stick magnets. Everything will be boxed in handmade, hand covered boxes made from foam core. I am giving one to my best friend's grandson. The other I will keep in the event I have a grandchild one day. I recently purchased two additional vintage cork rifles which I will refurbish and possibly sell on Ebay with the shooting game. All of the logo and printing is my work based on the faded imagery I found on the net and on the original box art.

[cdavenport]

Here are the remaining Disney crows all of which I downloaded off the net and repainted in Photoshop. I added the point balls. I printed everything at FedEx Express and laminated them there, too. I recreated the original company logo and nomenclature, but took some artistic license with the background art, choosing instead a deep oak woodgrain look just because it was simpler than redrawing the original wood grain art.

I am completing work on the boxes. Once complete, I'll post some images of the completed toy.

[whulsey]

Looks good. And welcome back.

[Miles Linnabery]

Dear Charles:
Nice Idea a smaller and lighter version could be used with rubber band guns.
Welcome back,
Miles

[rockpaperscissor]

Outstanding work on recreating this vintage game. Beautiful job!

[Wyvern]

That is so retro-COOL! And it's great to see you posting again, Major!

Wyvern

[cdavenport]

Finished with the Crow Shoot resto. The rifle has been restored to its original cork firing state. I made a wooden fence post onto which a metal "fence" is attached. The crows are backed with magnetic tape so that they attach to the fence until shot with a cork.

To personalize the rifle, I used an online vinyl letter printing service. For $10, I could custom design the "engraving" on the rifle reflecting the child's name.

[Kevin WS]

Well Charles, that's come out really well!

Toys used to to be so nice.

I still have an original Felix the cat annual (was my fathers) - it has exactly the same sort of "flavour".

[elliott]

Well done indeed. The child's 'engraved' name adds a nice personal touch to a present that I'm sure will be treasured for years to come. Who knows? Perhaps it'll become an heirloom to be passed along to the next generation(s). One can always hope.