As promised, allow me to introduce Leonardo da Vinci's siege catapult, none of which were ever actually built. As you can see, this mini siege cat is under siege by this cat. This should negate the need for dimensions.

Construction is of maple, walnut, brass, steel, cotton thread, sinew, and a long iron screw. Just click the cat to see more details.

This lil beauty here is an trebuchet, a counterweight catapultlike siege machine devised by many different cultures over time, and it is soooo very small that it is an trebuchette.

At barely 6 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 6 inches tall when unloaded, it may not be the smallest treb ever made, but can that one hurl an unarmed push pin over most cubicle walls with great acuracy?

Constructed of rock maple in just over 4 hours, it uses a one ounce fish sinker for a counter weight, and a trigger of my own devising that only lends itself to miniature machines. Sewing the leather pouch was quite an experience as it was barely 3/8 of an inch by 1/2.

For more info on trebuchets, just click the treb.

The definition of onager is: A kicking donkey or horse. The onager family of siege machinery include any spring loaded weapons that kick from recoil after firing.

This is my interpretation of a roman mangonel. It is an ancient weapon which utilizes the energy of ropes or sinews which are wound tight by means of levers or winches, the resulting force being used to propel a wooden bar toward the target.

The only similarity between this weapon and the trebuchet is the sling located at the business end, which when flipped, adds a whole lotta extra physics to the shots, as many Palestinian youth can attest. A basket, net or metal cup could also be used in place of the sling, giving a more familiar look to the machine.

If anyone should know the name of the machine shown below, please respond.

If it never existed before, it should have, because it looks impressive. If someone were to start constructing one of these pointed in my direction it would certainly get my attention.

The bowstring is drawn by use of a winch and the throwing arm accompanies it down to the firing position, where it is locked in safety. Projectile is loaded into cup. Lever is drawn, freeing firing mechanism. It is fairly accurate, and kicks when fired, so belongs here whether it ever existed or not.

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