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Ancient Engineering SeriesCatapult Kits
Have you hurled today?

The Desktop Onager


Designed and made in the USA
for better quality,
better performance!


The Mighty Roman ONAGER, Now available in a desktop model. This display-quality model really works and can shoot missiles up to twenty feet.



This awesome little machine is the perfect desktop item to enforce the peace in your cubicle or dorm room. It really works!

This all wood and twine machine has no metal parts! Find out how the ancients were able to use nothing but wood and ropes to build machines that could hurl heavy stones great distances. These machines were the predecessors of cannons and modern artillery!

Measuring nine inches long, six inches tall and using the mighty torsion skein for power, this beast hurls wooden balls (included) up to twenty feet across the room. Food fight? Load it up with olives, marshmallows, maraschino cherries... the choices are endless!

Simple and easy to build. This kit includes everything you need except for glue and a few simple tools like scissors, sandpaper, a file (a utility knife would be helpful too) and about two or three hours of your time from start to finish. It's a far better use of your time than watching TV, and you'll have a really cool desk ornament when you're done. And don't forget, it not only looks cool- but unlike those other little desktop catapults we've collected, this one really works! (It works well too.)

Features include:

    -- Precision cut from high quality hardwood
    -- Authentic leather padded strike bar
    -- True skein torsion power- not a wimpy spring
    -- Range from 10 to 20 feet or more!

What you get:
The kit includes seventeen wooden parts, precision cut from high-quality furniture grade white hardwood. One hardware bag containing twine, trigger, wooden pegs and ammo, and assembly instructions.
The natural white wood can be stained any color

The instructions are highly detailed and complete with full-color photos and historical notes. This kit can be assembled to a finished model in two to three hours, plus glue-drying time. Some light sanding may be required to smooth any rough edges.

We've put a lot of time and effort into making this kit as easy and complete as possible. It's a fun way to learn about history and engineering!


* Warning: This is a representative model of a real ancient military weapon. Use only with competent adult supervision.
* Shown stained as red oak. The kit ships as a natural, unfinished poplar wood product. Colors may vary.
* Can throw 20 feet when properly constructed and using appropriate missiles. Your performance may vary.



Tools required:
Scissors, Glue, Ruler, and a utility knife. A flat file and sandpaper are optional.

Assembly time:
For a Master carpenter doing a sloppy job: about 1 hour.
A person with no kit building experience being extremely meticulous: about 3 hours.
The model in these photos was built by Ron Toms in about two hours.

Assembled Size:
- Height: 7.5"
- Length: 9"
- Width: 5"


Range:
- 10 to 20 feet using the included wooden projectiles. (Optimal range assumes a well built and well tuned machine)

Shipping weight: 2 lbs.
Box dimensions: 6" x 12" x 4"



Quantity pricing info:
0 to 4 kits, standard price.
5 to 9 kits, 10% off
10 or more kits, 15% off
Bulk priced kits are not individually packaged. All parts, components, instructions and hardware for each kit are combined into one box.

Orders of $200 or more get FREE ground shipping!

For more discount pricing info, please visit www.RLT.com/wholesale

WARNING! This is a representative model of a real ancient military weapon. It contains a fast moving arm that can cause injury if you make contact when firing. Use only under strict adult supervision.

* Shown stained as red oak. The kit ships as a natural, unfinished poplar wood product. Colors may vary.
* Can throw 20 feet when properly constructed and tuned. Your performance may vary.





Add to Cart

    Price: $26.95
    Minimum age: 10
    Availability: In stock.

    Add to Cart
    Item code: 10901

Notes:
Why should a kid
build a catapult?

Because the world needs good engineers and scientists, and because the kids who will grow up to become engineers and scientists need a way to get hands-on experience with physics, math and engineering.

In this age of 200-plus channels of TV, the Internet and computer games, kids are also spending far less time building tree houses, tinkering with engines, or designing downhill racers. We believe those are important skills to have. They help form the basis for good problem solving skills and an innate understanding of the real, physical world that you just can't get from a computer game, no matter how good its physics simulation software is.

Ballistic motion was one of the key players in the development of the science of physics. The word "engineer" even originated as the builders and designer of Siege Engines

Why is a budding engineering student expected to take a year or two of calculus in high school, but she isn't expected to have any real-world experience in building or working with machines and materials? Pencil and paper (or computer screens) are only one part of the learning experience. Where will she apply all of the stuff she learned in geometry and trig? Without physical projects to touch, feel and see, the lessons become abstract, their utility questionable.

A catapult project gives students a chance to see that science and engineering really can be fun, and it's a lot more than just numbers on paper. The real payoff for an engineer is in the field, where she can see and enjoy the results of her ingenuity. And it may seem counterintuitive, but engineering projects not only help kids learn math and science, they are also great at getting kids back outdoors, away from the massive over-exposure to video games, TV and the Internet.

Why all this interest in getting kids to study science and engineering? Because it's important to our society, and it's great mental cross training regardless of what field of work the kids eventually go into. Most people develop a sense for what they want to do in life while they are still in high school or even earlier. A catapult project is fun and interesting enough to inspire some kids to study the science behind how they work, and then go on to become the engineers and scientists of tomorrow.