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Diorama 1:72 scale. It represents the siege of Costesti, dacian citadel.
Kit's used:
Zvezda 8513 Siege Tower
Zvezda 8014 Siege Machines No. 1
Zvezda 8015 Siege Machines No. 2
Zvezda 8013 Roman Infantry
Hat 8074 Imperial Roman Auxiliary
Airfix 01730 Romans
Italeri 6047 Roman Infantry
Orion 72008 Roman Siege Troops
Hat 8069 Dacians
[url:47hsg9pa]http://site.neogen.ro/macheteolaf01/files/pp_181392.html[/url]
I cannot put here the link to the pictures, they are too large. I think 500x600 pixels is too small.
Strike first, ask later!
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nice!
I particularly like the wall - did you make that yourself?
C.
Christoph Rummel
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Very nice, Alexandru!
Notwithstanding, the depicted artillery machine could be somehow anachronistic. I would have used a two-armed stone-thrower for Trajanic period, rather than an onager...
In any case, the construction details of all stone-throwers are the subject of hot debate among scholars! :roll:
Aitor
It\'s all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever.
Rolf Steiner
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Great looking Diorama there!Nice to see some old Airfix Romans! :o o
Timeo Danaos et Dona ferentes
Andy.(Titus Scapula Clavicularis)
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Was the "spoon" catapult really in use by the Romans? I've been told that it's an anachronism, because staff slings were in common use and it's a simple enough task to extrapolate when inventing the catapult.
A sling-using catapult is a lot better than a rigid-arm one. And any serious reconstructions I've seen (as well as some non-serious ones
) have used slings.
But if anyone have historical evidence of non-sling catapults to show me, I'll forgive all the toy makers (including LEGO) for their catapults, which up to now have been objects of my scorn.
Ooh, in the wiki article ([url:2ltn7l8a]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onager_(siege_weapon)[/url]) they claim that the fixed-bowl version was indeed used - in the middle ages from around year 1200 on! This means that I can forgive LEGO. But I still don't trust any Roman artillery with spoons.
At least, your machine has the right cranking mechanism and torsion mechanism as far as I can see. It might be fitted with a sling instead of the spoon, and become correct?
PRIMVS CALPVRNIVS LIVIANVS aka SANGVE aka Øystein Bech Gadmar
LEG XV AP of Norway (Romans? In Norway?!)
Somniatorem me dixeris, sed unicus non sum
-- Johannes Lennonius, MXMLXXI
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Here's a nice treatise on some of the issues with onagers. Note that the "cup" catapult started as a first attempt of reconstruction; it's possible that the idea got stuck in some people's minds?
bit.csc.lsu.edu/~pangburn/onager.pdf
As for pictures, here's my favourite engine in Denmark, with a simple yet effective sling:
Or for a better detail view:
A larger closeup of the sling itself
PRIMVS CALPVRNIVS LIVIANVS aka SANGVE aka Øystein Bech Gadmar
LEG XV AP of Norway (Romans? In Norway?!)
Somniatorem me dixeris, sed unicus non sum
-- Johannes Lennonius, MXMLXXI
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Very helpful, thank you. How about the wheels? I suppose they had wheels at least for transportation. But when they fired, were the wheels taken off?
Strike first, ask later!
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Olaf, the only description we have of an onager is by Ammianus Marcellinus, in the late 4th century AD. From that description and his other passages telling about the weapon in action, we can conclude that the onager was mainly used in an static role for defending fortifications: No wheels needed! :wink:
Aitor
It\'s all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever.
Rolf Steiner