Goat Toy Day 10
11Did you know that you needed a desktop trebuchet? You’ll need a big desk though, it’s about 2 feet long and a foot wide, but it will throw stuff 20-30 feet.
It is a kit, so assembly required. Everything is precut and drilled (though I think you need to cut some of the dowels), but it can be fiddly, so take your time, and let the glue set up before moving onto the next step. I know this is heresy, but read, and re-read the instructions before starting. Some things need to assembled in order.
But the results are worth it.
I’ve been in love with the trebuchet ever since I saw this:
Well, that’s disappointing, let me see if I can find an embeddable video. (Skip to 1:43 for the action.)
There are several different kits out there, and catapults and crossbows too. I got mine from ThinkGeek several years ago. It’s on Amazon for $26.
https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinders-Medieval-Trebuchet-Wooden-Kit/dp/B000LJN9MG
- 5 comments, 11 replies
- Comment
Let’s try this one. Skip to 1:35, the time index link doesn’t seem to work.
@blaineg try adding ?start=[time in seconds] to it:
I forgot about Northern Exposure. That scene was great.
@Fuzzalini that whole series was great
I’ve been to Punkin Chunkin a few times. The trebuchets are definitely my favorite. The air cannons are great for distance but rather boring.
@cinoclav I miss Punkin Chunkin; it had become an annual tradition (on TV). Killed by lawyers and insurance.
@cinoclav
I was there a few times, seemed like half the time the air cannons totally atomized the pumpkins they were loaded with.
@duodec Considering this is the wristband they give you when entering…
@Mothersnakes They were all or none. When they did launch without destroying the pumpkin you could barely see them fly.
@cinoclav Yep; a cannon could explode, any of the mechanicals could have flung a pumpkin up or back, a centrifugal could have shaken apart… but it was awesome. No room for such things in safety-nanny modern USA all set about with feverish litigators.
KRULL! A SKULL! BRETT HULL! AWESOME!
We used to make catapults to launch water balloons over the fence at the neighbors. For Independence Day we would use them to fling firecrackers into the air. Fun times.
This topic and the subsequent responses made me want to binge on Northern Exposure. Sadly, it’s unavailable anywhere for streaming.
NP, I’ll order it up on disk! Only to discover the complete series on DVD is about a hundred ducks and the Blu-ray version is closer to $200.
How can this be that such a fantastic series, which ran on a major US broadcast network, is unavailable for streaming?? When I see some of the total crap offered by Hulu or Prime Video (Netflix to a lesser degree) I have to SMH and wonder “why not Dr. Joel?”
I also discovered there have been talks of a Northern Exposure revival. First Full House, then Murphy Brown, now Northern Exposure? It’s like I’m time traveling back to my youth!
@ruouttaurmind rent it from your library? That’s what I’ve been doing with movies/shows that I can’t stream for free (legally).
@RiotDemon It’s worth a look. My local branch has to order disks from the main library downtown. Since that process serves an entire city of over 1.5 million people, the wait time for disks can be quite long, and you are only permitted to order one disk at a time. It could take me three years to get through the entire series at that rate!
@ruouttaurmind I suppose I’m lucky. My county has a fairly decent library system. 5 or 6 different libraries for 150k people. Inner library transfers are done every day they are open. When our library doesn’t have it, they can actually borrow it from the neighboring counties. The only thing I had to wait for recently was a newer disc of Vikings.