I am an admirer of engineering, history, and construction, so when I was introduced to the Leonardo da Vinci kits by Pathfinders, my intrigue was immediately set alight.
Even though I’d promised myself I would only have a look at the pieces, I was soon assembling it on my lunch break. I quickly discovered that everything needed to complete the Catapult was in the box; instructions, glue, fixings, pieces cut to size, sandpaper, everything except a ruler.
The kit came together easily, in just under an hour. It’s great fun to experiment with the tension in the limbs, the weight of the clay ball, and the angle of the catapult arm to get different arc’s, either going for a steep angled short range “bomb” or a flat long distance shot. The accuracy surprised me and once I was zeroed in I has often able to place a hit on target number out times in a row.
Apart from the insatiable desire to start building, my other immediate thought on unboxing was to the high quality of the pieces. Being a model kit builder from a young age, you get a feel for the quality of the kit just by holding the pieces, and this kit did not let me down. Inside the kit, you also get easy-to-follow instructions including some further historical information on da Vinci’s design.
Being a working model for demonstrating da Vinci’s principles, rather than one accurate to his drawings, the construction does away with traditional joints, making use a pegged construction instead. While this isn’t accurate to either history or his drawings, it does give the model tremendous strength, allowing you to use the power in the bent limbs to fling the clay balls without fear of it coming apart.
The kit came together easily, in just under an hour. It’s great fun to experiment with the tension in the limbs, the weight of the clay ball, and the angle of the catapult arm to get different arc’s, either going for a steep angled short range “bomb” or a flat long distance shot. The accuracy surprised me and once I was zeroed in I has often able to place a hit on target number out times in a row.
It’s easy to see why it won Toy of Year in 2013, and it certainly had me hooked.
Like any good scale model “artist” I have customised mine, simply by staining and oiling the lovely timber pieces, though to be honest, that’s my O.C.D. kicking in a little, because I wanted it to match the other pieces in my collection. The da Vinci catapult is a brilliant display piece in its own right.
You can check out more about da Vinci’s catapult in our online store here.
Pathfinders do an amazing range of timber model kits, all high-quality stuff, and many of those are available at Presents of Mind.
Check out this video for more information on Pathfinder’s kits. Architect