Avalonian Trebuchet

[ZCerberus]

I will post final pictures soon (these are before I added the sling and made final adjustments)...

But here is a little teaser to wet the appetite.

Only "non-Lego" parts are some string, dimes in the counter weight, a ribbon as the sling and a "jump ring" on the sling to attach it to the release point.

I am most happy it fires!

Check out this shot! Too bad River Run watchtower is so solid it didn't take any damage!

Edited November 29, 2011 by ZCerberus

[Sirens-of-Titan]

My what a beauty!!! Not only beautiful but functional!

How on earth do you know how to build one that well? Your own effort, or do you have a blueprint that dates to 1300 AD

[JacksonRemus]

I tried my hand at building one similar to this, it was very difficult! I love the thickness of it, it looks sturdy!

Great job!

[Toadtorrent]

This is AMAZING...can you PLEASE post more details on its construction????????

[MikeyB]

I don't know why but I didn't notice the video clip before but that makes it even more Awesome

[de Gothia]

Seriously ZCerberus, this is insanly good! I love the whole thing!

Imagine a couple of these launching rocks at your castle...

Great work!!!

[Dr.Cogg]

nice war machine

[Ecclesiastes]

Outstanding! It looks great en realistic. And making it work is even more impressive!

[Niku]

It is awesome, and functional too.

Great trebuchet.

[Skipper]

ZCerberus you have too many bricks, I think this trebuchet is taller than any wall I have the bricks to build. A great design (I'm impressed how all those angles fit together), looks very sturdy and functional as well. Although I've never seen wheels like that on a trebuchet before, I assume it's like a hamster wheel to wind up the catapult?

[ZCerberus]

Although I've never seen wheels like that on a trebuchet before, I assume it's like a hamster wheel to wind up the catapult?

Yes! Exactly. There are trebuchet designs that use that if you do a google image search you will see few. I really liked that design.

[De Sandman]

This is one of the best trebuchets i've seen (if you google it you will see more), well done

[Admiral Croissant]

I'm impressed Impressed by the design and how it works excellently.

Surprising how weapons can sometimes be pieces of art as well.

Perhaps you could make a fort with some loose/staggering walls which you can shoot at.

That would make an even greater film! Anyway, I think Avalon will be very happy with this

[Kerntechniker]

Great and really impresive. I think you gain a title for this and I guess with 6 of them we can break down every wall of our enemies.

[ZCerberus]

Great and really impresive. I think you gain a title for this and I guess with 6 of them we can break down every wall of our enemies.

hee hee... and with $2.00 in dimes in each counterweight, they would be a good prize if capture by our enemies!

Edited November 30, 2011 by ZCerberus

[Capn Frank]

Great work Z!

It has always been a strong desire to create fully functional Trebuchet out of Lego.

I had built one in real life that's about 4' tall. They can still be very dangerous at that size.

I found q big struggle to be a good sling and its release (in real life and Lego).

I couldn't tell what type of ammo you were using from the video, but I would suggest using a train magnet. Hopefully that ammo won't be too large.

Also, to Legoize you counter weight, you may want to try Boat Weights. I don't know if they'll be heavier than dimes. They're a 2x6x2 brick filled with metal for the ballast of older floating boat sets (see below).

[ZCerberus]

I found q big struggle to be a good sling and its release (in real life and Lego).

I couldn't tell what type of ammo you were using from the video, but I would suggest using a train magnet. Hopefully that ammo won't be too large.

Also, to Legoize you counter weight, you may want to try Boat Weights. I don't know if they'll be heavier than dimes. They're a 2x6x2 brick filled with metal for the ballast of older floating boat sets (see below).

Yes, I originally didn't really care if it fired, but I was convinced through comments that making it fire would take it up about 3 notches. The sling is made of some thin string and a chunk of ribbon. I used a "jump ring" on the loose end of the sling, and it simply slips off of this piece when it is firing.

I was firing a 2 x 2 round light bluish gray brick. Shoots that pretty well. I think the magnet would be about the right size, but it might be a bit too heavy. I could certainly make the ropes on the sling longer and maybe then I would get more power/distance behind the throws, but it fires pretty well right now.

I certainly considered the boat counterweight. I think it might be a bit heavier than the dimes, I have one somewhere but it would take some time to dig it out. biggest issue with the boat counterweight is that it is bright red and the counterweight on the treb is only 6 studs long. I could devise a plan to cover the ends as they would be showing on the counterweight as it is built now, but I haven't tried yet.

My current project for Avalonia is giving me a chance to build another (but somewhat different) trebuchet, so maybe the boat weight will be used there.

[Bonaparte]

Both a beautiful design and functional