COBI Catapult Set 20068

COBI's Catapult is built from 173 blocks and comes with a Roman legionary and a block base representing a patch of ground. The throwing arm works: COBI replaced the twisted rope of the original with a rubber band, so it can be loaded and fired safely.

The wild ass

The machine is an onager, and the name is a Roman joke — onager is Latin for wild ass, after the way the frame kicked backwards when the arm slammed into its stop. Power came from torsion: a thick skein of twisted rope, usually sinew or horsehair, wound tight enough to hurl a stone several hundred metres. Roman armies used them against walls and formations, and the ammunition was not always stone. Besieging forces threw burning bundles, and sometimes things chosen to frighten rather than injure.

One correction to the usual product copy: the onager and the scorpio were not the same machine. The scorpio was a bolt-thrower, closer to a mounted crossbow, accurate against individual men. The onager was an area weapon. COBI makes both — the scorpio is set 20079.

In the COBI range

The set includes one legionary. For a crew, the Romans set (20067) and Roman Auxilia (20073) add three figures each at the same scale.

Specifications

Pieces: 173 · Figures: 1, with accessories · Working throwing arm