Your Cart . About Us . Bridges & Towers . Levers & Gears . DaVinci Kits . Catapult Kits . Backyard Artillery . The Shot Blade
Ancient Engineering SeriesMANGONEL.com
Ballistic Technologies of Antiquity

Scorpion II


The Scorpion's sting is a wicked one, and this version of the scorpion is the most wicked yet! It's a new advance in catapult technologies, based on the the power of bungee cords!

The Scorpion II main fulcrum is attached to an aluminum linkage for smooth action and a dynamic arm tip movement. Double bungee and double pulleys give this machine super power to hurl golf balls as far as 300 feet.

The Scorpion II was designed from the start to hurl golf balls and tennis balls, but you can try it out on just about anything small and round. In our tests, golf balls shoot about 280 to 300 feet, and tennis balls about half that far (due mostly to aerodynamic drag from the fuzz).

This model kit is fully functional, easy to build, and a whole lot of fun to shoot. The completed model is 18 inches long and 9 inches wide. The arm is 28 inches long.

The kit is hand crafted from high quality hardwood and includes custom made pulleys, heavy-duty bungee cord, aluminum linkages and steel axles. This powerful machine also has a super-easy to pull trigger that is as smooth as glass. The first time you fire it, you'll probably be shocked at how efficient it is, so be careful!

The detailed instructions are complete with diagrams, photos, and tuning tips. All parts are pre-cut, pre-drilled and can be assembled to a working model in one evening.

We've put a lot of time and effort into making this kit as easy, complete and as realistic as possible. It's a fun way to learn about physics and engineering!

    Price: $69.00
    Minimum age: 14
    Availability: out of stock

    Item code: 10700


Links

Search for stuff
Search:
By Age
By Max Price
By Keyword
(help)

Interesting Notes

What is a Mangonel?


The term "mangonel" literlally means "engine of war." It is a ballistic device, usually some type of artillery. In other words, a catapult. But "catapult" is a more general word that includes a broad range of things that use mechanical means to shoot a projectile, including slingshots and aircraft carrier launch systems. So a mangonel is a unique type of catapult.

The word Mangonel derives from the ancient Greek word "Manganon", literally meaning "engine of war". The Romans called it a Manganum. In pre-medieval French the word Manganum was changed to Manganeau, and the English changed that to Mangonel in the 1300s.

The history gets a little sketchy in the middle ages, but some historians believe that "mangonel" was shortened to the word "gonnel" about the same time that cannons were being developed, and later still, "gonnel" was shortened to "gun." And to this day, in the military a gun is strictly big artillery. (Rifles and pistols are referred to as "weapons", NOT "guns".)

The three most common types of ancient mangonels are the Greek Ballista, The Roman Onager, and the Trebuchet.

In France, the word Mangonel is used for a Trebuchet that uses a fixed counterweight for power. (The other kind of trebuchet, the hanging counterweight type, is called a "Trebuchet". Go figure!)

The English use the term Mangonel and Onager interchangeably for the Roman single-arm torsion machine.

The Greek catapult, probably the first machine to be called a mangonel, was also known as the Ballista and is where we get the word "ballistic".