It was already posted at ETS so some of you might have seen this one before.
The tower is a conversion of the Roman Siege Tower by Atlantic. For some reason the Italian designer of this toymodel forgot to design a front to this tower. I added a front made of heavy cardboard, including the katapult-window.
In a realistic Historical point of view their should have been fireproof cowhides nailed onto the wooden front and flanks of such tower. But by adding those details myself there would not be much left to see of this rare vintage model from the seventies. That's why I kept it close to the original.
The question that raises when building a model like this is: how were siege engines of this weight and proportion propelled? Pulling it at the front is not possible: it will be too dangerous and also for the last meters before the citywall there would simply be no space left for all the men pulling it into position. Reconstructions exist with oxen inside the tower. But 4 or even 8 oxen will not be enough. Other interpretations show us men or oxen pushing the tower from the backside. But pushing cables is impossible. So these reconstructions come up with pushing-bar constructions. Using pulley blocks and cables, like it was demonstrated so well in the eighties tv series Massada, is the most credible option to me and that's what I tried to create here.
The question that remains is: who risked his life to hammer down the beams in the ground to fasten the pulley's so close to the enemy wall?
Figures added are from every possible ancient set I could find in my collection.
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