War toys are popular Christmas
gifts. The irony is obvious. After all, the holiday is the celebration of the
birth of the Prince of Peace. Nevertheless, tin soldiers and G. I. Joe action
figures (with a kung fu grip) have both enjoyed places of honor under the
Christmas tree.
Always one to maintain a tradition, I’m
giving my nieces and nephews catapults for Christmas this year. Not the full-sized
variety, of course. I made miniature catapults out of craft (Popsicle) sticks,
clothespins, rubber bands, masking tape, plastic spoons, and binder clips.
I
found the instructions in the book Mini
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare by John
Austin. It’s a commendable tome, particularly in era when the small adventures
and innocent merriments have been stripped out of childhood.
I
didn’t follow the instructions exactly, but they provided a useful starting
point. I gave each catapult a custom paint job. For example, the one for my nephew
who loves comic book superheroes is painted vivid blue and red (in honor of
your friendly neighborhood Spiderman).
They’re
powerful enough to fire one-inch diameter aluminum foil balls out to about six
feet. While they are unlikely to cause injury, I bet they’ll start a few fights
between siblings. It’s an uncle’s job to cause trouble…
The Arsenal
Ready to Fire
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