Da Vinci Machines - Armoured Car

Leonardo da Vinci Armored Car — Academy

A plastic kit of a model of the armored car from Leonardo da Vinci's designs, from the educational Da Vinci Machines range by Academy. The parts go together with a snap, so the kit is assembled with no glue and no tools. The model has a spring drive, so once it is wound up it runs across the table. Detailed step-by-step instructions are in the box.

The real subject

At the end of the fifteenth century Leonardo da Vinci designed an armored car as a conical covered platform with a ring of gun barrels around its whole circumference. The crew was to move the vehicle by hand through a set of gears. The machine was never built, and from the surviving drawings it is clear that the gears were drawn in such a way that the wheels would turn against each other; to this day there is a dispute over whether it was a mistake or a deliberate distortion, so that nobody could copy the design. The vehicle is among Leonardo's best-known military ideas.

Building tips

Cut the parts off the connectors with nippers or a blade and sand back the remains of the gates so that the parts seat. Do not overwind the spring mechanism and let the wheels turn freely; a remnant of a gate rubbing against the axle will stop the drive. Painting is not needed, but the model can be painted — the wooden parts come alive with a dark wash in the grooves and the metal barrels in a metallic shade.

Who the model is for

• Children and beginners, as no glue is needed
• School and educational use, as the model works
• Collectors of historical engineering designs
• A purchase as a gift, as the build takes one evening

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise. No glue is needed for assembly.