Pendraken Miniatures Forum

Pendraken Releases, Requests and Photos! => Requests => Topic started by: Orcs on 22 May 2024, 08:06:41 AM

Title: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Orcs on 22 May 2024, 08:06:41 AM
As many of the wagons are generic, could we have some more with solid wheels for ancient/medieval periods. This should only need different wheels cast
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 22 May 2024, 08:24:34 AM
Hold on, was that a sensible suggestion by Orcs!  :-t
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: whubble on 22 May 2024, 08:49:49 AM
Best solutions are usually the simplest ones!! :) Wish our political leaders in whichever country you live in, would take note :(
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 22 May 2024, 10:10:46 AM
Quote from: Duke Speedy of Leighton on 22 May 2024, 08:24:34 AMHold on, was that a sensible suggestion by Orcs!  :-t
Called the ambulance for you.....
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Gwydion on 22 May 2024, 12:05:02 PM
Just before we all rush off and replace spoked wheels with solid lumpy objects - how many solid wheeled carts and wagons were there in late antiquity through medieval eras? I thought they all went for spokes asap at least as far back as in Roman times? Or am I wrong? Did the 'Early Medieval' period see the return of dumb tech solid wheels because they were thick? And if so how long before people went 'hang on didn't we used to be brighter than this?' and reinvent the wheel (spoked, wagons for the use of)?
Asking for a friend.
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Leon on 22 May 2024, 01:24:48 PM
We've got a couple of solid wheels hiding about the place, would the ones on the Nap Mule cart work?

(https://www.pendraken.co.uk/user/products/large/small-cart-with-mules-2--7037-p.jpg)
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Ithoriel on 22 May 2024, 01:36:16 PM
I'm pretty sure that  most carts had spoked wheels by Roman times.

Wheels were likely first invented in the Chalcolithic ( circa 3000 BCE ) somewhere in an arc that stretches from Ukraine to Sumeria and it seems possible that the first wheels were used for pottery or similar rather than transport. These first wheels would have been solid. Solid wheels are easier to make but less efficient so somewhere around the late 3rd millennium to the early 2nd millennium BCE spoked wheels were invented, possibly in Ukraine if the linguists are right.

So if you were poor in Ancient or Medieval times you might have solid wheels on your cart, though preference would have been for spokes. IIRC, there's a mosaic from Pompeii that shows a cart drawn by a pair of oxen which has solid wheels. 
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Orcs on 22 May 2024, 02:14:43 PM
Both Ithoriel and Gwydion are correct. Spoked wheels have been about since Egyptian times. They required considerable skill to make and were much more fragile hence costly. Solid wheels were more robust and  cheap to make. well within the skills of farmers etc.

So for the poor farmers and peasants please can we have solid wheels
 
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Gwydion on 22 May 2024, 02:31:04 PM
Ooh! Look! The new neighbours have got solid wheels on their cart! There goes the neighbourhood.
Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: Techno 3 on 22 May 2024, 03:34:32 PM
At least I wouldn't be called on to do those. :P
Currently tweaking, cleaning & mending the TB Gauls, so they can go into production.
Already done the TB Republican Romans. Unless Leon's still got some more at Pendraken Towers.  X_X



Title: Re: Solid wheels for wagons to make them suitable for ancient/medieval
Post by: kipt on 22 May 2024, 04:00:07 PM
Portuguese carts during the Peninsular War were solid.  Many comments on the terrible noise they made when moving.