Review: Loopin' Lightning Coaster

The other night, I made the Loopin' Lightning Coaster, which uses classic *and* micro Knex. This was my first coaster using both types of K'nex, and here are my thoughts on it...

The coaster was easy to build. It took me a mere 1.5-2 hours to build. However, the coaster did not work correctly. It had trouble getting over the first small hill, and it would never catch on the chain once it made it to the bottom. Also, I was not a huge fan of the track. I feel it is much less reliable than the ones that use tubing. Since the track is all attached with micro knex, it is much easier to break or just come apart.

Consequently, I did have to make some modifications to the track to allow the coaster cars to make it all the way down the track and attach onto the chain. So technically, this coaster isn't exactly the Loopin' Lightning, but it is fairly similar.

Big Build: Ferris Wheel -- Completed!

I finally finished it! I had the day off today which meant that I was able to find some time to install the motor and the gondolas! The Ferris Wheel is pretty much finished, except I may add entry and exit towers, because I think they would be another visual element that would make it look cooler.

This is the design that I ended up on for the gondolas. Nothing too fancy, but it serves its purpose!

Had to finagle the gears and motors a little bit to make 'em fit, but they work just fine! It takes the motor a second to really get the wheel moving since it's fairly heavy, but that was to be expected.

All in all, this was a really fun project. My hubby and I ended up having to buy a couple more large lots of knex from eBay in order to have the parts needed to complete it, but hey! There's no such thing as too many knex, right? If anyone would like more detailed pictures of any specific part of the Ferris Wheel, just hit me up! I am more than happy to take more if people want to try and replicate it.

Thanks for checking out my blog! If you have any more ideas for builds I should tackle, let me know!

Big Build: Ferris Wheel -- Part 2

I finished the second ring of the wheel.

This is the wheel standing up next to the couch. It's about four feet across now.

The second ring is comprised of 48 grey rods, 48 yellow connectors, 48 orange connectors, and 48 white connectors per side. 48 red/green rods join the yellow connectors on the opposing sides.

It creates a nice wind tunnel when you twirl it, too! =P

This is the size of the wheel now in comparison to a regular DVD case.

Big Build: Ferris Wheel -- One step at a time!

Yesterday, I began another massive build. One of my friends on Facebook tagged me in a photo of a giant Ferris Wheel. (You see, I get tagged in all sorts of cool K'nex stuff because, well... because I love knex and enjoy building with them!) So, I decided I would take on a similar build. I will attempt to post updates every now and again so you can see how I am progressing!

Here are the two sides to the inner circle of the Ferris wheel. In order to hold up a wheel that is over 5 or 6 feet tall, you need to start with a good center. Each side is comprised of three white connectors with 8 green/black tiny rods, 8 orange/brown connectors, and with 8 grey/black/orange long rods per white connector (24 of each piece per Ferris wheel side). I used greys for one connector, blacks for another, and oranges for the third so you could sort of get an idea of what was going on. The outer ring here is made from 48 navy connectors and 48 green rods per side (because I lack sorely in white connectors, I often use navy ones instead).

I connected the long rods to every other navy connector, and the inner ring was somewhat contorted due to the differing angles of the rods. Once I snapped a grey rod into every other pair of navys, though, it straightened out. The red connectors and rods (and green rods) just ensure a little more stability.

It did take me several tries to get this right, but it seems like a good infrastructure.

All in all, I estimate that the very innermost ring of the Ferris wheel is about 700 pieces.