CoasterDynamix launches Kickstarter campaign for Lego-compatible roller coaster model

I'm not as blown away by this as I'd like to be.

Fact is, Knex has a pretty solid corner on the kids toy coaster market. I know there's tons of kids with tons of Legos, but I'm not sure how realistic their expectations are to succeed in the market place.

Considering that they're almost half way to their goal in the first 12 hours, I'd say they'll be fine. Their products have always been targeted to a hobbyist niche, and they've been going for a decade now. Success doesn't have to be placement on an end cap at Target.

Thanks for the shout-out Jeff. We really appreciate your support. :)
As far as competing against Knex, I know they have a full line of roller coaster models. They have been around for a long time. However, where I think LEGO has the advantage is in creative versatility. If you need a station, build it from LEGOs. If you want to add a tunnel, build it with LEGOs. I built a wing rider train the other day on our 2x4 block chassis using.....LEGOs. I would venture a guess that worldwide there is a much higher number of LEGO users than all other construction sets combined. The potential is there, despite Knex's hold on the toy coaster market.

I backed the three-pack. I know I'll have a blast with my kid, and he will definitely want to build a station. I imagine that as long as you can buy more track rails, there's little one can't build with these.

K'nex had the big expensive models that were actually pretty cool, but I've found that the smaller scale rides, with the "mini" parts, kind of suck. Aside from not being particularly realistic, you have to regularly oil the wheels to get them to complete the circuit. They just feel cheap compared to the Screamin' Serpent, for example.

Forgive my bias, but I understand your points.

During my heyday with Knex I built an insane number of fully functioning park rides from scratch including a 6'4" Ferris wheel, numerous original coaster designs, a 1st Gen Intamin drop, a scrambler, a top spin, a carousel, and a couple of other great flats. And they all looked remarkably close to the real deals.

I did own close to 15,000 pieces to help me out.

Interesting, though Lego already has one in their catalog. https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Amusement-Park-Roller-Coaster-41130

Of course, it's not as advanced as you might like.

Walt S said:

Interesting, though Lego already has one in their catalog. https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Amusement-Park-Roller-Coaster-41130

Of course, it's not as advanced as you might like.

And it's for girls...ewwww! ;)

As a former LEGO junkie, these projects always interest me. This creation always stands out as being particularly impressive when it comes to LEGO and coasters. I always wished for a "Cedar Point" LEGO set back in the 1980's and would always try to recreate part of the of the park with my friend David into the wee hours of the morning...when we weren't building a spaceship of course.

I've seen that LEGO amusement set they have set up in a local store, and it's pretty lame as far as LEGO creations are concerned. My girls (4 and 8) were not not impressed at all, and actually don't even want it; which is no small feat.

The 8 year old's comment was "it doesn't even look like they tried to make it look real".

No, they didn't, and not worth the $100.00 price at all. This is much better!

Lego does have at least 2 amusement rides which I find somewhat cool. Especially the Scrambler, which can be folded up into the travelling by truck form too.

https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Fairground-Mixer-10244

https://shop.lego.com/en-US/Ferris-Wheel-10247

I have them both. They're very cool. Both are mechanically interesting, but I think the wheel is visually more impressive. More pieces, and it's taller.