What's Up With K'NEX?

Unless I missed something, I noticed on the K'nex web site that they are no longer making the Screamin' Serpent and the Rippin' Rocket.

The new rides (sets) that they are making use bricks and are combinations of Ferris Wheels and Coasters with the cars moving along the inside of the wheel as it spins around.

It just looks more like a toy and less like accurate working models.

I know the abve mentioned coaster sets were far from perfect in terms of practicality, but the new stuff, except the 6 foot ferris wheel ($500) doesn't impress me.

I did like the starbust spinner set, but even that one relies more on cardboard and stickers than classic parts.

Any Thoughts?

They still offer two newer style Roller Coaster sets, albeit smaller than the original coaster, Screamin' Serpent, or Rippin' Rocket.

http://knex.com/Thrill_Rides/

Yea, I use to be huge on K'Nex. But the new coaster designs don't spark the innovation than the other tracks. The tracks are pretty cool, and easy to assemble, but the tubing allowed easy changes. I don't know where I'm getting with that.

But i do like the 6-foot ferris wheel. I use to make a lot of things from my Ferris Wheel(3-foot), Serpent Set, and Misc parts acquired. I built a 6-footer, huge, out of those parts. Had about 36 cars, it was nice, best project I completed with K'nex.

And no, I don't like the new designs. What happen to the Build-It-Yourself K'nex contest, that if your design wins it is marketed?

I happen to like that you dont have to assemble the track your self.

Holy sh*t! That 6' Ferris Wheel is crazy! Methinks I gotta get one of those. That Wonder Wheel-type Ferris Wheel also looks pretty cool. Then again, how many different Ferris Wheels do I need?

As far as the coasters go, they're far from realistic but I still have a blast everytime I put one together. The track (at least the track on the Screamin' Serpent and Rippin' Rocket is pure genius. Unlimited flexibility and ease of use are a wonderful combination. I'm not a big fan of the new coaster track that comes in straight sections. I don't like being forced to create turns that are always banked at 90 degrees.

*** Edited 8/6/2007 1:53:22 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

They have been cancelled, but you can get them off eBay and sites like that. If you like K'Nex, enter this contest and check out my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZoWL_1Q8k

Seems like K'Nex is quick to cancel old products and replace them with new ones.

I find that the original roller coaster set, the 8 foot long, three foot high model, was the best coaster set they ever built.

The screamin' Serpent / Rippin' Rocket sets may have been a bit unrealistic, but by combining set, you could make a variety of designs, (albeit with the neon colors).

This may not relate to coasters, but the original ball tower was phenominal.

As the company released later models, it started relying more and more on cardboard back drops and micro sized parts.

I am a purist when it comes to K'nex. I just think the roller-coaster wheel is very impractical and takes away from the autenticity.

I wouldn't care, except that they are removing the models I like from the line.

By the way...BranRD is right. There are many nice K'nex youtube videos. SOme of them combine 10 or more sepents. With that model now gone, it wold be harder to create or expand them even more.

I will admit that the quality of some of the newer sets isn't up to snuff. After reading this thread, I went out to the local Toys R Us and bought the Ferris Coaster Wheel kit. It's pretty cool and easy to construct but I had big problems with the coaster track popping off the supports that use a combination of the original large K'Nex pieces and the newer smaller ones. I ended up using model cement to keep everything in place, but that kinda defeats the "build & rebuild" idea behind the kits.