Your Thoughts On CoasterDynamix Modeling System

I have been checking out the new CoasterDynamix Inverted Coaster Model and have been impressed by several pictures and descriptions. What i want to know is, has anyone here purchased one as of yet? And if so, was it everything you hoped it would be, how easy/difficult is it to bent pieces, create portions of the ride, and lastly, was it worth the hefty 500 Dollar price tag?

Thanks, i'm considering buy and would like some reviews.

and you couldn't gather this information from one of the other Coaster Dynamix posts on here?

there seems to be quite a few of them - including a recent one about it being in FHM, in which Jeff talks about his custom model.

fyi

:)

My one friend got one. He tells me he thinks it the coolest thing he owns. If he had one as a kid he would not have had and friends because he would have never left the house. I saw the model in action and it is very impressive. To me it's basicly like shrinking down a B & M invert for your house. He worked on it for several nights for an hour or two and finished it in about a week. He told me is isn't too hard to build the inversions the instructions are awsome. In all my friend loves it. Now if i can only save up $500 for one.

I didn't talk about anything. I was relating to a quote I had in a different magazine about a different topic.

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Jeff Reply | Edit | Quote 7/28/2004 3:16:12 PM
I uploaded a few pics of a custom model that I did here. It's actually too short and has too much energy left at the end, so I'll probably change everything after the immelman.

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You sure did talk about you custom model :)

Well it if it wasn't for the hefty price tag, I'm sure a lot more people would have them. As is, the $500 is a little too rich for me. As that could pay for 2 months rent (or) 2 car payments (or) part of the cash required for a coaster trip to some faraway place.

-D

Josh: I didn't talk about it in the magazine, which is what you said. If you didn't mean the magazine and just the post, then you didn't word it right. I have no affiliation with the company (other than the development of their site) and want to make it clear that I don't speak for them.

That said, it's good stuff. Worth every penny.

You're right, I worded it wrong. I meant to say you talked about it in that thread.

I hope I can pick one of these models sometime soon after I recover from my down payment on my car :) well, that - and I'm holding out for what's in store in the future ;)

Go to the site and read the posts on the forum for some unsolicited, albeit enthusiastic, comments.

$500 may be a bit steep for what it is, but the whole model is worth more than the sum of its parts. (Did anyone follow that?) Even though I don't have the whole thing built yet (I have the whole support structure done, the rails go up tonight) I can already tell that it's by far the best coaster model out there.

I have the original K'nex, the California Screamin model, the Faller Wilde Maus and several Spacewarp kits, and CoasterDynamix blows them all away. Only a custom self-built model that would take far mor expertise than I have would yeild a better end product, and I doubt it could be done for less than $500 worth or materials.

The only problem with custom models (and my partner Mike can verify this) is that you cannot change the layout easily or at all. All the currently available coaster models have made compromises in an effort to cut costs. We decided that we could build a model that had very few compromises (efficiency, realism, reliability) for far less than it would cost to build a custom model.

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Jack R said:
We decided that we could build a model that had very few compromises (efficiency, realism, reliability) for far less than it would cost to build a custom model.

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This statement seems conflicting; are you refering to Coaster Dynamix or something else? From what Jeff has built it looks as if you can build a custom layout out of the existing pieces without too much trouble.

However, only Jeff can fully verify this...

I think he is referring to the fact that if you were to scratch build a custom model (not using any kits) then it would be incredibly difficult to construct it in a way that you could alter the layout at a later date.

Jack & Mike - Today I got the model you sent and I'm oh-so tempted to open it and start building but I know it's not mine. But the first spare $500 I got goes to you two...I can't wait to have one of my own.

mOOSH [yes, another shameless tease]

*** Edited 7/30/2004 6:12:06 PM UTC by Mamoosh***

"custom" meaning scratch-built. My point is that you can easily customize the Dragon, but you cannot easily customize a scratchbuilt model. I can verify that you can indeed construct a custom design with the Dragon without much difficulty.

AH! Thanks for clarifying.

Still, $500 seems a bit steep. Why is it so expensive? Are the parts really designed that well? Is the track somewhat flexible to make it easier to design custom models?

Maybe someone less biased than myself should answer this.

Hey, I'm one who can't (at this point) justify spending the cash for this.

But I can see the difference between a toy and a quality work of art/tool/time consumer.

If those K'nex sets are 70 or 80 bucks when they come out, then this is a steal at $500.

Ok - I'm less biased.

I've priced out building a custom model once, and to be honest with you I really wouldn't take the time/money to do it.

I'm really looking forward to some of the "future" developments in Coaster Dynamix and hopefully once I get some spare cash (after I purchase a pair of sugar gliders :)) I will invest in this "toy"

-Josh

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Danimales said:

Still, $500 seems a bit steep. Why is it so expensive? Are the parts really designed that well? Is the track somewhat flexible to make it easier to design custom models?

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Yes, $500 is a bit steep, but it's worth every penny. As Gonch said, K'nex were $80 and thos are mass-produced plastic toys that don't run realistically.

Coasterdynamix, is well designed and has sturdy structure with a very well designed, flexible spine for the track.

My wife, who is not a coaster fan and is a cautious spender, even thinks it is worth what we paid for it...