 First half of course |
 Vertical drop |
 Vertical drop with train |
 Looking down the swooping drop |
 Swooping drop and vertical loop |
 Vertical loop |
 Entering the Heartline |
 Looking down the Heartline |
 Second lift hill and helix |
Hints & Tips
Some tips for those of you who might be contemplating building a model from the K'Nex kits:
- The kits can work out very expensive! Individual parts seem quite cheap, but remember you'll need a lot of them and therefore it's actually more economic to buy complete kits, unless you just need a handful of extras to complete your layout.
- The models are also quite big. I like to think of them as the equivalent of Scalextric, which I've always considered to be the best of the slot car racing kits.
- When bending the track, make sure it's as smooth as possible and as 'natural' as possible. You don't want any nasty kinks, incorrectly banked corners (causing lateral G's), or corners or twists that are too tight, as these all take energy out of the train. You want the train to flow as naturally as possible around the track - make your model a B&M not an Arrow!
- Corners are quite difficult to construct as you have to get the banking correct and remember that the outside rail is longer than the inside, so you can't simply build a straight piece of track and then bend it.
- I have worked out that each element you put in needs between 1 and 2 lift hill 'blocks'.
- The kit I have used is the 'new' Screamin' Serpent kit, not the original Coaster kit which is nowhere near as realistic.
- If you want to make your own layout from several kits, make sure you build the standard model first from the instructions so you get to know how to construct the scaffolding, supports and track. You will then gain enough confidence to take the whole thing to pieces and start from scratch on your own custom layout.
The way the track is constructed, it's also perfectly possible to make the coaster a suspended model. I'd love to build my own Nemesis clone! However, it would be necessary to detach the wheel mechanism from the trains (easy enough, they're simply screwed on) and then somehow make your own trains and attach them to the wheels, as of course the original trains would be upside-down! Also, I'm not quite sure how to construct the lift hill - the rod underneath the train that engages with the chain needs gravity to operate - and the layout would also need more scaffolding as the track would have to be supported from above and not below.
The next thing to think about is what to call my coaster. It needs a name, but I'm having a hard time trying to come up with something decent. Should I take inspiration from the great names dreamed up for existing coasters?
- K'Nex: The Ride
- Polythene Force
- The Small Bear
- Superhero: Ride of Plastic
- Z
- Sky
Maybe not.
Also take a look at Chris Brewer's amazing Model Coasters.
I have set up a WebRing to link together Screamin' Serpent sites: