108 replies to this topic

[Jumpge]

I do see the difference in the crest and it does look much nicer. Will you be using greys or flex rods for the tracking?

[ickus305]

check out using some plumbers twine. You can find it at a hardware store, typically it's some bright obnoxious colour such as neon pink. But on occasion you can find it in white. It is a static line (meaning it has limited stretching to it) and it nice and strong. Also, when securing the ends after you tie a piece a string make sure to burn (melt) the ends so it does not fray.

[LaMbChOpZ]

I do see the difference in the crest and it does look much nicer. Will you be using greys or flex rods for the tracking?

Thanks! I will use a mix. For the lift, it was flexis for the crest, but the drop will be a hybrid that leads into grey rods for most of the rest of the ride.

check out using some plumbers twine. You can find it at a hardware store, typically it's some bright obnoxious colour such as neon pink. But on occasion you can find it in white. It is a static line (meaning it has limited stretching to it) and it nice and strong. Also, when securing the ends after you tie a piece a string make sure to burn (melt) the ends so it does not fray.

I'll look into it, thanks!



So I got a package of parts a few days ago





Hmmmmm.....




Hahahahahahahaha, close enough.


Really excited about these!


These will be used when I get closer to the event


For supports and supporting








Hmmmm, interesting....








So for the real update. An overview to start (ignore Jessie James )



I rebuilt the crest so it's more Skyrush-shaped and more awkwardly curved. I think it looks a lot better now.




Interesting. Something looks different about the track....


A very important factor to me was the straightness of the lift hill in terms of lateral movement. With this new crest, it's practically perfect.


Also wheels have been added to the station track and the storage track. The wheels on the main track have been set up and work now.


Now, can anyone count how many wheels are in this picture?





I know, not much work has been done, but there has been some station changes and I added the final brake run track, but the most important part to me is the lift hill. I've finally gotten it to work and feel like sharing it (this is before the redesign, but it still works). Just ignore the snapping of the cable when the train crashes. Enjoy!

[Helmut]

It looks absolutely neat. It runs really smooth. How do you power the lifthill? Does the entire coaster fit in this room?

Good luck figuring out what that Dutch newspaper article was about.

[Witting]

i know what the dutch newspaper is about

[amagzi24]

Does that halfmoon piece say JOGUMPIE on it??

[RollerManiac]

Oh, so you and Gump seem to have something.

This thread is one I always look for when I load SSC. Your coaster is highly realistic and I love the style. There seems to never be a major aspect that you miss.

Man, I could use some of those black joint clips. I was going to buy from Gump myself, but shipping was too much. Maybe I'll come to The Netherlands someday and see him and buy it in person.

[CW5X]

The lift hill runs really well and at good speed too. My parents said I had enough K'nex for now so any deals with Gump were out of the question. I could've really done with some cheaper ball and cup connectors. Oh well. The crest looks pretty much perfect to me and the supporting looks realistic.

Edit: And ummm, I'm going to go for 8 wheels in that picture but I reckon there are a couple of others under the train.

[LaMbChOpZ]

It looks absolutely neat. It runs really smooth. How do you power the lifthill? Does the entire coaster fit in this room?

Good luck figuring out what that Dutch newspaper article was about.

Thank you! I'm using a drill right now, but Bart and myself are slowly working on using a DC motor. Since the ride will be automated for the event, it's taking a bit more work since the motor will have to switch directions. It won't fit in this room (as you'll see farther down in this post), but I have worked out with the person running the event at my school sizes and dimension concerns. All have been resolved and nothing has changed in terms of my scale or size.

i know what the dutch newspaper is about

Hahhaha, I gave up after a few attempts in Google Translate.

Does that halfmoon piece say JOGUMPIE on it??

Indeed.

Oh, so you and Gump seem to have something.

This thread is one I always look for when I load SSC. Your coaster is highly realistic and I love the style. There seems to never be a major aspect that you miss.

Man, I could use some of those black joint clips. I was going to buy from Gump myself, but shipping was too much. Maybe I'll come to The Netherlands someday and see him and buy it in person.

As in a connection for purchasing parts? Yup. As for what you may be trying to hint towards, no. Thanks! Hopefully you'll find this post again after months of no posts. I try not to miss any big aspect of the ride. There are hundreds of people at the event and most have ridden the ride and have a good idea of how the ride is in real life. Also, since the ride works very well in real life, why not try to come as close to that as possible? Gives me a better chance of not having a problem with it.

The lift hill runs really well and at good speed too. My parents said I had enough K'nex for now so any deals with Gump were out of the question. I could've really done with some cheaper ball and cup connectors. Oh well. The crest looks pretty much perfect to me and the supporting looks realistic.

Edit: And ummm, I'm going to go for 8 wheels in that picture but I reckon there are a couple of others under the train.

Thanks. And yes, there are 8 wheels in the photo



So, after a lot of work, I can happily say that within 2 weeks, what I have built now will be at my school awaiting for May. However, we need to cover many aspects that have changed in the last few months. With school work piling up, I was able to get more done over winter break a few weeks ago. Since then, I've gotten even more work done over the weekends. First, the lift hill. I have redesigned the catch for the cable lift for several reasons. First, the design I had was good, but put too much stress on the car going up the hill. Also, the chain dog wouldn't connect into the previous design very well (maybe 1 out of 10 times). Finally, when the dog was coming back down to the station, it would pop out of the guide. This led me to increase the spacing between the tubing by 1 blue spacer to accommodate Micro chain! Yes, I am using Micro chain now as my cable dog. Using it allows for it to stay in the guide very well, it's more flexible, and doesn't need a special modification for the chain dog to connect to it. it works very well with my guide, the only thing I need to fix is the pull-in to the lift. The train disengages from the dog if there isn't enough tension on the chain (that's why I added so much weight to the trains). I also was able to finish the transport/storage transfer track. I built the track to the switch and hooked up the chain for the transports in the station building. Finally, I continued the drop down to the wall it runs into now. Finally, I changed the based design depending on where in the layout the base is. This will come into play later on. I'll let the photos explain the rest.


Overview. That 5 ft 3 inch gap looks really impressive in the photo, but is a lot cooler in real life.....



Side view



The new cable-dog in the guide. It still works on the exact same system as the old design, just, like I said above, this one is more flexible and easier to connect to.



Drop (There are still some things I need to fix)



Station



From inside the station, the final brake run and transfer



From the queue inside the station looking up the lift (like the photos on Google)



Storage Track



Hello Wall. I've began preparation for continuing the drop, but you can see that I'm literally running out of space.



Looking up from the path....



Wonder what and why there are so many of these things.....



The pulley that redirects the cable underneath Comet and the ground has gotten a new base



Interesting.....



And to end this, a poor POV shot of the drop.

Edited by LaMbChOpZ, 13 January 2013 - 01:23 AM.

[Knexrule11]

It looks amazing, really innovative! Although, you REALLY have to get building! I know you want to get all the fine details done, but there won't be a coaster to display if you only have a station and lift! I'd make the layout, then focus on final details.

[Helmut]

The lifthill looks amazing. I hope you can get a lot of work done on the trackwork from now on.

[-=TK=-]

I must say that you've got a great eye for detail, and that's a thing that I really like! Looks great so far, and I'm sure that you're going to use these as track strengtheners right?

I hope you can move on with some trackwork from now on, can't wait to see a bit more of this coaster

-=Tk=-

[Jumpge]

This looks amazing so far and the drop is dead on the real thing's shaping. Nice work!

[CW5X]

This is just too awesome. The detail on this is incredible and you've only built the lifthill and the station/transfer track area. I'm definitely liking all the features so far.

[02221994]

This is amazing! The attention to detail, inscrutable. Great work!

[IOAgeek]

Wow this coaster is coming along nicely, I take it you have to move this coaster to finish skyrush too, right dude?

[LaMbChOpZ]

Bump!

Progress has been very slow recently because of school, my science project, my school's Dance Marathon (see signature), and other miscellaneous items to attend to, but I am back to finish the ride! Seeing that I have a little over 1 month until this coaster needs to be finished and most of my events and commitments are over, I can now spend much more of my time focusing on this coaster. However, because of that, many functions and items originally intended to be included in the original coaster's design will now not occur. The automation of the ride is so far not going to occur (unless someone can help me get the programming done very quickly) meaning the ride will be operated manually via a drill or other mechanism. The idea of making custom cars is not going to occur since I do not have enough wheel assemblies to complete 1, let alone two, trains. I also have a slight fear that the ride will not be able to make a full circuit because I have no way of testing the ride until a few days before the event.

The lift hill is a gigantic challenge right now. I am facing the reality of having to manually operate it, possibly messing up the ride if I don't go fast enough or don't stop in time if I can't find a way to automate it. I looked into H-Bridges and a specific motor, but have no clue how to wire it nor program it. Therefore, I didn't purchase it. If anyone could help, please leave a response and/or PM me about it.


So, the real point of this update/post was to show that progress is being made and I did not give up on this. Tomorrow, the brake run, station, lift, and drop will be in school tomorrow. But for now, it remains in sections awaiting transport. Please comment/PM me about the above items.

[IOAgeek]

Looking good I hope you can transport the pieces to your school successfully on time and you can finish layout on time too hurry up dude!!! Times running out soon!!!

[hi452]

That tubing looks like it will be a headache to untangle there..... but good luck finishing!

[crazyracer]

update us please