28 replies to this topic

[~stεεlspectrum~]

I got home from college yesterday - and started building right away, of course! I built all of this yesterday.

It's gonna be an inverted version of Intamin's Vertical Lift Coaster (Fahrenheit), but with a custom layout. I'm not sure what the layout will look like, but I'll probably start it off with a big zero-g roll.



It's a little taller than Clockwork.





Gotta have a sturdy base. A tube-supported coaster is only as strong as its base.





I'm hoping that the chain will slide along the guide beneath the track and won't have too much friction.

Edited by ~stεεlspectrum~, 16 June 2015 - 08:10 PM.

[Jumpge]

You, man! With the innovative builds! Your builds are just wonderful, even with the little time that you have home from college. You gosh darn sure make good use of your time!

I'm very excited to see, not only the layout that you come up with for this coaster, but for the supports (Especially this first drop!). I always enjoy how you make the supports very strong while keeping in mind aesthetics.

I'm looking forward to this build a whole lot. I think it will give me a little motivation too!

[Jogumpie]

Very, very nice, Ryan! I'm really interested in where this is going. One minor thing, I guess... I am a little worried about the halfmoon connectors on the top. The radius is really tight and I can see those halfmoons becoming unusuable during or after this project.

[Connector1o1]

^I had a crest like this before, after two weeks when I took it down the connectors never had good connection, that's why I don't do connector crests anymore.

Besides what he mentioned I like the unique idea behind this project.

[RNB]

I really like this innovative design so far! Everything looks rock solid so far, can't wait to see what you come up with. If I have to make a minor complaint, the main diagonal tube would be more realistic if it attached to supports instead of to the backbone.

[RollerManiac]

YASSS, you're back. Good to see long-time members continue with Knex.

The chain should be fine unless it runs backwards, as in that case it would snag at the back of all those laterals.

[JayketheKid]

That looks strange, but awesome! Im glad to see another one of your builds!

[IOAgeek]

Looks really cool for the start! I love the chain return thing you have there, cause the ladder connectors that you used underneath the crest, can be used as a nice surface in which the chain can slide on. You may want to put a little wheel for the chain to slide easily on the parts where it enters and exits the vertical lift parts too.

[~stεεlspectrum~]

Thanks guys! I'm glad you like the idea. It seemed kind of stupid when I first thought of it.

Very, very nice, Ryan! I'm really interested in where this is going. One minor thing, I guess... I am a little worried about the halfmoon connectors on the top. The radius is really tight and I can see those halfmoons becoming unusuable during or after this project.

Yes, it will probably ruin those half-moons... and yes, I can afford to lose 12 half-moons. I couldn't find any other way to do a crest this small that still looked nice.

I really like this innovative design so far! Everything looks rock solid so far, can't wait to see what you come up with. If I have to make a minor complaint, the main diagonal tube would be more realistic if it attached to supports instead of to the backbone.

I suppose it would look better, but I think this way is stronger. There are two smaller supports that anchor the backbone to the ground and prevent the whole lift & drop from shaking.

YASSS, you're back. Good to see long-time members continue with Knex.
The chain should be fine unless it runs backwards, as in that case it would snag at the back of all those laterals.

Good, and I don't really plan on running the lift backwards so that shouldn't be an issue...


I did the drop and started a zero-g roll, which I'm modeling after B&M's newer, more curved ones like on Phaethon and Banshee. I think the newer ones look a lot cooler (even though the older zero-g's are supposedly more fun to ride). I still need to add a support on the pullout of the drop.



http://i1125.photobu...12.jpg~original
http://i1125.photobu...13.jpg~original
http://i1125.photobu...26.jpg~original
http://i1125.photobu...38.jpg~original
http://i1125.photobu...48.jpg~original
http://i1125.photobu...27.jpg~original


Cheers,
~ steel

[-=Zach=-]

This is one of the coolest and most unique drops I've ever seen. Everything is perfectly executed as usual, I hope to see some crazy and wacky elements to match the drop
Sorta reminds me of the VV set Dragons Drop

[Muzz135]

Beautiful! This is another fantastic concept Ryan, very nice idea! Love the shaping of the drop, absolutely flawless!

[Batwing]

Wow - I wasn't expecting that! You just continue to innovate and impress don't you?
Another good concept, but I'm not sure I'd want to ride it if it got E-stopped at the top of the lift hill

Keep it up - can't wait to see the rest of the layout!

[Cobra Roller]

This thing threw me off completely. The lift hill and drop is in the shape of a funky loop when you look at it. I like it.

[IOAgeek]

Love it so far steel. Could your next coaster be like a huge looper or hyper again like steel force, I want to see you go all out sometime!!

[~stεεlspectrum~]

Another good concept, but I'm not sure I'd want to ride it if it got E-stopped at the top of the lift hill

Yeah, it would be no fun to get stuck at the top at all! (And it would probably be harmful since all the blood would go to your head.) In real life there would be two chain lifts, so the second one could take over in case the first one failed. I assume that's why Fahrenheit has 2, right?

This thing threw me off completely. The lift hill and drop is in the shape of a funky loop when you look at it. I like it.

Thanks! I wanted the drop to look like half of a vertical loop, so that's good to hear.

Love it so far steel. Could your next coaster be like a huge looper or hyper again like steel force, I want to see you go all out sometime!!

I'd love to do something like that if I had time, but it's hard to do huge coasters when I'm not home from college all that often.


This is my last update for a few weeks. The zero-g roll is all done, but I'm not 100% confident on the shaping. These are hard elements to shape, especially with tubes.










And an update video:

[Jumpge]

I didn't see the update of the drop (I hadn't checked my computer!), but this is even better. The innovative drop flows right into the beautifully shaped zero-g roll. The best part is it makes it all with great speed. Fantastic job.

[Maxlaam]

A beauty! Very flowing and interesting design!

[MrRemcoStyle]

thats something really creative, nice!

[~stεεlspectrum~]

Thanks for the comments guys! Unfortunately, with this update I've got some bad news. My parents recently decided to move to a different part of LA, which means I need to clean up my K'Nex so they can sell the house. I tore down the Inverted VLC and what was left of Clockwork. Here's my entire K'Nex connection, all boxed up:



That was kind of sad. I'm finishing off the day at Magic Mountain to cheer myself up