2 replies to this topic

[YolosweggLord]

Yesterday I was at Walmart and saw K'nex in stock for the first time in a few months (I check every time I go.) I ended up buying 2 Mecha Strike coasters for $30 each. It seemed like a pretty good piece selection after I went through the contents, so I'm sharing it here. BTW, this set is recent enough that I can't find it on K'NEX's website, so it may take a while to reach certain store locations.

Here's a picture of the full piece list:
 IMG_0113.JPG   126.51KB   3 downloads

The first thing I noticed about this set was the new style coaster car. This car type was first used in the Lunar Launch set. This car weighs 19 grams, while the standard cars weigh 17 grams, although these cars seem to be harder to connect together due to the protruding nose. The fins on the side mean this car is a bit wider than others and can't fit into a VV motorized launcher. It also comes with a sticker sheet (I left mine blank.) I see a great opportunity for his car though, which is to take the back end off, put it on another chassis, put a few more chassis in between them, and add custom seats to the empty chases. I'm thinking of doing a Vekoma Rollerskater or Intamin Accelerator like this.
 IMG_0114.JPG   126.73KB   2 downloads
 IMG_0115.JPG   129.16KB   1 downloads
 IMG_0116.JPG   135.7KB   0 downloads
 IMG_0117.JPG   170.63KB   1 downloads

This set also contains some permanently curved rods which have been seen in a few other recent sets. It contains 2 sizes: the gray rods have a radius of 1 red rod and a chord length of 1 grey rod. The orange rods have a diameter of 1 yellow rod and a chord length of 1 red rod. These curved pieces only have 2 grooves instead of 4 though—one on either side of the curve. This means that connectors can only be snapped onto the curve on the top and bottom, not the sides.

Another recently released piece is the shorter ladder connector. While they don't conform to the K'NEX system, they seem quite useful in making VV flexi spines. They're also a bit thicker in the middle for extra durability.
 IMG_0119.JPG   174.54KB   2 downloads
They do have 1 flaw, though, which is that, when a rod is snapped into one end, the other end pinches together, making it hard to snap a rod into the other end.
 IMG_0120.JPG   175.14KB   1 downloads

This set seems to have quite a good piece selection. It comes with 46 green adapters and 40 micro y-clips, which is useful for making VV coasters with standard flexi spines. It also has 53 white micro spacers, which is the most I've ever seen in one set. I don't think I'll ever need the extra 106 white spacers, but if I do, I've got them.

[FrIeDeGgS]

That car seems interesting. I thought you meant to put the back of that car on every car on a train which seemed weird, but then I realized you meant just the back car... I kinda want those shorter ladder connectors now tbh, it was always annoying whenever I worked with a flexi spine that a ladder connector takes up the whole length between two connections on a piece of VV track. I'll have to try and check if this is at the nearby Target.

[YolosweggLord]

^This isn't the first set to use those pieces, it it's the most I've seen in one set.