127 replies to this topic

[Westside7th]

Chnage in plans: Instead of after the corkscrew, the

train dives into a barrel roll, now, after the corkscrew, the train dives to the ground and

goes through another, small corkscrew. And that is where I have ran out of flexi

rods! So, construction is postponed as of right now. I might have some time to

build teh station or something. The press release for this coaster will be released the

day before Thanksgiving, on 11.26.03.

[Westside7th]

Change in plans (again):
After the immelman,

there was a corkscrew as you can see in the pics I showed. The corkscrew is not

gone and a large helix is being built in its place. Following the helix will be a short lift

up to the station. (The helix really drains the speed as you guys know)

[Westside7th]

Unfortunately, the train almost made it through the

helix but came up a little short. So, I am working on a

new layout where after the immelman, the train goes through a huge S curve that

swoops from one side to the other and is slopes gently to the ground. However, the

train really flies through it so it isn't so gentle!

[Westside7th]

Well, I am changing the layout again!


The

S-curve worked well but the train has so much speed that it whizzed through it. So, I

took out the S-curve and am putting the original corkscrew back in but I am making it

much smoother. After that, I haven't decided. I am trying to figure out a way

for the train to above the turnaround to the 2nd lift so it can pass over it and into the

station but so far, I have only been able to get the train to go under the turnaround b/c

not enough speed to make it over. The only problem with going under is that I need a

3rd lift to get the train into the station.

[Westside7th]

Finally I have decided on a layout that I like. After

the immelman, the train goes into a corkscrew high above the ground and then dives

back to earth. Then the train goes into a banked turn up and to the left and at the top

ofthe hill, changes direction and goes into a banked turn down and to the right. Finally,

the train shifts slightly to the left and into the 3d lift. This is where I ran out of flexi

rods.

Once I get another set, the train will climb up about 1.5 feet and then

drop down and into a turnaround to the left and into the station. That will be the

conclusion of the ride.

Press Release in 2 days!

[Westside7th]

Well, since I am bored, I decided to let you guys see

the press release early! Keep in mind, this is only the press release and the ride

is not yet finished. Hopefully after X-mas it will be finished because I need another

set and ebay is not being very nice!
Here is the link to

the press release for my newest coaster that has never been built out of K'NEX

before!
PRESS RELEASE!

Tell me what you

think!

[gforce]

the s-shaped hill sounds like a stengal dive to me.

[Westside7th]

It is definatly not a stengel dive. It changes direction

but doesn't go upside down. It just is like in RCT2 where you have the banked

turn slope up and then at the top, change direction and slope down. The train is going

in the same direction when it leaves the element as when it entered. It just shifts the

track over a bit.

[nitro9003]

Isn't Banshee the name Mantis was supposed

have with the Steel Force logo but then Cedar Fair decided to call it Mantis and gave

the Banshee logo to Steel Force. Great job Westside7th. It must take a lot of work

for that. Forgive me if you already mentioned this, but are putting in custom stand-up

trains.

[gforce]

It think coasterforce or rcdb (not sure) refers to your

element as a twisty apex.

[Westside7th]

Twisty apex, eh? Sounds funny. I dunno what it is

called. DO you have a pic of a "twisty apex"?

Yes,

Banshee was the original name for Mantis @CP so I thought is would be great to use

it for my stand-up coaster. The logo isn't the best but it works for me. The logo

I use is the original Banshee logo. (personally, I am glad CP changed it to Mantis)

And yes, I have custom trains that have 1 row per car, 2 people per row so a total of 3

cars seating 6 total. I use lego people. The custom cars are the reason why I needed

3 lifts because they lose the speed a lot quicker than the regular trains.

[Tyrant]

What you are describing sounds like a Sidewinder

Hill, it can be found on Goliath @ SFH, and Superman the Ride @ SFDL.....

Goliath @ SFH Sidewinder Hill

-Tyrant

[Westside7th]

I guess that is what it is. It is a sidewinder hill but I

much, much, much smaller version than the one in the pic.

[KnexMan200]

This coaster sounds great cant wait to see the

finished product

[gforce]

and referred to here as a "twisty apex"

sidewinder sounds better though.

http://www.users.zet...rcrz02/day1.htm

[CostaKid]

I would call it a non-inverting corkscrew. Thats just me.

[GregM]

Couldn't we also call it a RCT 1 box cover

corkscrew?

[bigbuilder]

More on the name banshee, that was changed to mantis

because i saw somewhere that banshee means female ghost coming to warn of

impending death. Wierd but i personally wish cp had left it banshee.

[nitro9003]

Bigbuilder, you probably saw that rcdb because

that's where i saw it.

[Westside7th]

I have read all about the name change on lots of CP

unofficial sites. A Sandusky newspaper looked up all the definitions of Banshee and

wrote a story saying that Banshee is a female spirit that wails and screams outside of

a house to warn the family of impeding death. This was not the image CP wanted to

have with their new ride so they changed it to Mantis which was an alternative name

they had chosen already. I like Mantis better because the Banshee logo isn't

that cool. Since the definition of Banshee is a spirit who wails, I decided to make the

slogan Scream...Standing Up!

I dunno what to call the twisty apex or

whatever. It isn't really a inverted corkscrew because I have seen those and it

doesn't look much like that. It isn't really big enough to be a twisty apex or

sidewinder hill and I don't like the name sidewinder hill because it can get

confused with the sidewinder inversion. It is just an S-curve on a hill I guess.

Construction Update: The supports for the tunnel are finished; I just need

some kind of cloth or fabric to drape over it.