Jack Rimer
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Posts posted by Jack Rimer
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It runs a little better than the Scorpion in a straight line, but I have not tested it through tight twists. I would imagine the Scorpion is better through the twisties. The train I had will do 40 on the "drop test"(un-lubed). The best I get from a Scorpion is 35. They are very close, however.
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Busch Gardens received their first shipment today. To order one call Arnie at 757-253-3451. If there is no answer, leave a message and he will get back to you. Eventually, they will have them to purchase online.
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What if I made the lift a foot higher and had nothing on the ride higher than 2 feet? Would adding a little weight help?
If it means creating a shorter and (or) lower layout, I'll do it.
Everything on the model relies on the efficiency of the wheels. Adding weight will only slow it down more and require more supports. Making the lift one foot taller still won't allow it to complete the elaborate course you have planned. I would make a smaller, very simple design to showcase the engineering effort you put into it and don't get bogged down with a big layout. Once again, forget all the meaningless details like the color of the ride, the station, computer renderings, and such. All of that means NOTHING if it doesn't even work. Get it working first, then worry about all the details. You still have a long road ahead and you need to get it done in the timeframe set forth by your teacher.
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I'm afraid this design may not be efficient enough to complete the course you have planned. Wheels running on axles will be more like Knex in terms of efficiency. You would need a HUGE lift hill to have it make it around. If you make a small "prototype" track it may be fine, but the whole ride is a bit too ambitious for these trains.
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The model cars will be done soon? Or the computer rendering will be done soon?
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You have to have some kind of guide wheels or it won't work. Do you mean it won't have side wheels or you just aren't showing them? Are the wheels running on axles? What are they made of?
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It would slow the train down too much.
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Those trains are really awesome! I wish I had something like that when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I'm in "space is a premium" Miami and there's no room for something like that.
Bad enough I have to take my bowflex to storage to get more room!
Terry
The trains are on a base that is only 4"x11". Not too big. Get more shelves! LOL.
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They are all plastic- like our working model trains. The inverted trains snap together, but the new floorless, dive and sit down trains screw together. These are very durable and strong.
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So many ideas..... Everyone has a different favorite.
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No. All the inverteds will be regular 7 car trains.
I am interested in these new train models, but it seems that if you are selling replicas of specific coaster trains, the models should have the same number of cars as the real thing. I can understand maybe skipping the zero-car with Alpengeist, but say if Raptor has eight cars, why not have 8 cars on the model. Most inverted coasters have eight cars, not seven.
It is all about economics. To get to the price point we are trying to achieve, we cannot go over 7 cars. Eight cars would take the price up closer to $30. The parks want inexpensive souvenirs. And seriously....how many souvenir buyers really care? Will it prevent you from buying one?
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She had only been there for 3 weeks. Still, she should have been more tactful.
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Robb- we get this all the time. Can you do this? Can you make that? It does get frustrating. We work really hard to come out with something we feel is really cool and the first thing some people ask is "yeah, but what about..."
I actually enjoy answering questions about our products. I called one park earlier in the week and talked to a lady in merchandising who wanted to know why on earth someone would pay $20 for one of THOSE models. I told her some people get it and some don't. She obviously didn't. The people on this site do.
Most of the parks have been very cooperative and enthusiastic about this project. They provide us with artwork and colors. We even got to see the official B&M drawings for the Griffon trains months before they arrived. Unfortunately, no one has any experience selling this sort of souvenir so they don't really have any advice. They are as curious about customer feedback as we are.
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Not now, but if the parks want us to do it, we would consider it.
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If they go over well, we plan on expanding the line to include wooden coaster trains and other steel models. The parks seem excited about the idea. We hope these become items that people will want to collect and display.
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We have a novel idea for the holding break that will work quite nicely. The dive and floorless will sell for $20 and the inverteds for $25. We will set a price for the metal wheel sets soon. It won't be too expensive.
These models will only be available at the parks or through their online stores.
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We will be doing Raptor, Talon, Hydra, Griffon, Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Scream, Superman, and 4 Batmans.
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No. All the inverteds will be regular 7 car trains.
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I thought you said you were doing it to teach yourself? Why do you need feedback or support? If I was making something like this, I would do it for myself....not the people who read this post.
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How's this coming? Typical.....
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How's the train coming along? You may want to recheck your supports in the base of the valley. Not sure if that is going to work.
As I have said before, spend a little less time on paint selection and devote more time to the train design. This is the point that will make or break the whole project since the train is the single most important aspect of any working model.
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Have you tried glueing it? It's tricky.
Also, it's a good plan to not make any hill higher than the previous hill.
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Here I go again, but..... to be honest, it is just as easy to just build the prototype instead of doing it in Inventor. You will learn so much more about the materials and how easily they conform to the shapes you want. In fact, you may design something in Inventor that cannot be easily modeled with the materials you have in mind. Like I said before, let the actual model dictate where you go with this. I suspect that the building of the model is unfamiliar territory for you, but working on the computer designing it is a more comfortable way to approach this. At some point you will have to let go of the virtual constraints and just start building.
Personally, I would weigh the costs of scratchbuilding such a large and complicated model with using an existing modeling system like Knex or CoasterDynamix. In my experience, a model of this size would cost upwards of $2000 to reproduce at the least. The bearings alone will run over $100. Think about it. For example, with something like CoasterDynamix, you could build a realistic model, then go back in Inventor and reverse-engineer all the drawings to conform to the design of the ride. You could wrap up the project in record time and impress your teachers all at once!
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I eliminated the 4th dimension rails a little while back, so I guess it was a good move. The seats are going to spin freely just like on an Intamin Ball coaster, wait a minute, this could be considered a ball coaster, execpt it's not launched.
I was thinking maybe steel wire might be an alternative to the plastruct if it was smooth. Also, What I can I use for wheels? Wouldn't the wheels used for the CoasterDynamix trains work?
The CoasterDynamix wheels have to be used on their trains. They are pin friction and rely on the molded Delrin captures to achieve their efficiency. Bearings will work, but you must take out the grease and replace it with a light lubricant. They are also somewhat inconsistent unless you buy really expensive ones. These are the only two options I know of.
Scale Coaster trains! Griffon and Alpengeist
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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They are O gauge. We will see about other rides. We have discussed doing wooden coaster and Intamin trains next if these do well.