Zingoman
-
Posts
310 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Zingoman
-
-
This is the most remarkable modeling work I have ever seen! Incredible! Any progress to share since May? Also did a 6th design get chosen for the cartouches? One more question. What has become of your previous models? They are absolutely museum worthy. Just unbelievable work.
-
Given Hades history of stalling out and seeing the way the new train is pacing by the end of the ride I'm guessing the no empty seat rule is to decrease the chances of the ride getting stuck. Heavy train means less slowing down throughout the course.
-
Well I can say this, the thicker the urethane the slower the pacing. Softer wheels create more resistance, so hopefully these test run speeds we are seeing right now wont change too much by the time it opens. It looks perfect as is! Very exciting!
-
Based on the sound of the train on the track I have to ask, does this thing have steel wheels? It's got a rumble to it! NTAGs urethane wheels make for a very silent and smooth ride. If IRat has steel I'll be thrilled! I love the rumble and roar and shaking of a coaster train on steel wheels! That's one thing I appreciate about outlaw run.
-
I'm hearing reports that some kind of malfunction with Outlaw Run occurred yesterday that required an evacuation via ladder to all the passengers. Since the GP always distorts these types of things, does anyone know what or if this happened and is the ride up and running today?
-
That off ride footage really shows how sick and fast this thing is! Sweet giblets I cannot WAIT to get there and ride!!
-
Well, to address the idea of an air fleet being grounded, a ship doesn't sink from an engine malfuntion. A plane will crash from that scenario though. I think that's apples and oranges. Seems to me that poor maintenance and a watered down training regimine for the vast amount of employees are huge contributors to all these occurances.
If you've got thousands of passengers boarding your ships aren't you kind of obligated to know what kind of shape all your critical systems are in?? The fact is yes, these ships are machines and much like an amusement ride, they can break down from time to time, however in this day and age a ship is pretty much as reliable as the people who are taking care of it. If roller coasters could leave people stranded in the ocean I suspect they'd break down a lot less. Perhaps Carnival is the best name for the company. They must have hired Carney's to maintain the ships. "Grab the electrical tape Cletus! I bet I can just stick this here green wire with the red one and get her another hour before she shuts down!"
-
I'm going to go ahead and post my guess on this world's first business and predict that the trains will have physical effects built into them much like a 4D experience. The tickler will vibrate your seat, the inoculator will poke you somewhere in your seat, the flasher will set off lights in your eyes, the giggler will spray some kind of mist out at you and so on. All these effects incorporated into the trains and seats themselves would certainly be unique and cause all these psychological elements to be far more effective. It's the only way I see they can pull this off the way they are describing it in their interviews and articles. Clearly if that's the case we won't see or know anything of it until opening day which is just how the park wants it to go. That's my guess on all this. We shall see.
-
I wonder if they will have a big net to catch loose objects over the enterance.
I'm pretty sure a net won't be necessary since there will be a nice solid roof under the whole element that guests will be under. A net would seem redundant.
-
I have a few reasons to share on my list of issues.
Inconsistency. One six flags may be clean and friendly, while the next is dirty and rude. You can even experience this in the same park. One area is nicely kept and charming and them turn the corner to rotten wood, pealing paint, wild landscaping, and rust.
Operations. Go to six flags over Texas. Pretty good operations! Rides seem to all stay in working order and the trins load quickly enough. Go go fiesta Texas down the road and you never know what may be open or laws and they run too few trains and the operators Are slow pokes.
Balance. Well rounded parks are SFOT, SFGAm, SFFT, SFStL, and SFNE. These parks offer good coasters and plenty of flats, ranging wild to mild. Go to SFMM, SFGAdv, SFOG, take the coasters out and there's nothing left! No balance! At all! None!
Restraints covered in electrical tape, rides open late, eyesores sit untouched for years, no cohesive planning and development, initial investments on theming and detail completely abandoned and watered down in only a couple seasons offering a decline in your experience over time.
I love roller coasters, but I also love parks! Everything about them. I enjoy the architecture, landscape, rides selections, food, atmosphere, music, layout, all of it. Basing a park's merits purely on what coasters they have is short sited and small minded. There is a balance blend and art to having a good park. Six flags can never make up its mind. The few good ones out there literally fight with the company to do what they know is better.
SFOT and SFGAm embrace their history and love their properties. Look around and it shows. They are like diamonds in the rough in that company. SFNE is unquestionably the most beautiful and diverse park in the chain. SFGAdv can't hold a candle to it. It's so big it's got ratty landscaping all over that they can't keep up with, ugly tent structures all over, abandoned sections within the park, dulled watered down theming, disregard for their amazing history, and a big coaster collection. I don't care if it's the best coaster I've ever ridden if it's at a park that's ugly and unkept and doesn't have more to offer. I'll give the ride all the credit in the world but that doesn't make the whole park wonderful. Sf is a mess. Great rides, but only a few great parks.
-
Pretty mixed feelings here. Once you have investors to cater to a lot of priorities tend to shift and the finer details take the back seat. If you worked at cedar point over the last ten years you know exactly what I mean.
Any theories someone with good business knowledge can put out there to explain some reasons this is taking place?
-
I just want to say I actually loved the old ride a lot. Once Texas Giant became a steelie Rattler was the best woodie in the state. NTAG is a phenominal ride but it doesnt change the fact i miss the old one. Boardwalk Bullet is wonderful but it's not as intense as Rattler was. Yes the new ride looks to be wonderful, but it will be shorter and less intense. For those of us who loved the old ride I think we are allowed to be a bit saddened by the change. Those of you hating on the old version aren't getting chastised for hating it so why are you slamming the people who say anything about the new one? Seems a bit one sided to me. People don't respect opposite opinions around here. I have plenty of good things to say about the new version too but can we stop ripping apart anyone who doesn't agree with the popular perspective?
-
I fully support that concept! Oil Derrick is a good 100ft taller than chutes were ( granted they wont go to the top of the tower now) so these will likely be much longer strings and probably twice as many. Sounds like an upgrade to me! I'm really glad they decided it was worth relocating. It always was a great piece of eye candy.
-
^I believe all the Arrow mega loppers after Vortex have had their inversions reinforced just like the cobra roll. Look at SFMM Viper's loops. They have the same bracing, and it didn't open that way.
Surprised nobody has mentioned the premier launch coasters! These had tons of issues due to their intense nature (and not just the launch technology) and I'm hardly referring to the restraints being switched either. The track on the Flight of Fear coasters has been significantly reinforced since its installation doubling and sometimes tripling the amount of track ties throughout portions of the ride. The train chassis, aluminum fins and brake fins have all been altered on most of these coasters as well (including the freeze, and chiller coasters). Maintenance at SFOT says the trains are unrecognizable from what they originally were due to extreme alterations made to reduce wear and tear. Many of these coasters have also employed newer car couplers and wheel bogies as well. These rides are prime examples of re-engineering trains due to intensity that step well beyond the normal test and adjust process of a ride.
-
I absolutely love themes, but only when carried out properly. Consistency is key for me. I'm a big fan of SFOT and I think for a SF park they have done reasonably well with theming. I wouldn't complain about Gotham merging into an expanded DC area, however I do prefer they stick to the genuine six flags themes that the park was built for. That's a lost cause at this point so I'm not going to hate on it. It's pointless. The part of that park that eats me is the generic "tower section". Here you have a sky coaster themed to old world war planes, Superman Tower of Power, the oil Derrick and Shock Wave with the most plain generic lack of theme imaginable. Toss is the abandoned stunt stadium with the big Texas mural on back with the sewer drain entrances from the batman days and that area is a mess.
Basically I do not fault a park at all for having no themes. But if you want to theme things in the beginning you better stick with the program. Otherwise it cheapens the feel and flow of the park as a whole.
-
Since I'm torn when I choose favorites, I divide things into categories.
Disney coasters, I'd say WDW space mountain
Six Flags is easily SFOT Runaway Mountian since its the only exciting coaster sf has in a box
For Paramount (since cf doesnt get credit from me for anything installed before 07) The fof coasters I have a hard time with because after joker and poltergeist they are a sad fail of their potential, however they would be phenominal and the best overall if they ran correctly.
Cedar Fair doesn't have squat in this department
Small parks Exterminater takes the cake easy.
-
That is such a drastic improvement! Makes you realize how shabby it really was looking. The bobsleds are a beloved staple at SFOT. I personally love them to death, and with chute out and Air Racer gone, the bobsleds and mine train are really the survivors from my childhood now.
I guess I'll share my sentiment for Chute Out here too. I'll never forget when I was five years old, in 1988, we were going to Six Flags for the first time. I kept staring out the window wondering when I would catch a glimpse of the park. All of the sudden in the distance I saw a tall white tower with arms fanning from the top. It was the most unusual and exciting looking structure I had ever seen, and set my heart pounding in anticipation wondering what other amazing things waited to be seen. It was the first ride I ever laid eyes on and sparked my fascination for parks. That spark has grown for 24 years and I'll miss driving to the park and seeing the origin of my passion. Thanks for the memories Chute Out!
-
So obviously Shock Wave is open, is the paint job done? Is la vibora still operating on the weekends or is if down for paint now?
-
With the ride only being 200 ft tall it won't be capable of landing on the bumper cars or shopping center. They are much too far away. All the details of the event are here. http://www.kvue.com/news/state/173484291.html
-
Im all about whatever this new ride will be but i hardly need it to have reasons to visit. Maybe I'm just not used to the rides in California being so available to me, but at sfmm alone I'd drive out for Lex, Revolution, Viper, X2, Tatsu, Ninja, Terminator, Riddler's, Green Lantern, Colossus, and Goliath. I have no issue with rough rides, and the classics never die. In fact I'd take Viper over any b&m I've ever ridden, and I don't have a shabby track record. I'm afraid I'm stuck in the minority on my coaster preferences. Having said that I suppose this is the part where I get crucified...
-
^The park is wonderful depending on what you like. If you only care about coasters then don't bother unless you are gauranteed to ride Boulder Dash. However, if you appreciate old traditional parks, their history, and their charm, enjoy soaking up that type of atmosphere, park food staples at reasonable prices, and a nice blend of traditional and a few modern rides then it's a fantastic park. If you only care about corporate parks with multi million dollar thrill rides then this park will be very lacking for you.
I'm pretty sure where Wildcat suffers is due to it's history with Summers and Dinn. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that some time in the 80s they were given the task of reworking Wildcat. With Boulder Dash getting the upgrade from GCI I'm wondering why they haven't had them rework Wildcat's trouble spots as well. It could be a decent ride at the least. I imagine it ran better in it's early years than it has since the Summers and Dinn deflowering.
-
For the people who are thinking knoebels has wasted too much time and money on flying turns look at it this way, this project has not hindered the park from installing new rides, and they have even had significant flooding and storms thrash the park. They have pushed forward for so long and the flying turns haven't hurt them at all so by all means why give up now? After this long it seems more foolish to give up than to keep trucking.
-
Methinks that the trains on this coaster (as well as Kvasten, Jimmy Neutron, etc) don't swing. Vekoma calls all of their below-track coasters "suspended". Suspended Family Coaster, Suspended Coaster, Suspended Looping Coaster...
I can't speak for all the jrs you mention but Steel Lasso here in Oklahoma is a clone of jimmy neutron and it does swing. I'm pretty certain they all do since the trains appear to have all the same hardware in all the same places.
-
I do find that odd. I guess they just didn't want to run log jammer this season and better to have it gone than sbno. Who knows?
The Airplane Model project
in Roller Coaster Games, Models, and Other Randomness
Posted
That's terrible to hear your model was destroyed by vandals/intruders. What is your background that put you in possession of such great skills to do this? I'd love to be able to do work like this.