DegoRed Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 For those who don't know....right around Thanksgiving, I pull out my dusty box of K'nex and start building my new Christmas coaster. 2005 marks the fifth year I've used my screamin serpent sets to transform the christmas tree into a thing of beauty. For this year I'm drawing most of my inspiration from Space Mountain at Disneyland. I went ahead and set up a site where you can follow the construction progress of this year's model as well as check out last year's model, The Ornament Express. A video of last years model will be available soon and you should start seeing updates on the site a few days after Thanksgiving. http://www.freewebs.com/knex-kreations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCoasterny Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 WOW! :o How many K'nex coasters made up the whole thing? What will you call this year's model, and will you do inversions this year? Maybe a snap roll or two.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddymonster Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Dego, dude, that is incredible! Isn't there some on-going contest by KNEX for creative works like this. If there isn't, well, there SHOULD be. Good work and keep at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Very creative stuff, I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_type_of_person Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Thats awesome..how long is the whole ride? Is it like the other ones where it zooms at like 20 mph around the whole thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxo Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Oh yeah, I remember when you posted this on westcoaster last year. This one sounds awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Wow! Let me just say that this thread makes me think two things: 1. I love your KNEX stuff! 2. Holy crap has this year flown by THAT fast?!?!? --Robb "Seemed like yesterday that I was looking at photos of Ornament Express." Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 :shock: Wow. Good luck with this year's model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterguy618 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 That's so sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
music11 Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Thats sick i which i could do that. Do your parents care that you do that to your parents tree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasters 4 me Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 I looked at the 2004 one and All I can say is WOW!!! How can you have the patience to build something like that. It must have taken ages!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted November 24, 2005 Author Share Posted November 24, 2005 Ok to answer a few people's questions... - Over the years I've accumulated 4 sets plus a few of what k'nex calls grab bags for rods and connectors - The process is extremely time consuming. Last year I attempted to create a multi-looping coaster and it failed tremendously. I then had to go start from scratch and finished the model a week and half later. You can see a picture of the failed layout below - My dad has kinda gotten tired of these models, but it's a tradition now and all my family looks forward to seein it so he's s--t out of luck I also figure that we go all out for putting lights on the house (see below) so why shouldn't i go all out on the xmas tree - As far as the speed goes, yes it does travel the course tremendously fast, but this year the changes in elevation won't be quite so drastic so I'm hoping to slow it down as well as make a nice long layout, in the video which be up soon, i used premiere to slow the speed down enough to almost make it look believable though - As far as inversions go, i'm kinda playing it by ear. I can't say for certain what the layout is going to be because there are just way too many factors involved, from supports to the arrangements of tree branches and clearings, i do know that inversions take so much speed away from these models so it's hard to incorportate them and still have a decent coaster, but there may be a loop. One thing is for sure this is one of my favorite parts of the holiday, so I'm sure I'll come up with something good my house all lit up at night The failed layout from last year, giant loop, cobra roll, zero-g and helix...train stalled in cobra and after zero-g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 That's great! I wish I could have been able to do something like that with a kit (any kit, darnit) back in the days of my parents' (shudder) Silver Aluminum Tree... :shock: Whatta hoot that would've been - and the colors of track! Mm, m! My, my. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to your new "Seasonal Model." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 Ok so no update yet, there's been a delay in getting the tree. It was supposed to come on Friday I won't be picking it up until Tuesday or Thursday, so as soon I get that I can start building. I'll try to throw together an update of the station and lift, but that section is identical to last years ayway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DATman Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 man, I wish I had enough kits, cause I would so do something like that you should build one in between too, not just at Christmas. I'm sure they would be awesome, and good practice for the holidays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollerdude Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 I remember that model last year on SSC. You had a bit of a different layout though. Good luck this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 OK still no update but as promised I got the video up (Thanks Robb) so you can check out Ornament Express in action. The video is set to music and to make the speed more realistic i slowed down the video to 60%. I think it turned out pretty well. Check it out and let me know what you think The file is zipped and in windows media format and is about 24 MB so high speed is recommended Ornament Express in action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted December 7, 2005 Author Share Posted December 7, 2005 Finally got around do throwing together the update. Still no tree, that will be here sometime between Thursday and Saturday for sure, so expect an update Sunday or Monday. Right now, the station, lift and turnaround are in place, and i'm building the support structure which will go inside the tree. http://www.freewebs.com/knex-kreations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 so is the beggininng always the same? You should also have at least 1 loop, maybe a corkscrew, and a 0 g roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterviper Posted December 7, 2005 Share Posted December 7, 2005 Hey with your failed layout did you ever try making the first loop smaller? Or even try to add weight to the car itself to give it more momentum through the loops? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalMAN123 Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 Looking awesome! I can't wait to see the finished model of this coaster! ---Brent 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 The starter framework is looking nice there. It does look surprising to me that you'll be able to actually fit a tree in there, lol. Lookin' good awright! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted December 8, 2005 Author Share Posted December 8, 2005 To answer a few more questions.. In 2003 I made a long start to the lift and by the time it reached the chain sometimes it didn't have enough momentum to catch, and I haven't had a problem with the short turn so I stick with that, the lift has to be in that position it wouldn't really fit anywhere else, and the turnaround on top of the tv requires minimal pieces, which this year I'm finding out I may be running short on, so its a keeper as well. The failed layout from last year took up way too much time, and pieces I tried all kinds of things to make it work but I never added weights to the cars cause I figured it would just make the supports shake even more. Unlike many K'nex builders I don't have a lot of time to put into these models. I usually have finals until the 2nd and 3rd weeks of December which leaves me about 2 weeks to build the intricate structure and layout through the tree. And I don't even do pre-tree construction till the end of November, and lastly, I do have a life so even when I have free time I don't devote it all to building the model The basis behind this years model is a compact layout of many turns and crossovers and passes through the tree with low elevation shifts, meaning no big drops, meaning less speed and longer circuit times, which means less speed = harder to make inversions. I'm hoping toward the end I can pull enough together for a loop at least, but don't expect a multi-looper And lastly, the starter framework for the interior tree support structure is going to sit inside the tree, the branches will hopefully hide most of it but it willbe used to help support the track so that I don't have to count on the branches for support, because they move alot = loss of speed. Should be interesting once the tree is up sometime this weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 So today the tree finally arrived, and I got to work on rebuilding the supprt structure inside the tree. That's all I'm gonna do today, because I have a project to work on and a final tomorrow, so I will begin building the track through the tree tomorrow. Check out the update http://www.freewebs.com/knex-kreations Here's where I'm at so far.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegoRed Posted December 15, 2005 Author Share Posted December 15, 2005 BIG UPDATE TODAY!!! So I continued on the layout this morning creating a bridge straightaway into the tree and then a nice turnaround on top. When I got home from school, I continued working on it, and added an s-turn, pass through the tree, a 90 degree turn, an outer turn, and ended today with another dive inside the tree. The upper scetion of the coaster is almost entirely done already. Check it out http://www.freewebs.com/knex-kreations/update1214.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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