Robot Monkey Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Roller coaster fans, check this out: http://www.coasterdynamix.com/ It's kind of a Lego approach to building your own working model. The first kit is called The Dragon and I think it will retail for $500. They say you will be able to combine kits. They have a neat quicktime video and other picture on the site. The end part of the video is neat -- it looks like they put a tiny video camera in a car. -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Hey that's pretty cool. It reminds me a bit of an advanced version of this toy/kit called rollerscape where you set up tracks that you can roll a marble down...I found some detail pics online The rollercoaster looks much more serious, but $500 is a lot! EDIT: took out the word 'metal,' the marble is dense plastic I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Rollerscape looks like a good value. The prices on your link showed $20-30 for some basic kits. I can't help but wonder if those inexpensive Rollerscape kits would add up like my Mindstorms obsession a little while ago. After plunking down the cash for the main kit, I decided I really needed all the accessory kits. As an aside, I notice that the "ADD TO CART" button on that site actually says "ADD TO SATCHEL." After only a couple years of commerce on the web using "CART," "SATCHEL" looks funny to me. -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I bought a few Rollerscape sets a while ago. It's fun to play with and you can do some pretty cool stuff, but it can take a while of tweaking to get something complex...like a douple loop-de-loop. You learn about physics though, like the second loop must be significantly smaller than the first because you lose so much energy going through one. The other engineering type toy I got even more obssessed with was the Hoberman Expandagons (which are now discontinued). If you know what a Hoberman Sphere is, imagine a kit of parts that let you construct your own expandable shapes. I ended up spending upwards of $300 on as many Expert kits as I could find... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyjaw Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I wonder if this wide shot of the Dragon is what you get in a single kit. It looks like a lot of fun, but it would be hard to spend $500 all at once for that. I wonder what it's made of, and how well it's constructed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 My impression is that the picture shows the entire Dragon kit. $500 is an awful lot of money. Now I wonder how I could combine that Mindstorms... -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam P Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Very neat, but not worth $500. The novelty value wears off quickly so it's tantamount to spending $500 on a piece of interesting decoration, which is a little excessive for what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 it's tantamount to spending $500 on a piece of interesting decoration, which is a little excessive for what it is. Sam, talk about the roller coaster stuff, not the 3DO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 You learn about physics though, like the second loop must be significantly smaller than the first because you lose so much energy going through one. Play Coasterworks on the good ol' Dreamcast, you'll learn this & a whole bunch of other stuff on how to make cool coasters. Great game & "learning experience". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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