K'Nex Rippin' Rocket question

I'm just wondering if anybody out there has purchased the K'Nex Rippin' Rocket Roller Coaster and actually put it together and tried it. It's featured in several of the sale flyers here this week. Anyway, how hard is it to put together? K'nex's website says it has over 1000 pieces. (Did I read that right???) Yikes! How about performance? It doesn't look very sturdy. I wonder if K'Nex got its inspiration for this from TTD. I think Santa may be getting this for my 5-year-old son, and I need some reviews. Thanks!

Do not buy this item for your five year old son. We bought it and it took two of us to put it togeather both of us being 19. It took about 6 hours. It is kinda hard to read directions. It is fun. Yes it is sturdy. It is neat but i dont think it is worth as much as it sells for. I paid about 74.00 for it. Like i said dont buy it for him. He will not get it.

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Drop me a line if you feel like it
aarone_03@yahoo.com

2003 wicked twister crew

ABC's 20/20 did a report on it on Friday, and a rep. from K'Nex said it should take between 3-6 hours to put together. Target here in the Metro Detroit area is selling it for $49.99 this week, which is a killer buy, if you have the time to put it together!

-Michael

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Drag Races: 8

They're on sale somewhere right now... Target or Toys-r-Us or something.

I have it. I love it. Took me around five hours and it's not that difficult. The only tough part is in the one side where some of the rails need to overlap. That's only weird if you've built a lot of other stuff with K'Nex.

I'm confident that some younger kids could build this thing.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

Dont get me wrong, it is sweet but i dont think that a five year old could put it up by him self. You will have to help him. But that is up to you. Some good time that you could spend with him.
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aarone_03@yahoo.com

Wicked Twister crew 2003

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Aaron Eskins said:

Dont get me wrong, it is sweet but i dont think that a five year old could put it up by him self. You will have to help him.

Wicked Twister crew 2003

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A 5 year old will not be able to put it up himself. It was on the Christmas show over here last night, and it was taller than the kid playing with it, who looked about 8. It looks fun, but it sounds like one of those presents you would buy more for yourself to play with MForce

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Louise
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2002 - Guest Services
2003 - Kiddy Kingdom/Mantis, and a little on Matterhorn Triangle

I guess I know some really clever 5-year olds.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

It's not really the intellegence, but the ability to reach the top. And if standing on something to reach, then adults need to help to avoid them falling. And it took the presenter 4 hours to put together. I don't know any 5 year olds that can wait that long to play with a toy. But Santa could always put it together for him so it's ready christmas morning.

But I remember from when I was little and my brother got a Scalextric from Santa - all made up. He got about one shot before my dad and uncle took over and played with it for a while. Do you want it for yourself MForce?? :-)
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Louise
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2002 - Guest Services
2003 - Kiddy Kingdom/Mantis and a little on Matterhorn Triangle
*** This post was edited by ScottishLou 12/10/2003 11:28:23 AM ***

We are getting it for our 10 year old nephew. Looks like I'll have to check out Target on the way home from work. It was $64 on the Toys R Us site on-line

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

This is my opinion (probably because I've been working on getting a realy good launch on my K'nex coaster.) But for us older people, I don't understand having a launch system, if you don't design it yourself. I'm just speaking it for myself, but I am getting it at Toys R Us and giving it to my brother. On another note, 5-year olds can probably build it with a grown up (actually, it is pretty much certain.) I got my first K'nex when I was five, and I could build all the cars and helicopters ect. in there. On yet another note. Someone I know is trying to make a hydraulic launch with brake fluid and a CO2 compresser. I think it's creative, but I think it's dangerous. Should I tell them?

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Math is the alphabet, in which god has written the universe.

i grew up on k'nexs i want the rippin rocket but santa wont bring it this year due to the fact that i dont play with my old k'nex and most of the time i never made what it was used for. since i drag raced we made our own cars out of k'nex while are parents raced we would race we made dragsters and pro mod cars and all sorts of cars that you wouldnt think you could make even the 5 year old that was with us learned how to make them so yes they can help build that just he would need help with the top of it cuz it does look taller then a 5 year old. but if you get it for your 5 year old and you play with it more then i guess you wanted it more then him.

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~Brat~
Kiddykingdom 03
mantis n millennium at the end of season
*** This post was edited by kiddybrat 12/10/2003 10:34:25 PM ***

Hey, thanks to all for the responses. Yes, I realize that my 5-year-old wouldn't be able to put this together by himself. And I admit, ScottishLou, that I have an ulterior motive here--I would be playing with it too! In my defense, just let me say that my son is already an avid Cedar Point fan. He sits at this computer and watches my downloaded coaster videos more that I do; he watches my collection of VHS coaster videos faithfully; heck, he and I have even marathoned on Zach's Zoomer at Michigan's Adventure. So I'm sure he would get a kick out of this K'Nex coaster--he's seen it advertised on TV and said he wants it (along with every other toy he sees advertised!). Target has it this week for $49.74, but of course they have been out of stock for most of the week. I have a raincheck, but a raincheck won't look like much fun under the tree on Christmas morning. So I'll just have to wait and see if they get more in before Christmas. P.S. I don't understand why Target would offer such a drastic price cut on a popular item and not have extra stock on hand in anticipation of the demand.

The real challenge is taking the tower partially apart and building it in the likeness of Dragster. The original construction took me about 4-5 hours, and about a week later add on another 2-3 hours to reconstruct it. Turns out the loop is really there to balance out the motor on the opposite side of the tower.

If you don't get (any) K'nex coaster for a kid, get it for a cat. Mine would sit and watch the Rocket or the Serpent for hours.

jonC, my cat lays underneith my Serpent for hours at a time. I can't wait to get the Rippin` Rocket, in fact I plan to after Christmas, the trick is to just get to the store I don't work at, which would be nice...that's the one problem with being in retail at the holidays.

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AKA...Somewhatchewy, Joseph the White.
Practice Safe Hex, and avoid computer viruses today!

Have any of you tried to build Dragster out of this?

I did it took me all of one night, and 2 hrs the next day.

I used a rubberband launch into the first booster, then on the other side of the hill was the other booster, and that was my brake on the coaster. I had the 270 twist and all of that. I made the design of the supports myself, I think my design held up better than the design os the Rippin Rocket, my Dragster tower did not shake at all. The supports were hard to think of how to make it, I have pictures, once I get them developed I will post them, has anyone else tried this either I am curious to know wahts yours came out like.

Does anyone have pics of theirs if they made one.

My dog knocked over my Rippen Rocket. :(