Building a working model roller coaster!
 

Ok, so I built one in 7th, 8th, 10th and now another one for 11th grade. :yes: But this year, i've taken it up several notches by building a realistic train instead of having just a marble on two tubes for rails. The competition is may 14th at carowinds (a theme park) so i get to get out of school that friday (excused absence) to comete and spend a day at the park :intello: overall winner (this should be my 4th one) gets 2 free tickets. :yipi: so this is what i've got this year.

The logo/sign that will go on the station:
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ic4588.jpg

One of the loops:
http://i41.tinypic.com/9poz1t.jpg

Overbanked "rainbow" curve:
http://i44.tinypic.com/28mn5uv.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/6edopg.jpg

Everything as of thursday night:
http://i41.tinypic.com/2mhj046.jpg

I still have a lot planned to do with it but all the hard stuff is done, what do you think?

DUDE!. That looks sweet! Video please!!!!:mdr:

Hehehe! That's awesome! :) Vid please

THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT .....VIDEOS!!! :lol:

haha thanks guys!

more progress! had to redo the last part of it couse it was loosing too much speed around the fast, flat curves with the was the side trucks are disigned (plastic and at a 45 degree angle making a lot of friction)

i really hope to have the track finished by the end of the week to allow a week at decorate (ton of stuff planed)

http://i41.tinypic.com/hrigc3.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/1jqky8.jpg

video:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...coaster5-2.jpg

Man thats awsome. where do you get the materials to build it from,or just what do you use for tracks and cars?

Man that was fast. I imagine in scale speed you would be close to mach 1. Seriously though, nice work again!

the track is a 4x8ft sheet of .030mil lexan painted with yellow paint (the same paint as for rc cars) that is cut out in strips/curves 1in wide wile a copper ground wire hot glued underneath it to support it. the cars are each 3 differant HO scale model train tracks. i used roller bearing trucks for the center and two walthers trucks (brass axle with plastic wheels) on the sides. but youve got to move the wheeles on the side trucks around. i'll get a better picture later, i need to get to bed now. then the car on top of the trucks are thin peices of balsa wood that have been cut out and glued togather. each car is held togather by a cut o-ring thats been glues with gorilla glue onto the bottom of the cars.

the lexan came from granger, paint and trucks from hobbie shop, wire and glue from a hardware store. then it's a k-nex chain, shelving braket (i think that's what it's called) as the chain sleeve, k-nex gears and frame at the bottom, vex kit motors (soldered +/- wires directly to the motors) for the chain and station, vex kit gears for the top of the chain and the mechanical timer for the station (the train will stop in the station for a little bit, then the motor turns on, pushing the train out), and station, lego wheel with rc car foam tire inseart for the station start/stop wheel. and that's pretty much it

haha thanks! it doesn't seem as in person though. :neutral: but the last curve that i had to change, it it was only an inch higher, it wouldn't make it. that's how fast it gains and looses speed.

Wow!!!! Simply amazing!!!!

haha thanks!

more:
http://i43.tinypic.com/11qlp4i.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/2mo5gec.jpg

that looks like a lot of fun to build make the coaster longer nice job

yea it is! ton of work though. and i'm making it as long as possible with the speed and time i have. but the station is high in the air and i really want to have the track done by the weekend couse i have a lot of decorating to do

more:

http://i41.tinypic.com/hx29mx.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/o8f6ly.jpg

WOW, that thing is insane, and awesome, and everything else nice.
You've inspired me, HAHAHA,
no really this looks really cool, and wondering if i can get something like this setup in my bedroom, that would be awesome.

What a great project, I love it. Now I know you are still building this but you gotta think about putting some little people inside the cars and some sound effects like people screaming. Maybe have one of the little people barf a small amount of pea soup. :mdr: Very nice work, this thing is ridding smooth and fast.

Honestly, if you cleaned everything up a little, I think there are people out there that would pay money for this thing.

Make it into a nice working diorama and add sounds and bam!