K'Nex Big Builds

We've had some great new big construction sets in from K'Nex.

The K'Nex Pirate Ship Park is a great advanced build from K'Nex. It took my five year old son and I a couple of hours to complete, but it was well worth it. At two and a half feet tall it is quite an impressive sight.

Once complete, set the engine running and the boat begins to rock higher and higher eventually starting to loop the loop. As the Pirate Ship turns over the passengers start to scream - great fun!

In addition to the Pirate Ship there are two other full scale rides to build so I can write off another couple of Sunday afternoons.















The K'Nex Musical Ferris Wheel is another in the K'nex big builds range. Standing slightly taller than the Pirate Ship Park it is equally impressive. Start the ride running and fairground music starts to play - ever so graceful.

Again K'Nex supply instructions for the Ferris Wheel and two other models so there is plenty of life in this kit too.
















Both of these models leave you really impressed with the designers at K'Nex. the number of components and complexity of connections must really require some serious architectural skill - not to mention great CAD software!

We also learnt a lot about the physics of the models. Lots of triangles in the frame for strength, the complex connectors and angles involved. We had some trouble getting the Pirate Ship to loop the loop and it turned out to be a single joint which had not been snapped together properly. This seemed to be allowing the energy of the ship to escape as the frame flexed - snapping the joint together fixed the problem. Just goes to show how carefully the model must have to be designed!

Click here to buy K'Nex in the UK.