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I'm building a custom Arrow Looper!


Klabergian Empire
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Hello everyone!

As you saw by the title above, I have decided to announce the construction of a model of OUR FAVORITE ARROW LOOPER Vortex! You are probably wondering why. The simple reason is that I like to challenge myself AND I have nothing better to do (well, this second reason isn't entirely true, but you get the idea). The model will be made out of Knex (1. because I have a few of them; and 2. Idk what else to build a roller coaster model with) and as of 12/2/2019, the blueprints are currently being worked out. I will try to post regularly and update y'all of the construction.

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2 hours ago, Klabergian Empire said:

Hello everyone!

As you saw by the title above, I have decided to announce the construction of a model of OUR FAVORITE ARROW LOOPER Vortex! You are probably wondering why. The simple reason is that I like to challenge myself AND I have nothing better to do (well, this second reason isn't entirely true, but you get the idea). The model will be made out of Knex (1. because I have a few of them; and 2. Idk what else to build a roller coaster model with) and as of 12/2/2019, the blueprints are currently being worked out. I will try to post regularly and update y'all of the construction.

Nice! I cant wait to see the finished product! I love knex because if you have enough pieces, you can spend hours building them up and making them somewhat realistic. I sometimes make support structures and coaster elements in my free time.

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2 minutes ago, tuxedoman52 said:

Do you plan on having it run 3 trains, and if so what kind of PCU will you use?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

The number of trains running on Vortex unfortunately will not be figured out until a later stage in the development and construction. But I definitely guarantee at least one :lol:. I am working on a few more details and will publish an update sometime today.

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PROGRESS REPORT 1 - 12/2/2019

 

Image

Screenshot 2019-12-02 at 4.31.30 PM.png

 

The first step in recreating this fan-favorite roller coaster was the layout. Since Vortex is based on, well, the actual Vortex itself, that was one item checked off the list. Next, I had to tackle one of the hardest challenges in recreating this ride. As you may know Vortex sits on uneven terrain, with the lowest point being the bottom of the Batwing. This is a challange since I am building this model on flat ground. The first step I took to solve this puzzle was to find the hight of the tallest point of the ride, which is the lift hill. The hight of the lift hill (after looking it up) is 148 ft tall. Then, using the two images above as perhaps the best references I could find, I counted the number of complete sections from the top to the bottom of the hill. Because several are hidden by trees, I had to estimate an extra section. The total sections I counted was 11. Feel free to correct me if my counting was incorrect. I then divided the hight of the lift hill by the number of sections and go 13.45 (which is the hight of each individual section according to my calculations). 

Screenshot 2019-12-02 at 12.36.11 PM.png

Moving on with the process, I used this topograhical map of the Kings Island area to find the elevation difference between the approxamate place where the lift hill is and the lowest point on the Batwing. I am aware that this map is slightly dated, but its the best I could find on a short notice. I determined the elevation difference between the lift hill and the Batwing is about 12 feet. This information is relevant because since the lowest point on the Batwing is the lowest point on the ride, I am making the lowest point on the Batwing (pretty much) ground level and I am raising everthing else up, since it sits higher. 

That is all for today! If there is any inaccuracies in my data, please feel free to correct me!

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PROGRESS REPORT 2 -12/3/2019

 

This won't be too long (or at least as long as yesterdays report). But as of today I have finnished calculations for the ride. I am also excited to announce that construction of Vortex will begin Sunday, 12/8/2019. Posted below is the official constuction schedule. As usual, I will try to keep this thread updated and will share construction photos if I have time to do so. Feel free to ask questions since I won't be doing much on my Vortex project until Sunday.

PHASES OF CONSTRUCTION:    (All sections will be assembled in this order)

1. Batwing

2. Helix

3. Brake run and Station

4. Lift hill

5. First half of drop

6. Corkscrew

7. Midcourse brake run and turn around

8. Loops

9. Second half of drop and turn around

10. The stretch from the turn around to the loops.

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1 hour ago, Klabergian Empire said:

Im wondering if I should change the name of this thread to "Vortex Construction Updates" to confuse the heck out of people. Make 'em wonder why there is a demolition thread AND a construction thread of the same ride!:lol:

Turns out they are just replacing Vortex with an exact replica, using modern engineering 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so its been since literally last year since I've been on this thread. And while building the model, a tragic event unfolded. I do NOT have enough Knex to build a scale working model of Vortex (I realized that when I was building the Batwing (which for those who don't know was the first section I was going to build on it)). Not only that, I just haven't had a whole lot of time recently so construction was going to be hampered anyways.

BUT

I do have enough parts to build a roller coaster of (still) a decent size. And considering the design I have worked out last weekend, I can effectively deliver a decent product. If y'all would be interested, I could "leak" :lol: the blueprints on here.

Just thought I would update on the situation as it stands.

EDIT: It will be an Arrow styled coaster!

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Alrighty folks!

Below is the layout of the custom Arrow looper. The train will exit the station directly to the lift hill. After plummeting, the train will enter a vertical loop. Afterwards, the train will go back up again to the turn around which will have a corkscrew incorporated in it. Next, the trains will enter 2 more vertical loops. Finally, the train will hit the brake run and return to the station.

The name of the coaster you might ask...?

Here is a (poorly) drawn image of what I will be (attempting) to build:

Screenshot 2020-02-04 at 6.48.59 PM.png

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9 minutes ago, tuxedoman52 said:

Viper, Corkscrew, Great American Scream Machine. All very typical Arrow looper names.

Original names? Renegade, Bandit, Patriot (not all that original but good for an Arrow looper)

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Not bad! Not bad at all!

If I can get at least 10 names, I will make a poll and whichever wins the highest percentage will be the coasters name!

Submit any and all coaster name ideas!

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4 minutes ago, CedarFairFan787 said:

If you have made any progress, do you mind posting some updates with pictures possibly? I am interested to see how it is coming along.

Sure!

As a reminder, the poll to vote for the name of the coaster closes at noon this Sunday, so vote while you can if you haven't voted.

For the coaster itself, construction has not started yet. Construction is going to start at the end of May/ beginning of June and will be completed sometime in June. The concept is all worked out, its just a matter of time.

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