Coaster Dynamix®, headquartered in Elkton Virginia USA, touts their Scorpion as “The world’s most incredible operating roller coaster model!” Indeed, the Scorpion, and its big brother sibling the Dragon, mimic real world steel roller coasters in appearance and performance more accurately than any other model roller coaster construction set products on the market today. Including just over 700 parts, this “O” scale (1:48) self titled roller coaster modeling system is extremely flexible and allows the builder, within the constraints of the included parts, the ability to design and build not only the Scorpion roller coaster configuration featured in the instruction manual but also a dizzying array of their own custom roller coaster creations. The included parts are very high quality and the instruction manual is straight forward and easy to follow with no glaring omissions. A US standard 12VDC power supply is included.

King of the Midway, The Big Dipper from Faller® Gmbh of Germany is a beautiful, highly detailed, motorized HO Scale (1/87) roller coaster model kit. While not as detailed or challenging to build as the Faller® Wilde Maus , The Big Dipper is great fun to assemble and should require about twenty to thirty hours to complete. In many respects the designers of this model are to be complemented. The use of die cutting for the perimeter fence meshing is elegant and precise. The track design is equally well done. On the other hand, the many adhesive flags and sign elements have to be cut out by hand. Go figure. The manual is well written and easy to follow with only one notable omission which is discussed below. We also have some suggestions which will simplify the assembly process and, in some cases, should provide you with the best results.

Queen of the Midway, the 20th Anniversary Version Wilde Maus from the folks at Faller® Gmbh in Germany is a beautiful, marvelously detailed, illuminated, motorized, challenging and complex HO (1/87) Scale model kit. Not for the faint of heart, even experienced model builders will need patience, a steady hand and between thirty and forty hours to complete this worthy project. This being said, the result is something any modeler will be proud to display whether on a shelf, as a focal point in a model amusement park or as an accent to a model train layout. Fit and finish is exceptional and the instructions are, with a few notable exceptions, quite good and must be read carefully and followed in the correct sequence. The notable exceptions or omissions we found are as follows:

The Double Ferris Wheel from K’NEX®, standing just over three feet tall, is the second largest member of this Pennsylvania USA based company’s line of motorized thrill ride products. Eclipsed in size only by the 5’3” tall Serpent’s Spiral roller coaster and including 977 wonderfully colorful and precisely made parts, this is truly an epic ride.

If you are curious about construction toys in general or are simply looking for an accessible and inexpensive entry into the exciting world of K’NEX® motorized Thrill Ride products, the Hometown Carnival should be just the ticket. Composed of three individual ride models commonly powered by a single motor and featuring a marvelous connecting drive system of gears and drive shafts, the Hometown Carnival is a great afternoon or evening family project. With colorful signage for each ride and Lego® style passengers the Hometown Carnival will also be a great attraction for your budding, younger engineers.

Musical Carousel from K’NEX® is the largest of the three entry level products in their terrific line of motorized Thrill Ride products. Basically, all this really means is that, unlike the Serpents Spiral roller coaster, Double Ferris Wheel, and Swing Ride, these entry level products don’t come in shiny foil boxes and don’t include the very useful parts sorting trays. Other than that, all the great features of the more elaborate KNEX® Thrill Ride products are present. The 720 included parts are very colorful and simple to identify. Fit and finish is exceptional and the wonderfully intricate drive system, a notable signature of all K’NEX® Thrill Ride models, is a joy to assemble and watch in operation. You and your kids will get a real kick as the sixteen carousel horses go up and down, the carousel spins and authentic sounding carousel music plays from the included music module.