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NEW! K’NEX® “Sawblade” Thrill Ride. With the Sawblade, the latest entry in their fully motorized Thrill Ride product category, the folks at K’NEX® have truly outdone themselves. Featuring a whopping 1555 parts, double spinning wheels further rotating on a central chassis, (see video below) a wonderfully convoluted mechanism, eight LEGO® style passengers and abundant decorative flourishes, the Sawblade provides entertainment value galore. Standing almost 4 ½ feet tall, the only thing missing here is the ubiquitous parts sorting tray included with the Serpent’s Spiral, Double Ferris Wheel, and Swing Ride. Perhaps receiving an extra five or six hundred parts is a fair trade off for the missing tray. You be the judge. Plans for a second model, the Swinging Rocket, can be downloaded from www.knex.com using a code provided in the manual.
The instruction manual is accurate and easy to follow with no apparent
inaccuracies or omissions. The 1555 parts included with this set are of
very high quality and the many different colors make part
identification simple and result in a beautiful finished project. Don’t
feel daunted by the minimum of six to eight hours required to build
this fascinating project. If the instructions are followed carefully
the process is smooth, a whole lot of fun, and rewarding at the finish
line. This being said, assembling the deviously complex mechanism may
require a little trial and error and there is some repetition involved
in building the twin wheels but these are minor complaints at best.
Everything inevitably goes together exactly as it should, fit and
finish is exceptional, and it will work as advertised and be highly
entertaining in the process.
One signature feature of the K’NEX® Thrill Ride series is their clever
use of pulleys, gears, chains, and drive shafts to comprise the various
mechanisms. As indicated above, this trend certainly continues with the
Sawblade. The mechanism, which includes over four feet of
user-assembled plastic chain and multiple gears, works like a charm and
should be completely safe even for smaller children.
The standard motor/battery module included with most other K’NEX®
products has been redesigned for the SawBlade. The motor module itself
is smaller and powered by a separate wired battery case. Unlike the
previous design, which required a small Phillips screwdriver to install
the batteries, no tools are now required.
The motor does require two AA batteries which are not provided by
K’NEX®. Of course, if you purchase this product from our site, we DO
include the batteries at no additional charge!
Conclusion
With 1555 uniformly high quality parts and offering hours of creative
entertainment, the Sawblade ups the ante in Thrill Ride value. And the
fun doesn’t need to end with just the two designs available for the
Sawblade. As is the case with this and all the great K’NEX® Thrill ride
products, the clever design and flexible structural engineering
inherent in the parts palette lend themselves toward creation of one’s
own custom Thrill Rides and other designs. (See the Cobra Loop and
Panther Tank in the Design Shop) Well worth your consideration.
We provide links to other K’NEX® enthusiast’s sites for examples of
custom designs and encourage you to visit these sites for inspiration
and ideas. Of course, we also encourage you to turn your creativity
loose and to share your own designs with our community of model roller
coaster and thrill ride enthusiasts through submission to our site.
(Check out our Design Shop)
Due to some fairly small parts this terrific construction toy is rated
for kids nine and above though, with adult supervision, could certainly
be an appropriate family activity involving younger children as well.
Don’t pass this one up.
We are interested in hearing about building experiences with this model
and would like to share your impressions with other visitors to our
site.
*Categories are rated on a scale of from one to ten where
applicable and reflect only the opinions and experiences of our staff.
We provide these ratings only as a guideline to aid you in your product
choices. Your building experience may vary.
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