Customer Reviews

K'NEX Screamin' Serpent Roller Coaster

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This set is very cool it only took me around 3 hours to build it and I am only 11.This set has poseable figures that pop in and out of the three cool rail hugging cars.This set has a motor and a sound box that has a sensor at the top so when the cars go by it starts screamin for the exact amount of time it takes the car to do the ride and then you hear the chain go up the hill.I liked this set a lot because the big one has a hole you can lay down in and watch your roller coaster go zooming by.I build with knex a lot and I have over 6,000 pieces and the best thing is if you can imagine it you can build it.I have built 2 roller coasters not including this set ,3 feet high ferris wheels 6 feet high cranes and this set is the best set I have.After you have this set you can go on the internet and and get bonus builds you can build with this set.My overall opinion is this set is a must get.

This new K'nex coaster is far better than the previous one. It has pre-made cars, with wheels on all sides, so it alyways stays on the track. A somewhat more difficult plan, but much better. The car goes up the chain lift with no problems, it has its own connector on the car! It comes with lots of themeing items( Flags, a sign, and a huge serpent) Very educational to kids, they will feel like an engineer! An adult will probaly have to help though. This is a must for coaster and K'nex fans. Great job K'nex! I hope you make more models this style!

Its definately worth the 90.00 bucks that you spend on it cause it is VERY fun to build and even more fun to play with...The only thing is that you have to know and use your imagination to be able to build this thing cause it can be pretty hard in some spots...but never the less awesome!I'm 13 and built this in a Day in a half(took alot longer than most people)but I had fun doing it.If you do order this item TAKE YOUR TIME on it and don't rush it cause I did that and I had to start all over cause I couldn't figure out where I was at on building it.so I hope this review helped you and if you liked this try building the other knex theme park rides such as other rollercoasters and the ferris wheel.

I'm 13 years old and thought this is the best toy ever. I got kind of bored with the set that it tells you to make so I built my own. I built the new boomerang ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain called "Deja Vu". I ran out of pieces, so I love it so much that I'm going to buy another one. I think that it should come with more pieces so you can build your own coaster, but that is the only flaw in it. I think it's the best toy ever especially to roller coaster enthusiasts like me.

I bought this toy for my 4 year old girl. ... Yes, I know it was really for me not for her, but she does enjoy watching it. Turns it on several times a day. I am skeptical about the reports of 3-5 five hours to put it together, I'm a mechanical engineer (no previous K'Nex experience) and it took me closer to twice that, even with the excellent instructions. My family had a lot of fun building it and I would have died for something like this when I was 10 or 12. I would think this is a very good toy for kids with a mechanical bent. I do wish there was more large layout capability than just the one set-up in the instructions. I plan to buy a couple more and build my own layout, however I believe this will not be a trivial endevour. Overall, its a great toy, and a good way to teach the joy of building something yourself.

The one thing you realize from the outset is the importance of the structure. With over a thousand parts to assemble, the wait to run the coaster is about 2-3 hours. The best fun is the accuracy of the way the coaster is attached to the track just like on the real rides. But since the ride is short continued fun with the toy relies on imagination and a little bit of sound effects. Showing it to friends is also fun. If you have money to buy more than one set you can build longer custom designs. This can be risky since the laws of physics especially momentum and friction are nasty to small scale toys. A real high, out of proportion, lift is required to employ that tactic.
The better you construct it the better it stays together, obviously.

The brilliant engineers at K'nex have done it again!

This terrific set is a fantastic improvement on K'nex's other roller-coaster. And despite what the previous reviewer said, it really does take a clever CHILD (like yours!) about a full day's effort to put together. My son was completely engrossed and fascinated with the assembly project, and we were constantly hearing "come see what it does," and "wait till you see this" as he was putting it together.

Best of all, this delightful rollercoaster is fun for all the members of our household to watch, from the slow and suspenseful initial climb, to the lightning-fast whoosh and loop-de-loop as it races back down -- over and over again.

K'nex toys are a lot of fun to assemble, and they continue to have play value because they actually move. There are even K'nex toys that see, hear, and speak! These are also toys with a sense of fun and wit that adults enjoy. I would recommend this toy WITHOUT HESITATION for any child (or adult) who loves building and playing.

My son received this last Christmas. He was seven. We spent several evenings assembling it in our living room. It was great fun. Once constructed we had it up for over three months. We moved it from room to room. It was very durable. Every child who entered our home couldn't wait to play with it. Highly recommended!

Once assembled, this is a working roller coaster that will fit into a rec room or a child's bedroom (with child's furniture and possessions rearranged), and will provide many hours of fun. Some observations:

(1) If you are not a construction genius, but have only average aptitude for this sort of thing (as I do), and you are a working parent (like me) building this for (or with) your kid, set aside 15 to 20 hours (portions of a couple of weekends, and an hour on each of several weekday nights) to complete this. At the outset, the instructions tell you precisely how many of each part you will need. Because the kit contains over 1,200 various parts, and human error at the factory might leave you a a part or two short, it is worthwhile to start the project by counting the parts and separating them into ziploc bags or some other containers. Then, when you are building the coaster, you will be assured of having and finding parts as you need them, rather than continually fumbling through a jumble of parts.

(2) The instructions, while decent, are not crystal-clear, and you may find that you have to go back and correct mistakes. At the bottom of each page of the instructions is a diagram showing how the coaster should look at that stage of construction. Make sure that yours looks exactly like it, and if is does not, go back and figure out what mistake you made.

(3) Most connections are perfect, but a couple of connections between the sections of the frame are problematic. These minor design defects do not seem to affect the structural integrity or operation of the coaster.

(4) The motor for the chain lift is battery-powered and eats batteries rapidly, but don't bother buying the wall current powered Motor Pack separately for an additional [amount] (as suggested in step 38 of the instructions. The Motor Pack is configured differently for each K'nex toy in which it may be used, but the Motor Pack configuration for this coaster goes out of whack as it is running, and is a pain to re-adjust. Stick with the battery-powered motor, and use rechargeable AA batteries (contrary to the instructions), to save money. Because the battery-powered motor is light, it does not always grab the chain properly when it is lifting the cars. Placing a couple of extra connectors above the motor, on the rods to which the motor is attached, keeps the motor from rising on the rods during the lift process, and helps to correct this problem.

(5) Once construction is complete, a few adjustments may be necessary to make the coaster run properly. In my case, the cars didn't have enough momentum to crest the final hill after completing the vertical loop. Changing some connectors to lower and reshape the hill corrected the problem.

All things considered, this toy is a good value for its price. My son (a coaster enthusiast) loves it.

Our six year old twins, Six Flags fanatics, begged for this for almost a year before we got it for their birthday. The mostly non-verbal directions were the best we've used, construction was not difficult at all. Only a few "mistakes" in the directions, or drawings where the step was not easily understood. Only missing one small piece, out of 1280, and it was finishable without it.

We built the larger model first, in two evenings. The instructions were not clear that the motor pack (sold separately) is OPTIONAL, and not in the least necessary. The small battery powered motor does just fine. My kids actually play more with it with the motor and sound effects off than on. It is equally fun either way for them. (I prefer the motor off and the sound effects on!)

It is certainly the most stable construction type toy we have bought for them, and can even be moved around (easily, when complete, and carefully, when under construction. This isn't true for ANY other constructive type toys we've purchased.) Most others are too wobbly or delicate, this one is very sturdy.

It really is the coolest toy I have ever seen. We can't wait to build the smaller model, and then get brave and design a few of our own. I can easily see the purchase of a second set down the road. Luckily we have a great room with a vaulted ceiling, since I assume greater heights will be necessary to complete a track twice as long! Don't be daunted by the reviews here claiming it is difficult to build. It is not nearly as challenging as just getting some of their other toys out of the blasted packaging they come in!

Follow-up, 7 years later. We paid $100 for this 7 years ago, and our twins built it and took it apart many times over those years. In the end, it was still their favorite. They decided to sell it this year to buy some Nerf dart tag guns, and when they listed it for $50, it was sold the next day. There is apparently a big demand for some of the coolest toys that aren't made anymore, or are hard to find, and quite a bit pricier now. I think they could have sold it for almost what we originally paid for it. They have done really well when selling all their K'Nex, ReKonstructors, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and all their other "construction" toys, so keep that in mind when shopping for your kids!