Roller Coaster

Time To Be Taken For A Ride: 10303 Loop Coaster Revealed…

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I find it hard to believe that it was just over 4 years ago that we first saw the 10261 Roller Coaster. It offered a slow climb to a sudden descent, in the best tradition of the classical roller coasters of my youth. Now as time has progressed, so too has engineering: people now seek ultimate thrills: sudden drops, loops and in some cases, cork screws. Now, my body’s ability to tolerate such behaviour diminished significantly a few years ago. Fortunately, the ongoing development of the LEGO ICONS (The range formerly known as Creator Expert) Fairground Collection has now brought us an ultimate thrill seeker: a track with a vertical drop and two loops. I watched the video twice and felt slightly nauseous…

But seriously, dynamic models with figures and movement are great attention getters – either in the living room, or at a public display, and I suspect people are going to sit and watch this one for hours. Featuring 11 minifigures, 3756 pieces and priced at 399.99 EUR/ 599.99 AUD/ 344.99 GBP/ 399.99 USD/ 499.99 CAD this set goes on sale July 1.

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Giving the Roller Coaster a Boost

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Not satisfied with merely motorising my Roller Coaster 10261, I incorporate the Boost Robotics System, and then add some additional functionality. It’s all fun and games until the batteries stop running at full power…

IMG_0255There is no doubt that the new Roller Coaster 10261 is a magnificent model, worthy of a set piece in any LEGO Layout.  But driving it manually is a little tedious,to say nothing of the roughness of the ride. How can we make it so that we may have the coaster running, and share a drink with friends at the same time, while they marvel at this wonderful set?

Simple motoring using an ‘M’ motor.

Adding a Power Functions medium motor is simple: so simple in fact that you can work out how to do it in the pre release video: plug a motor over the drive shaft, and let it go.

And it goes on… and on… and on until you turn it off.  There is no break in the activity, the constant rumble of the motor.  Don’t get me wrong, this is pretty awesome, and with two trains of coaster carriages running, it can be pretty hypnotic. There is no reason that this should be any harder with the equivalent Powered Up/ PF2.0 motor, when we see it released in the future.

But I wonder if more can be done.

A Little Boost
In fact, adding simple automation to the set using the Boost Move hub, sensor and servo motor is pretty simple, and is described on the final page of the instructions. This is what it looks and sounds like.

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So You Want to Build a Roller Coaster? Roller Coaster 10261 (Review)

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In which I assemble the new 10261 LEGO Roller Coaster, build a couple of white pillars, troubleshoot a skipping chain and consider what I’ve learned. It’s a big set. I wrote a lot.  Why don’t you prepare yourself a drink, sit back and work out whether this is a set that you would like to put together.

IMG_0307-2The appeal of a roller coaster is hard to deny: action, excitement, lights noise, adrenaline, nausea, terror and relief, in various orders. When we first saw the new LEGO® Roller Coaster Track appearing in the Joker Mansion last year, it wasn’t long before people began to speculate about how long it might be before we saw one appear in the Creator Expert Theme Park series.  About eight months it turns out. I’m glad we got that cleared up. When the Roller Coaster (10261) was announced early in May, many people, myself included, were impressed by the build: a moving model almost always has more appeal than a static display. But it raised a number of questions: How easy would it be to power? How stable would it be? How easy might it be to draw inspiration for other Roller Coaster themed MOCs? And just how challenging would it be to build all those white pillars?

Some of of these questions were easily answered. Others might take a little more thought.  [Do you just want to skip forward to my a video of the run? Click here, or scroll through to the end]

I was invited to review the Roller Coaster by the AFOL Engagement team at The LEGO Group, and I hope I might be able to answer a few of the questions posed. Read on and see where this review takes us.

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