Subject:
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Znap and trestles
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 10 Apr 2000 02:49:05 GMT
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Highlighted:
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(details)
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I bought several of the Znap sets at TRU, figuring that the Znap part
was near-worthless (to me, anyway) based on reading about it in Lugnet,
but that the motor and connecting wire made the purchase worthwhile,
especially since S@H doesn't sell short wires any more.
After I opened up a 3571 and a 3552 and sat on the floor, I found myself
making one train bridge after another. This is the first Lego set I've
opened in a long time that compelled me to build for hours (instead of
following the instructions or sorting for parts). For train
bridge-building alone, Znap is great. The natural spacing of Znap cross
beams is exactly the same as train ties. Inserting a couple stubby
Technic pins in the Znap beams allowed me to mount the track with a
strong enough grip that I could pick up the bridge by the track. The
bridges I threw together are 15 studs wide on the interior, plenty wide
for anything I plan to build. And the look, while not prototypical, is
pleasing enough.
The worst thing about it for bridge-building purposes is that the
handiest connectors are bright purple. Otherwise, the bridges are mostly
black with some gray connectors, though the yellow and green bridges
look OK too (except for the purple parts). It is easy to find those
purple bits in a tub full of Znap though.
I find Znap a lot easier to build with than Technic beams. One
difference is that Znap is designed to join a hub piece on any axis, and
while you can do this with Technic, it takes more thought. Technic
bridges may be stronger, but Znap bridges feel pretty stable and don't
visibly flex when I put a train on them. Another difference is that Znap
is more forgiving if you get the beam orientation wrong. Unlike Technic,
Znap beams are square. Once they're in place, you can rotate them around
the long axis if necessary (if the ends are snapped into the purple
connectors).
If you decide to try some Znap out, beware of the TRU pricing. At my
TRU, the 3552 and the 3571 are priced the same at 19.97, and both have
motors, but the 3571 contains a lot more parts. The 3591 also contains
the motor, but is 29.97; I haven't checked it out to see if it is more
than 1.5 as good as the 3571, although I probably should.
Also, I had misunderstood some earlier posts to suggest that Znap
wouldn't interface directly with the brick, that one would have to use
Technic between. It's true that you can't stick a brick on top of a Znap
beam, but you can stick a Znap beam on top of a brick. It doesn't stick
as well as two bricks, but it's usable.
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