Subject:
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Re: Lukewarm Interest
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.znap
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Date:
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Fri, 15 Sep 2000 23:22:48 GMT
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Viewed:
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2705 times
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"Dave Schuler" <orrex@excite.com> wrote in message
news:G0y6CK.Ltv@lugnet.com...
> Several local TRU's are having heavy-duty clearance sales on Znap--along • the
> lines of all-you-can-carry-for-a-dollar, or something like that.
I have taken full advantage of the Znap dump as a source for motors.
> lines of all-you-can-carry-for-a-dollar, or something like that. Why, do • you
> suppose, did Znap not succeed?
Three reasons for me:
1) The plastic is too soft and the joints are not well engineered. The
parts look like they should be very stable but they are not.
Joints are subject to shearing (the joints can easily be moved apart) and
torsional forces (the parts can also twist at the joints). Znap
constructions have difficulty remaining intact. Just pick up a Znap
construct and it will twist and/or bend or the parts will otherwise "slide"
around.
On more than a few occasions I have received a pinch from the Znap parts
that I was connecting. I may be more sensitive than others, but I don't
think that Znap is very user friendly.
2) Not Technic compatible. Oh, they tried to make them so but failed. The
spacing is very slightly off from Technic and other Lego dimensions.
The sets that I picked up (yellow and black with motors) each have a few 2x2
bricks with a connector peg on the side. I inserted one such brick's peg
into each of the holes nearest the ends of a long beam piece. I then
connected the bricks with a sufficiently long 2x plate. The bricks and the
plate held firmly together. However, the ends of the plate would jam
against the purple joiners if the tenons were rotated toward the beam.
As mentioned, the Znap beams have holes. Typical Technic connector pegs
just rattle around. There is no firm "click" when inserting the pegs and
the pegs will easily pop out of the holes.
3) Too abstract. Think about it. We build cars, space craft, cities, etc
... out of plastic parts. We build them out of the same set of parts. We
abstract complex devices out of simple, regular shaped parts. Lego has made
as continues to make a richer variety of parts. We are no longer restricted
to building a car out of square bricks. We now have engine cylinders,
axles, steering and suspension mechanisms. We can build working trains and
robots.
Poor Znap is like using stick figure cartoons in comparison to Technic. The
Znap parts are good to define a cross-sectional planes of a model. At best,
a 3D construct can be made somewhat like a wire-frame model. The
cross-sections are connected using orthogonal pieces. I can see that this
wire-frame abstraction would work well for some purposes but the Znap parts
provided are too coarse for building anything subtle.
I could build my three-year old a duck toy out Znap. She would love pulling
a yellow and black ducky around the room. We could quack together. But I
won't do this because the duck structure would soon fail and there would be
dead Znap parts all over the floor.
Znap == Crap
> suppose, did Znap not succeed? It seems that among Technic fans there is
> considerable interest in Znap as a support system, but overall the • reaction
> doesn't seem too enthusiastic. Is my sample size too limited? Does Znap
> enjoy better success elsewhere? I will admit that I'm thrilled to have a
> cheap source of motors, but I'm disheartened to think that such a major • effort
> might have failed for TLC.
My conclusion is that TLC wanted to build a construction toy that would
compete with the "stick and ball joint" type sets. I think that the linkage
to Technic was never really considered seriously. The ThrowUpBots and
RoboRipOffs have similar faults but they are shear genius compared to Znap.
Oh, BTW, did I mention that I have taken full advantage of the Znap dump as
a source for motors.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Lukewarm Interest
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| Several local TRU's are having heavy-duty clearance sales on Znap--along the lines of all-you-can-carry-for-a-dollar, or something like that. Why, do you suppose, did Znap not succeed? It seems that among Technic fans there is considerable interest (...) (24 years ago, 15-Sep-00, to lugnet.znap)
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