| |
> What is Znap?
I got a few small sets on sale in Rotterdam when I was visiting my sister. I
think I'd describe Znap as a cross between Technic Lego and Construx (I'm not
sure if Construx was ever available in Sweden). It's basically a node-and-beam
building system with little 6 nubbed (cubic symettry) connectors and several
varieties of beams. The beams come in straight, bent, curved, and branched
varieties. The striaght, bent, and curved beams attach to nodes at their ends,
and the branched ones attatch at the end of each branch. All of the beams have
holes through them which are compatible with standard Technic connectors,
axles, etc. The holes are generally twice as far apart as the holes in a
Technic beam (which makes them good for cross-bracing in Technic models).
Some of the larger Znap kits include standard 9V Technic motors (geared) and
a sort of flexible transmission. I haven't actually played with one of these,
but it looks as if they have a rotating cable inside a stationary sheath, like
one sees in speedometer cables, some Dremel tools, antique sheep shearers (ok,
you don't see them often at all). It's an inefficient way to transmit torque,
but quite useful because of its flexibility. If one was building a
steerable front wheel drive, independant suspension car, this sort of
transmission would significantly simplify construction.
I think the most useful applications of Znap would be for building large
structures like bridges (scaled for typical Technic vehicles), train stations,
garages etc. I haven't actually used it in any Technic models yet (I don't
have very much) but It will at least connect to standard Technic parts using
friction pins, and could probably be used as a framework for gearboxes, if you
had enough.
One question I have about Znap is whether it is still being produced. My
sister and I looked at many toy stores in Rotterdam and Delft, and we saw quite
a bit of Znap, but it was all on clearance, and there didn't seem to be a new
line of sets to replace the old ones. On the other hand, some models do appear
in the European 2000 Lego catalog. Anybody know what the deal is?
-Phil
|
|
Message is in Reply To:
11 Messages in This Thread:
  
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
