K'NEX
From Free net encyclopedia
K'NEX is a brand name of a toy construction system invented by Joel Glickman, designed and produced by K'NEX Industries, Inc. of Hatfield, PA. Currently Norman Walker is the president of the organization. The toy consists of interconnecting plastic rods and connectors. It improved upon, and was inspired by, an earlier construction toy made of colored wooden dowels and connecting nodes called Tinkertoys. It is a construction toy in the same genre as LEGO and Meccano, although it uses rods, not bricks or metal strips. Until recently, K'NEX had not introduced sets containing brand constructions (as LEGO does with Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), but often based its sets around popular fads (such as mech warriors and RC cars). However, in 2001, K'NEX broke from this trend and introduced a line of toys using the BattleTech/MechWarrior label. [1]
K'NEX connectors and rods are colour coded: K'NEX rods come in a range of lengths, each length being a distinct color. When the additional length of connections is taken into account, the ratio between successive lengths of rods is 1/√2. This makes the construction of right-angle isosceles triangles simple, and these triangles provide the structural strength in models. Most types of K'NEX rods are rigid, but there are flexible versions of some of the longer rods. K'NEX connectors connect rods at angles which are multiples of 45 degrees.
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List of Rods
- The smallest Rods are dark green with a black metallic version and are so short that only 2 Connectors will fit on it, one on each end.
It is too small to form the hypotenuse of any right isosceles triangle, but forms the legs of a right isosceles triangle with a white hypotenuse.
- The next-biggest Rods are white, with the metallic version silver and rare examples are black, blue and gold. Its rare Flexi-Rod version is dark purple. Like all Rods, 2 Connectors will snap on either end and, unlike the previous, 3 Connectors can snap on to the middle section. However, this cannot take place while connectors are attached to the end. In that case, only two connectors can be attched in the middle.
It forms the hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle with dark green legs and forms the legs of a right isosceles triangle with a blue hypotenuse.
- Then, there are dark blue Rods. These are also seen as metallic blue and the Flexi-rod version is bright blue. It is the same length as a Connector with dark green Rods on either end and 6 Connectors can be snapped onto the middle section.
It forms the hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle with white legs and forms the legs of a right isosceles triangle with a yellow hypotenuse.
- Next, there are yellow Rods. It is the same length as a Connector with 2 white Rods connected on opposite sides. Its metallic version is dark gray and the Flexi-rod version is either bright pink or orange.
It forms the hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle with blue legs and forms the legs of a right isosceles triangle with a red hypotenuse.
- After yellow Rods come red Rods. It also comes in beige, although beige versions are considerably rarer. Its metallic version is a light green, but it has no Flexi-rod version.
These are equal to a connector with 2 blue Rods on opposite sides attached to it and it forms the hypotenuse of an isosceles triangle with yellow sides and forms the sides of an isosceles triangle with gray sides. A variant of this Rod is orange and has longer ends with which to attach Connectors. The most important difference, however, is that there is present a small ridge close to either end that allow Connectors to be snapped on over the end portion of snappable space and the ridge prevents the Connectors from sliding around the Rod.
- Finally, there are gray Rods, the longest Rods of the K'nex family. It also comes in black and its Flexi-Rod version is either bright green, neon yellow or dark purple. It is equal in length to two yellow Rods attached on opposite sides of a Connector.
It forms the hypotenuse of a right isosceles triangle with red legs, but is too large to form the legs of a right isosceles triangle with any single Rod. Panels are available to provide solidity to models. Other parts available include foam darts, cones and domes, wheels, and small figures which can be attached.
List of Connectors
- Dark Grey (no metallic version)
Only one slot for a rod.
- Light Grey (metallic version: a lighter gray with dark spots)
Two slots. End slots form 45 degree angle.
- Red (metallic version: dark gray with darker spots)
Three slots. End slots form 90 degree angle.
- Green (metallic version: metallic grey-green)
Four slots. End slots form 135 degree angle.
- Yellow (metallic version: light gray)
Five slots. End slots form 180 degree angle. There is a variant on this piece which is slightly more orange in color that has an extra tab on the back side which can connect to the rubber track found in the roller coaster set.
- White (metallic version: black)
Full circle with eight slots.
- Tan
Also known as tan locks, they have one slot for a rod but have no hole in the middle. They do have a small tab that sticks out and can hook onto wheels so that the wheel and axle move together. There is a metallic variant on this piece which is dark purple. However, it is different because it has no tab.
- Orange (metallic version: dark brown)
Has two slots that are across from each other and not adjacent as in the light grey connector.
- Dark Blue and Dark Purple (metallic versions: light gray and light metallic purple, respectively)
Similar to the white and yellow connecters respectively, however one slot (on the dark purple connector, one of the end slots) is replaced by a gap and are instead able to connect to another dark blue or dark purple connector directly.
- Hinge
Consists of two interlocked pieces similar to the dark grey piece, one light green and the other light blue. (metallic version: black and light blue) Similar to the orange connector except it can bend to 45°.
Other
Other parts include wheels, panels, track, chain links, balls, body parts, and Cyber K'nex pieces. The addition of battery and solar-powered motors, together with gears of various types and sizes, cranks and pulleys, allows K'NEX models to be motorized. Also included in some sets is a wind-up motor.
The company also offers a variant brand, Kid K'NEX, which is made of a softer injection-molded plastic and is twice the scale of the original K'NEX. It is intended for children ages 3 to 5. Kid K'NEX is incompatible with K'NEX. (Because of the small parts, both K'NEX and Kid K'NEX are not recommended for children under age 3).
K'NEX Industries also manufactures and distributes Lincoln Logs under license from Hasbro, Inc.