22 replies to this topic

[Mepain]

Much of what I'd like to say have already been stated by oodalumps in this thread, though the mention of wars wasn't very large, and I'm hoping to expand that. There have been a few threads about such things on our website, K'nex Innovation, but nobody really starting to host a war just yet. I'm hoping to start one up here in my home town in the spring, a lot of the current k'nexers live in Ohio and Michigan.

In my opinion, K'nex guns and Nerf blasters are somewhat similar in such aspects as the ranges they can achieve, reload time, modifications can be made, the list can go on. I feel that a K'nex war modeled after Nerf wars would work quite well, with a few rules changed of course.

The main reason I started this topic was mostly to gather opinions and ideas for these types of wars. I realize that many of you don't have any idea of what these guns can do, so I'll show off some of the guns we've created. Many of the following are accompanied by videos.

My pride and joy, and latest creation, K'nexsayer (take a guess as to what that's based off of):
http://knexinnovatio....php?f=49&t=565
SRv1:
http://www.instructables.com/id/SR-v1/
Basic pistol (old):
http://www.instructa...m/id/K_NEX-GUN/
A few from oodalumps:
http://www.instructa...uto-Knex-Rifle/
http://www.instructa...id/Knex-Cannon/
http://www.instructa...-Machine-Gun_1/
http://knexinnovatio....php?f=49&t=149
One from one of my favorite members:
http://www.instructa...ecutioner-1.02/

Et cetera. Some of these guns are classics, some are newer. I've definitely posted more, but I just don't think they're as good as the one I have posted above. There are many, many, many more guns to be seen. Unfortunately, lots of people want to use guns with magazines in their handles at any war they could go to. That's fine and dandy for an indoor war, but I'm planning on hosting outdoor wars, so these types of guns would be completely useless (they shoot like 20 feet). Some of their opinions are posted here.

Blah, wall of text. Go ahead and post opinions, we'd love to hear what you guys think.

[Jedijoe9]

It's mind boggling how anybody could look at k'nex and decided to make weapons out of them, but I have to say that the end results are really impressive. The whole concept seems to go hand and hand with nerf homemades and the k'nexsayer has actually got me interested in trying this sort of thing out.

I think you could almost completely adapt normal nerf warring rules for k'nex wars and many of the variations of normal rules could be utilized in the same ways. The biggest difference seems to be that the average range of these guns is a bit shorter, but I don't think that affects too many of the variations.

The only real problem I see is accessibility. How much of an investment do you have to make in order to start building these things. With nerf, you can pick up a nite finder and you are ready for a war-- With k'nex, is it fairly easy for a newcomer to enter into the sport?

Overall, awesome stuff though. It seems very much in the same vein as nerf and also very much the same sort of DIY spirit.

[Mepain]

Haha, thanks. Hope you and more people will get involved, because (as oodalumps mentioned) it would be awesome if this young sport could grow to the capacity that Nerf has grown to.

That is what I was thinking for the rules. When made correctly, a simple pistol can easily outshoot an average Nerf blaster any day. K'nex guns tend to shoot a lot harder than Nerf blasters at close range too.

The most you'll have to spend money on is the ammo, because any simple gun could be made from a few pieces. Pieces can be bought directly from the company, but this does get expensive. Garage sales, ebay, or other online resources are really the only place you can get classic K'nex anymore, because K'nex is defacing their product with disgusting Lego ripoffs, and "micro K'nex" (Discussion continuation here). oodalumps and I have been talking about loaning out ammo, because people like us really do have an excess of pieces, and would be glad to donate some for a war.

Once again, thanks for the input.

[Radio]

I've got an ASSLOAD of this stuff. Like GALLONS. How can i find interested buyers on that site?

[jackster57]

I've got an ASSLOAD of this stuff. Like GALLONS. How can i find interested buyers on that site?

I have been a member of Knex Innovation (KI) for a while now. About selling your pieces we used to have a marketplace that was similar to the trading forum here on NH but I am not really sure what happened to it. Maybe try building a few models then see if you still want to sell them...
I know that the whole knex gun idea sounds lame at first but it is actually really interesting and fun once you build a few guns.
Just Try it.

[Mepain]

I've got an ASSLOAD of this stuff. Like GALLONS. How can i find interested buyers on that site?

If you don't plan on trying some things out, eBay would be the best place to sell them. Hell, I might even be interested.

[Jollex]

Yeah I also have been a member of K'nex Innovation for a while and I would love to go to a k'nex war (especially since i built the k'nexayer) but the main problem with me is that I live in France. A problem that I can see with K'nex wars is that the ammo is made of plastic (as are the guns) which could potentionally injure someone. Although wearing pants/long sleeved shirts and goggles should fix that problem.

[Mepain]

Yes, the ammo is made of plastic, but stefans have hot glue tips, which hurt equally as much. A problem that I have come by most often is how the K'nex rods flip frantically through the air once they reach a certain point after they've been shot. I've been experimenting with ways of helping this, such as adding e-tape to the front of a rod to weigh down the front end like the lead weights or bbs do in stefans. So far, results have been quite promising.

[Jollex]

Yes, the ammo is made of plastic, but stefans have hot glue tips, which hurt equally as much. A problem that I have come by most often is how the K'nex rods flip frantically through the air once they reach a certain point after they've been shot. I've been experimenting with ways of helping this, such as adding e-tape to the front of a rod to weigh down the front end like the lead weights or bbs do in stefans. So far, results have been quite promising.

I noticed that too, it seems that fins such as the ones used by KILLERK help a lot with that.

[Mepain]

They do, but they are a pain to make on 200+ rods. Wrapping might have the same effect, and will be easier to make. Still experimenting though.

[Blacksunshine]

hahah I love how the video mimiks FA_24's video almost to a T. Very funny stuff. Much more work then I'm interested in putting forth but a great novelty to say the least.

[Mepain]

Ha, thanks. In most cases, K'nex guns are harder to make than Nerf blasters are to modify.

[Blue]

That was really cool, how many hours did it take to make?

[Mepain]

K'nexsayer took a few weeks to make and perfect. Maybe a month, I don't remember.

[Galaxy613]

Oh my gosh this is so fun! I didn't have several parts needed, or I haven't found them in my parts bin yet. So I improvivsed out the wazoo! It was soooo fun! I'll get pics in a few.

*Edit* I accidently made my gun left handed when I'm a rightie!

Edited by Galaxy613, 23 December 2008 - 11:55 PM.

[jackster57]

Oh my gosh this is so fun! I didn't have several parts needed, or I haven't found them in my parts bin yet. So I improvivsed out the wazoo! It was soooo fun! I'll get pics in a few.

*Edit* I accidently made my gun left handed when I'm a rightie!

Glad ya' enjoyed it. What gun did you build?
I like the enormous element of customization in knex guns. While there is customization in Nerf too the ability the change EVERY single thing about your weapon makes it lots of fun. Normally when I want to fiddle around and be creative I go for K'nex. When I want to just have a simple easy ready to play thing I pick up my nerf.

I don't really know why I just wrote that...
Oh Well.

[Galaxy613]

What gun did you build?

I built a completely original gun using a spring from a broken low-powered airsoft gun. It worked some-what good so I tried my hand at the 'Basic Pistol' from the OP after I got tried of working with a spring and switched over to pure rubber bands. The Basic Pistol works very nicely but it only gets like 20ft or so..

[Jollex]

What gun did you build?

I built a completely original gun using a spring from a broken low-powered airsoft gun. It worked some-what good so I tried my hand at the 'Basic Pistol' from the OP after I got tried of working with a spring and switched over to pure rubber bands. The Basic Pistol works very nicely but it only gets like 20ft or so..

If you want a simple pistol with good range then build this:
http://www.instructa...m/id/K_NEX-GUN/
It is made by KILLERK

[Mepain]

If you're only getting 20', add more bands. It won't hurt it as long as you've taped the firing pin. Most of the time, any K'nex gun is not going to work perfectly right off the bat, They need to be messed with a little bit to get them to work properly.

Edit: For anybody interested, here is a K'nexsayer size comparison picture: http://i271.photobuc...nexsayer096.jpg

Edited by Mepain, 24 December 2008 - 02:10 PM.

[CapnTac]

Wait...Mepain, are you Killerk on Instructables?
Anyway, I personally enjoy building K'nex guns, too bad my friends don't like K'nex. I'll definitely take a look at your website after dinner.

Edited by CapnTac, 28 December 2008 - 06:10 PM.

[Mepain]

I am Mepain in Instructables.

[Mepain]

So I decided to go ahead and bring this thread back to see if anybody here was interested in trying a war. I've organized one here.

I have plenty of stuff to loan out if anybody wants to drop by for a few hours.

[Mehku]

WOW. I'm extremely impressed. I feel like a fucking dumbass now that I gave mine all away.