As we discussed previously, LEGO released three roller coaster sets in a short period of time to introduce the new roller coaster track system. The three sets are the #70922 LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Manor, the #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster, and the #31084 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Roller Coaster. You can find reviews of all three sets at the end of this post. The roller coaster tracks and cars are also available in smaller quantities in a few other sets (which we discussed in the Pirate Roller Coaster review linked below), but until LEGO releases supplemental roller coaster packs, the above-mentioned three sets appear to be the best sources for large quantities of roller coaster parts. 🙂
All three of the LEGO roller coaster sets provide a full loop of tracks, so if you want to try out the new LEGO roller coaster system, any of the three sets are a good choice. Of course, the #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster is the ultimate choice with the longest and most complex track, and even motorization options, but the other two coasters look great too.
A common question that arises with the new LEGO roller coasters, is what it would look like to combine several of the sets to make a bigger coaster? This means that the track can be made much longer, and even more complex, but is it worth it, and is it the most efficient way to build a bigger coaster? I found two videos that demonstrate how combining three of each of the #31084 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Roller Coaster, and the #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster looks like. There are some interesting takeaways from both of these demonstrations.
In the first video, our favorite LEGO set reviewer, JANGBRiCKS, combined the track pieces from three of the #31084 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Roller Coaster sets. He talks about the challenges faced trying to build a longer track from the pieces. It turns out that this set is not as good as a parts-pack to build a larger roller coaster as initially thought, due to the lack of straight tracks. Watch the video below for more details.
The second video by 2Ttoys demonstrates combining three of the #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster sets. The original set is massive already, and this combined monster is huge! According to the video, the dimensions are 100 cm height, 55 cm width, and 150 long (that’s 39 x 22 x 59 inches). Using so many track pieces even allowed building of a full vertical loop! Check it out in the video below.
Unfortunately, this second video doesn’t give much information about the process of combining the three sets and any challenges that came up, but it is clear that this works really well. Having so many straight tracks helps both with elevating the cars in an efficient way, and also providing the momentum on the way down for the cars to run the rest of the track. Unfortunately, combining three #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster is going to be prohibitive for many LEGO fans due to the cost involved, but it’s nice to see that a vertical loop is actually possible with the new system.
In summary, while all three of the LEGO roller coasters are great sets out of the box, and are worth purchasing, they may not be the best way to expand your LEGO roller coaster parts inventory for building larger coasters. Both the #70922 LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Manor, and the #31084 LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Roller Coaster lack straight tracks to create elevation and momentum (The Joker Manor set does have a couple of very short straight track pieces, while the Pirate Roller Coaster has none). The #10261 LEGO Creator Roller Coaster does include all the straight and curved pieces in LEGO’s inventory to build all kinds of coasters, but it is a very large and expensive set already, thus not the most suitable for being a parts-pack. If you want to build your own custom coasters it would probably be best to wait until LEGO releases track-packs similar to the currently available train track-packs. You can check out all the coaster sets at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO roller coasters and the new LEGO roller coaster track system? Have you considered combining the sets to build larger coasters, or build your own completely custom coaster? And what do you think of the two examples of combined coasters discussed here? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
Impressive that a functional loop is possible, I’d have thought that the coaster would fall off or roll back in its attempt to cross it…
Btw, if anyone wonders, the language in the video is Dutch …
Thanks for mentioning that. I was wondering. 😀
The cars are attached to the tracks, so they won’t fall off, but yeah, they need quite a bit of push to not roll back. That’s why the very high elevation of the tracks. I also thought it was very impressive. I wish there were more details about the build, but I couldn’t find anything.
WOa, what? A full loop? That’s crazy! Did it need any bending in shape? Or they just fit like that?
I guess the parts are twisted slightly sideways…
I was reading that there is a bit of stress pushing them together, but it is slight, and the loop mostly compensates for it.
I’m surprised the Pirate Roller Coaster is not more useful in duplicates. Lacking straight track pieces really limits that set. On the other hand, the full loop roller coaster is amazing. But even affording one is hard!
Yeah, LEGO is an expensive hobby! 😀
Wow! That second coaster is so impressive! Would love to see it in person! I can’t imagine the engineering that went into it. I was reading that even building one set is mind-blowing. Not to speak of combining three sets on your own!
I was considering getting extras of the Pirate Ship roller coaster for the kids to learn some physics. Thanks for posting the informative video by Jang. I hope there will be some trackpacks soon.