Beautiful marble track but problematic structure and function is not error-free

One thing I want to preface directly:
the web is a real challenge. The construction is really not for the impatient people and as a gift for children is the path for reasons that I will explain further below, not suitable at all in my opinion.
I refer to my review on the level 5 marble track of Spacerail some findings like but also apply to other tracks from the Spacerail range. Granted, my review has become quite long after several attempts I hope nevertheless that it will help some buyers in the decision.

The train is equipped with 32m rail length purely optical certainly a highlight. As special effects, a simple loop, a multiple loop, two bullet points, two ball paddles and a ball pendulum are installed. The pendulum, the balls are supplied by a special starter which successively delayed releasing the balls so that the pendulum can swing back to the original position again before the next ball starts to roll. The steel balls are transported by a motorized lift (in principle of a vertical Archimedean screw made) to their starting positions. If the train so once built and turned on, the balls (at least theoretically) go through without interruption the rail line, without having to manually intervene as far as the concept.

Contents and material quality:
The box contains everything needed to build parts and materials. Everything is nicely packed in clear bags clip. Tools are not doing - but it is also only a suitable cutting tool, and possibly a thin film writer needed for marking.

TIP: even better than a conventional craft knife is a special tubing cutter (as it is for example used for making up the tubes of hydraulic bicycle brakes). The tubes can be so much easier cut to size without flattening the tube during the cutting. Such a tube cutter is also quite affordable with about 8.

The parts are made primarily of plastic - not particularly high, but they serve their purpose. When the toggle locks for locking the rail mounts on the metal bars but you have to watch out: they are partly strong under tension, which makes them difficult to move and it may happen that a holder breaks at repeated tightening of the lever (that happened to me fortunately only once - it were with me but more components for the brackets in the package, as were required for the train). The plastic tube on the web is nice and smooth, so that the balls roll easily - rather inflexible, but relatively easy to turn in the form (although he slightly springs back to its original shape after a while, which is not only in building but also during the subsequent Operating problems makes).

By Kugelpendel I had pronounced pitch. The pendulum case houses a kind of friction motor is to prevent uncontrolled swinging of the pendulum. This mechanism, however, the pendulum braked with me so strongly that no 360 ° rotation was possible (no matter what position I have also moved the counterweight). A look into the case showed that the gears were thick clogged with grease. In addition, the Kunstoffausleger of Kontergewichtarms touched easy the pendulum housing, thus ensuring an additional deceleration.

TIP: it helps a few drops of thin-bodied good good creeping oil to drizzle on both sides of the axis of rotation in the shuttle housing. Then repeatedly turning the pendulum (best when the pendulum is mounted on the ball track) and wipe off excess oil finished. In this way, the fat is somewhat 'washed away' in the housing and the pendulum is behind smoother. Coming in contact with parts of the pendulum with the pendulum housing Allerding helps only careful 12 thin plastic chips (total max. 0,5mm, please not too much) to cut away the plastic arm with a sharp craft knife, so that the pendulum turns without touching

NOTE: Unfortunately, the orientation of the swing axle plays an important role, the axis is not perfectly level, so the function of the pendulum is also affected. In the assembly instructions but I have appropriate evidence sought and apart from vain fine adjustment by the predetermined connector is not provided (ie, a design flaw)

Otherwise, the fit and function of the parts is good, only the motor for the elevator is too loud, followed but also repeatedly in other reviews (and I for one kit in this price range do not personally find quite as bad).

Conclusion: the material quality I find appropriate given the moderate price. Only the factory nonfunctioning pendulum has disappointed - I prefer a first star in my review.

For assembly instructions:
The construction manual is written in English / German and consists of a plan for the positions of the support arms on the metal bars in the scale of 1: 1 and the positions of the rods on the perforated plates, as well as the actual multi-page manual with complete parts list and general information. Who dares to this ball track, should the building instructions necessarily completely read prior to construction, to get a first impression of the structure of the ball track and the individual construction steps ever go through in thought the gentle later definitely nerves.

The preparatory assembly of numerous holding arms is still well described in the instructions and illustrated, as well as the construction of the paddles. Unfortunately, as well as various information in the Bausch Ritten embezzled be (which, unfortunately, only later to the finished web shows):

- In the part of the structure of the ball lift eg missing the Kunstoffscheiben completely, which are designed for mounting on both sides of the ball feeders. But they are important because they serve later in operation as barriers to keep faster detected approaching spheres in the elevator
- The starter for the pendulum is assembled in a plastic housing and has to be attached only at the right inclination angle to the metal poles - but leads too small tendency that the mechanism is not working properly (the balls then accumulate in the starter). The prescribed positions in the plan for mounting on the metal bars are but false and unfortunately can be found in the manual at all not a clear indication of the need for fine-tuning, as well as the correct inclination angle.

Unfortunately, the part of the manual that deals with construction of the individual track sections is even more difficult to understand:

- The photos, which are intended to clarify the position of the individual track sections in the finished web, are much too small, in black and white, while still too dark (because it does not help also that the track section in question is marked each red)
- The drawings to illustrate the course of the individual track sections are very schematic, not to scale view of the web from above. The support arms are shown in the figures in different lengths (in reality, all holders of the same length) and the drawn curve guides not correspond to reality in the photos. At Curves and loops can be based on these sketches the spatial trajectory hardly understand (here helps only the picture on the packaging, but also the only limited use is by the prospect of receiving)
- The dimensions are not correct and this has unfortunately nothing to do with faulty conversion of the Anglo-American in metric units - the dimensions are simply wrong (the first piece I cut with confidence in the accuracy of the information on the plan to the required 68cm and am promptly with the first ball Soft landed at a very wrong place - luckily the track section was too long)
- The respective curve of the track sections usually leads to the fact that a piece of tubing is slightly longer than the other (which would have to be taken into account by appropriate allowances). However, this is not mentioned anywhere in the manual

TIP: Because of the incorrect length information I have the path sections cut no longer as instructed individually, but laid straight from the roll. This has the advantage that the waveforms can still correct and total a little less hose consumed the disadvantage is that you have to thread about 16m hose through the ball track at the beginning and about in the second half of the track laying (which by the lack of flexibility of the hose is not just easier)

- The multi-looping train really has it then in itself. Here I would have additional detail drawings and a large outline perspective drawing desired, which shows the exact orientation of the holding arms and web support, as well as the positioning of the intermediate pieces. I spent determines 1 to 2 hours to adjust the individual turns of the loops and the hose had subsequently by frequent arrival and unclipping the brackets and spacers unsightly flaws that would certainly have been avoided through better illustration of this route section

One last word of the plan with the positions of the support arms on the metal bars:

- The holding arms are not drawn to scale, but greatly reduced, in contrast to the metal bars, which makes an exact positioning from the outset
- Here are the positions of the holding arms partly wrong (eg when the brackets for swing and ball paddles, but also sporadically in the holding arms for the web itself). The deviations from the correct position be here sometimes only a few millimeters, but it is already enough to interrupt the operation of the ball, or to interfere with the operation

Conclusion: The instruction is flawed. It contains too many shortcomings and lacks too many (for proper assembly but important) Notes. In addition, is not a particularly tricky stages of construction, or not addressed with due diligence. Due to the importance of building instructions I pull another star from in my review.

Now we come to building experience itself (admittedly a rather subjective matter). The ball track could be in principle very nice build, while young and old prepare also much joy:

+ There are all the necessary parts available in sufficient quantity
+ Modular mounting concept is basically solved well
+ The material (read: the hose sections for railway) are easy to process

Instead, there's still additional downer, because the devil is in the details:

- The assembly of multiple loops degenerate due to the very close together lying retaining arms and the small orbital radii for pounding fumbling (as I said, it lacks detail sketches, or curve template that would facilitate the construction)
- The metal rods may be arranged only in a specific pattern on the base plates and the holding arms can not be rotated to any position also, or be tilted. This allows web pieces, such as straight lines, or loops are not optimally adjusted
- The retaining clip for the track sections quite sharp (which the tube and not just good for your fingers)
- The final adjustment of the ball track is annoying and time-consuming and must be carried out again after each completed track section during construction. Each new track section affected by the resilience effect of the tube sections at once the entire geometry of the train because the whole construction is simply not dimensionally stable (which is also behind the operation neagtiv effect)

Conclusion: for friends carefully prepared kits building over long distances is a hard test of patience and sometimes very frustrating (especially if a web section no longer works at once, just after you've finished building another part of the train). For me personally has arisen in any case no real joy - I like Sysiphusarbeiten simply not (this one has often enough in a job and I do not need even in my free time)

Function Test:
Last question, now that everything has been set up and adjusted so tedious: running the ball track for now and trouble-free? Well, the first few laps it actually works well with all 6 balls. After a while, however, accumulate the failures, such as:

- The ball pendulum no longer meets from time to time the train and the ball falls next
- Balls fall in the curves of the track
- The ball paddles twist and the balls get stuck
- Balls catch the ball course, because they too closely behind another run on the track
- The balls repel each other out of the elevator

One has to consider that the construction is not rigid, the railways are flexible, the intermediate pieces can be twisted, the pieces of tubing can spring back in time and the whole structure deforms visibly under the dead weight of the steel balls, and the constant interplay of centrifugal forces in curves and loops. Add to that the vibration of the elevator and the play in the bearing of the pendulum.
Honestly, I do not think it is at all possible to spend hours enjoying the ball track in operation, so as I have read it here in a Rezenzion.

Conclusion:
the ball track works in principle, but takes account of their overall design just not permanent error-free and that's why I prefer a last star in my review.

Adding up the point deductions, only two stars left over that I would forgive the great looks of the ball track and the equipment of the sets.