Random set of the day: Jet-Ski
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 3532 Jet-Ski, released during 1998. It's one of 12 Znap sets produced that year. It contains 25 pieces.
It's owned by 154 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $9.00, or eBay.
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30 comments on this article
Another terrible 90s experimental theme Lego made.
Doesn't look very buoyant...
Ah yes, the time LEGO got so desperate that they ripped off Knex
The only reason I ever bought any K'Nex as a teen were they were one of the few US-made toys you could find in most stores at the time (and besides, Sam's had a big bucket of them CHEAP). I found them fiddly and in general a headache over LEGO. I understand they've been sold a couple of times, and I don't know if they're US-made anymore or not.
ZNAP's always been weird, but has anyone found any shortcuts/cheats that are doable with the pieces? Looks like they might support some connections that are awkward otherwise.
@cody6268 said:
"The only reason I ever bought any K'Nex as a teen were they were one of the few US-made toys you could find in most stores at the time (and besides, Sam's had a big bucket of them CHEAP). I found them fiddly and in general a headache over LEGO. I understand they've been sold a couple of times, and I don't know if they're US-made anymore or not.
ZNAP's always been weird, but has anyone found any shortcuts/cheats that are doable with the pieces? Looks like they might support some connections that are awkward otherwise. "
I don't think there's a lot that you can do with Znap that you couldn't do with other Lego as far as function is concerned, but the parts have some nice shapes that you could make creative use of.
I've only handled Znap parts a couple times personally, but from what I've seen the quality seems nice—crisp and cleanly molded like you'd expect from Technic parts. It may have been a mistaken venture overall, but the resulting products themselves weren't too shabby.
@cody6268:
There are a handful of elements that people have found useful in building System MOCs. I can't find any evidence of it, but I thought there was a part that people used to make half wagon-wheel windows before a dedicated System part was introduced. Mostly, I think people bought a few specific sets up on clearance to strip the 9v motors and wires out of them.
What the hell is that abomination on the left
Oh Znap…
I've actually seen some neat MOCs that use Znap pieces in them. It's super bizarre, but it's honestly an impressive flex to include them: "Woah! Those can't be real pieces... wait, those are Znap, aren't they? And you managed to put them in something good-looking?"
Still, I'd znap my neck if they decided to bring this theme back before making a proper new Constraction theme.
Oh yes, the stuff Lego tries to pretend never existed...
@MCLegoboy said:
"Doesn't look very buoyant..."
And here I was, all set to make a "Boat does not float" joke.
At first glance I thought I have this - but it's actually the smaller yellow one.
Znap is obviously inspired by the early K'nex - which leads to a weird anecdote:
The inventors of K'nex sought a toy company to produce their idea and their first choice was Lego. Lego immediately turned their offer down, so they went on to others, without success. Some company however told them to start their own instead. After it saw some commercial success, Lego tried copying it with Znap (it was so obvious, everyone I knew made that connection in 1998).
Just recently heard K'nex was bought by another company that went bancrupt this year.
Znap actually was a bit interesting at first glance, with it's "transformation" action feature and the whole "build something big really fast" approach, but in long term it grew boring quite fast. It wasn't helped by the fact that it had even more color-coding than modern day Lego Technic and neither figures nor "serious" technical functions. Also those black-and-yellow hinges got worn out really, really fast.
Never once have I thought about buying a Znap set, not even for a second.
Fun Fact: part 32209 (Technic Axle 5.5L with Stop) was introduced by Znap in 1998. Before that, axle lengths were only whole numbers.
I wonder if Znap has the potential to follow in Clikits' footsteps, once Huwbot has posted all of their sets.
In kind of think this jet-ski doesn't look half bad. At least you can tell what it actually is supposed to be, and the curving parts do a lot to make it look sort of smooth.
@Robot99 said:
"What the hell is that abomination on the left"
A pterosaur-rat of course.
@Binnekamp said:
" @Robot99 said:
"What the hell is that abomination on the left"
A pterosaur-rat of course. "
Pterosaur? More like Pterrible! Nyuk-yuk-yuk-yuk!
@Brickalili said:
" @Binnekamp said:
" @Robot99 said:
"What the hell is that abomination on the left"
A pterosaur-rat of course. "
Pterosaur? More like Pterrible! Nyuk-yuk-yuk-yuk!"
Znap sets were keen on having all sorts of fictional "pseudo-saurs" in their instructions. Not sure if this was because of those long curved pieces inspiring that stuff, or some higher-ups wanted to cash in on Jurassic Park 2 (1997).
Noteworthy, Znap instructions had ridiculously many pages for it's time and often came in an awkward format. They also relied entirely on photographs rather than drawings or renders, similar like Scala did at the same time. And they had quite many alternative models, though usually some of those were plain flat 2D designs (like a guitar or fish for example).
@cody6268 said:
"ZNAP's always been weird, but has anyone found any shortcuts/cheats that are doable with the pieces? Looks like they might support some connections that are awkward otherwise. "
I have seen a few layouts at shows etc where people have used Znap pieces to construct things like box-girder bridges for trains to go across. The size of the pieces and connection style (easier than Technic pieces for example) lends itself well to such things.
Before reading about it on Brickset I had never heard of Znap at all. Then again, these kinds of toys were the ones I always passed right by in the toy isles. There had been several similar systems by German manufacturers during the 80s, but I just never had any interest in such stuff. It always looked (and still does) to me like nothing made out of nothing. Totally unattractive. I never had any friends who had such toys either, we either had LEGO, or Playmobil, or both.
@Atuin said:
"
Znap is obviously inspired by the early K'nex - which leads to a weird anecdote:
The inventors of K'nex sought a toy company to produce their idea and their first choice was Lego. Lego immediately turned their offer down, so they went on to others, without success. Some company however told them to start their own instead. After it saw some commercial success, Lego tried copying it with Znap (it was so obvious, everyone I knew made that connection in 1998).
Just recently heard K'nex was bought by another company that went bancrupt this year.
"
Came here to see the comments for a theme I didn't even know existed, stayed here for the K'Nex trivia. I don't know how popular they ever had been in general, but I liked them a lot along with Lego Technic as a kid. What I just realised is that I did some serious MOCing with K'Nex, from F1 cars to roller coasters and elevators, but none with Lego.
It just confirms my belief that having only a few standardized parts inspires creativity. K'nex had probably 20 different parts at most (only axles and radial connectors). Then Technic at my time was still somewhat standardized with bricks, plates, axles, pins, connectors and gears. Nowadays Technic is a complete mess with all kinds of new connectors, pins and panels that pop out every year and make for unintuitive building that feels more like a puzzle rather than Lego.
Talking about K'Nex, is there a database similar to Brickset I can browse through for old sets? I still have a big orange case of K'Nex at my parents' place, it was my most prized possession as a kid and probably the largest toy I ever had. Now I guess they were cheaper than Lego :P
Y'all want another Knex fun-fact? They had the Super Mario license and actually gave us Mario "Minifigures". And they did a pretty solid job IMO!
GET YOUR JET SKI TODAY! PLUS, IF YOU'RE ONE OF OUR FIRST 50 CALLERS, WE"LL THROW IN A BIRD...LIKE HOVERCRAFT THING AND... THE RESULT IF GODZILLA...AND A PTERODACTYL ADJACENT CREATURE HAD A CHILD... ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!
CALL NOW!!!!!!!!
@Lego_lord said:
"Never once have I thought about buying a Znap set, not even for a second."
I only own 3551 because I found, still sealed, at a yard sale, and decided, "What the heck, it's cheap."
To this day I wonder if I did the right thing spending one euro on a sealed 3503 Mini-Sonic I found at a flea market in 2005. I guess it at least gave me first-hand experience with the theme. It's not a terrible toy. Just nothing compared to other lego construction options. At least it gave us a pin we still use to this day, motors, and parts to build bridges with.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"GET YOUR JET SKI TODAY! PLUS, IF YOU'RE ONE OF OUR FIRST 50 CALLERS, WE"LL THROW IN A BIRD...LIKE HOVERCRAFT THING AND... THE RESULT IF GODZILLA...AND A PTERODACTYL ADJACENT CREATURE HAD A CHILD... ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!
CALL NOW!!!!!!!!"
*each design built seperately. Don't ask your parents for permission. They will just say no.
Jet-ski does not float. Hovercraft does not hover. Pterodactyl-adjacent creature is not legally pterodactyl-adjacent or Godzilla's legal offspring. Ask your doctor before use. We are not liable for any crying, screaming or loss of joy from using our product. Wait, don't ask your doctor before use. They will just say no. May or may not cause symptoms of crying, screaming and regret of purchasing. Not compatible with other completely legally distinct brands who are not allowed to sue. We will just say no.
That set looks like the result of a bunch of interns sitting around a large conference table and a Lego executive dumping a pile of Znap onto the table a saying "OK, let's see how many different things you can make with 25 or less pieces.".
Never understand what compels people to jump into these with drive-by "it's a bad set GROSS" comments.
Every set or theme has its fans and its utility in builds. Just because you lack the imagination to do so does not negate it. Anyways I found a Znap polybag a while back, really interesting building system. Obviously not quite up to par with Technic or System, but what still makes it so fascinating is how Lego made it compatible nonetheless. The MOC potential of the parts is fantastic, and it really meshes well with Technic.
AWWWWW, ZNAP!
@Binnekamp said:
"To this day I wonder if I did the right thing spending one euro on a sealed 3503 Mini-Sonic I found at a flea market in 2005. I guess it at least gave me first-hand experience with the theme. It's not a terrible toy. Just nothing compared to other lego construction options. At least it gave us a pin we still use to this day, motors, and parts to build bridges with.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"GET YOUR JET SKI TODAY! PLUS, IF YOU'RE ONE OF OUR FIRST 50 CALLERS, WE"LL THROW IN A BIRD...LIKE HOVERCRAFT THING AND... THE RESULT IF GODZILLA...AND A PTERODACTYL ADJACENT CREATURE HAD A CHILD... ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!
CALL NOW!!!!!!!!"
*each design built seperately. Don't ask your parents for permission. They will just say no.
Jet-ski does not float. Hovercraft does not hover. Pterodactyl-adjacent creature is not legally pterodactyl-adjacent or Godzilla's legal offspring. Ask your doctor before use. We are not liable for any crying, screaming or loss of joy from using our product. Wait, don't ask your doctor before use. They will just say no. May or may not cause symptoms of crying, screaming and regret of purchasing. Not compatible with other completely legally distinct brands who are not allowed to sue. We will just say no."
I have fairly severe symptoms of crying, screaming, and regret concerning purchasing certain plastic toy sets. My doctor has prescribed a boring bit of Godzilla-adjacent stick system. Is Znap right for me?
There really have been some lovely bridges made of znap; well worth a look up. This set includes the large curved pieces that make znap good at that job.
On the knex note though, there are some amazing Star Wars knex fan builds by one designer. I think I prefer his at-at to the UCS one! What he’s achieved with knex makes me wonder what we could have got from znap, had it survived