Universal IOA | Incredible Hulk | B&M Retrack

[MLDesigns]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

The rumor I've heard from one of the guys from InTheLoop is an interesting one:

Supposedly, Universal planned to build a park in Dubai that would have featured a Hulk clone, themed to King Kong. According to this rumor, this King Kong coaster was completely fabricated by B&M and Clermont, but the project for Uni Dubai was eventually cancelled. So, there is a complete Hulk clone somewhere in storage, waiting to be constructed. If this rumor holds true, King Kong Hulk could be replacing the current Hulk.

 

[SilverArrow]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

The rumor I've heard from one of the guys from InTheLoop is an interesting one:

Supposedly, Universal planned to build a park in Dubai that would have featured a Hulk clone, themed to King Kong. According to this rumor, this King Kong coaster was completely fabricated by B&M and Clermont, but the project for Uni Dubai was eventually cancelled. So, there is a complete Hulk clone somewhere in storage, waiting to be constructed. If this rumor holds true, King Kong Hulk could be replacing the current Hulk.

We pretty much said this earlier in the thread :lol: but thanks for the clarification on the theming.


So.....some random thoughts on the issue:

What makes a coaster rough? Would a clone not have the same issues as the original after a while or is it only caused by wear and tear in this case? Have B&M changed their track making technologies at all (i.e. would new track be of some superior quality other than just being new)? If the roughness is purely caused by wear and tear this new track should solve the 'roughness' issue. The Dubai rumour does fit with the surprise that this refurb has given everyone-i.e. if it weren't for them already owning new track they wouldn't have gone ahead with it.

 

[spicy]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

The Dubai rumour still makes no sense.

If the track had been fabricated for Dubai then why not build the coaster at Universal studios Hollywood/Japan/Singapore rather than scrap track that doesn't really need scrapping.

 

[Dar]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

I wonder if the launch put unexpected stresses on the track? Especially considering it was a fairly unknown quantity at the time for B&M. Not to mention almost constant running for nearly 16 years!

 

[SilverArrow]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

I wonder if the launch put unexpected stresses on the track? Especially considering it was a fairly unknown quantity at the time for B&M. Not to mention almost constant running for nearly 16 years!

Maybe but I don't think it's the launch section that they have been replacing.

Basically this all makes no sense until we have some more info!

 

[Pokemaniac]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

I wonder if the launch put unexpected stresses on the track? Especially considering it was a fairly unknown quantity at the time for B&M. Not to mention almost constant running for nearly 16 years!

If it did, I think we would have seen it in other, earlier launch coasters as well. I really doubt it would have been a B&M-exclusive problem. Not to mention, it would have occured on brake runs too (basically the same forces acting on the track, but in reverse).

If I were to cast a guess, it could have been the Florida heat and humidity that eventually stressed the coaster out. Temperature changes cause metal expansion and contractions, which together with the dynamic forces of the trains cause large strains over time. This would be especially pronounced in welding seams. Add some humidity to the resulting micro cracks, and you've got a quite large risk of corrosion. Then again, there are other, much older coasters in Florida which have ran for a long time without a complete retrack, so I'm not too sold on the theory (Montu and Kumba being the two most relevant examples of older B&Ms, while Kraken is a nearly-as-old ride also sitting right next to/over a huge pool of liquid humidity).

If the rumour of the shelved Hulk clone is correct, it could simply be a matter of B&M or Universal wanting to clear the storage space, and figured they had a perfect life extension kit for a popular coaster lying around. Instead of waiting for Hulk to clear its expected life time, it might have been cheaper to just do the retrack now. That way, there'd only be one set of track to maintain, storage space is freed, and Hulk gets shiny new hardware, enough to keep it running for another twenty years or so. Basically a reset to prime condition, which by the way is one of the features I'd like the most to see in an RCT game.

 

[elephant58]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

^But in RCT, the rides don't get old?

 

[Screaming Coasters]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

^ this?

 

[Pokemaniac]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

^But in RCT, the rides don't get old?

Yes, they do break down a LOT more frequently as time goes by.

 

[tomahawk]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

One thing I keep hearing is how they couldn't weld anymore in certain places and that is where the track is being replaced.

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[Hyde]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

So does anyone have proof of this supposed B&M roller coaster that was apparently fabricated without anyone knowing?

I mean, this isn't something you just tuck behind in a closet.

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

^But it can certainly be tucked behind steel garage doors. ;-)

But I agree, I wonder when/if track is going to be fabricated. They still might have the Dubai clone somewhere.

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[DelPiero]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

All this Dubai clone talk and there's no real proof.

I've heard it's an Aquatrax conversion.

 

[Hyde]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

^But it can certainly be tucked behind steel garage doors. ;-)

Jump over to Clermont Steel Fabricators (B&M's track manufacturing for all things America) on Google Maps, and you will see track laying outside of the facility: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Clerm ... ed!6m1!1e1

This is only a portion of a roller coaster, yet takes up a swath of field. B&M track is large and bulky (see the size comparison of those track segments against the vehicles parked nearby), and is not something simply stored indoors.

Until someone can produce photos of a rumored roller coaster that was manufactured, even though Screamscape never heard it was being made - no, I do not believe this hulk clone nonsense.

 

[spicy]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

Even if the Dubai clone rumour was true, do you think it is even possible to use track designed for a different coaster albeit with the same layout?

Like is cloned coaster track fabricated exactly the same? All the track would have to be fabricated completely the same within a couple of inches or you would end up with a Smiler-esque track separating incident?

 

[Hixee]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

Even if the Dubai clone rumour was true, do you think it is even possible to use track designed for a different coaster albeit with the same layout?

Like is cloned coaster track fabricated exactly the same? All the track would have to be fabricated completely the same within a couple of inches or you would end up with a Smiler-esque track separating incident?

In a word - yes.

In a few words -

I'm not an expert on coaster track manufacturing, but it's not uncommon to specify structural elements spanning 10-20m to within 10-20mm. I wouldn't underestimate the precision of a manufacturing process just because the elements are large. In theory, B&M would just have to set their jigs up (for cutting, rolling, bending, welding) the same as they did for the first time they did Hulk, and they can just reproduce the sections of track. They'll have detailed manufacturing drawings to work from, so there's no reason they couldn't do this, and they'd easily be able to do it within a few inches.

It's actually the pouring of the footers that's the biggest problem. The track and supports are manufactured assuming that the footers are all at the correct position and height. I suspect what happened with the Smiler was that one of the footers wasn't quite right, meaning the support and track on top of it weren't 'exactly' where they were supposed to be - causing the gap. An automotive analogy is like blaming the wheel manufacturer when the wheels rub on the wheel-arch - you'd better be sure the axle is in the right place first!

I don't think they'd be able to reuse all of the supports from a clone (terrain will have an impact on the height of supports, for example), but I don't really see why they couldn't use the track from a clone. Whether or not they're actually doing that, I don't know, but it's possible.

 

[SilverArrow]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

Tbh I'm more interested in how much of the track they replace and the other stuff like trains and the new launch etc. Whether the track is made specifically for Orlando or not isn't that exciting but I thought i'd mention that some people had been saying it regardless of whether it actually means anything.

Hoping we'll get good coverage of these developments seeing as it's such a widely visited park.

 

[Martyn B]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

I'm surprised photo's of what's left of the coaster haven't been doing the rounds.

 

[CarolinaRider]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

This is.... odd: http://rcdb.com/557.htm

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Re: Universal IOA to close Hulk for new enhancements

Hm. That's very interesting. Probably(and hopefully) one of those RCDB generalizations. They like to jump to conclusions sometimes.