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RMC Next Coaster Model after Raptor/T-Rex

MemeWorldOfficials

Roller Poster
Well, we haven’t heard from RMC about where will the first T-Rex coaster be located at. I’ll go over the Raptor and the T-Rex:

*Raptor - It is a smaller single-rail track compared to the T-Rex track that doesn’t have to be a Hyper-Raptor or a Giga-Raptor.

*T-Rex - It’s the original single-rail track that reach the height of between 200ft-500ft tall or drop. The T-Rex coaster model will be RMC’s First Hyper Coaster without using any I-Box Track but it will be the World’s First Single-Rail Hyper Coaster.

What coaster model do you think that RMC will manufacture next?
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Heh, the jokes aside (I'm afraid you'll have to live with those for a while), this is a thread much more in line with what we use to have in here. It's a really interesting question, actually.

Not that I have a good answer to it, unfortunately. I'm not sure if RMC will try their hand at Inverts any time soon, but on the other hand, I think it's an under-utilized market niche at the moment. I mean, B&M only seems to sell one or two Inverts every decade nowadays (for context: Black Mamba at Phantasialand was built in 2006. Only four B&M Inverts have been manufactured since then). Vekoma is pretty much the only other manufacturer that sells Inverts, and those are more towards the family side (aside from the SLCs that are, if not discontinued, then definitely outdated). RMC could very well try to capitalize on that niche.

...Then again, maybe not. Intamin sells Inverts too ... in theory. It's just that they haven't found many buyers since 2008 or so. Those novelty sit-down/invert self-dueling coasters have been sold to a couple of parks in China, but who else have the money for that sort of coasters? In sum, it seems that regardless of manufacturer, customers for Inverted coasters aren't exactly lining up around the block.

I'm not sure if RMC is the type of manufacturer to get into niche coaster types either. As soon as you start to introduce spinning, flying, floorless, or tilting cars or other designs like that, train design becomes a challenge. RMC strikes me more as a designer of conventional coaster types, albeit with unconventional layouts. I guess their next model might be a regular sit-down coaster, non-woodie, but that may be exactly what the T-Rex is already. After that, who knows?
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
I suppose they could have another stab at launched coasters? I know Lightning Rod has been a pain in the arse, but didn't another company make the launch system for that? Dunno, but launch coasters sure are popular these days, and it wouldn't require a radical rethink of train design, unlike an inverted or spinning contraption.
And if the T-Rex doesn't come to fruition, there's always the possibilty of them going Giga with their standard Ibox track. Would probably require an all-steel support structure rather than wood, but I don't think I'd have any issues with that.
 

Dar

Hyper Poster
Now Alan Shilke has got some decent hardware to work with, I wonder if he can finally get the inverting suspended coaster idea to work? 😁

If you're reading Alan, I've got some ideas...
 

JoshC.

Strata Poster
I wonder if they'd ever consider going down the trick track route? Dropping, spinning, tilting track. Having it on a hybrid would give it a different feel to any other rides out there with those elements.

But outside of that? I don't know. When it comes to 'types of track', we're surely at a point where every possible type has been explored with. Sit down steel, sit down wood, hybrid, suspended, invert, wing, pipeline, single rail. There's not really anything new they can offer the way I see it, so they then have to go into a market and compete with others.

I guess developing some crazy new type of train system (like what S&S are doing with the Axis) isn't out of the question. But is it something we can see RMC doing?


Tbf, I don't see the problem with RMC remaining relatively niche. Conversions, hybrids and single rails will keep them going for a long time still I reckon, especially if they can develop the T-Rex fully. What they're doing right now is clearly working, so if it ain't broke, why fix it?
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
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After thinking it through for a while, I realize what I hope for the most to be RMC's next product is "Something like Lightning Rod, but working reliably".
 

UP87

Mega Poster
Vekoma is pretty much the only other manufacturer that sells Inverts, and those are more towards the family side (aside from the SLCs that are, if not discontinued, then definitely outdated).
Vekoma opened their first STC (Suspended Thrill Coaster) last year with Hals über Kopf at Tripsdrill. But yeah... the inverted coaster market is saturated. Even Intamin didn't really manage to sell more than 3 suspended looping coasters aside of the impulse coasters.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Vekoma opened their first STC (Suspended Thrill Coaster) last year with Hals über Kopf at Tripsdrill. But yeah... the inverted coaster market is saturated. Even Intamin didn't really manage to sell more than 3 suspended looping coasters aside of the impulse coasters.
That's the weird thing with Inverts, really ... nobody seems to sell them in any great numbers nowadays, even though they were pretty common before. Vekoma sold 8 SLCs in 1997 alone. That's twice as many as they have sold since 2009 (additionally, there have been two relocations). Intamin sold only seven of those Impulse coasters within a five-year period, then suddenly another one this year. GIBs and Invertigo Boomerangs have not been big sellers either. B&M have sold 5 new Inverts in the last 15 years (compared to 16 in the 5 years between 1994-1999).

The only ones seeming to push out inverts with inversions at any decent rate are Golden Horse, but they mostly operate only in China. In the West, the market for thrill Inverts seems not to be saturated, but pretty dead.

Then again, Inverts are one of those "one-per-park" type of coasters. I guess pretty much every Western park that wanted a thrill Invert bought one when they were hip and cool back in the late 90's, and now nobody needs any more of them.
 

MemeWorldOfficials

Roller Poster
That's the weird thing with Inverts, really ... nobody seems to sell them in any great numbers nowadays, even though they were pretty common before. Vekoma sold 8 SLCs in 1997 alone. That's twice as many as they have sold since 2009 (additionally, there have been two relocations). Intamin sold only seven of those Impulse coasters within a five-year period, then suddenly another one this year. GIBs and Invertigo Boomerangs have not been big sellers either. B&M have sold 5 new Inverts in the last 15 years (compared to 16 in the 5 years between 1994-1999).

The only ones seeming to push out inverts with inversions at any decent rate are Golden Horse, but they mostly operate only in China. In the West, the market for thrill Inverts seems not to be saturated, but pretty dead.

Then again, Inverts are one of those "one-per-park" type of coasters. I guess pretty much every Western park that wanted a thrill Invert bought one when they were hip and cool back in the late 90's, and now nobody needs any more of them.
The RMC Invert might cost cheaper than B&M Invert and Vekoma STC.
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
The RMC Invert might cost cheaper than B&M Invert and Vekoma STC.
Possibly, but ... why would it? If there was a way to lower the cost of Inverts significantly, one would think Vekoma, Intamin, B&M, or anybody else would have taken that approach already. It's not like RMC can magically make their coasters cheaper than anybody else.

And even so, I think it's a pretty safe bet to guess that Vekoma's SLCs are quite a bit cheaper than B&M Inverts. They still barely sell any of those. I think the problem isn't on the cost side, but the demand side. It seems as if most parks that would consider getting inverted coasters, already have one, and don't want more of them. RMC offering them wouldn't change that.
 

Christian

Hyper Poster
Possibly, but ... why would it? If there was a way to lower the cost of Inverts significantly, one would think Vekoma, Intamin, B&M, or anybody else would have taken that approach already. It's not like RMC can magically make their coasters cheaper than anybody else.

If I am not mistaken the single rail track is stronger and needs less supports thereby making it cheaper. I also think the Vekomas are cheaper than the B&Ms and Intamins. Simply because Vekoma is usually a cheaper manufacturer. There are a couple of parks in Europe that require good big multi loopers like the B&M floorless coasters in the US. Most have already filled the roll with launched multi loopers but I think Vekoma might try to convince those parks to go with STCs. Or just sell them launched coasters, it depends on how persistent Vekoma are at convincing.

I think Energylandia will almost certainly get a proper invert in 10 years. That stupid SLC does not fit in there at all. Remove the even more pathetic wild mouse and they got a great big plot for it. Just seeing that orange SLC next to Zadra makes you cringe. It is in no way worthy of standing next to such an elite creation.
 

cocoa

Mega Poster
my feeling about the invert market is probably that most parks that want one, have one. While parks are happy to splurge for the most part on multiple different kinds of sit downs, for whatever reason the invert remains a one-in-a-park novelty. The main exception other than family inverts though is inverted impulse coasters... and I would froth if a park installed a proper launched intamin invert layout thats not just a shuttle. I feel like that could sell well. Or maybe I could dream... a launched flyer? swoons
 
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