An Incredible Working Ball Machine Made Completely Out of K’Nex Building Pieces

Citadel Knex Ball Machine

In 2012, Tennessee-based maker Shadowman spent over year constructing a full-size skeeball machine from K’NEX building toy pieces. Since that time, Shadowman has been very busy building Citadel Knex Ball Machine, a brilliantly colorful masterpiece that’s been three years in the making.

After 3 years, my Knex ball machine Citadel is finally finished! This machine features more than 45 new elements, 5 different lifts, and 2 new path separators that separate into 17 paths. It’s also themed, with Knex men all over the place working on it, giving it a factory-type feel with catwalks and stairs. There are 3 total motors, one of which powers all 3 floor lifts. The actual time it took to build is one year, there was just a long break in between. All of the paths (except one) were built in 6 months, starting in December 2015.

Citadel Knex Ball Machine

Citadel Knex Ball Machine

Citadel Knex Ball Machine

photos by Shadowman

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.