ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MONSTER JAM ® DEBUTS THE WORLD’S LARGEST GRAVE DIGGER® 30^TH ANNIVERSARY MONSTER TRUCK K’NEX BUILD!  

  K’NEX ® Brands Collaborates with Royal British Legion Industries to Construct a Mammoth Never-Before-Built Monster Truck from K’NEX Pieces!  

(Aurora, IL – Friday, January 13, 2012) – Feld Motor Sports Inc., producers of Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam® announces, after months of planning, that the highly anticipated BIG BUILD has arrived in San Antonio, TX. As part of the 30^th Anniversary of the iconic Grave Digger® and the 20^th Anniversary of K’NEX® building sets, the BIG BUILD is a life size replica of the custom 30^th Anniversary Edition of the monster truck. Premiering in San Antonio, TX on Saturday, January 14, at the Alamodome the life-size Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary K’NEX Build will tour to select cities across the United States during 2012 as part of the traveling Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary Experience.

The record size monster truck replica was created from close to a quarter of a million K’NEX construction pieces and assembled by Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) based out of Kent, England.  The BIG BUILD took approximately 1,000 man hours to create. Once assembled, it was carefully loaded into a 40’ x 8’x 9’6” freight container and placed on a ship where it made its trans-Atlantic journey of more than 5,000 miles over a six week period to reach San Antonio’s Alamodome for its debut in the United States.

Partners for 15 years, K’NEX and RBLI have created a variety of models for special projects but never a monster truck. RBLI selected a twelve man team of master builders who also are employees of RBLI, a long-time provider of employability support for people with disabilities and health conditions, particularly those from the Armed Forces community.

“The Grave Digger BIG BUILD presented RBLI with new and exciting challenges as it would need to travel with ease and withstand months of touring across the United States with Monster Jam as part of the Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary Experience,” said David Church RBLI Lead Builder. “We worked closely with K’NEX designers and Monster Jam fabricators to develop an innovative K’NEX chassis and a ‘roll-on, roll off’ process for placing the BIG BUILD onto real Monster Jam tires for the celebratory Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary display.” 

“We’re very excited to have partnered with Monster Jam on the 30^th anniversary Grave Digger Big Build.” said K’NEX CEO and President, Michael Araten. “Building a life-size version entirely out of USA made K’NEX pieces seems like a perfect way to honor this American icon.” 

The Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary life-size K’NEX build will be “tired up” with authentic Grave Digger tires, tour in its own trailer and travel with its own pit crew. The select team of mechanics will be trained to ensure that it remains in peak condition as it tours from city to city including making a special appearance at Monster Jam World Finals^SM XIII in Las Vegas, NV. 

“Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam is excited to highlight the K’NEX-produced Grave Digger BIG BUILD as part of the Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary celebration,” said Ken Hudgens, COO, Feld Motor Sports. “The Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary life-size K’NEX build will be a special feature in select cities as part of our Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary Experience, during the Monster Jam pre-show Party in the Pits.”   

 Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam and K’NEX fans can participate in the Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary celebration by guessing the weight of the Grave Digger 30^th Anniversary BIG BUILD and enter for a chance to win the Ultimate Monster Jam K’NEX prize pack.  For more details log on to: MonsterJam.com/THEBIGBUILD for more information and rules.  

About Feld Motor Sports^®     Feld Motor Sports^®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz^®, and IHRA^® Nitro Jam^®. Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment. For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com .  

About K’NEX Brands : Founded in 1992, K’NEX Brands, the world’s most innovative construction toy company, was established to make and sell what has become one of the world’s leading integrated construction systems for children. Winner of over 200 international awards and recognitions, K’NEX is America’s building toy company focused on Building Worlds Kids Love, and encourages youngsters to “imagine, build and play.”  Since 1992, The Rodon Group, a subsidiary of K'NEX Brands, L.P., has manufactured over 30 billion parts for the K'NEX building toy system. For more information, please visit www.knex.com or www.rodongroup.com. 

About Royal British Legion Industries: RBLI is a Not-for-profit Charity that was established in 1919 to provide health and occupational support for troops returning from the Great War. RBLI continues to support veterans and their families, and in recent years the organization has developed its client base to include people with disabilities. A well-established Social Enterprise, RBLI offer a unique, bespoke service in activities such as fulfillment and assembly with a growing product portfolio that ranges from display toys to furniture. They also offer a specialist service in pallet and signs manufacture, mailing, print and distribution services. RBLI re-invests the successes made from commercial activities, to increase the number of beneficiaries it can support and develop charitable programs such as LifeWorks – an innovative guidance service for the Armed Forces Community, enabling them to build on their existing skills beyond the Armed Forces and achieve sustainable work. For more information about RBLI, visit www.rbli.co.uk, email enquiries@rbli.co.uk, or follow @RBLI on Twitter.