So instead, I
My good friend/sibling/partner in crime, Stephen Fender,
A departure from Stephen's Kestrel Saga space opera books, his Star Trek fan fiction projects, and his current stand-alone space sci-fi novel Master of the Void (a retelling of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to
When Bricks Get Their Wings is the newest Kickstarter from this guy, and I'll just post the link here and let you check it out for yourself. It's part building brick project, part storybook and all enjoyment.
Unlike other franchises, the LEGO company seems to be amenable (and realistic) about their customers and fans
Check it out and see if this sounds like something you'd like to support, or share it with someone who would enjoy it.
I'll see you all in a couple weeks!
Hm. I'm a little old to be a LEGO fan, meaning I don't even remember their being around in my youth. Sounds like a fun project nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteNO WAY. I refuse to believe you're older than LEGOs. But if you said you were older than Lincoln Logs, I might get worried.
DeleteWikipedia says the modern form of the LEGO blocks was created in 1958. I was born in 1956 and I still don't remember seeing them as a child.
DeleteLincoln Logs, to my recollection, have been around "forever." (Or at least, since Lincoln.)
That's unusual they allow it, but good for him that they do.
ReplyDeleteThere are things they allow, and things they don't. It took a few weeks to get ahold of someone at LEGO that could spell it out for me. In the end, as long as it doesn't look official (like using their logo, for example) and it doesn't tarnish the brand, then it's ' probably ok'.
DeleteStill, LEGO makes the final determination on a case-by-case basis.
Unusual but a good thing in this case for sure.
DeleteMy children used to make the most amazing things out of Legos. All I ever did was put them together and stack them up.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
As the youngest of two girls, I never had LEGOs in our house. I loved playing with them at the neighbors' houses, though. When we started having children, my husband and I thought it was the best excuse in the world to finally have as many LEGO sets in the house as we could manage to afford.
DeleteWhen I got divorced, I took custody of the Legos. Some friends have come here with children, so I always have toys for them
DeleteSounds like a fun book! And I love that it's geared toward both kids and adults.
ReplyDeleteThose are the best kinds of projects . . . the ones that reach all ages. You are never too old to play with LEGO bricks.
DeleteHow cool! Yeah, my first thought was that I hoped he didn't get sued. Cheers to Lego for being awesome. Some of those companies are unnecessarily ruthless. For example, with Nintendo, we had a friend that made a 3D version of the first Zelda game. He put it up for free, just for kicks, online. He referenced that it was made by Nintendo and didn't seek to make any form of compensation whatsoever. Yeah, that lasted a full 2 days before he got a cease and desist letter. Yeesh. Way to reward your fans, right?
ReplyDeleteLEGO does seem to be pretty awesome in this case. When we did the Star Trek books, there was no problem for Stephen, but right after his Kickstarter campaigns, there was a whole lot of trouble with the Axanar movie production and a lawsuit from CBS and the Star Trek franchise. Thankfully, Stephen didn't get slapped with anything, but he did find that getting extra books printed through his original printer source would no longer be happening. It would be nice to work in that universe again, because the fans really do want more and are completely willing to support a variety of contributors; however, the risk is not worth it to the small publisher.
DeleteWhat a bummer for your friend with the Nintendo stuff! Why make a big stink about it if he offered it for free and obviously gave credit to Nintendo for the original creation? This is what so many companies need to learn about their fan base: they're not out to rape you financially. They love your product so much that they want to contribute to the success of it by sharing their creations with others.
I'm also coming to the conclusion that you guys know an awful lot of pretty cool people. The two of you are my direct link to the six-degrees-of-knowing-anyone-famous thing. I have about two claims to (other people's) fame and that's it.