Neat idea, but as an adult who builds little machines out of Lego Technic for fun sometimes, the adapter selection seems very limited. In order to make this idea "practical" you would need adapters with a variety of sizes, shapes, and orientations. I guess I'm not the target audience - I can definitely see this being cool for children.
The Free Universal Construction Kit
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Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#12I feel like the only way to summon the corporate lawyers faster would be to put a Mickey mouse on the box.
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#13I feel like the only way to summon the corporate lawyers faster would be to put a Mickey mouse on the box.
If you go to the homepage (or look at the banner) the project is shut down since 2015.
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#14Any zometool aficionados here
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#15I feel like the only way to summon the corporate lawyers faster would be to put a Mickey mouse on the box.
Mickey mouse is in the public domain, at last!
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#16Very cool. Do two copyright infringements (one on each side of the adapter) cancel each other out? I really like it!
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#17That's an awesome project. I'm sure there are many kids that have been gifted LEGO knockoffs that are not compatible with legos from adults that didn't know any better. A similar "interop" project for those would be great
Almost all (back then, I hear the clone quality is much higher now) were "compatible" but had little to no clutch power, a wall built with some of them would inevitably break at the clone bricks.
Crappy tolerance in the clone parts. I hear the clones got much better now.
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#18Very cool. Do two copyright infringements (one on each side of the adapter) cancel each other out? I really like it!
At least Lego‘s patent on the bricks expired. You can’t make mini figures but bricks shouldn’t be a problem
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#19Any zometool aficionados here https://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/zometool.html
Zometool rules!
I run workshops about the use of modular systems in facilitating non-expert participation in architecture. One I did (at the CAAD Futures Conference in 2023) was with Zometool. It was a blast and really successful.
In preparation I also got to interview the late great Steve Baer, inventor of the Zome (among many other things - seriously look him up, he's one of the most brilliant people of the past 100 years imo). It was a huge honor.
The book chapter the organizers were supposed to do about the conference workshops never materialized (hrmph), but I've done other little collaborative build projects since, so one day I'll document them all together.
Re: The Free Universal Construction Kit
#20I feel like the only way to summon the corporate lawyers faster would be to put a Mickey mouse on the box.
Mickey mouse is in the public domain, at last!
I think they would have a very strong case that using the mouse on a product is likely to confuse consumers about the origin of the product and therefore infringe on their trademark.