PDA

View Full Version : If one was made available....



drgnrbrn
11-30-2007, 03:31 AM
If one was made available would you purchase a saber blade that could completely extend and retract on its own? No swinging the blade out like on toy sabers no light up effect extension like on MR sabers. an actual blade contained completely within the hilt that would extend when the saber was activated. It could be lit ( although perhaps not quite as well as current blades), It would be "battle ready" ( i hate that term but its the most accurate I could think of) It couldn't be used for extremely hardcore fighting but you could use it against other blades of like design with more freedom.


I ask because I have a concept of how to do this and am actually thinking of coughing up the cash to get a prototype made. So before I spend a small fortune to try this...do you think anyone would be interested in it if it came to fruition and if so how much do you think a decent asking price would be for...

A. a self contained blade/lighting unit (just the blade and lighting rig ( no power)

B. a full completed saber with said extendable/retractable blade with lighting and sound board

I don't mean to be cryptic but I'm trying to keep this semi quiet as it is the focus of a possible business i may end up starting.

Dregan
11-30-2007, 07:15 AM
Yes, people would buy it.

On a business side, you need to:

(a) proof your design somehow - either by prototyping or building a proof-of-concept

(b) patent it, under something inoccuous, like 'Method for automatically extracting and compacting illuminated tube' - something that does not say 'lightsaber' or 'Star Wars' or anything remotely similar to existing matrials, AKA prior art. Start with a patent application, and get a provisionary patent - it costs like $100, you can claim 'patent pending' and you're protected for 1 year.

(c) Use that year to finalize your design, and develop a marketable product (or process) and develop any necessary production capabilities.

(d) license your patent to either DIY'ers like us, or a real prop house, like MR (or whoever it is that picked up the Lucas contract) I would reccomend going the DIY route, but it's your product.

Doing the above maximizes your options while retaining control of your ideas. Once you get your provisionary patent I'd really like to see how your idea works.

Strydur
11-30-2007, 10:15 AM
This forum is here for the sharing of ideas and is paid for by a business and is not here for you to use as a product test poll for your own potential business.

That said..I am sure people would be interested. Something similar to a power antenna design could be made but I think you would end up with the hilt being pretty bulky..extra long etc.. But it definately could be done.

xwingband
11-30-2007, 10:49 AM
That said..I am sure people would be interested. Something similar to a power antenna design could be made but I think you would end up with the hilt being pretty bulky..extra long etc.. But it definately could be done.

Or... a blow up blade! :lol:

drgnrbrn
11-30-2007, 10:59 AM
Strydur, I meant no disrespect. I'm not trying to compete with you in any fashion. I consider this to be THE source for saber fans and as such figured it would be the best place to ask a question about said idea. It's something I would be willing to share with the community once I have some sort of legal protection for the idea. Much as you are trying to protect your business interests I was attempting to protect mine. An extending and retracting saber blade is the holy grail of custom sabers ( short of a real lightsaber ), why should I put my idea out there so someone else can take it make a proof of concept and sell it off to MR or some other company. I was trying to do something that I thought down the line would help the community. So I offer my apologies and if you do not wish me to post on the topic again I will not.

Strydur
11-30-2007, 10:13 PM
I didnt say you shouldnt protect your business idea. And I also didnt say you should share all of your information. What I did say was that you shouldnt have come and posted this in the manner that you did. Basically you said "I have an idea..tell me if its good so I can market it and sell it to you. And tell me what you would be willing to pay for it" If you had just stated "I have an idea. What are your thoughts about it" then I wouldnt have said anything and you would have got just as much feedback. It looks even worse when you have 1 post count :?

Anyways, no big deal. I wish you the best of luck.