WoodyMac - the wooden constructor of the future
I do not dare to say that everyone, but in any case, most of us in our childhood were confronted with designers.
Some of them were remembered more, some of them remained forever in “boxes for nuts” (if we are talking about the iron constructor “Designer”).
And if we leave aside the “premium” for those times Lego and its Chinese substitutes from the 90s, there is one more niche - wooden constructors.
In addition, in fact, the classic cubes - I still have distinct memories of the designer "House"
')
However, progress inexorably approached them ...
Despite the fact that this is the second launch, Kickstarter re-emerged the project of the “world's first interactive wooden magnetic designer”. In contrast to the usually sad reasons for stopping the project, this time the collection of funding was stopped due to a wave of letters from around the world with a request to expand the geography of supplies (initially delivery was planned only for participants from the United States).
As usual, the idea is simple as everything is ingenious - the wooden parts are held together by small but very powerful neodymium magnets. The blocks are made of completely natural, non-toxic, and hypoallergenic materials (wooden parts made of beech and plywood), as well as inserts with neodymium magnets.
Well, it took only ten years to find an elegant design solution for the ever-falling chimney from the roof.
Assembled structures, thanks to the guides in wooden blocks, are very durable. Especially personally I was struck by this photo:
With the designer from childhood "House" in this way it was possible to play only in the invasion of giants with the immediate destruction of all real estate with their feet.
The number of unique parts is large - arcs on the roof, awnings, sliding doors, triangular roofs, garage doors, railings, fences, panels with opening doors from painted and unpainted parts, and much more. The manufacturer also promises that standard parts will always be available.
However, the highlight of the project is the constant addition of new parts proposed by WoodyMac buyers themselves. All future parts will be designed with all previous components in mind. And happy owners of 3D printers will be able to print out the parts they like by selecting them from the future parts catalog.
In fact, the idea sounds very reasonable - allowing all participants to come up with new sets and enlisting the support of creative people, the company's products will also be constantly improved and evolved. Suffice it to recall the successful experience of Lego on this path - their sets created by “on request” are selling well. For interaction, a mobile application has been announced for modern platforms (the “big three” - iOS, Android, Windows Phone), where it will be possible to demonstrate to other participants success in designing, view other people's work, vote for the proposed details, leave feedback to the manufacturer, upload layouts for their 3D - printers or order the necessary part - both from the manufacturer (in case the part is popular and its mass production is planned), and other participants (if it is about an exclusive part - for example, a unique spire on a Šnē or other individual order). I think that owners of 3D printers should especially appreciate the prospects of this idea. The plans of the inventor of the creation of the designer from which you can build not only toy houses, but also the whole situation in the apartment.
In the best traditions of the iron constructor of our childhood, it is easy to make things that are more useful in everyday life from wooden parts. In any case, for “handmade” durable frames that can be easily assembled and disassembled will not be accurate. Well, with proper skill, you can create competition even for some things from IKEA.
It seems to me that one of the first requests will be a set of a dozen or two “just cubes” of different colors. MineCraft in the apartment - who among the real fans will be happy with such a temptation! Given the popularity of Minecraft among children, the presence of such a set is especially important, because spatial thinking is necessary in such diverse areas as math, architecture and art. To build strong motor skills and spatial thinking, children must manipulate material objects and play and learn in a three-dimensional world. And modern children are difficult to attract from their virtual sites back to the physical world. Thus, a bridge between the virtual and physical worlds can become similar, seemingly simple things.
As for the organizers of the Kickstarter project, they don’t tell too much about themselves. An important detail is that their team is constantly engaged in developing environmentally friendly toys, there are already preliminary agreements with suppliers and manufacturers, and they have been working on the WoodyMac project for over a year now. After collecting the necessary amount, the designer will be available to buyers from around the world.
Participants in the crowdfunding campaign will be able to receive their first set based on the amount of donations. A total of three sets are available - WoodyMac Start, 88 parts, future retail price $ 125; WoodyMac Start + set of additional parts, a total of 184 parts. The set price is $ 195. Finally, the most expensive set of 628 parts is $ 500. By the way, in any set in the kit there is a LED lamp - so the houses will glow from the inside, as is the case with real residential buildings.
For the very first customers, the sets will cost significantly less, and for all those who donate later - about a third cheaper. The price seemed to me inflated until I got acquainted with the prices of the usual "non-magnetic" constructors made of wood.
Alas, toys are not cheap now. In any case, if a wooden designer with magnets and good prospects for development you are interested in - it makes sense to take part in the financing and get the sets cheaper than future value.
It seems to me a good trend that game projects are increasingly turning to crowdfunding as a way to create something really useful. And after a successful gathering on a “paper airplane with a motor”, the designer’s chances are really high. And if you combine WoodyMac with another crowdfunding project with neodymium magnets and a superconductor ... But that's another story;)
Start campaign - today . If you just want to support the initiative - the minimum fee is $ 20, each receives eight parts, four dice and four strips - you will get a good photo frame for the refrigerator. It is quite enough to assess the quality of materials and the prospects for further expansion of the range of parts.
UPD: To answer the question “how magnets are mounted there,” I attach a drawing from the manufacturer WoodyMac.
And finally, some long pictures, perfectly demonstrating what can be built from WoodyMac:
PS: And for those who have reached this place - there is also a video on YouTube (in English) .
Some of them were remembered more, some of them remained forever in “boxes for nuts” (if we are talking about the iron constructor “Designer”).
And if we leave aside the “premium” for those times Lego and its Chinese substitutes from the 90s, there is one more niche - wooden constructors.
In addition, in fact, the classic cubes - I still have distinct memories of the designer "House"
')
However, progress inexorably approached them ...
Despite the fact that this is the second launch, Kickstarter re-emerged the project of the “world's first interactive wooden magnetic designer”. In contrast to the usually sad reasons for stopping the project, this time the collection of funding was stopped due to a wave of letters from around the world with a request to expand the geography of supplies (initially delivery was planned only for participants from the United States).
As usual, the idea is simple as everything is ingenious - the wooden parts are held together by small but very powerful neodymium magnets. The blocks are made of completely natural, non-toxic, and hypoallergenic materials (wooden parts made of beech and plywood), as well as inserts with neodymium magnets.
Well, it took only ten years to find an elegant design solution for the ever-falling chimney from the roof.
Assembled structures, thanks to the guides in wooden blocks, are very durable. Especially personally I was struck by this photo:
With the designer from childhood "House" in this way it was possible to play only in the invasion of giants with the immediate destruction of all real estate with their feet.
The number of unique parts is large - arcs on the roof, awnings, sliding doors, triangular roofs, garage doors, railings, fences, panels with opening doors from painted and unpainted parts, and much more. The manufacturer also promises that standard parts will always be available.
However, the highlight of the project is the constant addition of new parts proposed by WoodyMac buyers themselves. All future parts will be designed with all previous components in mind. And happy owners of 3D printers will be able to print out the parts they like by selecting them from the future parts catalog.
In fact, the idea sounds very reasonable - allowing all participants to come up with new sets and enlisting the support of creative people, the company's products will also be constantly improved and evolved. Suffice it to recall the successful experience of Lego on this path - their sets created by “on request” are selling well. For interaction, a mobile application has been announced for modern platforms (the “big three” - iOS, Android, Windows Phone), where it will be possible to demonstrate to other participants success in designing, view other people's work, vote for the proposed details, leave feedback to the manufacturer, upload layouts for their 3D - printers or order the necessary part - both from the manufacturer (in case the part is popular and its mass production is planned), and other participants (if it is about an exclusive part - for example, a unique spire on a Šnē or other individual order). I think that owners of 3D printers should especially appreciate the prospects of this idea. The plans of the inventor of the creation of the designer from which you can build not only toy houses, but also the whole situation in the apartment.
In the best traditions of the iron constructor of our childhood, it is easy to make things that are more useful in everyday life from wooden parts. In any case, for “handmade” durable frames that can be easily assembled and disassembled will not be accurate. Well, with proper skill, you can create competition even for some things from IKEA.
It seems to me that one of the first requests will be a set of a dozen or two “just cubes” of different colors. MineCraft in the apartment - who among the real fans will be happy with such a temptation! Given the popularity of Minecraft among children, the presence of such a set is especially important, because spatial thinking is necessary in such diverse areas as math, architecture and art. To build strong motor skills and spatial thinking, children must manipulate material objects and play and learn in a three-dimensional world. And modern children are difficult to attract from their virtual sites back to the physical world. Thus, a bridge between the virtual and physical worlds can become similar, seemingly simple things.
As for the organizers of the Kickstarter project, they don’t tell too much about themselves. An important detail is that their team is constantly engaged in developing environmentally friendly toys, there are already preliminary agreements with suppliers and manufacturers, and they have been working on the WoodyMac project for over a year now. After collecting the necessary amount, the designer will be available to buyers from around the world.
Participants in the crowdfunding campaign will be able to receive their first set based on the amount of donations. A total of three sets are available - WoodyMac Start, 88 parts, future retail price $ 125; WoodyMac Start + set of additional parts, a total of 184 parts. The set price is $ 195. Finally, the most expensive set of 628 parts is $ 500. By the way, in any set in the kit there is a LED lamp - so the houses will glow from the inside, as is the case with real residential buildings.
For the very first customers, the sets will cost significantly less, and for all those who donate later - about a third cheaper. The price seemed to me inflated until I got acquainted with the prices of the usual "non-magnetic" constructors made of wood.
Alas, toys are not cheap now. In any case, if a wooden designer with magnets and good prospects for development you are interested in - it makes sense to take part in the financing and get the sets cheaper than future value.
It seems to me a good trend that game projects are increasingly turning to crowdfunding as a way to create something really useful. And after a successful gathering on a “paper airplane with a motor”, the designer’s chances are really high. And if you combine WoodyMac with another crowdfunding project with neodymium magnets and a superconductor ... But that's another story;)
Start campaign - today . If you just want to support the initiative - the minimum fee is $ 20, each receives eight parts, four dice and four strips - you will get a good photo frame for the refrigerator. It is quite enough to assess the quality of materials and the prospects for further expansion of the range of parts.
UPD: To answer the question “how magnets are mounted there,” I attach a drawing from the manufacturer WoodyMac.
And finally, some long pictures, perfectly demonstrating what can be built from WoodyMac:
PS: And for those who have reached this place - there is also a video on YouTube (in English) .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/239035/
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